Pre-Game Talk: Time to talk Playoffs

[fahad203]

We can't screw this up. First 2 rounds are ideal matchups with us having home ice advantage in a division that has been favorable. No more screw ups. I want to dance on the corpse of Carey Price as the habs exit stage right and we keep pur post season alive.

It is for this reason, I want Price to play. I want the Leafs to totally light him up.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

the system was very flawed when the Leafs finished 6th in the league and faced the #4 ranked Bruins in round one. It's not suddenly a gift when the Leafs are a top 5 team and going up against a mediocre opponent, it's how it should be

Compared to what we faced the 3 years before last, it's a gift.

 

[Teeder Keon]

Dave Keon
“ The goal at the start of each year was to win the Stanley cup , or die trying “

Die trying !!!!!
Get that kids !
That’s how you win cups with warriors like Mr. Keon


“ Dave Keon never played a bad game , he only played mostly great games and sometimes good games .”

 

[zeke]

With the divisions the way they were, we'd be playing a very good team in the 1st round and then probably an even better team in the second round. Instead we get to play possibly the worst team to qualify for the playoffs in the 1st round and after that, our worst case scenario is that our 2nd round opponent is a team that is currently 11th overall. That is indeed a gift.

Any more questions?

Ah so for once the leafs aren't the team that gets screwed in the first round while teams in other divisions get credit for beating crap teams, and we have to apologize for it.

Got it.

 

[PromisedLand]

I can think of one at least.

that dude is not a leaf fan. he is fake news

I assume yo are talking about that interactif/mentalist/ not sure what he is called now

 

[PromisedLand]

Like i would take fashion advice from Chris Johnston .

he had hair job done IMO. used to be a lot more bald and all of a sudden has more volume.

P.S. I can use a hair job too LOL

 

[hamzarocks]

With the divisions the way they were, we'd be playing a very good team in the 1st round and then probably an even better team in the second round. Instead we get to play possibly the worst team to qualify for the playoffs in the 1st round and after that, our worst case scenario is that our 2nd round opponent is a team that is currently 11th overall. That is indeed a gift.

Any more questions?

Disagree with it being a gift

We are simply much better than any team in the division and are a top 5 NHL team.

When people made excuses about having to play Boston in 2018 and 2019 I didn't agree and said a cup winning team overcomes and beats their opponents.

The bruins/bolts were better than us I the reg season so they got the higher seeds and we had to play with home ice disadvantage

Now we are simply better than oilers/jets/Habs and we get that benefit and we are the big powerhouse. Our opponent will be easy as we earned the match up.

Playing the oilers who have McDavid playing at GOAT level would have been a hard 1st round match-up, but due to our excellence in the regular season we get a easier 1st round match-up. We should be happy/proud of our 1st round play

 

[PromisedLand]

Wonder if we back date Foligno to the LTIR so we can get some more flexibility for last few games.

somebody had posted that due to season being extended (courtesy Nucks); the last few games cap doesn't count because initially the cap was calculated based on allotted days to complete 56 games for the regular season.

Not sure if this still holds

 

[zeke]

This year the first 2 rounds for the Leafs look like they're probably against the #16 team and the #11 team.

Last year in the first 2 rounds Colorado beat the #22 team and lost to the #10 team.

Last year the Knights beat the #23 team and beat the #17 team and lost to the #10 team.

Last year the Bolts beat the #14 team the #11 team the #10 team and the #1 team.


Stop feeling bad that the Leafs for once get a reasonable sked and don't get absolutely screwed again.

 

[ruaware41]

I don’t think anyone was happy with the team last year, especially since the team wasn’t as good as it is now.



That’s fair. I will say that if we were having this type of season 3 or 2 seasons ago we’d all be much more appreciative. As it stands many of us are still on edge and have little faith in the team.

Man we say that every year and then go beserk at the end of round 1. Life has taught me to not have such varying emotions. I still watch every game but fans have several reasons to be skeptical. Let’s hope we get over that round 1 hump.

 

[PromisedLand]

the system was very flawed when the Leafs finished 6th in the league and faced the #4 ranked Bruins in round one. It's not suddenly a gift when the Leafs are a top 5 team and going up against a mediocre opponent, it's how it should be

Players growth doesn't count guys....

 

[hamzarocks]

This year the first 2 rounds for the Leafs look like they're probably against the #16 team and the #11 team.

Last year in the first 2 rounds Colorado beat the #22 team and lost to the #10 team.

Last year the Knights beat the #23 team and beat the #17 team and lost to the #10 team.

Last year the Bolts beat the #14 team the #11 team the #10 team and the #1 team.


Stop feeling bad that the Leafs for once get a reasonable sked and don't get absolutely screwed again.

Leafs didn't get screwed before. They weren't good enough to get a easy match-up like Boston or Tampa who won the divisions

We are a lot better team now and worked our way to the top. If we were in the Atlantic we'd probably win the division with Tampa being injured and get a easy match-up there too

In the years past the team wasn't deep enough nor experienced enough to say consistently good enough to win the division

 

[zeke]

Leafs didn't get screwed before. They weren't good enough to get a easy match-up like Boston or Tampa who won the divisions

We are a lot better team now and worked our way to the top. If we were in the Atlantic we'd probably win the division with Tampa being injured and get a easy match-up there too

In the years past the team wasn't deep enough nor experienced enough to say consistently good enough to win the division

I'll accept this answer.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Ah so for once the leafs aren't the team that gets screwed in the first round while teams in other divisions get credit for beating crap teams, and we have to apologize for it.

Got it.

Apologize? To who? WTF are you talking about?

Disagree with it being a gift

We are simply much better than any team in the division and are a top 5 NHL team.

When people made excuses about having to play Boston in 2018 and 2019 I didn't agree and said a cup winning team overcomes and beats their opponents.

The bruins/bolts were better than us I the reg season so they got the higher seeds and we had to play with home ice disadvantage

Now we are simply better than oilers/jets/Habs and we get that benefit and we are the big powerhouse. Our opponent will be easy as we earned the match up.

Playing the oilers who have McDavid playing at GOAT level would have been a hard 1st round match-up, but due to our excellence in the regular season we get a easier 1st round match-up. We should be happy/proud of our 1st round play

To me it's a gift in the sense that due to these external circumstances, we have a much easier path than we would under normal circumstances. Maybe gift isn't the appropriate word, lucky break then perhaps?

I'm pretty sure that this is the first time in NHL history that a team is guaranteed to not have to play a top 10 team until the 3rd round. That's a fortunate set of circumstances for us, is that a fair way of phrasing it? Let's hope we take advantage of this opportunity!

 

[Rob Brown]

Stanley Cup Playoffs could start Saturday, Daly says

"We've been waiting to try to complete the regular season and have as much information as we possibly can have, but it looks like we're tracking toward being able to open our playoffs this coming weekend, likely as early as Saturday," Daly said. "Our current expectation is that we'll play out the regular season and that the playoffs in the North Division will not officially start until after the conclusion of regular-season games in that division. I would assume that would be very soon thereafter. It could be the same day."

Based on this it looks like we'd start on Wednesday, May 19 or Thursday, May 20. I'd guess the 20th with Game 2 on Saturday for HNIC.

 

[Not My Tempo]

Montreal needs 1 point to clinch a playoff spot and might not be able to manage that.

 

[hamzarocks]

Apologize? To who? WTF are you talking about?



To me it's a gift in the sense that due to these external circumstances, we have a much easier path than we would under normal circumstances. Maybe gift isn't the appropriate word, lucky break then perhaps?

I'm pretty sure that this is the first time in NHL history that a team is guaranteed to not have to play a top 10 team until the 3rd round. That's a fortunate set of circumstances for us, is that a fair way of phrasing it? Let's hope we take advantage of this opportunity!

I guess that's fair. Though the oilers are pretty close to top 10 and they have the talent to be a very dangerous team.

1st round match-up for the division winner should be an easy and light match up. The second round if the oilers are rolling its going to be tough but if they barely beat the jets than yea we have a soft match-up Though it will be earned imo as a result of our regular season dominance

 

[Gary Nylund]

Leafs didn't get screwed before. They weren't good enough to get a easy match-up like Boston or Tampa who won the divisions

We are a lot better team now and worked our way to the top. If we were in the Atlantic we'd probably win the division with Tampa being injured and get a easy match-up there too

In the years past the team wasn't deep enough nor experienced enough to say consistently good enough to win the division

Maybe, maybe not. We're in a virtual tie with TB so we'd either end up on top and get an easy match-up, or we'd end up in second place and have a tough match-up, similar too playing Boston in years previous (though this time I guess it would be the 6th overall Panthers).

 

[Jmo89]

With the divisions the way they were, we'd be playing a very good team in the 1st round and then probably an even better team in the second round. Instead we get to play possibly the worst team to qualify for the playoffs in the 1st round and after that, our worst case scenario is that our 2nd round opponent is a team that is currently 11th overall. That is indeed a gift.

Any more questions?

The second round is the only (possibly) advantageous thing the North has IMO. And even that, youre still likely taking on the top two (offensive) players in the league in McDrai. That disparity is largely to do with the freefall of Winnipeg.

Outside of the East division, the 4 seeds are roughly the same. Montreal and St Louis both have 57 points right now and Nashville who ha splayed 1 and 2 games more has 62 points.

The "gift" that the North division has been given is largely overstated. We might have a small advantage in the second round. The top teams are simply benefiting more from the "old" system of 1v8 rather than the divisional stupidity of the past handful of seasons.

Also, as was mentioned by @CantLoseWithMatthews, Toronto/Boston/Tampa were possibly the most disadvantaged teams prior to the shortened season last year. Those teams fans were told to stop whining by fans of teams in much "easier" divisions. Yet now they're the ones whining.

Besides, playoffs are a different animal. Even Toronto with their flaws, and in my opinion fragile mental game, have been a tough out. 6/7/7/5 games with the latter only being a 5 game series. No matter how favorable the seeding the best teams still need to go out and rise above. Very few series are cakewalks in the current NHL.

Regardless, I fully agree the expectation for the this team should be much higher than the first or second round. I'd be saying that even if they were still the Atlantic. This team needs to start persevering and winning series in the playoffs or else changes to the core need to be made.

Also, as @zeke said, a Canadian team making it to the final 4 doesn't really have anything to do with anything. I guess its nice for some fans who root for all Canadian teams but doesn't offer any kind of tangible benefit to the actual team.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I guess that's fair. Though the oilers are pretty close to top 10 and they have the talent to be a very dangerous team.

1st round match-up for the division winner should be an easy and light match up. The second round if the oilers are rolling its going to be tough but if they barely beat the jets than yea we have a soft match-up Though it will be earned imo as a result of our regular season dominance

I think the Oilers will be a lot tougher then some people think but not gonna think about that too much, gotta get there first.

I think the way the divisions are is so sweet for us, I doubt there's a single team in the NHL that benefits more from this temporary realignment than us. I really hope we take advantage of this because next year it's going to be back to the way it was, rough going in the toughest division in the league.

 

[Gary Nylund]

The second round is the only (possibly) advantageous thing the North has IMO. And even that, youre still likely taking on the top two (offensive) players in the league in McDrai. That disparity is largely to do with the freefall of Winnipeg.

Outside of the East division, the 4 seeds are roughly the same. Montreal and St Louis both have 57 points right now and Nashville who ha splayed 1 and 2 games more has 62 points.

The "gift" that the North division has been given is largely overstated. We might have a small advantage in the second round. The top teams are simply benefiting more from the "old" system of 1v8 rather than the divisional stupidity of the past handful of seasons.

Also, as was mentioned by @CantLoseWithMatthews, Toronto/Boston/Tampa were possibly the most disadvantaged teams prior to the shortened season last year. Those teams fans were told to stop whining by fans of teams in much "easier" divisions. Yet now they're the ones whining.

Besides, playoffs are a different animal. Even Toronto with their flaws, and in my opinion fragile mental game, have been a tough out. 6/7/7/5 games with the latter only being a 5 game series. No matter how favorable the seeding the best teams still need to go out and rise above. Very few series are cakewalks in the current NHL.

Regardless, I fully agree the expectation for the this team should be much higher than the first or second round. I'd be saying that even if they were still the Atlantic. This team needs to start persevering and winning series in the playoffs or else changes to the core need to be made.

Also, as @zeke said, a Canadian team making it to the final 4 doesn't really have anything to do with anything. I guess its nice for some fans who root for all Canadian teams but doesn't offer any kind of tangible benefit to the actual team.

I think I agree with all this. Being in the North is an advantage but possibly overstated by some. We get an easy 2nd round opponent guaranteed which is sweet but other than that, everything's pretty normal. And of course whether teams are from Canada or not has no impact on our cup chances.

 

[Jmo89]

Maybe, maybe not. We're in a virtual tie with TB so we'd either end up on top and get an easy match-up, or we'd end up in second place and have a tough match-up, similar too playing Boston in years previous (though this time I guess it would be the 6th overall Panthers).

The Atlantic division definitely continues to be a nightmare. Boston might slow down a bit as they age, but Florida looks great and Ottawa is on the rise. I'm not convinced Montreal will be more than a bubble team, but they'll always be a thorn in Toronto's side. Tampa is Tampa.

 

[go_leafs_go02]

Stanley Cup Playoffs could start Saturday, Daly says

"We've been waiting to try to complete the regular season and have as much information as we possibly can have, but it looks like we're tracking toward being able to open our playoffs this coming weekend, likely as early as Saturday," Daly said. "Our current expectation is that we'll play out the regular season and that the playoffs in the North Division will not officially start until after the conclusion of regular-season games in that division. I would assume that would be very soon thereafter. It could be the same day."

Based on this it looks like we'd start on Wednesday, May 19 or Thursday, May 20. I'd guess the 20th with Game 2 on Saturday for HNIC.

Why on earth can't the Leafs and Habs start playing as early as Saturday, May 15? Edmonton-Winnipeg could start as early as Sunday, May 16. They would all be done their seasons, and the last 4 Vancouver games will have NO impact on the playoff seeding for the North division nor are the last 3 games between any playoff-bound teams.

I don't know why Calgary & Vancouver can't finish their season at the same time Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal start their playoff series. Those games have absolutely no impact on one another. Seeding for the draft can be sorted out even if the teams play simultaneously.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Why on earth can't the Leafs and Habs start playing as early as Saturday, May 15? They're both done their seasons, and the last 4 Vancouver games will have NO impact on the playoff seeding for the North division nor are the last 3 games between any playoff-bound teams.

I don't know why Calgary & Vancouver can't finish their season at the same time Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal start their playoff series. Those games have absolutely no impact on on another.

Leafs are playing against Winnipeg on Friday for the last regular season game. You're not going to start the playoffs the very next day after the regular season finishes.

 

[go_leafs_go02]

Leafs are playing against Winnipeg on Friday for the last regular season game. You're not going to start the playoffs the very next day after the regular season finishes.

OK, that's fair - but why do we have to wait 5 days for Vancouver and Calgary to wrap up their seasons?