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Lets talk about Auston Matthews.

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Our best players are 20 YEAR OLD KIDS.

Matthews+Nylander are not going to wake up tomorrow as prime Sakic+Forsberg just because this impatient, reactionary fan base wants them to.

But go ahead everybody, hardball these guys and run them out of town because they weren't ready for a tough series against an experienced core in their second playoff taste ever. What are we replacing them with? What's your better idea?

If the big three and young supporting cast (Kappy, Johnsson, Dermott etc) are all 24-25-26 yrs old and still getting bounced in the first round then we'll have a problem. There are a lot of years and a lot of improvement to come before there is any real reason to panic.

This fanbase can be pathetic sometimes.
 
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For perspective:

Bergeron by the time he was 24 had 9 points in 18 playoff games (3 series)

Also players go through cold streaks, while effort is to be ratcheted up during the playoffs, a cold streak will still happen.

In the grand scheme of things, 4 games is worthless, McGodvid had 2 points in 4 games last year and he was the f***ing MVP of the league.
 
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The Best Leafs Ever said:
Lets wait how far this team takes us this season and we can compare. Forwards might not be in their to form but sometimes goalie has to give them a chance as well. If we want to win with Andersen then anything less than 4 goals on any night is not enough.
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I think there are a few issues with the team

Depth at centre - Kadri going out with suspension just killed us. Bozak is "alright" - Plekanec and Moore have done well enough but realistically both are 4Cs are this point. We need a "good 4c" and to grab a 2c-3C, either someone to bump Kadri down or that can reasonably fill in if he is out (whether injured or suspended)

Defense - I can't even begin to go into how badly we need an overhaul on that back end. I am not married to anyone back there minus Dermott (on the NHL roster). We've known it was an issue for the last 2 years, something needs to be done this year.

Grit - Yes, grit is good. It has to be the *right* grit. Matt Martin brings grit but is useless in every other facet of hockey. We need functional toughness. I'll throw an example out there, if we traded Connor Brown for Sam Bennett or Nick Ritchie, they can play but they bring a bit of an edge with them too.
 
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I think a significant issue is just flat out Matthews doesn't match-up well against Chara and Nylander on the right is absolutely terrified of him. So, while its frustrating and a bit scary going forward, I can't think of another defender like Chara so this may be a limited problem.

For whatever reason, Marner has historically been good vs Chara due to his ability to create time on the puck and use edgework. Matthews game is more direct.
 
93LEAFS said:
I think a significant issue is just flat out Matthews doesn't match-up well against Chara and Nylander on the right is absolutely terrified of him. So, while its frustrating and a bit scary going forward, I can't think of another defender like Chara so this may be a limited problem.

For whatever reason, Marner has historically been good vs Chara due to his ability to create time on the puck and use edgework. Matthews game is more direct.
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Maybe playing Marner with Matthews would solve that. Then let Nylander work against easy competition
 
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It's not really his lack of production that has been disappointing but simply the lack of intensity. Game 5 might as well have been game 50. You have to be able to up your game to another gear in the playoffs. He is young but so is Mitch Marner and Marner has found that next gear.
 
Fantastic player! He is our future. Hasn't had a really great playoff so far, but he has been good in the many of the games. He will be a great Leaf for a long time. Can you imagine if people based his career on a year he didn't put a lot of points up in a playoff series that isn't even over yet? That would be crazy!
 
thewave said:
It's not just him but it's been pretty damn bad. Marner working his tail off taking more hits tonight than Matthews all series. I understand he may have some injury going on but still. Matthews wasn't even skating back hard when coughed up the puck. Matthews and Nylander have been a total let down on effort heart and drive this series. Even if injured you have to compete and get into it and mix it up and they haven't done anything.
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Exactly this.

If they can't get motivated for a pivotal game 4 at HOME against a team missing their #1C, I don't know what will. And unfortunately, you can't teach heart.
 
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Not good enough this series. Not nearly good enough. I'm not going to make up excuses for his poor play... he hasn't been good.

This doesn't mean he sucks or that we should trade him. It's ok to say when a player is struggling without being super defensive about it.
 
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Put me in the camp that felt his compete level hasn't been there, and he looks scared out there.
 
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SniperOnTheWing said:
Our best players are 20 YEAR OLD KIDS.

Matthews+Nylander are not going to wake up tomorrow as prime Sakic+Forsberg just because this impatient, reactionary fan base wants them to.

But go ahead everybody, hardball these guys and run them out of town because they weren't ready for a tough series against an experienced core in their second playoff taste ever. What are we replacing them with? What's your better idea?

If the big three and young supporting cast (Kappy, Johnsson, Dermott etc) are all 24-25-26 yrs old and still getting bounced in the first round then we'll have a problem. There are a lot of years and a lot of improvement to come before there is any real reason to panic.

This fanbase can be pathetic sometimes.
Click to expand...

I think the disappointing part here is that LAST YEAR was supposed to be part of the learning experience. Yes, it's only their second year but expectations have been raised. I'm not panicking but it seems they haven't learned anything at all, and in fact, Matthews+Nylander have regressed.
 
Its funny, Chara has been awful against every line other than Matthews'...

It would have been nice to see Babcock try out the Matthews' line against Nash's line to get away from Chara.
 
bbgobie said:
Put me in the camp that felt his compete level hasn't been there, and he looks scared out there.
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I wouldn't say scared, but definitely tentative. He looks like someone who is not comfortable with his body, so he doesn't engage because he doesn't seem to believe he can win the puck. And he hasn't. Just look at how someone like Danton Heinen just flat out dominated him along the boards, winning like three-four contested pucks in a row. I don't think I saw someone handle Matthews like that all year in his rookie campaign. Something is definitely up, and the shoulder is the prime suspect.
 
Matthews being close to a non factor means the Bruins are doing a hell of a job does it not? They are keeping him to the outside and limiting his scoring chances. The Matthews line plays against Chara/McAvoy. That leaves the other 3 lines to play against Krug/Miller, and Grzelcyk/McQuaid. I'm sorry but neither one of those pairings should be shutting down either of our lines yet we're making them look like Lidstrom out there. Marner/Marleau/Plek(last 2 games) have seemed to take advantage of their match ups for the most part, but that Bozak line has been rough.
 
Nithoniniel said:
I wouldn't say scared, but definitely tentative. He looks like someone who is not comfortable with his body, so he doesn't engage because he doesn't seem to believe he can win the puck. And he hasn't. Just look at how someone like Danton Heinen just flat out dominated him along the boards, winning like three-four contested pucks in a row. I don't think I saw someone handle Matthews like that all year in his rookie campaign. Something is definitely up, and the shoulder is the prime suspect.
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And his puck handling has been shaky, too me that's what I look for in terms of confidence with him. He's fighting the puck, last night, time and again. It's a process.
 
5 on 5 he’s been the best player in the league fot the last 2 seasons so I’m assuming he must be hurt. He hasn’t been good, except for a few shifts, the whole series so far. Hyman has been the lines best player as far as I’m concerned, which isn’t good news for the leafs. Great players make there own time and space, like Marner has done, Matthews has not done this at all. He is a much faster skater then Chara so he should be able to create some space. Also not sure why people get so mad if people speak ill of Matthews, the criticism is warranted on him for this series so far I think.
 
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