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Kurisu
mad scientist
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mix1home
Registered User
Well thanks for giving me the mental image of Komarov doing that
It's only his usual pre-game routine
Apparently he eats rabbits alive and drinks motor oil as we speak. Then he takes his toothpick of CN Tower size and go practice crushing castle walls around Toronto. Did you see any castle walls still standing around Toronto? Now you know why....
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
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you know it's awesome to watch the TSN lottery draft.... and not see Toronto's name up there in consideration
this sucks Can't it be wednesday, now?
this sucks
Can't it be wednesday, now?You mean it was awesome to not see Peter Chiarelli sitting in the Leafs spot?you know it's awesome to watch the TSN lottery draft.... and not see Toronto's name up there in consideration
this sucks
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
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Maccer
Bring back Pat!!
Maccer
Bring back Pat!!
We are going to show these guys how the buds do it, beat them up take their soul and then let Kessel/Kadri/Lupul run wild.
SeenSchenn2
Itchin' For Mitch
TMLeafer
Rest in Peace Johnny Bower
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
- 70,212
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Matt24
Registered User
- Apr 8, 2013
- 5,711
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Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
- 70,212
- 9,189
Maccer
Bring back Pat!!
Shimso
Registered User
- Oct 9, 2011
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I don't remember what it's like to watch a draft lottery where my team isn't involved (Boston trade nowithstanding because we were still in the lottery, just that we didn't own it)....its funny that this is the year that they have all the teams with a chance at #1 and a model 
Duke Silver
Truce?
So Jamie McLennan is just going to pick random clips to suit his shoddy POST TO POST bit.
He dedicated half the segment to pointing out Reimer's deficiencies, but made NO note of Rask's weaknesses.
zeke
The Dube Abides
- Mar 14, 2005
- 66,937
- 36,957
Zeke's 5 Key Player Battles
Note: This doesn't mean that they'll necessarily be matched up against each other, just that they're the 5 key players for each team that will most likely determine the fate of this series.
1. James Reimer v. Tuukka Rask
Playoffs in a large part come down to goalies. A hot goalie can win series by himself no matter the matchup, a cold goalie can sink a team no matter how good they are. And here we have a matchup of two of the best young goalies in hockey both trying to prove themselves for the first time in their careers as go-to playoff starters.
G J.Reimer (24): 33gms, 19-8-5, 2.46gaa, 4so, .924sv%
G T.Rask (25): 36gms, 19-10-5, 2.00gaa, 5so, .929sv%
Both have had fantastic seasons, amongst the elite in hockey this year. Rask has the slight edge in numbers, but he was healthy all year while Reimer was slowed down by a fairly serious injury which he had to come back from. After a slow start to the year Reimer had managed to get up to a .929sv% in his 10th game of the year after posting a .946sv% in his previous 5gms.....but then suffered a fairly serious knee injury that kept him out for about 3 weeks. Reimer was a bit rusty when he came back, only posting an .893sv% in his first 5gms back.....but quickly rounded back into form posting a .942sv% in his final 18gms. No guarantees, but that knee injury likely hurt his final numbers a bit.
Needless to say, this is the most important player battle at the most important position with 2 elite young goalies both capable of playing lights out, but both also capable of being rattled. How they play, and how they respond to traffic and contact, will be a crucial factor in this series. Should be a doozy of a battle.
2. Dion Phaneuf v. Zdeno Chara
The Battle of the Captains. Two of the games elite all-around dmen, both leaned on to play the toughest matchups, lead their dcorps and PP offensively, and be the physical and even spiritual leader on the blueline and team as well. Both of them are far and away the best dmen on their teams, with guys like Seidenberg, Franson, Gunnarsson a ways behind their contributions. As these two guys go, so goes their team's defense corps.
Dion has had himself a great season, putting him near Norris contention, while uncharacterisically Chara has had himself a very tough year.....both offensively and defensively.
D D.Phaneuf (27): 48gms, 9gls, 28pts, 131ht, 91bk, 25:10 (82gms, 15gls, 48pts, 224ht, 156bk)
D Z.Chara (35): 48gms, 7gls, 19pts, 101ht, 64bk, 24:56 (82gms, 12gls, 33pts, 173ht, 109bk)
For the less proven Dion, these playoffs will be all about whether he can keep up his great regular season play into the playoffs. Their isn't a key matchup for him to focus on in this series, and it'll be interesting to see whether he gets matched up more against the Bergeron line or the Jagr line.
For the proven playoff stud Chara, these playoffs will be all about whether he can overcome his poor season and step it back up for the playoffs again. He'll of course be matched up against Kessel because he's been so good at shutting him down, but it'll be interesting to see if he'll have to switch off to the Lupul line if they start producing against other units. At age 35, there are questions as to whether Chara's struggles this year are age-related, or just an off year.....so we'll see whether he can bounce back for the playoffs.
3. Phil Kessel v. Patrice Bergeron
The go-to leaders of each team's forward corps. The elite offensive Kessel and the elite defensive Bergeron. Probably the most important forwards on their teams, and the guys who are expected to dictate their team's play whenever they're on the ice. Both have had excellent seasons, though Bergeron's concussion and slightly less impressive post-concussion play are concerns.
W P.Kessel (25): 48gms, 20gls, 52pts, 16ht, 23bk, 19:48 (82gms, 34gls, 89pts, 27ht, 39bk)
C P.Bergeron (27): 42gms, 10gls, 32pts, 28ht, 25bk, 62.1fo%, 19:17 (82gms, 20gls, 63pts, 55ht, 49bk)
Having firmly established himself as one of the game's elite regular season producers with back to back top-10 scoring finishes, young Kessel finally finds himself back in the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The question is whether he can pick up where he left off in those playoffs and continue that PPG pace in this one......which will be especially difficult up against Chara all series long. Kessel breaking through his Bruins' slump is definitely a key to the Leafs having a decent shot at this series.
Bergeron's defensive dominance starts from the faceoff circle, where he is the best in hockey, through to his dominant match-up play against all the top lines in the league, and through to being a dominant force on one of the league's best PK units. Combine that with his solid offense and he can match up against any top offensive line and come out on top. It'll be interesting to see whether he matches up against the Kessel line, or whether Julien leaves that to Chara and uses Bergeron to match up against the Lupul line. No real question marks about bergeron (other than maybe some small lingerting questions about his concussion) - Kessel will have to turn things around to come out on top in this matchup.
4. Joffrey Lupul v. Jaromir Jagr
Arguably the two most talented forwards on their respective teams, but both with huge question marks on them. Lupul of course has the injury history and only recent elite scoring track record, while Jagr is 40 years old.
Both of these guys can lead a line to offensive dominance all by themselves, and both will be key to giving their team a 2nd scoring line.
W J.Lupul (29): 16gms, 11gls, 18pts, 31ht, 7bk, 16:07 (82gms, 56gls, 92pts, 159ht, 36bk)
W J.Jagr (40): 45gms, 16gls, 35pts, 13ht, 10bk, 18:19 (82gms, 29gls, 64pts, 24ht, 18bk)
At this point Lupul is likely just the better player, but he's also got more responsibility than Jagr. With Kessel in the Chara matchup, Lupul HAS to produce on the 2nd line to keep the Bruins' defense honest. If he doesn't then it'll be a short series. Jagr isn't quite the player he was, but he doesn't have nearly as much responsibility as Lupul does, and still can dominate in any given series.
5. Nazem Kadri v. Brad Marchand
The battle of the young super-skilled super-pests. Not only are both these kids critical to providing secondary scoring for their teams, but both are also the lead agitators on their squads. They chirp, they dive, the stick, and slash and drive the net and finish their checks.....and they score. They are key to providing energy to their teams' top-6 forwards when they need it the most, and are key to getting the other team off their game.
C N.Kadri (22): 48gms, 18gls, 44pts, 62ht, 22bk, 44.2fo%, 16:03 (82gms, 31gls, 75pts, 106ht, 38bk)
W B.Marchand (24): 45gms, 18gls, 36pts, 38ht, 20bk, 16:57 (82gms, 33gls, 66pts, 69ht, 36bk)
Both kids have had excellent seasons. Kadri has the edge in pure scoring and upside, but Marchand's less of a question mark, especially in the playoffs. Expect these two to be up in each other's grills all series long. Should be a ton of fun to watch, and I expect both fanbases will absolutely loathe one of these guys by the end of the series, if they don't already.
At the end of the series, the winning team will likely have won the majority of these 5 key matchups. This isn't to say players like Krejci, Seguin, Lucic, Seidenberg, Van Riemsdyk, Franson, Gunnarsson, Kulemin aren't also important, but I'm guessing it's the 10 guys on my list that determine the outcome of this series.
Note: This doesn't mean that they'll necessarily be matched up against each other, just that they're the 5 key players for each team that will most likely determine the fate of this series.
1. James Reimer v. Tuukka Rask
Playoffs in a large part come down to goalies. A hot goalie can win series by himself no matter the matchup, a cold goalie can sink a team no matter how good they are. And here we have a matchup of two of the best young goalies in hockey both trying to prove themselves for the first time in their careers as go-to playoff starters.
G J.Reimer (24): 33gms, 19-8-5, 2.46gaa, 4so, .924sv%
G T.Rask (25): 36gms, 19-10-5, 2.00gaa, 5so, .929sv%
Both have had fantastic seasons, amongst the elite in hockey this year. Rask has the slight edge in numbers, but he was healthy all year while Reimer was slowed down by a fairly serious injury which he had to come back from. After a slow start to the year Reimer had managed to get up to a .929sv% in his 10th game of the year after posting a .946sv% in his previous 5gms.....but then suffered a fairly serious knee injury that kept him out for about 3 weeks. Reimer was a bit rusty when he came back, only posting an .893sv% in his first 5gms back.....but quickly rounded back into form posting a .942sv% in his final 18gms. No guarantees, but that knee injury likely hurt his final numbers a bit.
Needless to say, this is the most important player battle at the most important position with 2 elite young goalies both capable of playing lights out, but both also capable of being rattled. How they play, and how they respond to traffic and contact, will be a crucial factor in this series. Should be a doozy of a battle.
2. Dion Phaneuf v. Zdeno Chara
The Battle of the Captains. Two of the games elite all-around dmen, both leaned on to play the toughest matchups, lead their dcorps and PP offensively, and be the physical and even spiritual leader on the blueline and team as well. Both of them are far and away the best dmen on their teams, with guys like Seidenberg, Franson, Gunnarsson a ways behind their contributions. As these two guys go, so goes their team's defense corps.
Dion has had himself a great season, putting him near Norris contention, while uncharacterisically Chara has had himself a very tough year.....both offensively and defensively.
D D.Phaneuf (27): 48gms, 9gls, 28pts, 131ht, 91bk, 25:10 (82gms, 15gls, 48pts, 224ht, 156bk)
D Z.Chara (35): 48gms, 7gls, 19pts, 101ht, 64bk, 24:56 (82gms, 12gls, 33pts, 173ht, 109bk)
For the less proven Dion, these playoffs will be all about whether he can keep up his great regular season play into the playoffs. Their isn't a key matchup for him to focus on in this series, and it'll be interesting to see whether he gets matched up more against the Bergeron line or the Jagr line.
For the proven playoff stud Chara, these playoffs will be all about whether he can overcome his poor season and step it back up for the playoffs again. He'll of course be matched up against Kessel because he's been so good at shutting him down, but it'll be interesting to see if he'll have to switch off to the Lupul line if they start producing against other units. At age 35, there are questions as to whether Chara's struggles this year are age-related, or just an off year.....so we'll see whether he can bounce back for the playoffs.
3. Phil Kessel v. Patrice Bergeron
The go-to leaders of each team's forward corps. The elite offensive Kessel and the elite defensive Bergeron. Probably the most important forwards on their teams, and the guys who are expected to dictate their team's play whenever they're on the ice. Both have had excellent seasons, though Bergeron's concussion and slightly less impressive post-concussion play are concerns.
W P.Kessel (25): 48gms, 20gls, 52pts, 16ht, 23bk, 19:48 (82gms, 34gls, 89pts, 27ht, 39bk)
C P.Bergeron (27): 42gms, 10gls, 32pts, 28ht, 25bk, 62.1fo%, 19:17 (82gms, 20gls, 63pts, 55ht, 49bk)
Having firmly established himself as one of the game's elite regular season producers with back to back top-10 scoring finishes, young Kessel finally finds himself back in the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The question is whether he can pick up where he left off in those playoffs and continue that PPG pace in this one......which will be especially difficult up against Chara all series long. Kessel breaking through his Bruins' slump is definitely a key to the Leafs having a decent shot at this series.
Bergeron's defensive dominance starts from the faceoff circle, where he is the best in hockey, through to his dominant match-up play against all the top lines in the league, and through to being a dominant force on one of the league's best PK units. Combine that with his solid offense and he can match up against any top offensive line and come out on top. It'll be interesting to see whether he matches up against the Kessel line, or whether Julien leaves that to Chara and uses Bergeron to match up against the Lupul line. No real question marks about bergeron (other than maybe some small lingerting questions about his concussion) - Kessel will have to turn things around to come out on top in this matchup.
4. Joffrey Lupul v. Jaromir Jagr
Arguably the two most talented forwards on their respective teams, but both with huge question marks on them. Lupul of course has the injury history and only recent elite scoring track record, while Jagr is 40 years old.
Both of these guys can lead a line to offensive dominance all by themselves, and both will be key to giving their team a 2nd scoring line.
W J.Lupul (29): 16gms, 11gls, 18pts, 31ht, 7bk, 16:07 (82gms, 56gls, 92pts, 159ht, 36bk)
W J.Jagr (40): 45gms, 16gls, 35pts, 13ht, 10bk, 18:19 (82gms, 29gls, 64pts, 24ht, 18bk)
At this point Lupul is likely just the better player, but he's also got more responsibility than Jagr. With Kessel in the Chara matchup, Lupul HAS to produce on the 2nd line to keep the Bruins' defense honest. If he doesn't then it'll be a short series. Jagr isn't quite the player he was, but he doesn't have nearly as much responsibility as Lupul does, and still can dominate in any given series.
5. Nazem Kadri v. Brad Marchand
The battle of the young super-skilled super-pests. Not only are both these kids critical to providing secondary scoring for their teams, but both are also the lead agitators on their squads. They chirp, they dive, the stick, and slash and drive the net and finish their checks.....and they score. They are key to providing energy to their teams' top-6 forwards when they need it the most, and are key to getting the other team off their game.
C N.Kadri (22): 48gms, 18gls, 44pts, 62ht, 22bk, 44.2fo%, 16:03 (82gms, 31gls, 75pts, 106ht, 38bk)
W B.Marchand (24): 45gms, 18gls, 36pts, 38ht, 20bk, 16:57 (82gms, 33gls, 66pts, 69ht, 36bk)
Both kids have had excellent seasons. Kadri has the edge in pure scoring and upside, but Marchand's less of a question mark, especially in the playoffs. Expect these two to be up in each other's grills all series long. Should be a ton of fun to watch, and I expect both fanbases will absolutely loathe one of these guys by the end of the series, if they don't already.
At the end of the series, the winning team will likely have won the majority of these 5 key matchups. This isn't to say players like Krejci, Seguin, Lucic, Seidenberg, Van Riemsdyk, Franson, Gunnarsson, Kulemin aren't also important, but I'm guessing it's the 10 guys on my list that determine the outcome of this series.
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
- 70,212
- 9,189
TMLeafer
Rest in Peace Johnny Bower
Oh my God, this video is awesome.
Edit: Just saw it was posted in a thread of its own. Really got me pumped some more.
Edit: Just saw it was posted in a thread of its own. Really got me pumped some more.
Kurisu
mad scientist
saw this on the Bruins board. Thought it was funny even though it was mocking kessel.
"kessel preparing for the playoffs."
"kessel preparing for the playoffs."
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