Pre-Game Talk: Game 2: Leafs @ Bruins - Show some urgency

[Suntouchable13]

The Leafs have to smarter. Don't try to make some fancy moves near the blue lines. Don't try to make passes that you can't make. If the same things happen again in game 2, then you have to question the IQ of some our players at the moment. None of what they did wrong last night is not correctable.

 

[ErnieLeafs]

Why does Montreal have no problem against the Bruins yet are supposedly one of the 'softest' teams in the NHL. The contrast in Habs-Bruins games and Leaf ones are immense.

I addressed that in my above post. It's the habs' speed out wide that kills the bruins. That's extremely evident.

And to Suntouchable13, you're exactly right. Getting pucks deep is the key, for everyone but Grabo (he seems to have no issue with zone entry). The fancy-pants BS at the attacking blueline has to stop. That's keeping everything in front of the bruins, right where they want it. If you get pucks deep, and force them to turn and skate, it's putting them on their heels.

We can skate right along with montreal, and our overall team speed is some of the best in the league. No reason we can't beat boston.

 

[Budsfan]

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle 3m
One game suspension for Andrew Ference. There's one top four defenceman down for Boston for Saturday.

 

[Anth93]

It's a myth? Go back and watch the Ottawa game where we clinched, or the Montreal game where the Leafs won 5-1 but were outshot. Can you honestly tell me in those games that the Leafs were the team that was dominated, just cause of the shot total?

You could find posts of me following both games where I said very clearly that we were dominated despite winning. I remember posting in the Montreal thread saying I thought the Habs handed is to us. I've been consistent.

And corsi is a stat that only works in context, it doesn't factor in shot quality and neither does fenwick.

And yet both are way more definitive than simply saying "low quality shots"

If you don't "buy" it, I don't know what you've been watching this entire year. I don't disagree that the possession game needs work, but that's an issue with personnel too, not just coaching. Even under Ron Wilson possession numbers were garbage.

Agreed.

And if you're so objective about coaching, then why do you act like Carlyle is the worst in the league? Just yesterday I saw you post how Carlyle is the worst coach you've seen run the Leafs....have you not forgotten who his predecessor was? Unless you started watching this year, of course.

Carlyle coaches a team that allows the most shots against and runs a defense that is absolutely pathetic in regards to puck management. Like I said, take back JVR, Kadri and Reimer being lights out.. This is the same old Maple Leafs, except maybe worse. In terms of Wilson/Maurice/etc.. All were better at icing their best roster. Wilson was terrible with Kadri, but had Kadri already solidified himself for what he is, you know he would have been playing him more efficiently.

FYI, just about every team's fans except maybe Chicago have complained about their coaches.

No coach is perfect, that's why there's so much parity in this league and why being a repeat champion is almost impossible.

Yeah I know. Unfortunately ours is actually really terrible.

 

[blueberrie]

I wish Caryle would try:

JVR - Grabo - Kessel
With Bozak on the top line, Kessel becomes the de facto puck carrier on that line. And as we've seen in numerous games against Boston Kessel can't handle the pressure of going down head to head on Chara. Putting Grabo with him will let Grabs take the puck end to end so hopefully they can get sustained pressure in the o-zone with either JVR or Grabo digging the puck out for Kessel for a quick shot.

Lupul - Kadri - Kulemin
Reunite the Lupul-Kadri combo that worked well, with Kulemin there for a big body presence and someone capable of digging the pucks out of the corner.

McClemment - Bozak - Frattin
McClemment was a one of our best forwards last night in creating sustained pressure in the o zone and needs to be rewarded with better skilled forwards on his line. Why everyone keeps throwing him on the 4th line between two goons is beyond me. Bozak gets dropped to the third line because he can barely lift the puck, let alone shoot the damn thing. Frattin in for MacCarthur so maybe we don't have to watch Clarke play even softer than Phil does.

Komarov - Colborne - Orr
Komarov has very little offensive skill and works better in a 4th line energy role, we only need one goon and IMO Orr had the better game so he sticks. Colborne in there to add another big body who is capable of playing down low.

 

[Joey24]

The key notes for me in game 1 for the leafs were.

Lack of compete around the net. Any time the Leafs were around the Bruins net they were put on their back or shoved into the net. Leaf defenders were way way to soft on the Bruins.

Not even close to a full team effort, Lupul seemed to mail it in last game he's one of the vets on the team and one of our top players there is no excuse for him playing with so little drive. Randy needs to make some lineup changes, Either Orr or Mclaren need to sit, bring in Frattin and try some line combos that have worked in the past.

Forwards would be:

kessel - Bozak - Van Riemsdyk
Lupul- Kadri - Frattin
Kulemin - Grabovski - Macarthur
Mclaren/Komorov- Mcclement - Komorov/Orr

Defense:

Gunnarsson - Phaneuf
Liles -Obyrne
Fraiser - Franson

I know we out hit the Bruins 37-30 in game 1 and I say we need to be more physical, but what I mean by that is not just glide into your check, finish it hard, look for that big hit along the boards. The Bruins had all the momentum changing hits in game 1, and what I want to see from the Leafs in game two is if you're going to hit make it count don't just glide in and give a little bump, hit to hurt wear them down get their players frustrated much like they did to us in game 1.

If they are neutralizing our speed we need to dump and chase use our speed to our advantage, get the puck deep. And we need to keep skating, no one should be standing still looking for the pass like in game 1, that's what leads to turn overs. Defensive zone coverage needs to improve. Play the man not the puck, we give them to much time with before we close the gaps, hit them into the ice not just deflect them to the corner and lightly bump them. Boston was much more aggressive winning puck battles skating harder, hitting harder and just having a much more effective game from the second period onward.

If Boston takes game 2 and dominates us like they did in game 1 the series is over. Toronto's players in the 3rd already looked deflated and defeated. Lets hope they can put that behind them and wake them up for the rest of the series.

 

[leafstilldeath*]

I wish Caryle would try:

JVR - Grabo - Kessel
With Bozak on the top line, Kessel becomes the de facto puck carrier on that line. And as we've seen in numerous games against Boston Kessel can't handle the pressure of going down head to head on Chara. Putting Grabo with him will let Grabs take the puck end to end so hopefully they can get sustained pressure in the o-zone with either JVR or Grabo digging the puck out for Kessel for a quick shot.

Lupul - Kadri - Kulemin
Reunite the Lupul-Kadri combo that worked well, with Kulemin there for a big body presence and someone capable of digging the pucks out of the corner.

McClemment - Bozak - Frattin
McClemment was a one of our best forwards last night in creating sustained pressure in the o zone and needs to be rewarded with better skilled forwards on his line. Why everyone keeps throwing him on the 4th line between two goons is beyond me. Bozak gets dropped to the third line because he can barely lift the puck, let alone shoot the damn thing. Frattin in for MacCarthur so maybe we don't have to watch Clarke play even softer than Phil does.

Komarov - Colborne - Orr
Komarov has very little offensive skill and works better in a 4th line energy role, we only need one goon and IMO Orr had the better game so he sticks. Colborne in there to add another big body who is capable of playing down low.

agree with Grabo on the first line. against Boston we need entry in the offensive first to create any offense. Grabo will certainly get it done. I would put Lupul on that line though and put JVR-Kadri-Kuli 2nd line offensive thread

and MacAttack-Bozak-Frattin

and Komorov-JayMc-Orr

But I have a feeling KGM line will be reunited and will be making alot of noise in the playoffs

 

[Hurt]

Guys if you want to talk about Ottawa/Montreal, take it to the Around the League thread or the GDT in the Stanley Cup Playoffs forum.

 

[The Reaper]

Can we please tie the series up, is that too hard to ask?

 

[showtime8]

The Leafs need to match the intensity by putting a lineup together that can skate with the Bruins.

The B's wanted nothing to do with the Leafs and dropping their gloves. That's why the Habs were able to handle/compete with them during the year.

The Bruins also learned that the puck moves faster than the players skating. The Leafs couldn't forecheck because the puck was already out of the zone with 2 quick passes.

I think that Randy will realize that Frattin can hit, skate and handle an offensive role much better than Orr and McLaren. On defence, they were having trouble trying to get the puck out of the zone and yes the Kostka experiment has come and gone.

The lineup that I would use going into the next game is:

JVR - Bozak - Kessel

Lupul - Kadri - Kulemin

Colborne - Grabovski - Frattin

Komarov - McClement - Hamilton

* not any guys that will drop the gloves, but you don't need that. Hamilton and Komarov will finish their checks and you surround Kadri on the proper line with guys that can be physical

Gunnarsson - Phaneuf

Gardiner - O'Byrne

Fraser - Franson

* need to move the puck and even though they aren't thinking defence here, you have to set something for the rest of the playoffs and go with it.

 

[TMLeafer]

Watching some of the other playoff games, I don't remember seeing one outlet/breakout like the ones I see many times a period by some of these other teams. Such a glaring weakness of this team. Have to get better at the outlets and offensive zone entries. I honestly think it's a mental thing because we're playing Boston.

 

[Lilou]

Funny marchand whined about getting a stick to the nads. Glad to see he's innocent in this dept. Oh wait.

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

You really wanna piss off the Bruins fans...

Have Orr and Franson swap numbers...just for one night. Poke the Bear.

 

[yakfish]

I wish Caryle would try:

JVR - Grabo - Kessel
With Bozak on the top line, Kessel becomes the de facto puck carrier on that line. And as we've seen in numerous games against Boston Kessel can't handle the pressure of going down head to head on Chara. Putting Grabo with him will let Grabs take the puck end to end so hopefully they can get sustained pressure in the o-zone with either JVR or Grabo digging the puck out for Kessel for a quick shot.

Lupul - Kadri - Kulemin
Reunite the Lupul-Kadri combo that worked well, with Kulemin there for a big body presence and someone capable of digging the pucks out of the corner.

McClemment - Bozak - Frattin
McClemment was a one of our best forwards last night in creating sustained pressure in the o zone and needs to be rewarded with better skilled forwards on his line. Why everyone keeps throwing him on the 4th line between two goons is beyond me. Bozak gets dropped to the third line because he can barely lift the puck, let alone shoot the damn thing. Frattin in for MacCarthur so maybe we don't have to watch Clarke play even softer than Phil does.

Komarov - Colborne - Orr
Komarov has very little offensive skill and works better in a 4th line energy role, we only need one goon and IMO Orr had the better game so he sticks. Colborne in there to add another big body who is capable of playing down low.

I actually kind of agree with that And kind of not. I do like your top two lines. I would like to see how Kessel and Grabo would play together. I'm sure it has been tried but I'd like to see it again. Maybe not in the playoffs though. If I'm Carlyle I stick to what worked in the regular season and stop messing with line combos in the playoffs.

 

[crump]

Gardiner cant be any worse than anyone last night. Put him in at least he can skate out of his own end. Just let him carry it, that's his game. I think he would rise to the challenge. Phaneuf looks like he has cement shoes on.

 

[AvroArrow]

Watching this caps/rangers game. We need quick fast breakouts like the caps are getting, don't give Boston the opportunity to fore check and give ourselves a chance in the offensive end.

 

[Jerkini]

Giving Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri more than 12-13 minutes of ice time would be a nice place to start.

 

[blueberrie]

I actually kind of agree with that And kind of not. I do like your top two lines. I would like to see how Kessel and Grabo would play together. I'm sure it has been tried but I'd like to see it again. Maybe not in the playoffs though. If I'm Carlyle I stick to what worked in the regular season and stop messing with line combos in the playoffs.

I don't think that Grabo and Kessel have ever been tried together from what I remember besides maybe a couple shifts thrown together during a game. Kessel just can't carry the puck against the Bruins, he craps his pants everytime he looks up and sees Chara. Grabo has no fear, which can be a negative sometimes... he's gotta have the worst awareness when it comes to putting himself into positions to get rocked.

I wouldn't mind seeing Lupul and JVR switched either, maybe JVR can get Kadri going. A Kadri - Lupul line could be dangerous in either direction depending on if they show up or not.

I disagree that we should stick with what worked this year seeing as how Grabo and McClemment were some of the few that showed up to play Wednesday and they got pretty limited ES minutes over the year. We haven't even had really solid lines this year, it's always kinda been changing week to week.

 

[Confucius]

Giving Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri more than 12-13 minutes of ice time would be a nice place to start.

They're accumulate too many shots. Carlyle likes D not shooting

 

[Diatomic]

Yesterdays game we had NO forecheck literally... And our Pylon Defensemen couldn't do a thing. Unless Carlyle is a miracle worker, I expect the same. 80% of time in defensive zone, outshot, Turnover after turnover, Reimer left out to dry. Its been the leafs gameplan for a few weeks now...

 

[Crispy Crust]

Gardiner cant be any worse than anyone last night. Put him in at least he can skate out of his own end. Just let him carry it, that's his game. I think he would rise to the challenge. Phaneuf looks like he has cement shoes on.

We don't really have anyone on the backend that can really "carry the play". Liles is a decent PP QB but not someone that can carry the play 5 on 5. Gardiner is a player of that ilk who drives puck possession 5 vs 5 and can create offense for his wingers on the ice. In terms of the future, we should be fine with both Gardiner and Rielly driving puck possession and easing the offensive flow for the forwards on the ice. As of right now though, it's not really surprising why we have no breakout or struggle to muster any shots on goal.

 

[pcruz]

We don't really have anyone on the backend that can really "carry the play". Liles is a decent PP QB but not someone that can carry the play 5 on 5. Gardiner is a player of that ilk who drives puck possession 5 vs 5 and can create offense for his wingers on the ice. In terms of the future, we should be fine with both Gardiner and Rielly driving puck possession and easing the offensive flow for the forwards on the ice. As of right now though, it's not really surprising why we have no breakout or struggle to muster any shots on goal.

The only player that fits that description since I started watching the Leafs - mid 90's, was Kaberle. And he was promptly and curtly gotten rid of. However, the minute Kaberle was out of the organization, the team went on a search for a player who had his skillset, and settled on John Michael Liles.

 

[BayStBullies]

It's a real damn shame the Leafs didn't face the Habs in the first round. They would steamroll the Habs; I have no doubt in my mind.

The classless fans start chanting their soccer chant; then Ottawa ties it up and takes the lead. Great motivation tool geniuses!

 

[LeafOfBread]

Anybody catch the Sens-Habs game? I hope the Leafs can pull an Ottawa, Montreal had control of the puck for most of the game and outshot the Sens bad yet Ottawa embarrassed them in the end.

 

[realgoodleafs]

Anybody catch the Sens-Habs game? I hope the Leafs can pull an Ottawa, Montreal had control of the puck for most of the game and outshot the Sens bad yet Ottawa embarrassed them in the end.

Ottawa has Karlsson moving the puck out of the zone like a beast...we have Fraser