Post-Game Talk: Toronto loses to Blues. But we still gangsta.

[NinjaKick]

I'm not gonna look too much into this game... it's the way she goes

 

[MoreMogilny]

He has a real way of putting up points and hiding his dreadful 5 on 5 play, skating and puck handling. You don’t really see him ever grab a puck somewhere and make a commanding, coherent play. It’s always a muck fest like he’s chasing after a bouncing ball. I guess you can say he’s finding ways to help the team even when things aren’t going well. But we need him to heat up.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Tavares is not a force. His skating is so horrendous he’s never in a position to generate meaningful possession. You always see him chasing the play but he never feels like he’s truly in it.

He posts points but does so ridiculously quietly.

He needs someone with him that can slow the game down enough for him to keep up.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

Muzzin was flying tonight, by his standards. Unfortunately, it was mostly just way out of position.

 

[Stephen]

Blues played a great road game and we were loose defensively. Tavares was a non-factor and seemed like he was skating on sand.

Not a good night overall. Flush this one away. On to the next.

No they didn't. They blew 2 separate leads and got clutch scoring in the end and escaped a penalty call. It was mostly a flavorless sleepwalk of a game dictated by whichever team could make the most mistakes.

 

[rdogg]

Tavares plays like his personality. Bland.

Worst captain since Phaneuf

 

[Maplebeasts]

It's rather difficult to make it to OT or win when your goaltender lets in five goals. Campbell continues to regress and that's disappointing to see.

Lilijgren hasn't impressed me at all. He's prone to make big time mistakes that cost us a goal in the back of the net. His giveaway eventually led to the Blues making it 4 to 3 and then it was game over by then. Garbage reffing helped that cause because it should've been a powerplay for the Leafs on that blatant missed too many men on the ice call.

This team isn't doing jack shit in the playoffs, they don't have the goaltending or defense for it... they... really don't. Not against Tampa, Florida or Boston. They're toast.

He gave it up like 30 seconds before the goal which was only scored because Muzzin decided the hashmarks were more threatening than the second Blue in front of the net. Not his best game but he's been dynamite for a while leading into this one. Nobody could carry Muzzin's fat ass tonight.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Can we please LTIR JT until the playoffs and get some legit help on the backend at the deadline? Muzzin is cooked and JT could use the rest. Just have Jace bite his papa and JT can say the emotional trauma of being bitten by his boy is too much to bear.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Wholeheartedly agree.

Tavares is not a force. His skating is so horrendous he’s never in a position to generate meaningful possession. You always see him chasing the play but he never feels like he’s truly in it.

He posts points but does so ridiculously quietly.

He needs someone with him that can slow the game down enough for him to keep up.

Not even prime Gretzky or Mario could slow the game down enough for him right now.

 

[cookie]

My favourite part of the game was when the Blues committed the exact same infraction we did in the exact same way we did but they didn't get called for it

Is getting gritty guys gonna prevent the zebras from jobbing us nightly come playoff time?

 

[Stephen]

Can we please LTIR JT until the playoffs and get some legit help on the backend at the deadline? Muzzin is cooked and JT could use the rest. Just have Jace bite his papa and JT can say the emotional trauma of being bitten by his boy is too much to bear.

JT has a water front villa on Robidas Island whenever he wants it...

He's actually kind of like the Larry Murphy of this generation, without the vocal fan hate. He just looks brutal out there, but can still contribute. It's just at his price tag, you just question the value you get out of him.

 

[DraftSchmaft]

I'm convinced Tavares got hit with the chronic fatigue some people got hit with post-covid.

 

[LeafSteel]

We lost to a good team.

We just needed to be better. We hung with them well enough.

Playoffs are best of 7, and you don’t expect to sweep.

On to the next.

 

[Enniskillen]

Tavares is slow as a snail and wes mccauley is bettman’s b.tch.

 

[Amadeus]

No they didn't. They blew 2 separate leads and got clutch scoring in the end and escaped a penalty call. It was mostly a flavorless sleepwalk of a game dictated by whichever team could make the most mistakes.

I noticed they just executed better overall and got the saves when they needed them.

 

[Doublerum1975]

I'm convinced Tavares got hit with the chronic fatigue some people got hit with post-covid.

I agree this is the worst hockey I have seen him play

 

[Confucius]

The good we kept coming back until the last 7 or 8 minutes. William had 2 beauty snipes, Bunting not get pushed around, Matty not taking any crap. That's about it.

 

[Szymonsays]

I'm convinced Tavares got hit with the chronic fatigue some people got hit with post-covid.

Yup, I agree with you. Not playing with the same intensity before he got COVID

 

[Gallagbi]

Yup, I agree with you. Not playing with the same intensity before he got COVID

That line is all stop starts and off the rush, which isn't his strength. Then need to start getting more zone time (and that's on all 3 of them)

 

[Stephen]

I'm convinced Tavares got hit with the chronic fatigue some people got hit with post-covid.

Well, he looked like this for the first quarter to first half of the 2020-21 season. But then he flipped a switch down the stretch and looked like an impact player for a month or so.

 

[frizzer1]

When Tavares was signed some posters here said that they had to win in the first 2 or 3 years of the deal because after that he wouldn’t be able to contribute much.
They were right.

 

[BTP]

frustrating game. passed up too many opportunities to shoot the puck. matthews fans on a wide open net. simmonds waits until christmas to shoot the puck. 2 easy goals right there.

at this point you probably just have to accept we're facing tampa in round 1. do everything to prepare for that. nothing else matters.

 

[Stephen]

When Tavares was signed some posters here said that they had to win in the first 2 or 3 years of the deal because after that he wouldn’t be able to contribute much.
They were right.

I think he can find his game again, as he's done before. But every year that passes that $11 million price tag and the on ice value we get from him diverges more and more, which hurts the Leafs ability to improve their team.

Probably mission impossible, but I wonder if the organization would quietly explore the possibility of shaking that NMC loose...

 

[Confucius]

I'm convinced Tavares got hit with the chronic fatigue some people got hit with post-covid.

LTIR, Robidas it is. LOL!

 

[Gallagbi]

I think he can find his game again, as he's done before. But every year that passes that $11 million price tag and the on ice value we get from him diverges more and more, which hurts the Leafs ability to improve their team.

Probably mission impossible, but I wonder if the organization would quietly explore the possibility of shaking that NMC loose...

LTIR seems like the option they'd explore to me before waiving an NMC, unless we have a bomb out year and become sellers.

 

[Marshy]

If only Tavares could be deployed mostly with O-Zone starts and face secondary defensive matchups. Wait...