Should Bunting be put back into the lineup?

[Captain Crunch]

I understand the hesitancy, and there's something to be said about not making changes to a winning lineup, but he makes us better, and it's probably safer to put him in at home up 3-1 than any other potential situation this series.

He's going to get abused though.

And maybe cause our PK to have to play more. Not good.

 

[Fogelhund]

And maybe cause our PK to have to play more. Not good.

Bunting drew more penalties than any other player in the NHL this year. Odds are we get a PP, more so that a PK.

With Bunting on the ice, we scored 64% of the goals. He has one point less than Tavares 5v5 this year. He makes the team better, and has consistently done so.

He is a far superior hockey player than ZAR…. And he’ll be more of a distraction for Tampa than us…

 

[Racer88]

Bunting drew more penalties than any other player in the NHL this year. Odds are we get a PP, more so that a PK.

With Bunting on the ice, we scored 64% of the goals. He has one point less than Tavares 5v5 this year. He makes the team better, and has consistently done so.

He is a far superior hockey player than ZAR…. And he’ll be more of a distraction for Tampa than us…

You are taking the entire season into account. I wonder how many he has drawn since his epic meltdowns against the refs. It looks like to me he was not drawing very many penalties recently. The argument could be made that he has been given more scrum related penalties than normal. Tampa will definitely focus on him causing major disruption on our bench.
My gut feeling is that the Leaf players still like him as a teammate and will be pissed at the treatment he will receive from Tampa and the Refs causing further disruption

 

[Rob Brown]

You are taking the entire season into account. I wonder how many he has drawn since his epic meltdowns against the refs. It looks like to me he was not drawing very many penalties recently. The argument could be made that he has been given more scrum related penalties than normal. Tampa will definitely focus on him causing major disruption on our bench.
My gut feeling is that the Leaf players still like him as a teammate and will be pissed at the treatment he will receive from Tampa and the Refs causing further disruption

Yeah it's tough. One on hand I can see Tampa players going after him and either him drawing penalties or him retaliating and getting the penalty, but at the same time maybe Tampa leaves him alone and doesn't risk it because their season is on the line.

I have two minds about this - we'll see if anything is said today that indicates how Keefe is feeling.

 

[Anthrax442]

He is still more effective than ZAR or Lafferty so my vote goes to replace one of those.

 

[ShaneFalco]

You are flat out nutso.

I would put Kris Newbury in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before I put Ondrus in.

Give 'yer head a shake....

Clarke Wilm all the way

 

[LeafSteel]

Clarke Wilm all the way

Wilm would win on playoff beard growing merit alone….

 

[kevsh]

Tampa leaves him alone and doesn't risk it because their season is on the line.

This seems more likely. This is like a game 7 for them, all business. Winning is the only goal.

The goonery, intimidation, etc. is a strategy early series to set the tone and take the opponent off their game. That time has clearly passed.

Edit: Forgot to consider, Bunting does have to answer for the hit on Cernak. So I expect someone will challenge him early. After that, the Bolts focus will be entirely on winning.

 

[Zybalto]

They weren't outplayed 3/4 .

Where is this narrative coming from????

Decided to listen to TSN at work all day yesterday and it was probably spouted 100 times and even used as a promotional segment after Leafs lunch for the repeat.

Can't blame people for believing it when it's shoved down your throat all day and the fact that fellow media members appear terrified to step out of established narratives doesnt help all that much either.

Toronto media gonna Toronto media.

 

[SImpelton]

The thing is that there is a chance Bunting will lose his sh** and TB gets PP and scores and beat the Leafs. Ofcourse Leafs could also lose even without playing Bunting.

The thing is the boys stole Game 3 and fought back as a unit to win Game 4. Leafs owe it to everyone who were in the line up in TB to play Game 5. Bunting screwed up and needed to understand that at this moment, he doesn’t deserve to be in Game 5, potentially the biggest game in Leafs recent history.

I agree. People are a little bit too fixated on Bunting's skillset, which is a good one, and not realizing that playoff games aren't deciided by stats, they're decided by moments. Bunting's moments have an elevated risk of going against the Leafs instead of for them. While he's got million dollar talent, I'd worry about his 10 cent head. His decision maing needs to be on point for the entire game.

And given his performance in the only game he's been in, I can't trust that to happen.

I'd rather roll a lesser skater whose worst sin is getting beat cleanly on the ice, than a guy who can destroy an entire playoff game singlehandedly if he gets excited the way Bunting diid. Especially since Bunting's suspension did nothing to change the fact that the refs are going to watch him like a hawk.

Putting Bunting on the ice is quite a high risk move, and I'm not sure I'd take that risk with the Lightning bloodied but unbowed.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Bunting returns from his three-game suspension in Game 5, giving Sheldon Keefe an interesting decision to make. There are clear risks in playing Bunting — the discipline component, most notably — but he is definitely one of the Leafs’ 12 best forwards even though he’s been scuffling down the stretch. Especially knowing the Leafs have not played their best hockey despite the positive results, I’m of the belief that Keefe should ice his best lineup, and that means Bunting jumps back in. But where?

A lot of it has to do with how the top six looks. The team looked far better with the new lines in the latter half of this game (unsurprising to many), so I would advocate for keeping Marner with Tavares and Nylander with Matthews — in which case, perhaps Bunting goes with 88/34 and Järnkrok with 16/91? Knies and Acciari would be back with O’Reilly, which means Kerfoot moves down to the fourth line with David Kämpf and then one of Aston-Reese and Lafferty comes out.

Clutch production and team resilience has Maple Leafs on the verge of slaying the playoff dragon — but adjustments are necessary ahead of Game 5

Why win just one playoff road game in OT after a dramatic third-period comeback when you can win two in a row? A team best known for being on the wrong end of playoff collapses, Toronto Maple Leafs just flipped the script in Game 4, rallying to win in a matter even more furious and unexpected […]

mapleleafshotstove.com

 

[GoonieFace]

To me, it’s not really who they take out ZAR or Lafferty, but the fact they are putting Bunting in. You know Tampa is going to get under his skin, does he have the resolve to resist, or does he do something stupid again.

 

[Moridin]

Don't change a winning team.

 

[budzz]

You have to think that he would be on his best behavior. Sitting for 3 games hopefully gave him time to think a bit. He does bring alot of value when he's not being a hot-head. Sitting a player who is clearly better than other options doesn't make any sense. Lots of talk on the Tampa board about cernak and "an eye for an eye", seen multiple posts about taking out one of our guys (Reilly was mentioned). Now obviously what's said on the boards is not Tampa players, but their thugs might still try crap. Bunting may be the guy they focus on rather than cheap shots elsewhere. If he just shuts up and plays hard and avoid the theatrics, he can be useful. Distraction or motivation for Tampa? That's the million dollar question.

CLOSE THIS OUT BOYS!

 

[LeafGrief]

I wouldn’t change the lineup that’s won three straight.

Bunting is a player who can come up big for us, but I have no problem with him cooling his heels a little longer. Reward the guys who’ve been getting the job done and save Bunting for when the team needs the shot in the arm. The last thing we want is the team distracted by Bunting’s comeback story while they’re riding on momentum.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I find the logic that because the Leafs have won three straight without him flawed. Out of 140~ minutes of hockey in Tampa, the Leafs looked good for maybe a collective 45 minutes. The comeback wins as brilliant are they were were led by the core players of this team, not fringe guys like Lafferty or ZAR.

Bunting of course needs to dial his rage and feelings of injustice back if he wants to have a positive impact but I think it’d be a mistake to keep him out based on superstition. You’d have to rejig the lines a bit to be sure, but at his best Bunting is too skilled and too good as a pest to leave off the roster in place of fast for nothing Lafferty.

If anything his presence may be more of a distraction for Tampa who probably have their own sense of injustice with him back and Cernak still out and may go out of their way and take penalties to exact revenge. Of course we’d be relying on refs to do their f***ing jobs but at the very least they could put themselves of position going after Bunting.

 

[thewave]

I wouldn’t change the lineup that’s won three straight.

Bunting is a player who can come up big for us, but I have no problem with him cooling his heels a little longer. Reward the guys who’ve been getting the job done and save Bunting for when the team needs the shot in the arm. The last thing we want is the team distracted by Bunting’s comeback story while they’re riding on momentum.

Why not 4th line to give it a little something extra?

 

[m1ker]

He is still more effective than ZAR or Lafferty so my vote goes to replace one of those.

Don't we complain Keefe changes the lines too much? How many minutes has bunting played together with the 4th line?

100% Buntings not going in. Our 4th line in it's current form is our defensive line and Keefe has no problem playing them against anyone.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Bunting should not be in game 5. If the Leafs lose game 5, then bring him in. The Leafs have won 3 in a row without Bunting, so the group deserves to stay in. Another big factor to watch if Bunting goes in, is the target on his back from the Lightning, Bunting is the most unstable Leafs player so they will try and agitate him into another major penalty or penalties in general that could decide the game.

 

[tmlms13]

Maybe he can bait someone into an instigator penalty..... or even just a 2 minute offsetting roughing kutcherov is a hothead, that's a decent trade lol

 

[Seras]

If the coach thinks he will make the team better then obviously yes

 

[LeafGrief]

Why not 4th line to give it a little something extra?

Because the guys playing on the fourth line the last three games have played hard and won the game. I like Bunting, but he made a selfish play that cost the team. Choosing him for the lineup over the guys who have done their job sends the wrong message. Give the fourth liners the chance to close out the series and earn their glory.

Bunting absolutely will give the fourth line something extra when he comes back in, but that should be saved for a game where we need a shot in the arm to bounce back from a loss.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Fare thee well my Scarborough Prince

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Out of 140~ minutes of hockey in Tampa, the Leafs looked good for maybe a collective 45 minutes. The comeback wins as brilliant are they were were led by the core players of this team, not fringe guys like Lafferty or ZAR.

This.
We've been hugely outplayed for LONG stretches.

The 3-1 lead isn't reflective of the series. Tampa has outplayed us 3 games to 1.

Goaltending and tips / screens has been the difference. We scored Rielly a floater from Scarborough and two impossible to stop tips from the point. The puck has been kind to us.

Bunting is a left shot. Lafferty is a right shot.

I think Keefe does the change nothing route or swaps Kampf for Bunting.

Fare thee well my Scarborough Prince

I think Keefe does the change nothing route

That was quick.

 

[justashadowof]

Michael Bunting is learning that when Mean Girls Leafs' social media turns on you, they really turn on you. They make it their mission.