Pre-Game Talk: Jan 29th versus Buffalo - We need Kessel going tomorrow!

[iceblue]

We need more players starting with the letter K

komisarek
kulemin
kostka
komarov
kessel
kadri

Why? So we can be called the LeaKs?

 

[Yosho]

I don't see how the hatred against Kostka is rational. He has been solid and can handle big minutes. The fact that they were able to keep up with the Rangers, heavily stacked, first line for 45 minutes was impressive.

If anything, it was decision-making errors by Phaneuf that made the Leafs vulnerable. That had a lot to do with the >30 minute ice time and Randy is going to change that.

I don't understand why people think a combination of Phaneuf and Gunnarson will save the season.

How has that combo worked out in the past two seasons? Are they really that first defensive line pairing that we need? Nah.

In a shortened, wasteful season, I'm all for experiments.

 

[leafspring*]

Ryan Hamilton took the game MVP at the AHL all star game last night for the game winner,and hat trick .The leafs should give him a call-up if MacArthur is out for tonights game. He has turned into a quality player,and already had leadership qualities.

 

[hockeywiz542]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2013/01/28/20534126.html

With Lupul out of the picture for the time being and Clarke MacArthur dealing with the pain, swelling and infection worries that come with losing a fingernail, van Riemsdyk practised with Kessel and centre Tyler Bozak on Monday in preparation for Ryan Miller and the rest of the Sabres.

 

[leafspring*]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2013/01/28/20534126.html

Going one step further to put Kadri in the middle likely frightens Carlyle,but he should do it now. When the season gets going here i expect Kadri there anyways because,he is ready for it. That guy wants the puck,wants the responsibility,but Carlyle wants to ease him into it i'm sure.

Bozak is now a good second line center,but Kadri is every bit as good/better now than Bozak was when he inherited the job on the first line.

 

[LeafOfBread]

Am I missing something? What "hard fought games" have they played? Scoring in the first then being dominated in the 2nd and 3rd don't count as hard fought games in my books. Falling apart and generating almost no scoring chances in the 2nd half of the game don't count either.

It's been the same story for years with this team. Jump off to a good start, trail off and blow a lead. There was no illusion last year, a lot of people could see that the team was just out scoring their problems right off the gate. Teams adapted to the Leafs' speed and the Leafs owned the worst after the all-star break.

They're slowly tightening up defensively. I was heavily disappointed with their performance against the Islanders and Rangers, but at least with the Rangers they faced a Cup favourite and actually gave them a run for their money on the scoreboard.

The problems are evident, but that's what I'm trying to say. It's better we figure this crap out now than what happened last season.

And the bolded is complete BS. At the beginning yes some people said that, but can you honestly say this is how you felt at the end of January when the Leafs were sitting 6th in the East and pretty much only had to go .500 for the rest of the season to make the playoffs? I remember how happy everyone was after we had that 1-0 game against Pittsburgh in that back-to-back series. A lot of people truly believed it was the year, I don't remember anyone saying "we're outscoring our problems" at that point. Then reality hit with the collapse. For whatever reason, Pittsburgh games seem to give this team an illusion.

 

[LeafOfBread]

What's the second line gonna be like if CMac and Lupul are both out?

 

[4evaBlue]

Bozak is now a good second line center,but Kadri is every bit as good/better now than Bozak was when he inherited the job on the first line.

In some aspects, yes, and even better. In others, not so much. Bozak's been great at faceoffs since entering the league, and his strong defensive abilities are one of the things that landed him on Kessel's line, as well as the PK unit.

 

[BayStBullies]

McClement is a PK beast.

 

[bobbyflex]

What's the second line gonna be like if CMac and Lupul are both out?

Frattin likely moves up

 

[Communal Blood]

Hoping for another high quality stream tonight.

 

[leafspring*]

In some aspects, yes, and even better. In others, not so much. Bozak's been great at faceoffs since entering the league, and his strong defensive abilities are one of the things that landed him on Kessel's line, as well as the PK unit.

Bozak is a minus player since he has been here so i wouldn't give him to much defensive credit. He wins face-offs yes.

He is so you know:
AHL/NHL combined -13 in 2009/10
NHL 2010/11 -29
NHL 2011/12 -7
nhl 2012/13 -3 on pace for -29

Winning face-offs with better defensive line mates would improve that nasty stat,and most likely help the team depth. That said, The first line center needs to produce offense,and Kadri is better for that i think.

We have a combination of power, skill,speed,and scoring in JVR/Kadri/Kessel that can't be ignored.

 

[shaner8989]

Do we really have to play Ryan Miller again?

Not looking forward to tonight. We will have 20 scoring chances and score on none

 

[Prototype]

Sucks that we lost a few games, but failure is a great teacher. Hope the kids learn from it and execute better tonight

 

[Rob Brown]

Heading to the game tonight. Should be good.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Leafs have not won in Buffalo since Feb 16, 2011. Damn.

 

[ponder]

Definitely a "just win" scenario. Who knows why Buffalo always beat us, but it needs to stop.

What are the lines going to look like?

JVR - Bozak - Kessel
Kulemin - Grabo - Frattin
Komarov - Kadri - ???
Orr - McClement - Brown

 

[EDDIE20*]

We need 3 periods out of EVERYONE. We need to stop relying on 2-3 players for effort, and have everyone bring their hard hats. These games are never easy, whether Buffalo sucks or not.

This. Everyone on the team needs to contribute tonight. Games vs. Buffalo are never easy for us and if the Leafs play them the way they played their last two games, this one will be over really quick.