Post-Game Talk: Leafs win 3-0 with a huge effort

[weems]

This team does look different.

That's because they are playing differently.
Now people can argue which way is better and just because we've played well through 20 games doesn't mean it will continue or lead to more playoff success but the main point is systematically we are not the same.

Here are some main points from Bournes recent article

Maple Leafs have succeeded at playing low-event hockey, but should that be their goal?

The Maple Leafs are playing the type of game their coach and GM want them to play. But, given the results, is it the right style for this roster? Justin Bourne weighs in.

www.sportsnet.ca

- We are dumping the puck in at a 58.8% clip (which ranks 4th and Florida is one of the teams ahead of us) vs last season where we dumped it in 52% of the time
- The Leafs are currently 29th in the league in rush chances for which last season we ranked 7th in
- We rank 4th in rush chances against

"So, if they’re 29th in rush chances for, and fourth in rush chances against, that means there’s next to no rushing hockey in their games, which you may have noticed can be slightly less scintillating."

 

[TheBeastCoast]

That's because they are playing differently.
Now people can argue which way is better and just because we've played well through 20 games doesn't mean it will continue or lead to more playoff success but the main point is systematically we are not the same.

Here are some main points from Bournes recent article

Maple Leafs have succeeded at playing low-event hockey, but should that be their goal?

The Maple Leafs are playing the type of game their coach and GM want them to play. But, given the results, is it the right style for this roster? Justin Bourne weighs in.

www.sportsnet.ca

- We are dumping the puck in at a 58.8% clip (which ranks 4th and Florida is one of the teams ahead of us) vs last season where we dumped it in 52% of the time
- The Leafs are currently 29th in the league in rush chances for which last season we ranked 7th in
- We rank 4th in rush chances against

"So, if they’re 29th in rush chances for, and fourth in rush chances against, that means there’s next to no rushing hockey in their games, which you may have noticed can be slightly less scintillating."

Basically comes down to them playing playoff type hockey all season. I think it has been one of our problems in years past. We were a rush heavy offense team and then all of a sudden we would get into the playoffs and teams get tighter defensively and the refs let more go...and we didn't have an effective plan B. So spend the regular season playing the way you know you will have to play come playoff time. Get comfortable in that game and generating offense within it.

 

[Evilhomer]

Sorry I wasn't homing in on you with that comment. There are other folks on this board heavily invested in winning this unwinnable argument. Re: Keefe its a tough call on when. Hindsight says after Montreal altho thats only 2 years in. Next year they play .700 hockey and lose in 7 to the Cup finalist. Then in 22-23 they finally win a series so there is this mirage of getting closer each year. Then they keep him after Kyle is gone and make no significant changes, as tho it would somehow yield a different result because..... Matthews loves him and they want to be assured of a re-sign? I would not have hired him in the first place. Maybe Kyle made him a Willie promise too?

I don't think he should have been hired in the first place either, but I can understand promoting the AHL coach mid-season after the NHL coach is fired. It's pretty commonplace.

Basically comes down to them playing playoff type hockey all season. I think it has been one of our problems in years past. We were a rush heavy offense team and then all of a sudden we would get into the playoffs and teams get tighter defensively and the refs let more go...and we didn't have an effective plan B. So spend the regular season playing the way you know you will have to play come playoff time. Get comfortable in that game and generating offense within it.

And the reality is that the offense will be the easier part, even if it seems like in the past that wasn't the case.

 

[conFABulator]

It's happened at the same time quite a bit. For example, in 2022-2023 when Rielly went down (after losing Muzzin permanently, Brodie missing a bunch of games to injury, Matthews playing injured, etc.), we showed our depth, came together as a team, and despite a 17% PP, went 12-2-1 and put up top-5 defensive metrics, the 2nd best SV% in the league (with all 3 of the goalies we used being 0.920+), and an 83% PK. A lot of people seem to have really short memories. I believe that you just want to be genuinely positive about the team you have in front of you, but there are clearly different motivations for some.

I am glad I come across as positive about the team, I am.

I was going to write a longer response about the Shanahan era and how it is the best Leaf team for a sustained period in my (viewing lifetime; 40+ years). However, I already started a thread about my dislike for every thread becoming a re-litigation of Dubas, Keefe and Shanny. If you want to find that thread and have a deeper discussion, I would welcome it.

The Identity (Politics) of Leaf Fans (Not actual politics)

I am pretty sure I will have no positive impact here and was going to post this in another thread that triggered this thought for me. I decided that would have hijacked the other thread, so I am starting this fresh. I really don't want this to be about Dubas, Treliving and their respective...

forums.hfboards.com

As for this team; it really does feel different to me. You raised a good comparable for some of these things happening at the same time, thank you. You are not wrong, we have had very good twenty game stretches in the previous five years too.

This stretch being to open a season under a new coach makes it all seem different. They are more accountable and more disciplined to a more simple game plan. They don't throw away the script when they get down and they certainly seem to be able to hold a lead better than previous teams.

I think this is the best group of 7 or 8 D we have had in the Shanny era, I think it has as good or better goaltending than the previous teams, I think our young core (and Tavares) has grown and matured, I think the support cast that now includes Knies, Domi, McMann, Lorentz, Kampf, and Pacioretty is useful and contributing, and I think our kids and Marlies call ups can play a role this season, and for some of them in the playoffs, and this includes Robertson, Holmberg, Minten, Grebenkin, Steeves, and possibly Alex Nylander.

A lot of the above is a direct result of the cupboard Dubas left behind. He also left us in pretty good cap shape.

 

[therealkoho]

Not to mention having some players come up from the Marlies who can capably fill in for the injured players. I know it's only been one game, but Grebenkin looks legit, and Minten isn't far behind!

Not far behind

 

[therealkoho]

More than 10, even worse is they play Sunday night, as do the Eagles

I thought they broke up after they finished in Vegas?

 

[therealkoho]

On a scale of one to ten how bad does it suck that there is no game tonight?

It's a 10, The Leafs Saturday night on HNiC is a Canadian tradition, it's weaved into the fabric of who we are as Canadians, it just shows you how much respect those dorks in NYC have for the game itself. Think of how ridiculous shootouts are to decide a hockey game, you have no idea how much that sticks in my craw.

 

[leafsfan5]

On a scale of one to ten how bad does it suck that there is no game tonight?

30 teams going tonight and we're not one of them is a travesty

 

[HellasLEAF]

GLG:

 

[Nineteen67]

They had made the playoffs the two seasons before he became GM, so simply making them was not "an accomplishment".

Although I will agree that with him as GM they "had no chance of winning anything significant ".

Under the circumstances it was an accomplishment.

 

[mikeyz]

30 teams going tonight and we're not one of them is a travesty

Who's the other team not playing?

I am glad I come across as positive about the team, I am.

I was going to write a longer response about the Shanahan era and how it is the best Leaf team for a sustained period in my (viewing lifetime; 40+ years). However, I already started a thread about my dislike for every thread becoming a re-litigation of Dubas, Keefe and Shanny. If you want to find that thread and have a deeper discussion, I would welcome it.

The Identity (Politics) of Leaf Fans (Not actual politics)

I am pretty sure I will have no positive impact here and was going to post this in another thread that triggered this thought for me. I decided that would have hijacked the other thread, so I am starting this fresh. I really don't want this to be about Dubas, Treliving and their respective...

forums.hfboards.com

As for this team; it really does feel different to me. You raised a good comparable for some of these things happening at the same time, thank you. You are not wrong, we have had very good twenty game stretches in the previous five years too.

This stretch being to open a season under a new coach makes it all seem different. They are more accountable and more disciplined to a more simple game plan. They don't throw away the script when they get down and they certainly seem to be able to hold a lead better than previous teams.

I think this is the best group of 7 or 8 D we have had in the Shanny era, I think it has as good or better goaltending than the previous teams, I think our young core (and Tavares) has grown and matured, I think the support cast that now includes Knies, Domi, McMann, Lorentz, Kampf, and Pacioretty is useful and contributing, and I think our kids and Marlies call ups can play a role this season, and for some of them in the playoffs, and this includes Robertson, Holmberg, Minten, Grebenkin, Steeves, and possibly Alex Nylander.

A lot of the above is a direct result of the cupboard Dubas left behind. He also left us in pretty good cap shape.

Until they prove it come playoff time, I am not convinced that this year will be different.

 

[Lightsol]

the refs let more go

Assuming Facts Not In Evidence.

 

[conFABulator]

Until they prove it come playoff time, I am not convinced that this year will be different.

You can't argue with that. Right now we are all trying to figure out if there are signs that might suggest a different outcome. We have been trying to figure it out and feeling like this year could be different for years now. I understand the skepticism.

I enjoy team building. I have seen a trajectory and believe our window is opening now. Of course, that all starts by winning two or more playoff rounds.

This team is in good shape to retain everyone they want to, attract and afford a key UFA piece or two and finding ice time for Minten, Cowan, Grebenkin, and Hildeby.

I like being excited about their chances.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Assuming Facts Not In Evidence.

Okay?

 

[notDatsyuk]

Under the circumstances it was an accomplishment.

What 'circumstances'? He inherited a team that had made the playoffs two years in a row, with three young stars who were getting better and better each year. It would have been an accomplishment to have not made the playoffs!

 

[William Johnson]

He believed Holl was part of our great top 4 defence, that's all you have to know about the validity of his comparisons. It's a joke.

I agree in principle with this although the Holl stuff might not crack the top ten for me. The 'playoff-leading number of posts' gem will always be hard to beat in my mind although the recent statements about how the NHL standings work are pretty special, too.

Your instincts are spot on. Everything is through the Dubas lens there.

I came to the conclusion a while back that it can't actually be about Dubas anymore and likely wasn't really ever about somebody so undeserving of such blinkered zealotry. The need must come from somewhere else, I reckon -- it's strange and curious.