Post-Game Talk: IS THIS A GOOD ENOUGH PGT THREAD FOR YA BRUINS?! LEAFS WIN 4-2!

[saltming]

I never knew about the line until they saw the ice in-game. I was surprised at first, but am very glad it worked out well.

As a few people could tell you, I'm rarely inclined to doubt Babcock

Damn sympathizer!!!

 

[The Podium]

Best part of the win is it guarantees Kadri back. Babcock can essentially run 3 2nd lines with Kadri centering Johnsson and Kapanen.

 

[ACC1224]

There were a couple people suggesting he wouldn't be as effective in the Playoffs, because he was already a hard-work guy, and everybody else would be upping their intensity once the games mattered.

I suggested Hyman could up his game as well, and he's not making me look stupid so far.

We can expect some pretty decent spin on Hymans performance.....realists are never wrong

 

[Zybalto]

Babcocks presser from last night: (Sorry if already posted)



Love his incredulous reaction to the question on Zaitsev. (I know I bang on a bit about Zaitsev but its funny to me)

Zaitsev in this series 5v5:

TOI: 52 min
Rel CF%: 4.55
Rel xGF%: 17.12
PDO: 92.59 (Somehow, hes also been getting very unlucky)
Zone starts %: 44.74
CF% QoC: 53.46

Those are pretty elite stats. What happens when you have one of the best dmen in the playoffs and nobody notices? Its combination of the narrative and the fact he had one bad period that put the spotlight on him IMO.

You can go after him for his play on the PK I guess but hes only been on for 1 goal that was his direct fault all series and has not been any worse than the others. Id actually like to see Rielly get some more PK in and use Dermott on the PP a bit more.

 

[ACC1224]

That's true forgot about last change there.




Side note, to the people saying we dominated the game. What game were you watching? Very even game with the Leafs coming out on top. If we take a few more penalties we probably lose that game tbh, PK looks bottom 5 in the league right now. Boston also whiffed on empty netters, hit multiple posts, etc. It was a good win for us, but let's not get carried away. We can play much better, and hopefully we will on Thursday.

Without the two softees the game isn't as close. From my seat the Leafs never looked in danger of losing this one.

 

[ITM]

IMO. Stick with this line. Its the only time we shut down RAT,BERG and PASTA.

Kadri returning is a huge PLUS. But lest we forget how Berg Rat and Pasta outplayed Kadri.

If it aint broke...am i right



4 bad goals? We earned em. They weren't some ugly lucky bounces like Boston had gm 2 lol.



Yes. You can always swap Pleks & Kadri if they adapt to Pleks, but until then don't break them up.

Pleks made that line beatable, Kadri didn't.
We trust you Babs!
GO LEAFS GO!

I had heard we traded for Tomas Plekanec, but never saw him until last night.

Nice option to have going forward now.

 

[ITM]

That is not my point. Our defense still has major warts! Boston still had several opportunities to get back in that game! Andersen had to bail them out with huge saves.

Listen, I am all in favour of winning and I am happy there is no sweep, but come on. This is not a good defense!

A few pieces are needed that's for sure.

 

[zeke]

Thanks for clearing that up.

So IIRC, you've said that xgf is the most reliable indicator of play. Based on that, last night was almost dead even, very slight edge to us which seems right.

Question - who complies the xgf numbers? I'm just wondering if there's bias from rink to rink or if we should be able to expect consistency across the board?

eh i'm not sure xgf is the most reliable.

saw some work this year suggesting scoring chances might be best but i like to look at all of them together.

 

[tom leafers]

Can't wait to hear Dangle say LEEEEAAAAFS WIIIIN!

oh god i just heard the voice in my head

 

[Pi]

I had heard we traded for Tomas Plekanec, but never saw him until last night.

Nice option to have going forward now.

I think he should be taking care of Bergeron line at home while Kadri and Plekanec share that responsibility away from home.

The fact the Plekanec showed up last night gives us a lot of options.

I think whoever wins Game 4 wins the series. If we win, Boston won't have a win in Toronto for 2 years and we get a motivated Kadri back in Game 5. We could finish this series at home in 6.

If we lose Game 4, suddenly it's 3-1 and even if we win Game 5, it's an uphill task to come back from 3-1. Big game on Thursday, Leafs need to be even better than they were last night. No more freebies and unforced errors.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Without the two softees the game isn't as close. From my seat the Leafs never looked in danger of losing this one.

That's an interesting way to look at it. I'm sure if we erase Pasta Leafs probably win game two.

Bruins had 42 shots, they missed open nets, made our PK look bush league, hit posts and crossbars all night and also got robbed by the save of the playoffs. Boston did not get dominated. It was a class game. If you think we dominated Boston tonight I can only image the term you use for the past two games.

 

[MattySnipes]

So..I watched the game again last night once it was over. I watched the NBC broadcast with Pierre McGuire. It was pretty good but obviously heavily favoured towards Boston. I was surprised how biased McGuire was towards Boston. Overall, it wasn't bad and enjoyed it a bit more than the Hughson and Simpson broadcast.

The only issue I had was McGuire and his complaining regarding the blown PP (delay of game). I understand it was blown but these things happen in hockey because the game happens so fast. Pierre being in this league for so many years should know this. Instead, the entire broadcast along with the panel (Milbury, Jones, etc) were just complaining about the call all game long. Even now, on TSN 1050 he's just complaining again saying it was a "fraudulent" call lol

 

[Walshy7]

I'm glad for him. Well deserved.

As one of the "hyman fanboys" it's good to see him take it up a notch. Impressive actually as I thought that's all the gears he had in the regular season

Hey @Walshy7 can we include playoff points in our bet?

Sorry nope. Also I’ve grown a lot since that bet and I like Hyman now.




But not as much as I like winning bets

 

[Goonface2k14]

Let's try and not over analyze one game.

Plekanec played quite well defensively. Best game as a Leaf, by far, and his timing couldn't have been better. Him and Dwyane Wade drank some kind of magic potion last night and turned back the clock about 10 years. Nice to see.

Long term, maybe Plekanec keeps this up over the playoffs, but I think that top Bruins line will still generate enough chances and be a big threat no matter what. Their track record speaks for itself.

The two sustainable takeaways I have from last night's success are:

1) Keep Leo Komarov off the roster - certain special players can create open ice and make other players around them better. Leo is the exact opposite of that. He's decent on the PK and maybe in the final minutes when protecting a lead, but he's a noticeable liability otherwise. Drags his teammates down with his poor puck skills.

2) Get physical against the top Bruins line - Rielly did a fantastic job keeping Pasternak and Marchand frustrated with some physical play and not backing down one bit. If the Leafs can continue that, they will have their best chance against that big line, and ultimately a big part of the Bruins' offense.

 

[deletethis]

Feels great to win. There have been enough good stretches for the Leafs in the first 3 games that a win feels deserved.

But.... the Leafs ain't winning this series without playing better than they did last night. The Bruins had too many golden scoring chances. I have no doubt that the Leafs can play better. The physical posturing that happens early in playoffs series is mostly over. Now it's about hockey and I think the Leafs' coaching staff will find schemes to better handle that Bruins' lst line.

 

[IBeL34f]

That's an interesting way to look at it. I'm sure if we erase Pasta Leafs probably win game two.

Bruins had 42 shots, they missed open nets, made our PK look bush league, hit posts and crossbars all night and also got robbed by the save of the playoffs. Boston did not get dominated. It was a class game. If you think we dominated Boston tonight I can only image the term you use for the past two games.

Perhaps the Bruins were missing some of those chances because they were gripping their sticks a little tighter than usual?

Either way, Boston wasn't the only team with missed chances and unfortunate breaks - Last night, or any other night this series. Game 2 was a lot closer than the score indicated, and while I wouldn't say last night was a blowout by any means, the Leafs were the better team.

 

[Leafling]

One thing Plekanec has over Kadri on that line is Bergeron and Marchand seem to really dislike him. He was in their heads all game.

True , i think one option could be switching marner and kapanen. Allows for the kadri and marner pairing to stay intact and plakenic to do what he's been doing with marleau.

 

[saltming]

Sorry nope. Also I’ve grown a lot since that bet and I like Hyman now.




But not as much as I like winning bets

Damn you!!!!!!!
But welcome to the dark side

 

[NiftyMits]

Please please pleaseeeeeeee keep Leo out Babcock PLEASEEEEEEEE

 

[ACC1224]

That's an interesting way to look at it. I'm sure if we erase Pasta Leafs probably win game two.

Bruins had 42 shots, they missed open nets, made our PK look bush league, hit posts and crossbars all night and also got robbed by the save of the playoffs. Boston did not get dominated. It was a class game. If you think we dominated Boston tonight I can only image the term you use for the past two games.

My post was one sentence and you got that lost. Seems you're a little bunched up for whatever reason, good luck.

 

[MyBudJT]

Gotta love all the Babcock haters eating crow! They were ripping him to threads on putting Plekanec up the lineup prior to the start of the game!

 

[SeaOfBlue]

That's an interesting way to look at it. I'm sure if we erase Pasta Leafs probably win game two.

Bruins had 42 shots, they missed open nets, made our PK look bush league, hit posts and crossbars all night and also got robbed by the save of the playoffs. Boston did not get dominated. It was a class game. If you think we dominated Boston tonight I can only image the term you use for the past two games.

From watching that 3rd period, I thought we were lucky to win in the end. They missed more than a few Grade A chances (including the Andersen robbery at the end) that could have easily tipped the game in their favour.

The Leafs played much better than the first two games, but luck was definitely on our side in that game too. Without it, we definitely could have lost.

 

[hoglund]

That's an interesting way to look at it. I'm sure if we erase Pasta Leafs probably win game two.

Bruins had 42 shots, they missed open nets, made our PK look bush league, hit posts and crossbars all night and also got robbed by the save of the playoffs. Boston did not get dominated. It was a class game. If you think we dominated Boston tonight I can only image the term you use for the past two games.

I agree, Boston didn't get dominated last night and the Leafs didn’t get dominated in game one, the score may say otherwise, but there were many shots on net and scoring chances for both teams.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

From watching that 3rd period, I thought we were lucky to win in the end. They missed more than a few Grade A chances (including the Andersen robbery at the end) that could have easily tipped the game in their favour.

The Leafs played much better than the first two games, but luck was definitely on our side in that game too. Without it, we definitely could have lost.

And had the Bruins had their first goal disallowed on the offside, it probably wouldn't of opened the floodgates for them. If, Nuts, Candies and Buts. I'll take it

 

[Walshy7]

Damn you!!!!!!!
But welcome to the dark side

Were talking about Hyman So it would be the dark corner no?