Post-Game Talk: Well poop: Sabres win 2-1

[Doshy]

Good:

Bozak (85% on draws !)
Kadri
Kostka (safe minutes imo, nice assist just shooting it out there)
Kessel
Lupul
4th line

Meh:

Komarov
JVR
2nd line

Bad:

Gunnar... but I think it's because he was with Holzer. He pinched too often though and it hurt us.

Can't blame them tonight. They had a great effort and Miller was a beast. We hit 2-3 crossbars and were pretty much controlling the play for the most part aside from some mental breakdowns causing odd man rushes. I think most of it was just from trying to generate some offense.

Next game, I wanna see Gardiner and Franson / Komi back in. Games are tight so far this year. We need to find a way to pull out 2 points against the Pens.

 

[LEAFSIN4]

I think the lack of physical play in the KHL really has Grabo and Kulemin off their game. Seems like they're not ready to be pressured when they have the puck, seem to be a few seconds behind. Give it a few games, they'll be back.

 

[Crispy Crust]

Bozak did great on the faceoffs, but so did everyone on Toronto. Toronto won 70.3% of the draws (Tor - 45, Buf - 19). Strength of the leafs centers at the draw or a huge weakness for Buffalo?

I ****ing hate Ryan Miller.

 

[Mr Scarface*]

Scrives is just so slow. We're lucky they didn't get more than 2 goals. He is so slow to react, especially to wrap-arounds.

Yes, and this was buffalo...... wait for that malkin, crosby etc game in pittsburgh. Game over. Like the commodore 64 used to say.

 

[Warden of the North]

Bozak did great on the faceoffs, but so did everyone on Toronto. Toronto won 70.3% of the draws (Tor - 45, Buf - 19). Strength of the leafs centers at the draw or a huge weakness for Buffalo?

Bozak has been fantastic on the draw his whole career. He was on fire tonight.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Shake up the lines:

JVR - Kadri - Mac
Kulemin - Grabo - Komarov

Demote the entire #2 line to the #3 line, move up Kadri to #2C.

The #2 line are not fooling anyone anymore. Time to stop living in 10-11, for those that love to live in the past.

 

[Lebanese Leaf]

Not nearly as mad as usual.

Maybe it's because I know we deserved the win, and I really believe we're a better team than the Sabres.

I like this team, a lot.



Liles was bad tonight.

Phaneuf was great.

Holzer was good.

The rest were good on D.

I absolutely love Komarov. Can't say enough good things about him.

This is not being said enough. Phaneuf was outstanding defensively tonight.

 

[Ari91]

I thought the team played far better in this loss than they did in their win on Saturday. There are things that need shoring up and our go to goal scorers need to catch a break to get going but I honestly can't fault the effort. Watching the Sabres against Philly, I thought we would get crushed tonight. The Leafs held their own quite well tonight. To me, the difference maker between the two teams tonight was the goalie - plain and simple. Scrivens did his job and gave the team a chance to win but with the way Miller was playing tonight, those missed powerplay opportunities hurt them tonight.

I haven't read through this thread to get the feel for how people are responding to this game but this game gave me hope that this team really is committing to the system and I already see the benefits in the way they're playing. I've had enough experience to know that the only time I'm going to talk Leafs in the players is when I see an x next to their name in the NHL standings so my expectations on their finish in the standings are low, however, this is just the second game of the season. Even in a shortened season, going 1-1 in the first two games is hardly anything to cry over.

 

[HOTD]

I think the lack of physical play in the KHL really has Grabo and Kulemin off their game. Seems like they're not ready to be pressured when they have the puck, seem to be a few seconds behind. Give it a few games, they'll be back.

I agree 100%
Grabovski is getting man handled out there. He'll bounce back though, he always does.

 

[Doshy]

Completely forgot about Phaneuf. He was awesome out there tonight. Too bad he didn't score.

 

[HOTD]

This is not being said enough. Phaneuf was outstanding defensively tonight.

I agree. He made several big plays!

Wow anyone see Brunners goal?

 

[LeafsMonster]

To be honest, there were times kadri was knocked off the puck easily, was floating around, and didn't look to invested.

BUT, that was an extremely small amount compared to his, otherwise, great play tonight. He made solid defensive plays, had one or two good takeaways, many beauty passes, and his creativity spilled everywhere.

Needs more time man. How can you not be impressed with how well he's played in a such a short amount of time.

 

[Bravid Nonahan]

This is not being said enough. Phaneuf was outstanding defensively tonight.

I fully agree. Phaneuf was a rock. He was a -1 but that was from the fluke goal off of Hodgson.

 

[4evaBlue]

Can really see the Leafs are missing puck-movement from the defense, I like Kostka though.

Not really. The Leafs were missing shots from the point, especially on the PPs. We had plenty of puck movement.

 

[Grant]

I ****ing hate Ryan Miller.

Agreed, Buffalo can be happy for a moment with the win but they got some things they need to work on badly. Not often do you win less than 30% of the draws and win the game. Not often do you get out shot nearly 2:1 and win.

 

[Erdinger]

Yes, and this was buffalo...... wait for that malkin, crosby etc game in pittsburgh. Game over. Like the commodore 64 used to say.

Fleury isn't Miller. He's been known to crap the bed. Perhaps the Leafs can get a few by him Wednesday night.

 

[NarcoPolo]

Im liking the kadri, komarov and vanriemsdyk line so far. Their skill sets complement each other really well

 

[bunjay]

I think the lack of physical play in the KHL really has Grabo and Kulemin off their game. Seems like they're not ready to be pressured when they have the puck, seem to be a few seconds behind. Give it a few games, they'll be back.

I watched a few KHL games, seemed plenty physical to me. But they do get a bit more time out there with the much bigger surface.

 

[Nasty Nazem]

Nazem Kadri: 53GP 10g 11a 21 points
Brayden Schenn: 65GP 12g 9a 21 points

That's their career totals so far. Kadri did it on a much worse team with worse linemates and less games.

 

[Pi]

Kadri is going to be a solid player for us.

I don't know if everybody notices this but Kadri can:

A) Pass the puck darn well
B) Slow down the pace of the game, allows his wingers to get open.
C) He hits quite a bit. So he's no soft player that is afraid of physical play.
D) Grit.

I think we've got a good one in Kadri. I can see him topping out as a 60-70 point guy playing with the right players.

Always been a fan of his, I'm just happy he's proving half the fans of this team wrong. He can play, he belongs in the NHL. Good on Carlyle for giving him a chance instead of a list of "Things Kadri can't do," like Wilson probably did.

 

[4evaBlue]

Aside from Miller, I think the biggest difference between the two teams is that their tough guys can actually play the game.

 

[Stolie the Goalie]

I've got an idea, next time the Leafs play Miller they should spike his bottle with laxatives, that's the only way we can throw him off his game.

Naz looked good, only if Kessel had buried that one....

 

[dballislife2]

bozak was good on faceoffs but he doesnt do enough or anything really for lupul and kessel, u need the vision passing and handles of kadri beside those two imo

 

[The Winter Soldier]

To be honest, there were times kadri was knocked off the puck easily, was floating around, and didn't look to invested.

BUT, that was an extremely small amount compared to his, otherwise, great play tonight. He made solid defensive plays, had one or two good takeaways, many beauty passes, and his creativity spilled everywhere.

Needs more time man. How can you not be impressed with how well he's played in a such a short amount of time.

Yeah, not saying Kadri is Lemieux but good offensive players seem to float and before you know it they make a play through pure skill or innate instincts and the puck is in the net. They create offence out of nothing. Kadri strikes me as this type of player. He is already the best passer on the team, has great vision, and a knack for being in the right place.

 

[zeke]

Leafs played well, but were unlucky, on both ends.

Miller played well but was plenty lucky too - a couple of crossbars, a coupla pucks beat him that didn't count, and a couple of times there was plenty of room and we fired wide or right into him.

Dion Phaneuf was an absolute beast tonight. Just awesome all over the ice. Playing mostly on the left side seems to be agreeing with him.

Lupul is starting to get his hands back, but Grabo is still the big no-show up front.

But let's be real - not only is Kadri awesome, but he clearly should be on the top line right now. He's not only ridiculously skilled, but he's a gritty physical player to boot. Also looked good on faceoffs tonight.



I'll understand if Randy doesn't make the switch for the Pens game, but these lines have to happen sooner rather than later:

Lupul - Kadri - Kessel
JVR - Grabo - MacA
Komo - Bozak - Kuly




And I hope Randy learned a lesson tonight about playing too many plugs on the blue line. No more ****ing around like that, randy, and please give us at least 4dmen who deserve to play on the PP.