Pre-Game Talk: Leafs vs Lightning. Game 5

[SeaOfBlue]

Your up 2-0 why would you change the lineup ? Simmons & Clifford should both play.A friend of mine knows Maroon and he was so happy that Clifford & Simmons have not been dressing.What does that tell you ? Bring Paul Higgins out of retirement and put him at center on the 4th line. I bet maybe 5% of people know who Paul Higgins was.

We were never up 2-0. It was 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2.

And we won both games without Clifford in our lineup because he got himself suspended after his first or second shift in the first one. Even Simmonds was a fairly large part why we lost in Game 2.

Out of all of the decisions he could have made, that is probably down the list. Maybe put one in over Simmonds, but compared to not finding someone who can give more space to Tavares and having Lyubushkin in over Liljegren, I am not complaining.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Whatever you say coach

It's just unacceptable. He's getting payed millions to coach a top 5 team in hockey and he actually thinks both Holl and Boosh are better players than Liljegren.

 

[stewpac]

Keefe is trollin, they’ll both be dressed for warm up and Lilly will start. At least this is what I’m telling myself

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

They absolutely need to be better.

But Keefe needs to use home ice advantage to help them get them away from that line as much as possible as well.

No excuse. Matthews and Marner cannot allows this to happen. This is worst than last year because atleast they were out chancing Danault. To be out chanced by Cirelli and Point is unacceptable for Matthews and Marner. This team goes where they go. They have to find a way to put the pressure on any line they face.

 

[SprDaVE]

 

[Sypher04]

Keefe isn't wrong.

Holl wasn't the problem in game 4.

Not directing this at you, but name me a single person on the Leafs in game 4 that didn't make a couple bad plays?

The only players on our team that had better +/- than Holl in the game were Kase, Kampf, Brodie and Muzzin. Not that I think +/- is some hugely telling stat, but being just a minus 1 in a 7-3 game is far from horrendous.

Beyond that, he's a big part of the reason the PK was successful 7 for 8, including an extended 5 on 3.

The Rielly/Lyubushkin pairing was the pairing that struggled.

 

[stocker]

We were never up 2-0. It was 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2.

And we won both games without Clifford in our lineup because he got himself suspended after his first or second shift in the first one. Even Simmonds was a fairly large part why we lost in Game 2.

Out of all of the decisions he could have made, that is probably down the list. Maybe put one in over Simmonds, but compared to not finding someone who can give more space to Tavares and having Lyubushkin in over Liljegren, I am not complaining.

My bad I forgot it was 1-1.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

people talk about the first shift like holl sent stamkos in on a breakaway lol

it was a long shot from the point. It was not even close to a high danger chance.

He and Giordano also cleared the zone on 4 separate occasions on that play. They stopped Tampa's forecheck clean each time before that. No shot, no scoring chance. Mikheyev and Engvall had more than a few opportunities to get that puck over the red line or deep enough for the Leafs to prevent Tampa from getting in on us right away, and they couldn't do it.

 

[fahad203]

We can talk about the defensive pairings to no end... but to me, this is the biggest problem. Matthews and Marner need to be better. Really unacceptable that it's that lop sided.

Last night Crosby had 4 points. McKinnon doing Mac things

Because thats what these guys do

 

[stickty111]

Again as much as I criticize Holl, him playing is fine. Playing Lyb over Lilly is unforgivable

 

[Stephen]

They said on TSN 1050 that 80% of Game 5 home teams that win, go on to win the series.

No excuses, just get it done.

We’re not a normal team though. But we’ll see.

 

[ShaneFalco]

The Leafs-Lightning playoff series through four games: What's gone well, what hasn't, and the adjustments needed entering a best-of-three

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning will now play a best-of-three series to determine which team moves on to the second round. As with any 2-2 series, neither team is totally discouraged or elated with what’s happened so far, and Game 5 will change the narrative in a hurry one way or...

mapleleafshotstove.com

"John Tavares and William Nylander haven’t been on for a Leafs goal at five-on-five. They clearly need to play better, but the Leafs haven’t really put them in a position to succeed, either. Nylander started the series on a shutdown line, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise that he didn’t rack up points playing with Kampf and Engvall. There was a video clip of him avoiding a check late in Game 4, but I actually thought he was one of the only Leafs who played a respectable game otherwise on Sunday. Other than Game 2, I haven’t hated his game.

Tavares looks slow, but I also don’t think Sheldon Keefe is using him properly. They started him on a line with Ondrej Kase, who hadn’t played a month and a half, and Ilya Mikheyev, who is more of a breakaway specialist offensively. Finding the right player to team up with Tavares should have been a top priority at the deadline, but the Leafs chose to upgrade elsewhere. At this point, I see the Leafs as a team that’s built on having two great center-winger combinations. If you’re going to lose, you go down betting on that.

If I’m Sheldon Keefe, I want David Kampf shutting down one of Steven Stamkos or Brayden Point. Despite his offensive outburst, Kampf can’t take advantage of weaker competition in the same way that Matthews or Tavares can. Through four games, Tavares has spent the most time against the Stamkos line and the second most against the Point line. I don’t love Tavares’ chances of outplaying Kucherov or Point, but I do like his odds against Nick Paul."

 

[Stephen]

Again as much as I criticize Holl, him playing is fine. Playing Lyb over Lilly is unforgivable

At the end of the day, the fringes of the roster will be the fringes of the roster and if the Top 6 forwards and Rielly and Campbell aren’t heroes to close out the series you don’t have much of a chance.

 

[ShaneFalco]

More....

Ondrej Kase should move down in the lineup. He’s a shot-heavy player who doesn’t use his linemates overly well, and Tavares was never going to get a ton of chances between Mikheyev and Kase. I’m not sure the Leafs have a perfect option to play with Tavares and Nylander, but I’d prefer Mikheyev, Kerfoot, or even Engvall. There is no reason Kase, who is getting crushed in his minutes so far, can’t play lower in the lineup.

Matthews and Marner got their lunch handed to them in Tampa by the Brayden Point line. We can reasonably expect them to outplay anyone, but you also want to put them in the best possible position to succeed. We’ve seen them match up against Selke candidates like Patrice Bergeron and Phil Danault in the past; I’d much rather see Matthews against Stamkos than Point and Cirelli. Getting back to home ice will help, but if I’m Sheldon Keefe, I strongly consider breaking up Matthews and Marner when the series goes back to Tampa, especially if Tavares and Nylander aren’t yet clicking.

The fourth line has been terrible other than in Game 3. We’ve seen plenty of lineup changes, but Colin Blackwell has been the one constant, and the Leafs own 33.5% of the five-on-five expected goals when he’s on the ice. When we add in the undisciplined penalties, it’s clear that this line has cost them greatly.

 

[stickty111]

It's just unacceptable. He's getting payed millions to coach a top 5 team in hockey and he actually thinks both Holl and Boosh are better players than Liljegren.

Like I get Holl playing for the PK which Keefe isn't wrong about. The problem is why is Lyb a staple on the backend? What does he do? Play physical? He's unplayable in the O zone and doesn't kill penalties either. You are literally 4 on 5 in every situation

 

[Stephen]

The Leafs-Lightning playoff series through four games: What's gone well, what hasn't, and the adjustments needed entering a best-of-three

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning will now play a best-of-three series to determine which team moves on to the second round. As with any 2-2 series, neither team is totally discouraged or elated with what’s happened so far, and Game 5 will change the narrative in a hurry one way or...

mapleleafshotstove.com

"John Tavares and William Nylander haven’t been on for a Leafs goal at five-on-five. They clearly need to play better, but the Leafs haven’t really put them in a position to succeed, either. Nylander started the series on a shutdown line, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise that he didn’t rack up points playing with Kampf and Engvall. There was a video clip of him avoiding a check late in Game 4, but I actually thought he was one of the only Leafs who played a respectable game otherwise on Sunday. Other than Game 2, I haven’t hated his game.

Tavares looks slow, but I also don’t think Sheldon Keefe is using him properly. They started him on a line with Ondrej Kase, who hadn’t played a month and a half, and Ilya Mikheyev, who is more of a breakaway specialist offensively. Finding the right player to team up with Tavares should have been a top priority at the deadline, but the Leafs chose to upgrade elsewhere. At this point, I see the Leafs as a team that’s built on having two great center-winger combinations. If you’re going to lose, you go down betting on that.

If I’m Sheldon Keefe, I want David Kampf shutting down one of Steven Stamkos or Brayden Point. Despite his offensive outburst, Kampf can’t take advantage of weaker competition in the same way that Matthews or Tavares can. Through four games, Tavares has spent the most time against the Stamkos line and the second most against the Point line. I don’t love Tavares’ chances of outplaying Kucherov or Point, but I do like his odds against Nick Paul."

Emphatically disagree. Guys like Tavares and Nylander are supposed to be in a position to succeed every time they’re on the ice. That’s what impact players are supposed to do. Whether they are impact players or not will be settled by how much they impact the rest of this series in whatever situation they are put into.

 

[TorMapleJays]

 

[SeaOfBlue]

LOL Petrelli is basically me.

Although I would add that Holl is a 61 xGF% at ES in his 2 games. His Corsi numbers look bad, like most of this team right now, but guys who "struggle" at ES typically do not have that kind of xGF%. Especially with a sub-2 xGA/60. So IDK where these "struggles" are coming from unless people literally only watched the first shift in Game 4 and decided to blame the entire thing on him when our wingers couldn't break out properly 4 times before that.

I especially found it funny that people thought Holl had a bad +/- when it is even but there are crickets about Lyubushkin's -2 playing with Matthews/Marner.

 

[TorMapleJays]

One shift doesn't make a game... Or does it for you?

It did in game 4. People had not even sat down and the game was over.

 

[Gabriel426]

What do you expect Keefe to do after Simmons question?
Holl just needs to play better and so is everyone else on the Leafs.
Just win the series.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

It did in game 4. People had not even sat down and the game was over.

The game was over after giving up one early goal?

Even in the playoffs, that is far more concerning than giving up the goal in the first place.

 

[REALTALK81]

Not a fan a Liljegren not being in. Also hope that Keefe doesn't continue throwing rock on the ice while the opposition is throwing paper. Bergeron line, Danault line and now Point line have shut down Matthews and Marner yet Keefe continues to match them up.

 

[DarkKnight]

Game 4 is in the mirror. Come out fast and hungry and take control of the series again.

I have a t shirt with that cover on it

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Not a fan a Liljegren not being in. Also hope that Keefe doesn't continue throwing rock on the ice while the opposition is throwing paper. Bergeron line, Danault line and now Point line have shut down Matthews and Marner yet Keefe continues to match them up.

Sounds like Matthews/Marner are pretty damn easy to shut down. Every team seems to find a way to do it.

These are two of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. There shouldn't be a line in the NHL which can shut them down like they have been.