Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose to Sharks

[Artorius Horus T]

Guests opinion : why does Mathhews always gotta to be your 1C??
plays shitty, but never loses his position, why????.

Spezza been your best center this season, right? why he is not your 1C instead of Matthews?

I would go with these f line combos.

Bunting-Spezza-Nylander
Matthews-Tavares-Engvall

Ritchie-Kerfoot-Marner
Simmonds-Kämpf-Kase

 

[Bellefour20]

Guests opinion : why does Mathhews always gotta to be your 1C??
plays shitty, but never loses his position, why????.

Spezza been your best center this season, right? why he is not your 1C instead of Matthews?

I would go with these f line combos.

Bunting-Spezza-Nylander
Matthews-Tavares-Engvall

Ritchie-Kerfoot-Marner
Simmonds-Kämpf-Kase

I'm guessing a big factor in Spezza's success is that he is playing against his opponent's 4th line.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Like it with several cbanges

Bunting-Matty-Kase
Ritchie-JT-AK
Spezza Willie Marner
Simmonds-Kampf-engvall

Seems to make a lot more sense to just do a straight swap of Spezza and Marner, rather than mess with a very effective middle 6 which has not disappointed at all.

This isn't a team that needs a blender. This is a team that needs Marner (mostly) to get his head out of his ass and perform like a star player... Something he hasn't done for far too long of a stretch.

Start small:
1) Swap Bunting and Marner on the PP. There is a large enough sample size and enough skirting of the issue for Marner to finally be demoted there. Bunting is an excellent net front presence and has earned a few more premium minutes. Tavares is an excellent bumper since he can do the high tip and can shoot, so move him from net front back to the bumper spot. Marner can run his own 2nd PP in the Rielly spot, which is the only place where he may be effective with his shot. Hopefully he can figure out his issues there.
2) Stop putting Marner on stacked shifts. Tavares-Matthews-Nylander have been stellar together. Marner doesn't work nearly as well.
3) Give the 2nd and 3rd line a few of the top line's shifts at ES. That has more to do with Matthews + Marner getting 22 minutes a night while Tavares only received 16 this past game. That is ridiculous. I can understand wanting to limit Spezza's minutes to keep him fresh, but Tavares should be getting 18-20 minutes a night consistently. Bunting should also be getting more than 13:40 he received today too.

Notice that these are three things that likely should have been done from the start anyways, and not be seen as "reactionary". This still gives Marner a chance to find his magic with Matthews, but that would be the first "large" move that would be made (short of flat out benching Marner).

Marner and Matthews will still play a lot, but hopefully it will be more in the 20 minute range than the 22+ minutes they seem to consistently get.

 

[Cynical]

I wonder if these prima donna Leaf "stars" put lineup clauses in their contacts that's limiting what the coaches can do.

I can't think of any other reason why no change ever happens.

 

[RunItBackAgain]

Kase doesn’t have the tank for more than 3rd line minutes. He looks like he is dying on the bench after every shift already.

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

I didn't watch the game, just caught the highlights but I've seen a lot of people blaming matthews for giving the puck up on 2 goals? If 1 of them was the sharks second goal, somebody called for the puck. Someone yelled middle when matthews picked up the puck. Whether that was marner, Ritchie, or a shark, I don't know, but someone called for it. Wouldn't really put the blame squarely on matthews for that 1.

 

[hockeyes]

You know things are bad when Leaf fans are fawning over the Oilers.

 

[Nooodles]

 

[DutchHockeyGuy]

Sport is a lot about pressure and the top paid guys are really feeling it and it seems to paralyse them to a certain extend. It is no coincidence that the players with lower expectations are playing more carefree and actually seem to have some fun out there.

I liked the games Sandin, Spezza and Bunting played. Kämpf and Kase did well, just like Engvall. Hopefully we get a good game tonight.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

LMAO!!!

 

[sittler rules!!!]

How long before dubass and Keef are fired.

Well, I said Christmas for Keefe and end of season for Dubas on here and I got torched.

 

[alliuk12]

This is a team of losers no if’s and’s or but’s so I guess you may as well settle in for a long and shitty season

 

[stealth1]

Usually our PP and offence starts the season off on fire and then goes completely cold and we lose in the first round. Hopefully this is the opposite where our PP and offence is starting out cold and gets hot and we win some playoff series.

They have to get there first.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Player I feel bad for the most consistently on this team is Spezza. Guy is in the twilight of his career putting absolutely everything out there only to consistently since the day he stepped foot in this organization get absolutely nothing back in return from what is supposed to be our best players.

 

[Gary Nylund]

My first peek at this place since yesterday afternoon and it's just what I expected - full blown panic mode.

For me, this game changes nothing. The Leafs will get it going, they will cruise to the playoffs and what happens after that, I have no idea. What I do know is that by the time that first playoff game starts, I will have long forgotten about this one. And I will judge this team by how they play in the playoffs, period.

Play better tonight guys, GLG!!

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Bunting-Matthews-Nylander needs to be the top line tonight against the Penguins honestly.

 

[All Mod Cons]

absolutely. Like I said. At the end of the year. See where he is at. If he wants out. You facilitate a move.

if not. You keep him and see. If they go on a run. He will want to stay. If he doesn’t.

simple. Try to negotiate. If nothing is coming then you let his agent negotiate with a few teams.
Like CBJ did with Jones. Or trouba.

you can offer sign and trade for the 8th year. Agree and trade on July 2 to save a team the bonus etc.

you cannot. Let Matthews walk. He would never want that. Look at the RFA marner debacle. The biggest star in on the biggest team playing out the last year? That would be insane. He would never do it. That would be Nuts. He watched Tavares like that.

I thought pre espn that he was a no brainer to stay. He has a whole marketing team. Has some injuries. Pandemic. We can offer 8 years and bonuses. The bieber connection and being the all time best leaf is massive.

but if hockey takes off in the us due to espn. He may want to go south. If he does. Then he won’t stay the last year. It would be madness. It’s already silly now. 3 years away

We can, and we will.

 

[Racer88]

He has more goals than the entire Big 4 combined.

OMG, remember a few weeks ago when Leafs fans said he had no offence and was holding the top line back

 

[Racer88]

The early success didn't do them in, at least not directly, it was signing Tavares. He is a fine player but it made no sense to pay 11m for a UFA vet at that time for a position they didn't even need to fill.

This is accurate. The day Dubas gave that crazy deal to Tavares was the beginning of the end of a sensible rebuild

 

[Racer88]

The Muskoka five has been paired down to the new Muskoka 3

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Blender time
Ritchie only played 11mins he's gunna slide. (Wayne 8)

Be prepared.. we're gunne hate these lines on paper; something like:

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Engvall - Kampf - Kase
Ritchie - Spezza - Amadio

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

So I wanted to be positive but that game was a stinker top to bottom. Most alarming was how bad 4 of the top players were: Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Rielly. And the power play still hasn't even remotely been solved. And the defensive structure I was so enjoying was completely absent last night - it was back to old days getting cycled and running around in their own zone. A few more games like this and surely it's time to put Keefe on the clock, no?

 

[Racer88]

So I wanted to be positive but that game was a stinker top to bottom. Most alarming was how bad 4 of the top players were: Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Rielly. And the power play still hasn't even remotely been solved. And the defensive structure I was so enjoying was completely absent last night - it was back to old days getting cycled and running around in their own zone. A few more games like this and surely it's time to put Keefe on the clock, no?

Absolutely to all of the above but I’m not sure that’s going to happen because I don’t see Shanny firing his buddy for not firing his buddy

 

[socko]

My first peek at this place since yesterday afternoon and it's just what I expected - full blown panic mode.

For me, this game changes nothing. The Leafs will get it going, they will cruise to the playoffs and what happens after that, I have no idea. What I do know is that by the time that first playoff game starts, I will have long forgotten about this one. And I will judge this team by how they play in the playoffs, period.

Play better tonight guys, GLG!!

I think you're underestimating the teams decline and general lack of character. It's time to panic. Cruising into the playoffs is not a given at all. Not in the North Division anymore.

 

[francis246]

So I wanted to be positive but that game was a stinker top to bottom. Most alarming was how bad 4 of the top players were: Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Rielly. And the power play still hasn't even remotely been solved. And the defensive structure I was so enjoying was completely absent last night - it was back to old days getting cycled and running around in their own zone. A few more games like this and surely it's time to put Keefe on the clock, no?

Matthews played really bad, just a really horrible and unnecessary give away on the third SJ goal. Also a bad give away on the empty net when we had momentum. That being said Hutchinson didn’t help. He was brutal. But still Matthews/Marner have to get it figured out, no more excuses they just have to.