Post-Game Talk: Leafs Win 4-0! | Sammy Shutout!

[ErnieLeafs]

Brilliant. Lets send the 25 year old first round pick to the AHL when he's finally healthy enough to string some NHL games together with 3 of our usual starters out of the lineup.
He had the third best game score tonight, by the way. Wanna guess where Brodie ranked?

Did you watch the first period? Timmins was giving the puck away like he was being paid to do it, and doing it around our net.

He needs to be A LOT better than he’s been. I didn’t say Brodie was GOOD. Timmins was handling the puck like it was made of AIDS

 

[Jojalu]

Leafs play their most complete game of the season and I had to go to a Christmas party……..

This is a fair complaint.

 

[LeafSteel]

Lots to be happy about but this was the best moment for me

This sequence made me stand up and roar.

Not kidding, scared the crap out of the cats….

TJ has been on the serious decline since early last season IMHO.

Seeing that chart made me almost think it was laid out to specifically play into a narrative that has developed around JT in seemingly every GDT for the last forever.

John is among the leaders in "board battles won" in the entire league(yes its a real stat), he's among the league leaders in face off % sitting at 62%+, he's 4th in team scoring and is tracking for about 80 points AGAIN!

He does everything expected and required of a team captain. He works with the younger Leafs on the games finer points and with the centre's on FO techniques, it's not an accident that Kampf and Matthews are in the top 10 percentile in FO win%.

Sure it would be nice if he made 1.5m less AAV, but that goes for all of them included in the so called corps four. It would also be nice if John was a little more of an effervescent guy and entertaining in interviews. They all can't be Dougie or Wendel.

Great post. Agree with all of it.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I did laugh a bit at Bert and JT behind the net and Mitch in the deep slot as the shooter.

Willy is really the one who runs the PP now. Too bad nobody's helping him.

Starting a backup goalie against us is like playing a kid who's never scored in the NHL - guaranteed to work. Well, almost.

 

[Lightsol]

Hanifin with an extension is who I'm hoping for..

Hanifin's apparently telling teams he's not signing past this year with any team not named Boston.

 

[Thornbury]

And many thought he'd be dead weight the last two years of his contract. Not happening yet.

This sequence made me stand up and roar.

Not kidding, scared the crap out of the cats….

Great post. Agree with all of it.

 

[Enniskillen]

Can't wait for Liljegren to get back, and we can see what the blueline is really going to be

Reilly Liljegren
McCabe Brodie
Timmins Benoit
Giordano

Lagesson is a solid option as well.

 

[Schennanigans]

Maybe the best defensive effort all year. PK continues to roll too.

 

[WillyC]

There’s Matthews floating again… sneaks in a pair, hoping nobody notices.

 

[Smif]

Hanifin's apparently telling teams he's not signing past this year with any team not named Boston.

Ahh good to know. Time to move on to someone else, maybe from Columbus.

 

[Strangle]

Diju see his presser, he seemed to be back to the old Sammy, the one we all know and love, making little quips and generally lighthearted vibe. That's the Sammy the team needs to find some success.

The Leafs will be a handful any night anywhere with two high functioning goaltenders once Joe gets back to his game readiness.

I didn’t see it, but now I’m going to!

Samsonov is one of my favorite personalities in the league. When he’s feeling good, I love watching Sammy speak.

“How did you feel about the great performance Bobrovski just put on while beating you guys?

“I don’t give a f***”

Need the real Sammy back!

 

[notDatsyuk]

That can't be right - it shows Nylander with the best defensive metrics among forwards, and Marner with the worst.

 

[leafers]

Is Knies physicality rubbing off on other players perhaps? I’m thinking specifically about Noah Gregor, I don’t recall him being this physical earlier in the season.

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

D looked good.

Prefer lagesson in over timmins

 

[therealkoho]

Biggest complaint from me is the Gregor empty netter. Had Matthews scoring last in the prediction contest.

Bet365 is coursing through the veins of the NHL

 

[therealkoho]

Lagesson is a solid option as well.

Yeah he is I like his game, simple, physical, good first pass, but just went with a tiny bit more experiece. I wouldn't be too nervous about him getting in 25 games.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

That can't be right - it shows Nylander with the best defensive metrics among forwards, and Marner with the worst.

That is why you look at stats but you don't make decisions on unproven analytics in their premature form .. 20+ years from now analytics likely will give better data points as it develops but we will see .. always remember Cups are won with D and G .. it is very very rare where forwards win Cups .. great game by Sammy .. let him see shots unimpeded and not tipped and data points will look a ton better .. as our D gets improved our tending will too

 

[notDatsyuk]

That is why you look at stats but you don't make decisions on unproven analytics in their premature form .. 20+ years from now analytics likely will give better data points as it develops but we will see .. always remember Cups are won with D and G .. it is very very rare where forwards win Cups .. great game by Sammy .. let him see shots unimpeded and not tipped and data points will look a ton better .. as our D gets improved our tending will too

I completely agree. That particular game Willy looked really good defensively, so it was just a bit of a dig at the posters who regularly complain that he's our worst defensive player.

 

[therealkoho]

That can't be right - it shows Nylander with the best defensive metrics among forwards, and Marner with the worst.

Those stats read like a James Tanner Editor in Leaf column.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I completely agree. That particular game Willy looked really good defensively, so it was just a bit of a dig at the posters who regularly complain that he's our worst defensive player.

Willy has da most talent overall on our team with combined speed and skill and when he decides to dominate there is not much da league can do as very very very few players can match that speed and skill .. right up there with McJesus .. no one really talks about games where McJesus is terrible defensively but of course everyone does it too Willy .. likely an old boy negative because he is Swede Canadian .. for me I would just like to see him do it every game but da reality is life does not work that way in any career