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

[The Blue Devil]

What?!! He was the one that got pushed off the puck that allowed the breakout of the 2nd goal.

I know that, but that was also in the offensive zone where Kule seems to lose all senses. In the defensive zone he's been solid. It is concerning how easily he's been getting knocked off the puck recently though, this goes back to last year as well.

 

[Vexed]

He was ready....you do not have to believe me....but he was. Like I stated a Hunter coached player understands the game defensively.....

The AHL did not hurt him but the treatment of him has been horrible. So you yelling at me must mean that you are right. ....I said that he was ready many times on here before so.....As far as a dumbass goes, I leave that to people who believe things that they read and hear, I prefer to use my eyes and own opinion.

I don't think he was ready. I think he was very weak on his skates and gave up on plays. I think his attitude seemed to fluctuate a lot and he was inconsistent. The AHL is for developing players, I don't see why people are so bent out of shape. His game seems much more well rounded.

 

[The Blue Devil]

would you trade Kulemin in a Luongo trade?

I am not advocating it, I'm just asking

what if the price was Kulemin + someone like Percy

edit: and i'm not even mad at our goaltending, i'm just genuinely curious

Absolutely not. I'd still like to give Kule the year to prove something, even then he's still a good defensive player.

 

[trader11]

Good thing Franson sat tonight......lol. Brutal........unbelievable. Keep up the good work.

 

[Kelly]

On the bright side we have given up 1.5 GA in 2 games, but that will probably change against the Pens. High scoring team up next. Should be interesting to see who Phaneuf matches up against, Crosby or Malkin. When Phaneuf is not on the ice against one of the big guns, it can turn ugly. Then we will see the true value of Dion.

Your main man Grabovski was used to shutdown Malkins line last year.

 

[4evaBlue]

You never give up do you? What are your explanations for Kule's lousy play? Or how he's so easily knocked off the puck? But yeah, both goals were all Grabo's fault he did nothing and Kule is a saint who did nothing wrong... I mean if Grabo were any good he'd go God mode and stop the puck from hitting off of Hodgson and into the net. Why Grabo WHY????

No excuse for Kulemin. As far as I can tell, he was directly responsible for all 3 goals scored against us so far this season.

• against the Habs, not only did he fail to clear the puck on the backhand (while trying to kill off Grabo's dumb slashing penalty), and chose to skate the puck out, but he also failed to mark his man in front of the net (who ended up scoring the goal), despite being 5 feet away from him
• on the first goal tonight, not only did he lose the 50-50 puck battle from Grabo's faceoff "win", but he was late at getting in the shooting lane to try to block the shot
• second goal needs no explanation. He just can't get beat like that right by the blue line. If he's in trouble, just wrap it around the boards.

The thing is, Kulemin makes $2.8M per, and his contract expires in a couple of seasons. If he doesn't pick up his game, he'll probably be gone before his contract is up. I'm not at all concerned about us not being able to find takers for his contract.

 

[SeenSchenn2]

I thought the Marlie pairing (Fraser/Holzer) were terrible too.

 

[EmergencyExit]

Am I the only one who thought Gunnarsson had an awful game?

No, I've seen a few other posts saying the same thing. I thought he had a meh game, but if he was truly awful I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention.

 

[Dangles McGavin]

I thought the Marlie pairing (Fraser/Holzer) were terrible too.

Agreed.

Too slow. No offense from them. They didn't play together much/at all, but they were the defensive weak links IMO.

Continue to be impressed by Kostka.

 

[Kurisu]

pretty boring game. Notes from my side:

-There were way too many oddman rushes against us.
-The Leafs need to raise their intensity on the puck. way too passive.
The scoring chances weren't even that good.
-there wasn't enough mobility/puck moving ability on the backend. Gunnarson played awful.
-Kessel, Lupul, JVR looked out of sync. Grabo lined dominated the boards, but did nothing offensively.
-Goaltending has been solid for the first 2 games.

 

[The Reaper]

how would a Gardiner - Phaneuf pairing work?

 

[zeke]

I like Kostka, but he was starting to make some bad mistakes near the end there. Dion had to bail him out a number of times.

Still, really loved his take charge attitude at the end. He was a gamer with the game on the line. Doesn't hurt that he's a good toronto boy, too.

 

[TheBigThree]

I think we should start scrivens next game, he was better than the game in montreal. During the sabres game he let in one soft goal and 1 sure goal when the d **** the bed. Also we got 2 games in a row, can't start a cold reimer vs pits.

 

[12345*]

Meh, I wish there was more of a preseason. It sucks that everything is on the record right off the bat. I didn't expect any more than this. Buffalo looked like garbage too. Only difference was Miller.

 

[leafsfuture]

Really boring game except for the end. Those fruitless powerplays were driving me crazy. Miller is a damn good goalie, and he still has our number. Loved the effort from Kadri, Phaneuf, Bozak, and Kessel. Lupul had some more chances tonight, he looked more effective than in Montreal. Orr's fight was great. JVR was not too good for the first two periods. A little better in the third but still largely ineffective. I hope he gets it going soon.

I felt that Bozak had a great game, totally money on faceoffs especially in crunch time. But I think he's sometimes too passive on the PP. Tries too much to force passes. Though the people he's passing to are better scorers than him, they won't always be in prime position to shoot. Sometimes he might as well take a shot if no one is covering him, if he's always going to pass it's way too predictable. Kostka, not a bad game but I don't think he's ready for PP time either. Hopefully Gardiner is back for the Pittsburgh game.

As for the defense, I don't think more than one of Holzer/Fraser/Komi should be playing in the same night. Too similar in skillsets. I don't mean to cast judgement on Holzer or Fraser after one game, but we missed Franson's shot and mobility on the back end tonight. And screw Kaleta!

Agree with this post.
Kostka has certainly fit in so far, and has earned his spot, but your right, hes not ready for the PP.

Although Kessel hasnt scored yet, he has been flying and the goals will come.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

I like Kostka, but he was starting to make some bad mistakes near the end there. Dion had to bail him out a number of times.

Still, really loved his take charge attitude at the end. He was a gamer with the game on the line. Doesn't hurt that he's a good toronto boy, too.

He played a **** load of minutes. Give him around 18-20 and he'll be great (I think he was for most of they game)

 

[LeafsMonster]

Scrivens looked a lot less shaky today. Def run with scrivens for the pens game and then reimer for islanders.

Scrivy is getting more and more comfortable with each game, gets a day of practice, and he doesn't seem like the kind of goalie that would get nervous after a goal or any less confident. If anything, from the marlies he seemed to play better everytime he was scored on.

 

[The Blue Devil]

And now surely you'll watch the whole game over again to take note of any 'wins' that werent really wins by our other centers, right? Because surely you're not reaching a little too far for a criticism of a players you dislike.

I'm starting to find it quite comical/sad.

 

[4evaBlue]

I like Kostka, but he was starting to make some bad mistakes near the end there. Dion had to bail him out a number of times.

Still, really loved his take charge attitude at the end. He was a gamer with the game on the line. Doesn't hurt that he's a good toronto boy, too.

That's the risk you take when you insert rookies on the top pairing. The question is, who fills that #2 slot? Gunnar was struggling, Kostka didn't have a great game, Fraser and Holzer were a non-factor.

 

[Guy Boucher]

No, I've seen a few other posts saying the same thing. I thought he had a meh game, but if he was truly awful I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention.

I thought he played mediocre against Montreal but was really bad tonight.

He seems to think he's much stronger than he is for some reason. He tries to drop his shoulder and power through the forechecker only to be knocked off the puck. Today he was pinching at inopportune times including when he wiped out on Pominville's goal.

He needs to rebound soon otherwise the Leafs are in serious trouble.

 

[Stats01]

Kadri is ready to be an NHL first liner now.

he was ready to be an NHL third liner years ago.

Why would you accept a third line role for a first round pick? He is only 22 and has developed extremely well over the past year or so. He's matured, mentally and physically, I'm not sure if he would've had that same luxury if he had the pressure of being in the NHL a few years ago as a teenager. People need to stop complaining and embrace what Kadri is becoming, a legit NHL player. He is becoming an all around player.

 

[The Blue Devil]

He hasn't been very good this year, or the last 10 games last year coincidentally when a new coach was named.

Very unlike a 5.5M player should be, instead of making excuses why not just be honest and admit he has been our 3rd best C thus far this year, infact maybe 4th best since I have been somewhat impressed by Mcclement this year.

#84 needs to pick it up, or he will make Komi look like a hero. No one talks about him being overpaid now. Could be a new target soon.

Yes, only Grabo needs to pick it up while his line-mates(mainly Kule) just get to sit their and watch considering how amazingly awesome that they've been.

 

[Stats01]

I think we should start scrivens next game, he was better than the game in montreal. During the sabres game he let in one soft goal and 1 sure goal when the d **** the bed. Also we got 2 games in a row, can't start a cold reimer vs pits.

Which of the two goals was soft?

 

[Penalty Kill Icing*]

Yes, its a loss. But this loss doesn't prove us to be a lottery team.

If anything, we should we working on our PP. We are bound to lose some.

 

[Eb]

Miller was not some superhuman tonight. There must be dozens of people in this thread talking about how he was the difference, stole the game, etc.

How many odd-man rushes did he face? Zero, that I saw. How many shots where he was screened and couldnt see? I counted one all game, and that includes the long 2-man advantage. How many deflections did he face? Zero. How many shots from the slot? How many cross-crease plays?

The Leafs got a lot of shots, that doesn't mean they were good opportunities. Our best opportunities never even resulted in a shot on goal.

This