Why did we build such a tough team to play this way?

[skacore]

For the first time in years we entered the season/playoffs with a well rounded tough team. Reaves is the top heavyweight in the league, Edmundson, Benoit, and McCabe provide a lot of snarl on the back end. Bertuzzi/Domi finally gives us some top 6 grit. But what are they doing with it come playoffs??? Reaves lays maybe 1 big hit a game and Domis been taking some dumb penalties but where are the scrums, intimidation, fight challenges?

You see other teams do it all the time. Down 2-0 looking to change momentum so start a big scrum around the goalie and let the tougher guys try to pick fights… why did we build this team just to play the same lame perimeter skilled game we’ve been trying the last 5 years??

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[BallardEra]

Because they kept the same coach.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Politically Correct Corporate NuHockey, on orders from the MLSE Board.

 

[Rielly4]

We roughed them up pretty bad earlier in the series. Game 4 was the first that wasn't physical at all, Reaves made a mistake that led to a goal and barely saw any ice after.

The reality is toughness doesnt win you hockey games. Our defense is tough as nails but cant pass the puck or skate and they are brain dead.

 

[RunItBackAgain]

Yup. Not a single hit to hurt has been laid yet. Just some love taps. Where is the McCabe that was sprinting at people scaring them away from coming across our blue line?

We're not winning this series, but we can hurt Boston's chances at winning their next one.

 

[skacore]

Because they kept the same coach.

But he says all the right things, acting like he encourages sticking up for each other, etc. I don’t completely buy it. He’ll even put the right guys out in situations there just isn’t any actions taken.

 

[BallardEra]

But he says all the right things, acting like he encourages sticking up for each other, etc. I don’t completely buy it. He’ll even put the right guys out in situations there just isn’t any actions taken.

Who cares what he says. He isn’t the coach who can take a team all the way and that’s been obvious for a long time now.

 

[skacore]

Yup. Not a single hit to hurt has been laid yet. Just some love taps. Where is the McCabe that was sprinting at people scaring them away from coming across our blue line?

Exactly, 50% of our players don’t even try to hit, 45% do it because they’re forced to, and maybe Reaves and occasionally Benoit/McCabe will put some umpth into one.

 

[I am Canadian]

This is not a well rounded team. For the first 3 games, we had a 7M defender, 2M defender and then a bunch of sub 1M defenders. You don't win that way

 

[KaN19]

Can't score on the PP. Can't kill a PK. No timely saves. Stars playing poorly. D-men that can't get the puck out their own zone.

Toughness is far down the list of reasons why we're getting destroyed this series. In fact, I think it's been one of our relative strengths.

 

[skacore]

Down 1-0 in the 1st Marchand low bridges Bertuzzi, again all the right guys on the ice and no one cares at all. Not even a scrum.

I have to wonder is the fact our toughness is all mercenaries a factor? All guys we brought in recently and they haven’t had any time to build a brotherhood as a team? It makes no sense to me.

 

[RunItBackAgain]

This is not a well rounded team. For the first 3 games, we had a 7M defender, 2M defender and then a bunch of sub 1M defenders. You don't win that way

Meanwhile Boston has 3 defenders who would be our #1, and 2 goalies who would be our #1. Pretty hard to win with that cap/skill allocation.

 

[Stephen]

Playoff series usually start off with a ton of heavy physicality but settle into these knuckle down situations.

 

[Boxscore]

For the first time in years we entered the season/playoffs with a well rounded tough team. Reaves is the top heavyweight in the league, Edmundson, Benoit, and McCabe provide a lot of snarl on the back end. Bertuzzi/Domi finally gives us some top 6 grit. But what are they doing with it come playoffs??? Reaves lays maybe 1 big hit a game and Domis been taking some dumb penalties but where are the scrums, intimidation, fight challenges?

You see other teams do it all the time. Down 2-0 looking to change momentum so start a big scrum around the goalie and let the tougher guys try to pick fights… why did we build this team just to play the same lame perimeter skilled game we’ve been trying the last 5 years??

Because those energy guys are only valuable if the superstars feed off their energy and join the battle, which our core doesn't... and never has. Notice the teams that are winning in the playoffs...

Their "energy/character" guys are also their key contributors... Tkachuk, Miller, Marchand, Guentzel, etc. As for the other teams superstars... they are just built different... McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Makar, Hughes, Aho, Fox, Panarin, etc. -- these guys just have an inner-fire that burns to win. Our core lacks that. We've seen this play out for 7 years.

 

[Stephen]

Down 1-0 in the 1st Marchand low bridges Bertuzzi, again all the right guys on the ice and no one cares at all. Not even a scrum.

I have to wonder is the fact our toughness is all mercenaries a factor? All guys we brought in recently and they haven’t had any time to build a brotherhood as a team? It makes no sense to me.

It’s not like any core player showed up past Game 2, so those contributions from the mercenary supporting cast kind of went to waste anyway. They all did their part. Came home. Star players choked as usual.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Down 1-0 in the 1st Marchand low bridges Bertuzzi, again all the right guys on the ice and no one cares at all. Not even a scrum.

I have to wonder is the fact our toughness is all mercenaries a factor? All guys we brought in recently and they haven’t had any time to build a brotherhood as a team? It makes no sense to me.

Not sure that would have inspired us to score, but the Bruins are that much harder to beat if you let Marchand do whatever he wants all game.

 

[Donnie740]

The HNIC panel explained it best - - Leafs spend the entire regular season as a freewheeling team but that never works during the playoffs.
Suddenly they have to dump and chase but have no concept of how to execute it.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

They didn't build a tough team. At least not a mentally tough team.

Throwing a few hits or fighting is nice, but are you going to the dirty areas to score greasy goals? Are you willing to sacrifice your body to gain an extra foot of ice?

Most of these guys don't have that mindset and it becomes obvious in the playoffs.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

If the core isn’t gonna dish or take it doesn’t matter

I’ve counted 5 hits where pastrnak has been leveled, and yet he continues playing and producing

Every teams stars gets lit up. Rantanen in game 2 as well. Tkachuk does it every game.

our team is not as physical because the big guys are baby soft. When we are down 2-0 we have the core 4 out the most, they are the ones who don’t start anything and play like lifeless husks

 

[Dave92]

For the first time in years we entered the season/playoffs with a well rounded tough team. Reaves is the top heavyweight in the league, Edmundson, Benoit, and McCabe provide a lot of snarl on the back end. Bertuzzi/Domi finally gives us some top 6 grit. But what are they doing with it come playoffs??? Reaves lays maybe 1 big hit a game and Domis been taking some dumb penalties but where are the scrums, intimidation, fight challenges?

You see other teams do it all the time. Down 2-0 looking to change momentum so start a big scrum around the goalie and let the tougher guys try to pick fights… why did we build this team just to play the same lame perimeter skilled game we’ve been trying the last 5 years??

How is it well rounded.

How is it even comparable to last year when we had O'Rielly, Acari and Schenn. I don't fault Tre but this is the worst team since 2020, probably since 2017.

 

[Ports]

Because $40M of their salary cap are gutless. Can’t have your 5 best players all be p***ycats. Toughness in other places helps but they’re not paid to score goals and the team can’t score in the playoffs.

 

[BayStBullies]

Because they kept the same coach.

Nailed it in the first response.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

They didn't build a tough team. At least not a mentally tough team.

Throwing a few hits or fighting is nice, but are you going to the dirty areas to score greasy goals? Are you willing to sacrifice your body to gain an extra foot of ice?

Most of these guys don't have that mindset and it becomes obvious in the playoffs.

Exactly this.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

The HNIC panel explained it best - - Leafs spend the entire regular season as a freewheeling team but that never works during the playoffs.
Suddenly they have to dump and chase but have no concept of how to execute it.

Keefe Must Go.

 

[Drytoast]

the team's leaders are the ones that need to be tough and the rest of the team follows.

the players who are tough are not the team leaders still and so we are still technically soft.

And yes, Keefe is likely to be gone in the summer. The entire coaching staff needs to be gone.