This team FINALLY looks playoff hungry!

[Gary Nylund]

The Leafs lost games 5 and 6 in overtime, choking away leads with terrible play and didn’t show up for game 7.

If you’re thinking this teams issues last year were goaltending, you’re living on another planet

That the goalie with the .934 SV% is the reason we couldn't beat a team who we were heavily favoured to beat is perhaps the most absurd myth perpetuated here by some people.

 

[hobarth]

I think most of us watched the Mtl./Leaf game on Saturday, TO won which was good but did they deserve to win?

This is what is most distressing about the Leafs, a what is/should be a far inferior team like Montreal was able to control the game at any time in the game but even more important seemed to have pretty much total control in the last period in a close game.

I believe this shows a lack of killer instinct which is totally necessary for any team to do well in the playoffs.

 

[HellasLEAF]

Love the optimism OP but I'm sorry this is regular season hockey.

Not the same. We will see in May.

They look great right now mind you which is nice.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I do see a change - some push-back, guys willing to drop 'em and I think Gio and Boosh have helped solidify things on D

 

[Nineteen67]

Been waiting for them to play angry. If they want to beat Tampa (or Boston) they
entire team will have play with mean streak.

 

[Vaive50]

I think most of us watched the Mtl./Leaf game on Saturday, TO won which was good but did they deserve to win?

This is what is most distressing about the Leafs, a what is/should be a far inferior team like Montreal was able to control the game at any time in the game but even more important seemed to have pretty much total control in the last period in a close game.

I believe this shows a lack of killer instinct which is totally necessary for any team to do well in the playoffs.

Yeah, that worries me also but then lately a lot of the top teams have been losing to the basement dwellers. As long as the Leafs are doing a great job of handling the top teams, that's a sigh of relief cause those are the teams they'll be playing against in the playoffs.

 

[hobarth]

TO has 100 points so they're a good team but I don't think good teams can as frequently as TO allow inferior teams to beat them.

Since Jan. 1 TO has lost to Arizona 2-1, Van.3-2, Mtl. 5-2, Buff. 5-1, Van. 6-4, Arizona 5-4, Buff. 5-2, Mtl 4-2. These losses were/are distressing, I play some sports and competition is why I do, I always want/try to win, if I'm the better player I never give the lesser opponent an opportunity to beat me and nobody pays me millions to win.

It just seems to me that the Leafs can very easily fold in the face of adversity and their record doesn't reflect that for reasons I can't understand. I lost faith in TO early in the year, TO played Pitts. Oct. 23 and lost 7-1, Pitts. is a good team so that's understandable except that Pitts. didn't have Crosby, Malkin and Letang that night which would be like TO not having Mitch, Austin and JT. Since then TO has won a lot but I have consistently felt that the team is a house of cards because I've seen them play so poorly against even really bad teams.

It's very hard to have faith in the Leafs especially after watching the Canadians have their way with the Leafs on Saturday, late in the game, when the superior team should not be allowing the inferior team a chance to win.

 

[Atomos2]

f*** goaltending issues. This team goes as far as Matthews and Marner will take them. Period.

2 100 point players one of them being a 60+ goal scorer.

Unless Hutch is in net, those two will be the deciding factor.

 

[ER89]

TO has 100 points so they're a good team but I don't think good teams can as frequently as TO allow inferior teams to beat them.

Since Jan. 1 TO has lost to Arizona 2-1, Van.3-2, Mtl. 5-2, Buff. 5-1, Van. 6-4, Arizona 5-4, Buff. 5-2, Mtl 4-2. These losses were/are distressing, I play some sports and competition is why I do, I always want/try to win, if I'm the better player I never give the lesser opponent an opportunity to beat me and nobody pays me millions to win.

It just seems to me that the Leafs can very easily fold in the face of adversity and their record doesn't reflect that for reasons I can't understand. I lost faith in TO early in the year, TO played Pitts. Oct. 23 and lost 7-1, Pitts. is a good team so that's understandable except that Pitts. didn't have Crosby, Malkin and Letang that night which would be like TO not having Mitch, Austin and JT. Since then TO has won a lot but I have consistently felt that the team is a house of cards because I've seen them play so poorly against even really bad teams.

It's very hard to have faith in the Leafs especially after watching the Canadians have their way with the Leafs on Saturday, late in the game, when the superior team should not be allowing the inferior team a chance to win.

what game were you watching? While your post is true there is absolutely no way the habs had their way with the leafs. We dominated them.

 

[Jojalu]

TO has 100 points so they're a good team but I don't think good teams can as frequently as TO allow inferior teams to beat them.

Since Jan. 1 TO has lost to Arizona 2-1, Van.3-2, Mtl. 5-2, Buff. 5-1, Van. 6-4, Arizona 5-4, Buff. 5-2, Mtl 4-2. These losses were/are distressing, I play some sports and competition is why I do, I always want/try to win, if I'm the better player I never give the lesser opponent an opportunity to beat me and nobody pays me millions to win.

It just seems to me that the Leafs can very easily fold in the face of adversity and their record doesn't reflect that for reasons I can't understand. I lost faith in TO early in the year, TO played Pitts. Oct. 23 and lost 7-1, Pitts. is a good team so that's understandable except that Pitts. didn't have Crosby, Malkin and Letang that night which would be like TO not having Mitch, Austin and JT. Since then TO has won a lot but I have consistently felt that the team is a house of cards because I've seen them play so poorly against even really bad teams.

It's very hard to have faith in the Leafs especially after watching the Canadians have their way with the Leafs on Saturday, late in the game, when the superior team should not be allowing the inferior team a chance to win.

This is utterly ridiculous.

Bad teams beat good teams almost on a nightly basis in every sport.

 

[crump]

Leafs have the third fewest losses (reg and OT combined) in the league. They beat most teams. On any given night, any team can beat another, be it because of a hot goalie, coaching, spectacular individual performances.

This time of year can see a team that was bad all year, suddenly perform well due to a coaching change, infusion of youth, or just playing with no pressure to perform well because they have been eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago.

The main worry right now is health and quality of the goaltending. They need to have s few outstanding performances down the stretch here to feel good about things going into the playoffs.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

This is utterly ridiculous.

Bad teams beat good teams almost on a nightly basis in every sport.

I would think it would be more important to be good against good teams. The Bruins have bee abysmal vs east playoff teams this year but beat every bad team.

We probably cost ourselves the division with losses to Arizona/Montreal/Buffalo but I'm confident we can beat any of the playoff teams because we've shown we can so far this year.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

The boys were starving against the Sabres

 

[hobarth]

4 goals against on 27 shots, I don't expect TO to win any series due to goaltending but I wouldn't be surprised if TO lost any series because of goaltending.

TO is back in the old winning ways, offense but that hasn't been successful in the playoffs and with only 3 truly good offensive players TO doesn't have enough.

 

[Maple Leaf]

any goalies available

 

[hfman]

4 goals against on 27 shots, I don't expect TO to win any series due to goaltending but I wouldn't be surprised if TO lost any series because of goaltending.

TO is back in the old winning ways, offense but that hasn't been successful in the playoffs and with only 3 truly good offensive players TO doesn't have enough.

Nobody wants to admit it, but Toronto isn't going anywhere in the post season without a goalie. And a goalie is what they simply don't have.

It's like it's the single biggest in-our-faces problem we have and it's staring right at us, but everyone still ignores it.

We don't have a #1, we only have two #2 guys at best and neither of them are capable.

I don't know but I'm not one to duck problems, and this is a problem myself and everyone else can clearly see.

They aren't going past round 1 with this goalie lineup, and most of us know it.

 

[centipede2233]

Too many weak links on this team to win the cup. All we can hope for is a playoff round win. this team’s goaltending is in shambles. And dubas only has himself to blame.