Post-Game Talk: Leafs win.

[Gary Nylund]

8 times in the last 35 years, I'm guessing but it may be a similar number for the 2nd place team. The rest of the league won the remaining half of the time. Playoffs are a crapshoot, anything can happen. I do understand the overwhelming majority of fans believe the playoffs are a better indicator. Nothing wrong with that, we just disagree.

Strongly disagree. Thinking about the last decade or so, the team that wins the cup almost always (if not always) has played fantastic for the two month playoff grind. I can't think of even one occasion where I've thought yeah, they didn't deserve to win. You can say they weren't the best team based on regular season play if you like, but they're usually the best team for that two month period and that's what it takes to win the title.

You haven't addressed what I said about playoff hockey being a very different game then regular season hockey. Maybe that doesn't matter to you if you think that regular season hockey is what matters more which is fine. Like you said, nothing wrong with that, we just disagree.

 

[ACC1224]

This is one of the most wild hockey related comments I've ever read.

Did you read the one explaining how Dubas is faultless, he’s only doing what the fans want.

Honestly there is a level achieved with that line of thinking that you don’t see often, for good reason.

 

[axman15]

This X 1000. How is it that we can’t beat the simplest of opponents. I don’t care if this team is emotionally fragile. They have had 5 years to get past this. The problem is and always has been they rely to much on their skill rather than putting in 100% effort on each and every shift. I have learned that anything in life most people skate by on their natural talent most of the time, the truly successful people put in the work along with the talent. You would have thought that the coaching and management staff would have addressed this by now. From now on if people take off shifts they sit in the press box.

Rielly was guilty of a half dozen plays where he was caught flat footed, made a boneheaded play or just didn’t hustle. Nylander too which is why he is such a frustrating player because if he had the motor of Hyman he would be top 5 in scoring IMO. Matthews also needs to start asserting his will on players, he is 6”3 and 220. Push some people around.

I swear to god if I see him, Nylander or Marner loop around the net one more time rather than attack the net I am gonna lose it. Crash the net, every team we play knows they never go to the front of the net. It’s the same reason why our PP is a disaster because every team know we don’t attack the net. Lastly why is Rielly on the PP1, guy couldn’t QB a power play to save his life. Put Sandin or Dermott or Liljegren in there. At least some of those players have a shot from the point. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. It’s been two seasons of this garbage, enough already.

You watch the game? We did win. No such thing as an easy game in the NHL (despite what the Leafs have shown in their last 2 before tonight).

I’m amazed at how many people on here have such a negative mindset. Lots of positives to take away from last night’s game.

 

[Racer88]

You're probably right. It's just that those few are such massive homers, that they absolutely never leave home and their yaps are rarely shut (these last few days have been mercifully quiet though) so it seems like there are many more of them than there actually are.



I mentioned it earlier as the highlight of the night for me.

I'll say it again - Tavares has taken was too much grief around here for a guy who has been good for about a PPG since he arrived in town and is always classy. Guy's a gud pro, still a very good player (and a consistently good player) and while people complain about his contract, thinking about what our centre depth would be without him is a bit scary.



NHL teams are good, even the worst ones and on any given night, any team can beat any other team. Winning is never a disgrace. Never.



It's all relative. If the team was firing on all cylinders and on a hot streak, a game like this wouldn't be worth celebrating. In the current context though, it's a different story. We've had a slow start to the year, are coming off a couple of really uninspiring games, the angst of the playoff failure(s) are still hanging over the team like a dark cloud, in those circumstances it's easy to wonder if the team will ever win again. Then we go down 2-0 and a big part of the fanbase is ready to fire everyone who can be fired, trade everyone who can be traded if not just completely fold the franchise and be done with it. So yeah, in that context, coming back and actually winning the game is 100% a confidence builder. It's just one baby step so no need to overdo it and it's definitely nothing to brag about. But it's at least a little bit of a confidence builder, there is zero doubt about that, at least not in my mind.

Baby steps baby. Baby steps. GLG!!

I admire your enthusiasm…….I wish I had more but this group has burned me out. They have a long way to go before I get exited again. I hope it happens soon

 

[Racer88]

Well of course we need to make the playoffs and if he has a poor season and we miss, that would be bad. I'm just saying that if he has 65 points but excels in the playoffs and is a big part of us going deep, that would more than make up for a sub par regular season.

If all of the above happens it will go a long way. Now it just needs to happen

 

[TheOneArmedMan]

Even Matthews had to yell at them.... said they re playing to slow and it showed for the last few games

 

[Burnie97]

100% this. Doesn't matter if he gets 65 or 105 regular season points, how he does in the playoffs is what counts. And that goes not just for Marner, but for the entire team (though Marner is the guy with the biggest spotlight shining on him for sure).

Bingo. Same with Matthews. If he scores 35 or 40 goals and McDavid gets 60 and ovie... not a big deal.

I'd rather Matthews get 20 in the playoffs and they go deep.

What's with our defence tripping up on their feet and falling over the ice? Look very slow and immobile. Muzzin and Holl are agitating even Morgan is getting on my nerves.

Mo made a few bad plays forsure but luckily got bailed out and at least he can skate.

Holy shit Muzz and Holl are out to lunch. Look terrible. I'm not usually on players too bad but they look bad. Needs to be a change there. Holl is so slow. Muzzin is making terrible decisions.

Both Nylander and Matthews tried to maintain momentum to time the entry. They’re expecting him to cross the line or dump it. When Holl chose to make a move at the line rather than gaining it as they both expected, it put the play offside.

That’s not bad luck. That’s Justin Holl doing Justin Holl things.

Holl all he has to do there... dump it in. It's the easiest play when you have nothing. He has to adapt on the fly regardless of what Nylander did there. He had Matthew's going in and he could of put it around the boards and Matthew's had an easy shot at getting to the puck first. Simple plays and Holl can't even make them right now.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Yeah I think at this point I'd take Menell or Biega or something to get up, play Dermott a lot more.

I don't know man but as someone that actually likes Holl, he's been putrid lately. He seems out of shape. Muzzin seems like he's just broken physically too.

The clot shots have affected a few of them.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I admire your enthusiasm…….I wish I had more but this group has burned me out. They have a long way to go before I get exited again. I hope it happens soon

I feel your pain and I'm far from excited. I still think what I did before the season started - Hyman and Bogo were big losses and for that reason, the team probably isn't as good as it was. At the same time, there's no way we're as bad as the first few games of the season would indicate.

I felt pretty numb since the last loss and I needed a win badly to pick me up a bit, any win. So it's not that I'm excited or enthusiastic, I'm not. I just feel better than I did yesterday and that contrast makes me smile just a little bit.

If all of the above happens it will go a long way. Now it just needs to happen

It does indeed.

 

[Confucius]

Strongly disagree. Thinking about the last decade or so, the team that wins the cup almost always (if not always) has played fantastic for the two month playoff grind. I can't think of even one occasion where I've thought yeah, they didn't deserve to win. You can say they weren't the best team based on regular season play if you like, but they're usually the best team for that two month period and that's what it takes to win the title.

You haven't addressed what I said about playoff hockey being a very different game then regular season hockey. Maybe that doesn't matter to you if you think that regular season hockey is what matters more which is fine. Like you said, nothing wrong with that, we just disagree.

The thing about the playoffs is the best team in the league could have had a bad couple of games and got knocked out. Any team can have a bad 3 or 4 game stretch. Now another team wins the Cup but maybe only because they never faced the better team. Playoff hockey may be a different game but I still think there is more luck involved, than winning over the long haul. We have all heard anything can happen in the playoffs.

 

[Gary Nylund]

The thing about the playoffs is the best team in the league could have had a bad couple of games and got knocked out. Any team can have a bad 3 or 4 game stretch. Now another team wins the Cup but maybe only because they never faced the better team. Playoff hockey may be a different game but I still think there is more luck involved, than winning over the long haul. We have all heard anything can happen in the playoffs.

There's more variance in the playoffs, no doubt about it. But again, that's just the way it is and the excitement of the playoffs is pretty awesome. Perhaps you're a soccer fan where there's no playoffs and that's cool, but they don't have the excitement of the playoffs either.

And it's not clear how to best judge the "better" team. If a team has the best regular season but only by way 3 points, how definitive is that? If TB kills it during the regular season but goes out 4-0 against a "lesser" team, then how good are they really?

 

[socko]

I'm watching Matthews shoot the puck last night and this team is in such deep doo doo. The team can't score. Two goals in regulation against the Hawks. That's not good. And Matthews had surgery that was a direct result of his shot. It reminds me of Tiger Woods who destroyed his knee with his golf swing. He also had it operated on. Had to change his swing, ie make it far less aggressive, after the surgery to be able to continue to play. Matthews injury was his wrist which has an even more direct impact. I'm surprised that everyone just assumed he was going to be fine because it concerned me. It's not like he broke his leg out there or something unrelated to the shot. No his shot was doing the damage. This is bad. And this team can't score and if Matthews can't score anymore, oh boy.

 

[Trapper]

The thing about the playoffs is the best team in the league could have had a bad couple of games and got knocked out. Any team can have a bad 3 or 4 game stretch. Now another team wins the Cup but maybe only because they never faced the better team. Playoff hockey may be a different game but I still think there is more luck involved, than winning over the long haul. We have all heard anything can happen in the playoffs.

Sure anything can happen but let’s look at the winners since the cap came in:

Carolina, Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh x3, Chicago x3, Boston, LA x2, Washington, St. Louis, Tampa x2.

Is there anyone on that list that just didn’t establish themselves as hard to play against over time? It wasn’t like a Buffalo squeaked into the playoffs and won it all. That’s really few and far between.

 

[All Mod Cons]

You watch the game? We did win. No such thing as an easy game in the NHL (despite what the Leafs have shown in their last 2 before tonight).

I’m amazed at how many people on here have such a negative mindset. Lots of positives to take away from last night’s game.

I find myself stuck in no man's land whether to cheer for wins or losses at this point. I mean it's abundantly obvious this team isn't good enough to do any damage. They have so little cap room to make any difference. So it's taking me back 10-15 years on whether I cheer for them just to make the playoffs, with a very good chance they finish 9-11 in the conference, or cheer for them to get a guy that can really help us on his ELC which we so dearly need.

We've just about beaten the 27th, 30th and 31st teams this year. Last night was poor. Very poor. I keep waiting for them to respond in a statement game, but they keep coming out and playing so flat.

I really don't want to see us play the likes of Florida, Boston or Washington this season.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

what a toxic post! Why are you even here.? It is posts like yours that will cause the Matthew’s and such to pack up their bags. We should be cheering our boys, they are broken and if there was ever a time they needed a cheer…. Did you not see their joy and relief after Nylander scored? How can anyone think they don’t care .
If you want to rag, then rag on management (for keeping Kerfoot over McCan, for giving up a first for Foligno, for letting Hyman go-their heart and soul, for losing Kapanan, the list goes on, for the Kadri deal….)

This is sarcasm right?

 

[ULF_55]

Wings and Leafs both won. Played different teams though .

At least the Leafs are better than Colorado, Vegas and Nashville. If standings only matter.

Hey it's a win, and I see Holl and Muzzin have finally left the building.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Is Tavares so much of a scrub here now that his backhand snipe is getting no hype? That's easily the best backhand goal of the year for the league so far. The reaction is the same as if it bounced off his ass into the net.

I believe all 3 goals were backhanders.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Sure anything can happen but let’s look at the winners since the cap came in:

Carolina, Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh x3, Chicago x3, Boston, LA x2, Washington, St. Louis, Tampa x2.

Is there anyone on that list that just didn’t establish themselves as hard to play against over time? It wasn’t like a Buffalo squeaked into the playoffs and won it all. That’s really few and far between.

Yeah exactly. I mean it happens sometimes (the 93 Habs come to mind) but not very often. And even if there was no playoffs and the Presidents trophy was everything, if one team wins it with 125 points and there is another team with say 122 points, can anyone honestly say that that there is a meaningful difference between the two? Wouldn't there also be a fair bit of luck/variance in who wins? A bounce here and there, games against opponents at the time they had key injuries and so on?

I would assert that there is often no one team that is clearly the best, but someone has to be crowned the champ. No system is perfect, and maybe the "best" team doesn't always win. But the playoffs are pretty awesome and in the end, they do a pretty good job of crowning one of the best, if not the best team most of the time so screw the Presidents trophy, I need me some playoff success!

 

[All Mod Cons]

I believe all 3 goals were backhanders.

I think his first one hit his arm and went it.

Edit: my apologies, I misunderstood.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I find myself stuck in no man's land whether to cheer for wins or losses at this point. I mean it's abundantly obvious this team isn't good enough to do any damage. They have so little cap room to make any difference. So it's taking me back 10-15 years on whether I cheer for them just to make the playoffs, with a very good chance they finish 9-11 in the conference, or cheer for them to get a guy that can really help us on his ELC which we so dearly need.

We've just about beaten the 27th, 30th and 31st teams this year. Last night was poor. Very poor. I keep waiting for them to respond in a statement game, but they keep coming out and playing so flat.

I really don't want to see us play the likes of Florida, Boston or Washington this season.

Nothing is clear just yet.

 

[ACC1224]

Win is great but it needs to be followed up on Saturday. I think Saturday they break out offensively

 

[Mess]

Important win for the Leafs.

Close game with close calls on both sides, but Campbell made some game saving saves in the 3rd and it allowed the Leafs to land the plane in OT.

 

[ryno23]

Muzzin is that typical vet that needs 10-20 to round their game into shape. I do think they need to split up Holl-Muzzin as Muzzin is starting to slow down. I would look to move Holl for a better skating version of him or move Lilligren for a more physical version of him to pair with Muzzin. Holl if stays goes to the bottom pairing with Sandin.

Dermott is the odd man out. He is just an average guy who doesn't excel at one thing so hard to find a niche for him

 

[egd27]

The fact several sports personalities have recently spoken up about the toxicity of this fan base shows your wrong. Of the people willing to speak about the game the majority is toxic is probably a better way of putting it. But the things this fan base says about its players can be disgusting.

No, it really doesn't. Sports fans complaining about their team when things are not going well is a universal truth.

Toronto likes to believe that Leaf fans are so unique to the rest of the sporting world. They are not, there are optimists, pessimists and those that are somewhere in between.

The fans weren't "toxic" in 2016-17, why do you think that was?

 

[All Mod Cons]

Nothing is clear just yet.

Holy shit. I don't consider myself a clairvoyant or anything, but you can trust me here. What more do you need to see. I admire your optimism, but damn, can you see this team being good?