Post-Game Talk: Leafs win game 3 5-2

[ALine]

If we beat Tampa, I think we legit go all the way. None of the other East teams really scare me.

And what a ride it will be. Knock off the B2B champs, president trophy winner, than one of the Crosby show Penguins, defense wins championships Canes, or slay the dragon Bruins. This ain’t no fairy tale. Book it!

 

[ruaware41]

Honestly speaking we're better than any opponent they've had the past two seasons.

some of those opponents include teams who made the semis or finals so no considering we've never left the first in like 5 years and lost to the habs. Let's try to not get carried away with homerism and get out of the 1st for once first

 

[BayStBullies]

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Mik - Kampf - Engvall
Blackwell - Spezza - Kase


That second line needs some dirty ass goals and Bunting is the guy for it.

 

[Gallagbi]

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Mik - Kampf - Engvall
Blackwell - Spezza - Kase


That second line needs some dirty ass goals and Bunting is the guy for it.

Edit - I like it

 

[GrizzLeaf]

Break up Nylander and Tavares. It wasn't working in the regular season. What makes Keefe think it will suddenly work now?

Nylander will break out any game now. But not when he's on Tavares' wing.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Edit - I like it

nice

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Mik - Kampf - Engvall
Blackwell - Spezza - Kase


That second line needs some dirty ass goals and Bunting is the guy for it.

nice

 

[PROUD PAPA]

It would be nice to see Florida and Carolina tap out in the 1st rd.
If this should be our year to come out of the East i don't think we need to face every top team along the way.

 

[deprw]

???

It was on a 3 on 1 rush.

It did not come from nowhere. lol

We break out after the kill, we get 3 on 1 with our PK forwards and physical d. Serga is right there and backcheck is closing in fast. Lyub don't have tons of options and because of backcheck you can't just pass it a round.

That what I meant. Put Marner-Matthews and Rielly there and you can anticipate goal, in that case it's just one scoring chance for us.

 

[Spargon]

If we beat Tampa, I think we legit go all the way. None of the other East teams really scare me.

None of the teams 'scare' me period. I respect Tampa and what they have done and don't expect an easy ride but nothing scary about them. Leafs are a top 5 team with 54 wins and 115 pts we aren't the underdogs barely making WC2 on the last day with 96 pts anymore. Teams need to be scared of US

 

[saltming]

Understatement of the year.


Anything could happen. This series has been pretty close to dead even and the reason we're up 2-1 is that our goalie has had a slight edge on theirs so far and I wouldn't count on that continuing (though I sure hope it does).

Huge game tomorrow!


Great post! There's too many people who worship stats to such a degree that they're unable to acknowledge anything that the stats don't show, and there is a ton that the stats don't show.

I will do the Carlyle, he was ok Hahaha
He made some big stops for sure and I don't think it's an understatement to say it was a good game. He did his job lastnight, he did not steal the game though

 

[kevsh]

Still waiting for a Kampf Appreciation thread.

When we said the Leafs need depth scoring, most of us I think were referring to Engvall, Mikheyev, Kase and maybe the odd Spezza/Blackwell goal. But Sniper Kampf has been a hugely welcome surprise.

 

[Stinger8]

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Mik - Kampf - Engvall
Blackwell - Spezza - Kase


That second line needs some dirty ass goals and Bunting is the guy for it.

Only thing I would do different is put Simmons in Kase's spot. Kase has done diddly squat he is a bit of an anchor, the train has had scoring opportunities and will protect others if shit gets real.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Tavares is leading both teams with 65% faceoff win%. He's been on the ice for 1 goal against - they're not lighting him up and he's not lighting it up. Really small sample size - not enough games to conclude too much. But it is not all bad nor no contributions.

Absolutely he's good on faceoffs, despite last night's 40%.

As far as the goals against go, since he doesn't do PK, we're talking even strength. Most Leafs have been on for one or fewer ES goal against. The only players who have been on for more (2 each) are his wingers.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Mikheyev/engvall/kapmf making up for Nylander+JT no showing

Those 3 are playing like they make 20M collectively not the 4.5M or so they make

Obviously 16 and 34 have dominated but those three contributions are a big part of the reason it's 2-1 leafs and not 2-1 Tampa.

If 88 and 91 get it going leafs can win this in 5.

Still see it being leafs in 7 if those two stay asleep

Actually, Nylander is doing just fine, despite having to play with JT. He's third on the team, behind only Matthews and Marner, in shots. Just no luck so far.

 

[authentic]

Actually, Nylander is doing just fine, despite having to play with JT. He's third on the team, behind only Matthews and Marner, in shots. Just no luck so far.

I haven't been very impressed with his play but he did have food poisoning so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt so far and expect a lot more from him the rest of this series.

 

[notDatsyuk]

We didn’t get any way back when ….
Here’s me and my mates in school
View attachment 542263

Where's the snow covered hill you had to walk up all year long?

Damned spoiled kids.

 

[johnnyonthspot]

yea gonna be honest, if I was a tampa player right now with back to back cup wins I'd want to chill somewhere on a florida beach. But then again I've also gone fairly down the rabbit hole and don't feel as incentivized about the corporate world

They know it is a brutal fight to the death and really do not have 'new blood' driving them to win. I hear you about the corporate world!

The Leafs sure did not play like that for the latter half of the game lol. Hope they bring the game 1 intensity tomorrow and really put the pressure on Tampa.

I think they were just defending a lead and playing it safe. It worked and they are in tampa's heads. They showed them they can lock it down.

 

[AuraSphere]

Kerfoot - Matthews - Marner
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander
Mik - Kampf - Engvall
Blackwell - Spezza - Kase


That second line needs some dirty ass goals and Bunting is the guy for it.

Honestly - this would be crazy good to experiment with - not sure why he thought moving Bunting to the 4th line was the best thing to do

 

[Jarqui]

Absolutely he's good on faceoffs, despite last night's 40%.

As far as the goals against go, since he doesn't do PK, we're talking even strength. Most Leafs have been on for one or fewer ES goal against. The only players who have been on for more (2 each) are his wingers.

Tavares was 81% and 75% in faceoff wins during the first two games. In these NHL playoffs, among players with 20 or more faceoffs, he's 3rd in win%. And that isn't a shock because in the regular season of players with 40 ore more games and more than 50 faceoffs, he was second in the league in faceoff win%. That is a significant contribution - period. Best faceoff guy in this contest. Cherry picking a 40% evening isn't going to change those results.

Your claim about the wingers is a reflection on the wingers. Tavares cannot be responsible for goals scored while they were on the ice and he wasn't because they were not on his line that evening or during that time.

If Tavares was not playing, like the Montreal series, they could just focus on shutting down Matthews and Marner. He's a ppg center that coach Cooper cannot ignore. And Cooper isn't ignoring him - he's got good players against him. I do not know how often but I have seen him facing Stamkos line a number of times on the shift charts. Stamkos isn't not having a very good series so far. Evidently, Tavares line has something to do with that. OMG .. another contribution ??

Nylander 3 games, no points, -2, 33% faceoff win% and he did a lot of that not playing with Tavares. At least Tavares contributed an assist. Why aren't you beating up Nylander?

If you give Tavares Bunting & Marner for linemates, do you think his numbers would be the same? I don't. There is something to be said for "relative to the opportunity given". I still think we're fortunate to have a center like Tavares. If we'd had him against Montreal last year, I think the series would have had a very different result.

 

[Dekes For Days]

At least Tavares contributed an assist. Why aren't you beating up Nylander?

It's because Nylander didn't leave the Islanders.

 

[therealkoho]

I will completely lose my nut if Holl starts next game.

Advanced stats only count for certain players I suppose

What to do with Willie and jt. Must've had the sushi again...

Really bad time for one of them to go ice cold, let alone both of those guys. The Leafs need them both producing if the team is to have the kind of success we're all hoping for.

 

[Atrusai]

He had some issues clearing pucks at times, but he was also a big part of two goals. People are so black and white about the guy. There’s a reason he’s played all 3 games.

Yeah, even on Holl. I used to dread seeing him play but over the last few months he's been noticeably better. He still makes mistakes here and there, but it's not like the days of Phanuef and Gardiner.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I will do the Carlyle, he was ok Hahaha
He made some big stops for sure and I don't think it's an understatement to say it was a good game. He did his job lastnight, he did not steal the game though

No bad goals, and a number of grade A saves. Some of his best saves also came when we were clinging to a 3-2 lead so for those complaining about how our goalies haven't been able to make a save when it really counts, that should have been a nice change. Even the beginning of the game, at one point TB only had had 2 shots on net but they were both grade A chances and Jack stoned them. To me that was a clutch performance, one of his best games of the year and the .941 SV% was pretty good too. If that to you is just "good" then OK, agree to disagree I guess.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Tavares was 81% and 75% in faceoff wins during the first two games. In these NHL playoffs, among players with 20 or more faceoffs, he's 3rd in win%. And that isn't a shock because in the regular season of players with 40 ore more games and more than 50 faceoffs, he was second in the league in faceoff win%. That is a significant contribution - period. Best faceoff guy in this contest. Cherry picking a 40% evening isn't going to change those results.

Your claim about the wingers is a reflection on the wingers. Tavares cannot be responsible for goals scored while they were on the ice and he wasn't because they were not on his line that evening or during that time.

If Tavares was not playing, like the Montreal series, they could just focus on shutting down Matthews and Marner. He's a ppg center that coach Cooper cannot ignore. And Cooper isn't ignoring him - he's got good players against him. I do not know how often but I have seen him facing Stamkos line a number of times on the shift charts. Stamkos isn't not having a very good series so far. Evidently, Tavares line has something to do with that. OMG .. another contribution ??

Nylander 3 games, no points, -2, 33% faceoff win% and he did a lot of that not playing with Tavares. At least Tavares contributed an assist. Why aren't you beating up Nylander?

If you give Tavares Bunting & Marner for linemates, do you think his numbers would be the same? I don't. There is something to be said for "relative to the opportunity given". I still think we're fortunate to have a center like Tavares. If we'd had him against Montreal last year, I think the series would have had a very different result.

Why is my saying he's good at faceoffs taken as a complaint?

And I'm not beating up on anyone, just pointing out that 'one goal against' isn't extraordinary for us right now, but average.

 

[saltming]

No bad goals, and a number of grade A saves. Some of his best saves also came when we were clinging to a 3-2 lead so for those complaining about how our goalies haven't been able to make a save when it really counts, that should have been a nice change. Even the beginning of the game, at one point TB only had had 2 shots on net but they were both grade A chances and Jack stoned them. To me that was a clutch performance, one of his best games of the year and the .941 SV% was pretty good too. If that to you is just "good" then OK, agree to disagree I guess.

I agree with his performance I guess the way we rate it differs.
Keeping the game 3-2 is his job. Winning a game 1-0 being outshot and outchanced would be a great performance.
Fair enough to agree to disagree if you disagree