hobie Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Hard to believe the Detroit team TO faced tonite isn't in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 No pressure on Detroit now.... Plus, the Leafs were awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Apr. 4: TOR vs WSH Hunwick, Nylander, Matthews Marner, Brown Gardiner, Bozak, Brown Polak Final score: 4-1 WSH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 There was zero life in the Leafs tonite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Right on the button hobie. It is still a mystery to me how the Leafs can come out that dead considering what's at stake. And it's a worry at this point in the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 10 hours ago, hobie said: There was zero life in the Leafs tonite. This was bound to happen after this recent hot streak. Of course Boston won again, because they never stop winning, and it's shaping up to be a Capitals vs Leafs first round which will be akin to facing a firing squad but oh well. If the Leafs grab the final playoff spot they'll go down 0-4 to the Capitals and be finished quickly. If they grab a top 3 spot then at least it would be interesting against the Senators or Bruins. The Leafs might be able to beat the Sens, but the Bruins would likely finish them off again like they did in 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Ah well, TO has been able to bounce back quite well from some pretty bad games so it'll be interesting to see if that's still the case against TB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 On 4/5/2017 at 10:06 AM, hobie said: Ah well, TO has been able to bounce back quite well from some pretty bad games so it'll be interesting to see if that's still the case against TB? I'm working tonight, so I can't post my updates until tomorrow. If the Leafs win tonight, they're in (I think). I'm confident they will make the playoffs at this stage, but I want them in the top 3 of the division. I want a battle of Ontario against the Sens. It would be a perfect match-up for the Leafs. Would rather be in the draft lottery than face the Capitals because they're going all the way this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 Apr. 6: TOR vs TBL Polak Rielly, Andersen Marner, Bozak Hunwick, Andersen Final score: 4-1 TBL. Leafs need some points this weekend big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 On 4/4/2017 at 7:36 PM, hobie said: There was zero life in the Leafs tonite. I thought I'd quote myself for this TB game. I was counting completed passes made by the Leafs in the 3rd period, I counted 3, TO looked slow and ill suited to make the playoffs. Marner is a shell of himself and TO needs a better Rielly to get even that single point that's necessary to make the playoffs. Stralman and Hedman were the difference between TO and TB, TO doesn't have the d to match those 2. TO's forwards aren't enough right now, at this time of year, TB beat TO with 6 AHL players and some of those AHL players seemed more NHL suited than players that played for TO all year. There's no doubt that TO is in panic, too many bad decisions, bad positioning, bad period but I expect Babs to make better decisions like shortening the bench when TO is behind. TO needed goals in the 3rd, not staunch defensive forwards getting their share of icetime. It was a disappointing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 8 hours ago, hobie said: I thought I'd quote myself for this TB game. I was counting completed passes made by the Leafs in the 3rd period, I counted 3, TO looked slow and ill suited to make the playoffs. Marner is a shell of himself and TO needs a better Rielly to get even that single point that's necessary to make the playoffs. Stralman and Hedman were the difference between TO and TB, TO doesn't have the d to match those 2. TO's forwards aren't enough right now, at this time of year, TB beat TO with 6 AHL players and some of those AHL players seemed more NHL suited than players that played for TO all year. There's no doubt that TO is in panic, too many bad decisions, bad positioning, bad period but I expect Babs to make better decisions like shortening the bench when TO is behind. TO needed goals in the 3rd, not staunch defensive forwards getting their share of icetime. It was a disappointing game. That's been the deal all season long. One night they look fantastic and the next night they look like they belong in the AHL. They were bound to have a couple of stinkers after this recent hot streak. This was inevitable. The chase for top 3 in the division seems to be over now. The Bruins simply don't ever lose, so write them down as having 97 points (or whatever it was), and the Sens padded their lead as well. Leafs can't pass either of those two any more. It's going to be a first round match-up against the Capitals. Still not too late to go for the draft lottery.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Apr. 8: TOR vs PIT Rielly Zaitsev Gardiner Final score: 5-3 TOR. 1: Rielly out of position here. Loses Full Kessel. 2: Penalty by Zaitsev. 3: Tough break for Gardiner as he puts it in his own net. HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE! The Leafs are in the playoffs, and I'll track the defensive errors for a playoff game for the first time ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 1 point tomorrow and TO faces Ottawa otherwise it's Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Golf all day and hockey all night. THANK YOU LEAFS !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 Apr. 9: TOR vs CMB Bozak, Marner, McElHinney Gardiner Nylander, Matthews, Brown Final score: 3-2 CMB. Another late game collapse by the Leafs, and this time it will cost them dearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 Final Defensive Error Totals for the Season Matthews (+49) edges out Nylander (+48) for best overall Leafs player! Komarov (.991 Def%) captures his second title as Leafs best defensive forward! Polak (.990 Def%) is crowned Leafs top defensive defenceman! Gardiner (+14) is the Leafs best overall defenceman! Andersen finishes with the highest defensive percentage (.993) among regular players! What it all means: In a nutshell, the Leafs are in the playoffs right now because of the outstanding overall play of Matthews and Nylander who carried the load for the forwards, Gardiner (who elevated his game to lead all Leafs defencemen), combined with the defensive shutdown skills of Komarov and Polak, and the reliable, steady, mostly error-free goaltending of Andersen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 Forgot to add the results for the Buffalo game: Apr. 3: TOR vs BUF Gardiner Rielly Final score: 4-2 TOR. 1: Gardiner beat clean. 2: Rielly with the giveaway at the blueline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Pretty fair conclusions you've made Words from your chart. Not sure if I'd agree with the Polak assessment most due to quality of the opposition but in the last 15 games I thought we were seeing a better Polak who was given greater responsibility. I expect to see Polak resigned, Babs definitely likes him. I love that TO made the playoffs but I had hoped that players like Marincin would have taken a more prominent role and some of TO's youth like Valiev and Loov would started their NHL transition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 On 4/12/2017 at 1:48 PM, hobie said: Pretty fair conclusions you've made Words from your chart. Not sure if I'd agree with the Polak assessment most due to quality of the opposition but in the last 15 games I thought we were seeing a better Polak who was given greater responsibility. I expect to see Polak resigned, Babs definitely likes him. I love that TO made the playoffs but I had hoped that players like Marincin would have taken a more prominent role and some of TO's youth like Valiev and Loov would started their NHL transition. I noticed that Polak has been given the assignment of stopping Ovechkin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 PLAYOFF RESULTS Apr. 13: TOR vs WSH - GAME 1 Boyle Matthews, Andersen, Nylander Marincin, Andersen Final score: 3-2(OT) WSH. 1: Boyle with the penalty, even though it had just expired, because he was unable to get back in the play in time. 2: Poor gap control by Matthews, poor puck control by Andersen (lost puck), and Nylander lets his guy go to the net unobstructed. 3: Giveaway by Marincin, soft goal by Andersen on a bad angle. Comments: The Capitals were really sluggish to start this game, and not at all sharp. They seemed to get better as it went along, slowly ratcheting up the intensity until the Leafs were on their heels for the overtime period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Losing Nikita Zaitsev hurts a lot...........wonder how long he'll be out???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Really disappointed by Nylander, by how he didn't respond to the 2nd goal against. Good game for the Leafs, used their speed to advantage thru pretty well most of the game, Wash. isn't invincible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 12 hours ago, hobie said: Really disappointed by Nylander, by how he didn't respond to the 2nd goal against. Good game for the Leafs, used their speed to advantage thru pretty well most of the game, Wash. isn't invincible. No but the downside if you're the Leafs is that the Capitals were sleepwalking through most of this game and still came back from down 0-2 to win the game. The Leafs led the NHL in most games lost when leading (whatever the stat was, I forget). That was my takeaway from this game. While it's true that any team can be beaten if they're not playing at 100% effort, the Capitals just beat the Leafs while playing at 50% effort. If they come into game 2 at full intensity from first puck drop, it could be tragic for the Leafs. One of those 6-0 or 7-1 type playoff games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 13 hours ago, OccamsRazor said: Losing Nikita Zaitsev hurts a lot...........wonder how long he'll be out???? With the way he was playing down the stretch, I'm glad he's out right now. (He was playing horrendous defensively.) Although my opinion may change after I see more of Marincin and Carrick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobie Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 11 minutes ago, WordsOfWisdom said: No but the downside if you're the Leafs is that the Capitals were sleepwalking through most of this game and still came back from down 0-2 to win the game. The Leafs led the NHL in most games lost when leading (whatever the stat was, I forget). That was my takeaway from this game. While it's true that any team can be beaten if they're not playing at 100% effort, the Capitals just beat the Leafs while playing at 50% effort. If they come into game 2 at full intensity from first puck drop, it could be tragic for the Leafs. One of those 6-0 or 7-1 type playoff games. I sorta prefer to believe that the Leafs stymied Wash. by using their speed much like Babs had his Detroit teams do against the opposition in the past. TO again as they've done all year took their foot off the metal after building up the lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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