Post-Game Talk: Rangers 6 Leafs 3

[JT AM da real deal]

Competitive is the operative word here - if we play another series where we're right in it until game 7 and then we just give it away like we don't even care, I am going to lose my mind.

You need to accept reality .. this is what this core is .. people who expect things to change when nothing substantial is done to fix it are da definition of insanity .. I still think there is a chance to fix it but talk is cheap and it is much harder to stand up and fight your way out of these problems .. right now I see no indication anything will change .. most everyone I talk to in hockey who played all are saying same thing -- get a tougher top 4 guy like a Jakob who can stand up for himself .. get a 3rd pair vet D tough defensive guy who does let Tampa types get to net without a scar .. and tell Matty look you need to pick a partner in playoffs and let him know game 1 you are serious .. it is not just about scoring goals it is about leadership .. now FYI Matty as a kid growing up was never a captain and he was never a guy to lead so this requires a paradigm shift for him .. also Mitch was never a leader either and needed protection as a kid too .. I think it will come own to how much Willy advances whether we can advance or not as he is only one showing signs last year in playoffs he can be da guy (til Keefer shut him down with Kerfoot) and of course Soup and a revamped D core

 

[Twine Tickler]

I just don't see the kicking motion on that Matthews goal

Not that it would have mattered to the final score likely, but It would have been a well deserved NHL record for Auston.

I have no problem with the call being overturned to kicking motion no goal, I have every problem with the lack of consistency on these very calls. It's actually pathetic. We are not asking the refs to make the right call the second the puck crosses the line, just get it right after review. And by right I mean consistent to the standard they set and enforce as a league. It's truly mind numbing. Saw this tweet pretty well sum it all up perfectly. Again, to me I am OK with no goal on both of these personally, I see an attempt at net on both plays, but 1 is determined redirecting and the other is kicking. Figure that one out for me

 

[Throw More Waffles]

Far from me to be an optimist...

but 5 points in a 5 game road trip. Not bad.

Want to see a real gong show? Check out the oilers forum.

 

[Rubyblue]

OMG He finally said it. Too soft. It's taken 5 years for a coach to publicly expose the huge issue with the team. Win or lose they get out hit 2 to 1 every game. It's not about bone crunching hits, it's finishing checks consistently. They've tried bringing in some tougher players within the cap situation but the team culture always eventually takes over. At least it's out in the open now. SOFT ! Players, either man up or Dubas go to work. Side note: Our defense isn't strong enough.

 

[ULF_55]

You need to accept reality .. this is what this core is .. people who expect things to change when nothing substantial is done to fix it are da definition of insanity .. I still think there is a chance to fix it but talk is cheap and it is much harder to stand up and fight your way out of these problems .. right now I see no indication anything will change .. most everyone I talk to in hockey who played all are saying same thing -- get a tougher top 4 guy like a Jakob who can stand up for himself .. get a 3rd pair vet D tough defensive guy who does let Tampa types get to net without a scar .. and tell Matty look you need to pick a partner in playoffs and let him know game 1 you are serious .. it is not just about scoring goals it is about leadership .. now FYI Matty as a kid growing up was never a captain and he was never a guy to lead so this requires a paradigm shift for him .. also Mitch was never a leader either and needed protection as a kid too .. I think it will come own to how much Willy advances whether we can advance or not as he is only one showing signs last year in playoffs he can be da guy (til Keefer shut him down with Kerfoot) and of course Soup and a revamped D core

Man, Sittler was a good player.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

The worst part of last nights game for me was the realization that the confidence, which took a full year to gain, in the Leafs ability to hold a lead is already gone.
I'm not going to lie, I miss that comfortable feeling something fierce.

 

[Bluelines]

We can score but we just can't defend against better teams.

That is a problem because "better" teams are playoff teams.

 

[Dekes For Days]

we don't know how his health is post Covid, I know people who had Covid, were somewhat healthy and months later after recovery they are still struggling with lung capacity and other health issues.

You could question Covid-impacts for our entire team, but that doesn't change the fact that Campbell has factually not been "run into the ground".

There is something wrong with Jack

There's nothing wrong with Jack. He's in a small slump, and the bounces are going the other way. It happens to every goalie. He'll be fine.

The message you are sending is: Guys you cant win without Campbell and Mrzek is garbage.

That's not the message that was sent at all. Campbell was hot, Mrazek was injured, and then we played very little over the past month, with multiple days between games. With Campbell's little slump, and our upcoming condensed schedule, we'll see Mrazek plenty moving forward.

 

[Bluelines]

You could question Covid-impacts for our entire team, but that doesn't change the fact that Campbell has factually not been "run into the ground".

There's nothing wrong with Jack. He's in a small slump, and the bounces are going the other way. It happens to every goalie. He'll be fine.

That's not the message that was sent at all. Campbell was hot, Mrazek was injured, and then we played very little over the past month, with multiple days between games. With Campbell's little slump, and our upcoming condensed schedule, we'll see Mrazek plenty moving forward.

You and I don't know if he has or has not been run into the ground, what we do know is there huge difference in his play this road trip vs before, something is influencing his poor play.

 

[Gabriel426]

Although I think the team in general is just not in game shape or mid season form like other teams due to the break in December.
I do find Keefe’s comments interesting. It is not often you see a coach use the word purposeless to describe the performance of his players.

 

[Bluelines]

Although I think the team in general is just not in game shape or mid season form like other teams due to the break in December.
I do find Keefe’s comments interesting. It is not often you see a coach use the word purposeless to describe the performance of his players.

Maybe there was pointed purpose presented in the purposeless prose? Say that 10 times fast....

 

[NMacrules]

Cambpell was playing out of his mind, hid a lot of defensive problems
If I am not mistaken we also played a lot of games at home where we could dictated the match ups

Now it's the 2nd half of the season, teams are going to gear up and take games more seriously
Last night was a clear indicator we are not physically ready

Simmonds I thought was turning a page earlier in the year. He seemed to have really regressed and always a step behind
He makes a good play here and there but mostly very unnoticable. For a player like him that's not a good thing

Ritchie we all know has been a total flop

Even with a full healthy line up, the D simply isn't good enough and hasn't been good enough for a while. It only takes 1 or 2 players to throw this team off physically. Last game it was Reaves and Kreider, last year it was Josh Anderson and Chariot the year before it was Dubois and Foligno. We don't have a physical response. Sure Simmonds can fight but nobody is going to fight him in playoffs

This is a great post. If I had a like button I would have hit it. Anyway.....LIKE.

 

[Dekes For Days]

You and I don't know if he has or has not been run into the ground

Of course we do. We know that he has not.

 

[notbias]

I love the post about how the Leafs are number one in expected goals for…….unfortunately the problem is the teams we have played are ahead of us in real goals…….the kind that actually go into the net

Mikheyev is going to score at a .75 goals per game rate for the rest of the year, don't tell me about his shooting percentage is too high, he has scored at that pace so far so that is all that matters.

Being number one in expected goals means we are outplaying opponents, and our record indicates that, there is puck luck in games whether you want to believe it or not.

 

[NMacrules]

Saturday should be an easy win, shirley that will right the ship and all will be well.

I agree and stop calling me Shirley.

 

[Bluelines]

Of course we do. We know that he has not.

When was the last time you spoke with him or the medical staff of the Leafs?

 

[ToneDog]

Saturday should be an easy win, shirley that will right the ship and all will be well.

You mean like the easy win against Arizona ?? No idea what Leaf or Islander team shows up on Saturday. Isles 7-2-1 in their last 10.

 

[ACC1224]

You mean like the easy win against Arizona ?? No idea what Leaf or Islander team shows up on Saturday. Isles 7-2-1 in their last 10.

What??? When did they change GM's?

Arizona was the 'unlucky, outgoalied' loss we hear about every Spring.
Shirley that can't happen two Saturdays in a row?

 

[Dekes For Days]

When was the last time you spoke with him or the medical staff of the Leafs?

There is no need to talk to anybody when the answer is right there - his workload has been very light recently, and by definition, he has not been "run into the ground". It may be possible that he's going through some unknown difficulties of some kind, which there is no evidence of and seems very unlikely considering the fact that they continue to play him with other options available, or maybe he's just going through a normal slump like all goalies do, but whatever is going on, we know for a fact that it is not a result of being "run into the ground".

 

[ToneDog]

What??? When did they change GM's?

Arizona was the 'unlucky, outgoalied' loss we hear about every Spring.
Shirley that can't happen two Saturdays in a row?

Just noticed Isles playing Zona Friday night so no excuses if Leafs lose to the dinosaur's team.

 

[ACC1224]

Just noticed Isles playing Zona Friday night so no excuses if Leafs lose to the dinosaur's team.

Oh, we'll find some.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Not that it would have mattered to the final score likely, but It would have been a well deserved NHL record for Auston.

I have no problem with the call being overturned to kicking motion no goal, I have every problem with the lack of consistency on these very calls. It's actually pathetic. We are not asking the refs to make the right call the second the puck crosses the line, just get it right after review. And by right I mean consistent to the standard they set and enforce as a league. It's truly mind numbing. Saw this tweet pretty well sum it all up perfectly. Again, to me I am OK with no goal on both of these personally, I see an attempt at net on both plays, but 1 is determined redirecting and the other is kicking. Figure that one out for me

Both plays are kicked into net deliberately .. but no one ever said life was FAIR .. there is no such thing as FAIR

 

[Stephen]

It’s the day after and I’m scratching my head even more at the idea that we had Alex Biega in the lineup.

Not so much that we’re injury depleted and are down to defenseman number 8 or 9. But how on earth did pro scouting come up with a 33 year old 5’10” part time guy whose last job in the NHL was on a Tank Nation Detroit Red Wings? Or how did they call up this unproductive AHLer? Like “if things go to shit we’ll really need this guy.” Inexplicable.

 

[Bluelines]

There is no need to talk to anybody when the answer is right there - his workload has been very light recently, and by definition, he has not been "run into the ground". It may be possible that he's going through some unknown difficulties of some kind, which there is no evidence of and seems very unlikely considering the fact that they continue to play him with other options available, or maybe he's just going through a normal slump like all goalies do, but whatever is going on, we know for a fact that it is not a result of being "run into the ground".

Ok, so you are saying all the answers to our questions are in the games played stat? Do you suggest for a team physician to only look at games played to assess the mental fatigue of a player or is there value in speaking with a player?

 

[Gallagbi]

There's nothing wrong with Jack. He's in a small slump, and the bounces are going the other way. It happens to every goalie. He'll be fine.

There is the uncomfortable possibility that he turns into a pumpkin. Won't say it's a certainty or likely, but we are talking about a career backup who strung together a shortened season as a starter - arguably not even a full shortened season.