TSN: Craig Button says the Leafs should rather want to play Tampa and not Boston in the playoffs

[LeafFever]

Which ones?

If the team had the lowest GAA what were the ones that were very poor?

Murray played less games than Flaeury last playoffs. That was not the team's GA.
They were outshot/outchanced a lot.

 

[egd27]

Murray played less games than Flaeury last playoffs. That was not the team's GA.

They were outshot/outchanced a lot.

To point 1 - Ok that's fair.

To point 2 - That's a pretty weak "stat"

 

[LeafFever]

To point 1 - Ok that's fair.

To point 2 - That's a pretty weak "stat"

The Pens were not a good defensive team last season given what they accomplished.

 

[mallory67]

YES, the league needs to go back to 1-8 format. We'd be gearing up to take on the 6th seed in the east which would end up being either the Flyers, Blue Jackets or Devils.

Those seem like more appropriate teams for us to play considering we've had such a great season, the Flyers, Blue Jackets and Devils although still good have at the same time had noticeably lesser seasons than Toronto.

This new system has no reward for being good, we're going to have to play a top team in either the Lightning or Bruins. If it doesn't change the Leafs need to aim for 1st in the division as only then could we play a wild card team.

The reward for being good is not having to kill yourself dog fighting for a wildcard spot well into Mar-Apr.
You have to beat great teams at some point anyway.
What's the use of getting to the second round and still facing Boston?
By eliminating Boston in Round 1, the Leafs will eliminate a contender and maybe get closer to the cup.

 

[Canada4Gold]

That could very well be true

But Button saying it doesn't do anything to make me think it's true, he's about as accurate as a coin

 

[Mess]

To point 2 - That's a pretty weak "stat"

Only NYI give uo more shots against than Leafs with Freddy A facing more shots and forced to make more saves than any other goalie in the NHL.

That speaks to Leafs defensive prowess or lack there of, and it will be Freddy's GAA and ability to keep pucks out of Leafs net that will determine Leafs playoff fate.

Boston has the best 2-way player in the game, and play a system giving up the least goals against which makes then a tough opponent for anyone not just the Leafs.

As far as offense goes both TB and Boston have multiple players in the top 25 of league scoring while Leafs don't have anyone in the top 40 so the advantage offensively is not in Leafs favour either.

 

[Stephen]

The reward for being good is not having to kill yourself dog fighting for a wildcard spot well into Mar-Apr.
You have to beat great teams at some point anyway.
What's the use of getting to the second round and still facing Boston?
By eliminating Boston in Round 1, the Leafs will eliminate a contender and maybe get closer to the cup.

The Leafs need these kinds of rivalry series to develop that championship swagger. There's a certain kind of confidence that needs to be developed in playing well against Boston and Tampa, win or lose, which will shape the psyche of the group. Those playoff experiences separate the Chicago, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh winners from the San Jose, Vancouver, St. Louis losers.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I'd rather face TB just because I want to see someone new in the playoffs. Oh and there is no Bergeron to deal with for Matthews. I think this will be a really fun series. A lot more so than a series with Boston. I'd love to send Stamkos home, to be honest.

 

[Peiskos]

I'd rather face TB just because I want to see someone new in the playoffs. Oh and there is no Bergeron to deal with for Matthews. I think this will be a really fun series. A lot more so than a series with Boston. I'd love to send Stamkos home, to be honest.

Yep and with Tampa things become much clearer, we already know that a blue and white team will advance, question is which one

 

[cannucky]

Did you ever play that game as a kid where you line up a dozen kids and whisper a phrase in the first kids ear and tell him to pass it on ? Thats what this is a tard went on tv and insinuated something and it is getting passed on .Yes Captain Obvious after shutting out Tampa last night it is safe to say Boston is playing better hockey than Tampa right now , congrats bud heres your cookie -NEXT......

 

[LeafFever]

The Leafs need these kinds of rivalry series to develop that championship swagger. There's a certain kind of confidence that needs to be developed in playing well against Boston and Tampa, win or lose, which will shape the psyche of the group. Those playoff experiences separate the Chicago, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh winners from the San Jose, Vancouver, St. Louis losers.

Eh, in the Quinn years I thought those "Rivalry" series killed them for later rounds.

 

[Stephen]

Eh, in the Quinn years I thought those "Rivalry" series killed them for later rounds.

Difference between young team learning to win vs a team full of 30 somethings running on fumes.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

The Pens were not a good defensive team last season given what they accomplished.

Having two of the top 3 centers in the game along with a top 5 offensive winger and a good #1 goalie are more than enough to mask a mediocre D core.

 

[rent free]

The Pens were not a good defensive team last season given what they accomplished.

they also had 3 superstars on that team and a goalie that played outta his mind. we have 1 of that

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

it sounds like Tampa is a mentally fragile bunch with a tired goalie

 

[zeke]

Vasilevsky has come back down to earth - and right now the Bolts' 3rd and 4th lines look pretty weak.

 

[LeafsNation75]

If healthy, like the Leafs could actually beat them both. We've basically dominated Boston in the regular season over the past 2 years. The matchup isn't as daunting as everyone seems to believe.

I know that once the playoffs start it's hard to look back at regular season results, however in this case I do think it should matter with how many times the Leafs defeated the ruins the past 2 years. Prior to 2013 when they played in the playoffs the media brought up how Boston always defeated Toronto in the regular season and all of the sudden for Button when it's the reverse it does not matter?

 

[zeke]

Leafs are 12th in goals against per game.

Bolts are 11th.

and Vasilevsky has a significantly better save percentage than Freddy.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Leafs are 12th in goals against per game.

Bolts are 11th.

and Vasilevsky has a significantly better save percentage than Freddy.

Isn't part of the reason for Vasilevsky having a better save percentage was due to Tampa having a great start in October and Freddy did not.

 

[leafhky88]

Except if you look at the stats ..

Playoff GOALS AGAINST AVG ... #1 Matt Murray - Pittsburgh ... 1.70 GAA
Playoff SAVE PERCENTAGE ...... #1 Matt Murray - Pittsburgh ... 9.37 SV%

NHL Hockey Statistics and League Leaders - National Hockey League - ESPN

How is the best goals against average and best save percentage that leads to a Stanley Cup not qualify as "Defense wins Championships" ?

Pens were on average giving up less than 2 goals against a game with a 1.70 GAA.

PS. Nashville the runner up with Rinne 1.96 GAA and 2.30 SV% also top 5 in both categories and also less than 2.0 GA/g average.

The 2017 Penguins did not have the best goals against average in the playoffs (they were 5th). They also did not give up under 2 goals per game in the playoffs (2.28 - behind San Jose, St. Louis, Nashville and Minnesota).

NHL.com - Stats

2016-2017 (Regular season):
Pittsburgh goals against - 229 (17th out of 30)
Pittsburgh goals for - 278 (1st out of 30)

2016-2017 Playoffs:
Pittsburgh goals against/game - 2.28/game (5th out of 16)
Pittsburgh goals for/game - 3.08/game (1st out of 30)

The 2016-2017 Penguins team also was 10th in shots given up/game in the playoff (out of 16 teams). From the regular season to the playoffs, the statistics show they were a team whose success was largely contingent upon their 1st ranked offence, in comparison to their fairly average defensive statistics. You are correct Murray's strong playoff play likely was a large factor in them moving from 17th to 5th in GAA as he was able to cover many of the defensive mishaps.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

Virtanen.
Boeser and Keller.

He's actually good with prospects

Is Viratnen a good player all of a sudden?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Is Viratnen a good player all of a sudden?

Hyman has more assists than Virtanen has points. so no
hell, Hyman has more points this season (66 games) than Virtanen has career points (131 games played)

 

[The CyNick]

This is what happens when you screw around with the playoff matchups in the name of "rivalries"

What a balls up that idea is turning out to be

This seems like the hot take going around these days, but it makes no sense to me. Why is a divisional playoff format no good, but a conference structure okay? How about a league wide 1-16? In either of those scenarios you would assume division winners get ranked 1,2 (3,4).

We would end up matched up against Pitt right now. Is that any better? At least divisional playoffs you feed rivalries, and yeah it sucks for some teams in the first round, but tough balls. You want to win the Cup, you gotta beat everyone in front of you. Man up about it.

 

[The CyNick]

Why the league decided to mess with the playoff format is beyond me. You'll lose one of Boston,Tampa or Toronto in round one guaranteed. How that benefits the league I'll never know. As for the OP, I'd easily rather play Boston. But if you wanna win a cup, you're gonna have to beat Tampa.

Because you get representation from each region of the league in the final four. You also increase the odds of marquee playoff matchups like Wash vs Pitt. It's also beneficial for tv in terms of time zones. You don't have Chicago playing LA and then San Jose in the first two rounds. Instead you get PST teams against each other and CST/MST time zones against each other.

It sucks when you're in a tough division, but as I said, if you want to win the Cup, you gotta beat these teams eventually.

The worst are people who say this system is flawed, but then long for previous system, which gave a top 3 seed every year to a team that played AHL teams all season to pad their record and win the division. If you want a 1-16, then I can see that, but then we'd have to move to a different schedule matrix.

 

[Nithoniniel]

This seems like the hot take going around these days, but it makes no sense to me. Why is a divisional playoff format no good, but a conference structure okay? How about a league wide 1-16? In either of those scenarios you would assume division winners get ranked 1,2 (3,4).

Personally, I'd prefer a 1-16 system straight. Best 16 teams in the league gets to the playoffs, and they are seeded in that order. Nothing else should enter into it.

You want to win the Cup, you gotta beat everyone in front of you.

Nah. To win the cup, you need to beat four teams. Who these four teams are can make a huge difference.