Post-Game Talk: Leafs lose to the worst team in the league

[Aashir]

Looking at this from a days rest

I’m still pissed, but not as much as I was yesterday. Saturday has to be a different story

 

[glue]

Honestly, I genuinely understand where you are coming from and I love the fact that Keefe appears to be the type of coach that tries to keep the foot on the gas despite the results. I think that was clearly evident last season in the All or Nothing series. It was something that I actually was not expecting from Keefe, but was pleasantly surprised.

I just don't think that's a spot you have that stance. It was as dominating a 60 minutes the team has had all year. To me it's always process over outcome. That process was very good IMO.

We can say we didn't make it hard enough on the tendy all we want, I disagree. We had 22 HDCF in the game and a large amount of them were within 8-10 feet of the net.

I am all for Keefe holding them accountable when they need it, even after a win. For example I would have been ok with that level of public emotion after the VGK game. Sloppy 3rd lead to a much harder 2pts.

We did everything right yesterday, and didn't get rewarded.

I think I am most upset about the Mrazek slight personally. We are going to need Petr down the stretch, especially if Jack gets hurt. I didn't like the GWG, and blame him the most personally. It's an easy read cross crease and did not require an attempt to poke check. It was a terrible read on Petr's end. He knows that. He doesn't need his coach to give the public a soundbite to run with. Doesn't get a better version of Petr next time around. Serves no purpose

Fair enough, appreciate your take. Maybe its the disgruntled leaf fan in me, I have gotten to a point now that I no longer care for any coddling or even being easy on members of this team. Play well, we'll love you, play like crap, we'll call you out. I really want Mrazek to be better and even feel he will be given how long a break he just came out from, but when the team has almost dominated the entire game as you point out, you can't let in the literal 2 chances the opposing team gets (maybe there was 3 or 4, but you get my point).

 

[inthe6ix]

ultimate trap game with a goalie standing on his head

flush it

just wish papi would practice that lacrosse move more.. he's tried it a few times, but can't get the puck to settle for him and we all know he wants to do it lol

 

[egd27]

You are not 100% wrong but to be fair not many teams lose to the mess that is Arizona

C'mon now, they've won 7 of their previous 33.......oh wait, that's not very good, is it?

 

[Sypher04]

I would agree with the guy, and it isnt based solely on this loss. It is how we just regularly fail when we shouldn’t.

Getting into positions where you should win is so hard in this league, if you are throwing those away you wont win anything when the games get infinitely tighter.

Every team outplays a team and loses occasionally, yes even contenders. there is precisely nothing to read into it

 

[Twine Tickler]

Fair enough, appreciate your take. Maybe its the disgruntled leaf fan in me, I have gotten to a point now that I no longer care for any coddling or even being easy on members of this team. Play well, we'll love you, play like crap, we'll call you out. I really want Mrazek to be better and even feel he will be given how long a break he just came out from, but when the team has almost dominated the entire game as you point out, you can't let in the literal 2 chances the opposing team gets (maybe there was 3 or 4, but you get my point).

Ya I hear ya. It was just a terribly timed loss in focus on Petr's end. He said as much in his post game presser. It's just not a goal that can go in at that moment. So I understand Keefe's frustration, I really do. Petr has to make that save.

I just think that's a comment he can make in private to his staff like he did last year, but not to the public. I think he owes Petr a public apology TBH, and at the very minimum a private one. Which I fully expect will happen, you can tell by the All or Nothing series that Keefe has a self awareness on when he is being heard or being muted. I imagine that same awareness applies for when he crosses the line.

I am defensive of Petr for a variety of reasons. He has been put in an extremely tough spot all year TBH. Early injury put him behind the 8-ball right off the hop. Jack then emereged as the undisputed MVP of the team and made Petr look irrelevant even though Petr was not even in the picture yet. Not to mention the team has played like complete dogshit in every game he had played up until last night. Even in the most recent game he played against Chicago where we coughed up a 3 goal lead, he was arguably the only reason we eventually won that game with his unreal 2nd period. We realistically should have lost that game.

He then wasn't able to play for another month. Not an easy thing to jump into game action after a month off, with very little practicing in that time as well. Oh and he contracted a deadly virus.

I am the last one to endorse coddling, and I am not expecting Keefe to stroke his team off after a loss like that. I just think he doesn't need to drive the narrative in that way. The boys are just as frustrated with that outcome as he is. Compounding it with those comments does nothing

 

[Clark4Ever]

The optics look terrible, but the Coyotes had no business winning that game last night.

Who knew their sub par goaltender was going to channel his inner Georges Vezina?

 

[Nylanderthal]

1. Look at the team he was handed
2. Look at how easily he gets out coached in the playoffs

Decent coach, terrible tactician

Highest win% for Leaf coaches all time. Yeah, he sucks.

 

[DraftSchmaft]

coyotes the hottest team in the league right now for taking out the Leafs, show some respect for these beasts

 

[Bluelines]

The optics look terrible, but the Coyotes had no business winning that game last night.

Who knew their sub par goaltender was going to channel his inner Georges Vezina?

Going from memory I think they said on SportsDesk that the Yotes scored 17 goals in that goalie 14 losses? That means for him to win he would have had to shut out the other team what 11 times? I have no idea who he is but thats a bad team.

 

[francis246]

Oh shit, now you got me second guessing myself. Usually being on the same side as Craig Button is a bad thing lol

lol nah, he was right and you were right. People just hate on him for no reason, he does have a lot of insightful things to say it's just he yells because it's his thing. It's what gets clicks, but often times hes right or provides good insight. He's also very knowledgeable about prospects

 

[Throw More Waffles]

Every team outplays a team and loses occasionally, yes even contenders. there is precisely nothing to read into it

There is one thing to look into it about.

Whenever a team plays a "defense first" trap style game (ie. playoff hockey) against the leafs, the opposing goalie is all of a sudden a vezina winner. Even if it's a non-contending worse team in the league with 10 regulars out due to covid.

 

[Twine Tickler]

lol nah, he was right and you were right. People just hate on him for no reason, he does have a lot of insightful things to say it's just he yells because it's his thing. It's what gets clicks, but often times hes right or provides good insight. He's also very knowledgeable about prospects

Ya I am just playing. I agree he can make some decent points from time to time. He just has some hot takes that are the ones people tend to remember. I actually enjoyed listening to him and Andi Petrillo on Leafs lunch last year. It was a fairly good dynamic, and I think that's where Craig does his best work. But his in between period analysis can sometimes be a bit nauseating to listen to

 

[Sypher04]

There is one thing to look into it about.

Whenever a team plays a "defense first" trap style game (ie. playoff hockey) against the leafs, the opposing goalie is all of a sudden a vezina winner. Even if it's a non-contending worse team in the league with 10 regulars out due to covid.

I mean yes and no. The leafs were all over the coyotes. Had no shortage of quantity and quality of chances. If they weren’t generating quality chances that’d be one thing, but that isn’t what we saw last night. No one could seriously argue that we were defensively stifled. Also we’ve won plenty of games where the opponent tried to approach us with a defense first mentality, so it’s kinda like just you win some and you lose some. That’s hockey. You don’t always get the bounces

 

[Bluelines]

Highest win% for Leaf coaches all time. Yeah, he sucks.

Weight that comment with the talent he has. Give Quinn, Burns this talent and they probably would have won multiple Cups. Generally speaking Keefe has a minor league approach to game strategy that gets picked apart in the playoffs..

 

[Dragao6]

At the end of the day its a coin flip, in head to head matches, Its neck and neck for league standings. A series between the 2 would be a coin flip as well.

If you say so
Kinda why all other fans hates us leafs nation
Overvalue the team usually, kinda like the Habs last year haha
Anyways hope your right

 

[griffon1]

Guy lets in 2 goals and the hordes are on him. Was it Dermott who got the assist on Yotes 1st?

This team wins by scoring and loses by failing to.

 

[Mess]

Just like I defended the Leafs after the Colorado game based on the lopsided shot count, I feel like I need to dial back a little bit of the “domination” talk people are talking about after the Arizona game.

They did put a lot of pressure on the Yotes, did hit some posts and miss some chances and did get goalie’d to some degree, but I think there were also a lot of the game play that wasn’t “domination” but more like mechanical, perimeter puck possession and high volume shooting. Like it looks good on paper but if you stayed up to watch it, you were bored to death at the slow pacing of the play and the box out.

Just reminds me of the CBJ/Montreal playbook against this team. You think you dominated but really just got wrestled down to the mat by a low skill team wasting time on the outside and padding someone’s save totals.

You're not wrong.

When the Leafs as one of the NHL's highest scoring teams, including the reigning Rocket Richard holder inspired by playing in his home town, take on the NHL's worst team, missing 5 players to injury and 5 players to Covid and their head coach, while playing $10 mil below the Salary Cap ceiling, and in full team rebuild mode, then wouldn't a lopsided shot total be the minimum one would expect from this game?

So mission accomplished. Shots 45 - 18 for the Leafs.

Or should a 25 year old rookie goalie Karel Vejmelka, that nobody ever heard before & playing in his 20th NHL game in front of young and inexperienced defense make both the effort and outcome acceptable and excusable?

 

[67leafs]

The Yotes channelled their inner Shane Doan…..nuff said

 

[Twine Tickler]

For the East Coaster's who were unable to watch the game in it's entirety and woke up to the 2-1 loss on the box score, I really don't think there is any way to better describe just how special of a night this was for Karel Vejmelka than this tweet:



This had nothing to do with not making it hard enough on Karel as identified by the leaguewide most Rebound saves this year with 8, as well as leaguewide most slot saves in 26. Both statistics would not include the 3 posts hit by the Leafs as well.

It was truly a remarkable evening for Karel.

This is a loss that hurts, but there were a lot of very good things that the Leafs did in this game. This was easily their best game since the return to play. It really was not even close.

 

[4thline]

Hands up if you're surprised that Mess doesn't really follow the league and hadn't heard of the guy that pitched a 46 save shutout earlier this year, with multiple monstrous games against good teams

 

[ACC1224]

Guy lets in 2 goals and the hordes are on him. Was it Dermott who got the assist on Yotes 1st?

This team wins by scoring and loses by failing to.

Dzingel from Lilljgren and Dermott

 

[Stephen]

Hands up if you're surprised that Mess doesn't really follow the league and hadn't heard of the guy that pitched a 46 save shutout earlier this year, with multiple monstrous games against good teams

Vez-melka, as the Fantasy crowd calls him facetiously has a 3.17 GAA after last nights game and a .910 SV% and 4 career wins in 18 games. Mess, or anybody else is entitled to not know who the heck he is. He’s not the goalie equivalent of an indie band only the cool kids know about (yet).

Karel Vejmelka Game by Game Stats and Performance | ESPN

 

[ACC1224]

Vez-melka, as the Fantasy crowd calls him facetiously has a 3.17 GAA after last nights game and a .910 SV% and 4 career wins in 18 games. Mess, or anybody else is entitled to not know who the heck he is. He’s not the goalie equivalent of an indie band only the cool kids know about (yet).

Karel Vejmelka Game by Game Stats and Performance | ESPN

I'd say the great majority have never heard of the guy and pretty much everyone else is lying.

 

[Stephen]

I'd say the great majority have never heard of the guy and pretty much everyone else is lying.

He’s probably like a Dan Vladar on Calgary (and Boston previously) who has had some surprisingly good outings but less than 20 games of NHL experience total. Factor in the total obscurity of the Coyotes and timezone he’s not really a guy anyone should reasonably know a lot about. But hey, anyone whose staying up on weeknights watching Arizona all the power to you.