Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose 4-1

Mess

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Feb 27, 2002
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Some give the impression they believe all hits should be illegal.
Hitting is such an important part of hockey..

Hitting is often used to change momentum in a game when a team sends out an energy line and they go to work with a bit hit the raises intensity.

Hitting is often crucial in regaining puck possession by separating the puck carrier from the puck with a well time hit or battle along the boards and if nothing less the "fear of " being hit causes the player to toss it away to avoid contact and that can result in costly turnovers that result in goal against.

It can also be used as a protection blanket in terms in intimidation to prevent others from taking liberties on your talented players without fear of repercussion, and your skilled players play with more backbone knowing that others have their backs.

Its intent is not to injure, but a big hit that takes fans out of their seats and raises the level of play thereafter if great for the game.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, as you know the value of playing big, heavy physical hockey and its advantages, but your post the perfect one to build off of.. : )
 
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Mess

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I suggest they switch to women's hockey where I believe hitting is not allowed.
Hey that's not fair to woman's ice hockey.. Check this out Canada via USA woman's hockey and the hitting.

Women’s hockey! 6 minutes of hits and highlights from half of one period alone​




Don’t tell me women’s hockey isn’t exciting or physical ever again. :wg: All these clips are taken from one single ten minute span.
 

ACC1224

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Aug 19, 2002
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Hey that's not fair to woman's ice hockey.. Check this out Canada via USA woman's hockey and the hitting.

Women’s hockey! 6 minutes of hits and highlights from half of one period alone​




Don’t tell me women’s hockey isn’t exciting or physical ever again. :wg: All these clips are taken from one single ten minute span.

Should have provided a disclaimer so some could shield their eyes from such violence and avoid such a traumatic experience.
 
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notDatsyuk

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Jul 20, 2018
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First goal was the same horrible crap by Reilly everyone was talking about...

FFS
What horrible crap? Not a great pass, but it was intercepted by a player coming from behind him.

The biggest problem was that Tavares had his man but stopped skating and let him get wide open for the goal.
 

Pebble live

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Oct 17, 2021
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Should have provided a disclaimer so some could shield their eyes from such violence and avoid such a traumatic experience.
More physicality than most leaf games here and I'm not even joking. Well sometimes the other team manhandles the leafs so it makes it about even.
 
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CantLoseWithMatthews

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Sep 28, 2015
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Problems with judging defensive play by goals against aside, it should be noted that 5 of those are into an empty net, 3 of those are 3v3, and most of our defense has missed games.
He's been on the ice for all of 4 goals at 5v5 in the 8 games since he's been back, while getting the toughest assignments, and playing the most minutes.
Even just 5v5, he's been on the ice for as many goals against as Giordano in 15 fewer games. On a per minute basis at 5v5, he's comfortably been the guy getting scored on the most of any regular defenseman at 2.52/60. Second worst on the team is Brodie at 2.09, who suffers from being Rielly's most common partner.

I also don't really think he deserves a pass just because the net is empty and especially during 3v3, because he's a big reason the team struggles in those areas.

There's only one defenseman who played for the Leafs this year with a negative goal differential at 5v5, and it's Rielly. There's only one regular defenseman on the team who hasn't scored a goal yet, and it's Rielly. He's also just 6th on the defense (5th if you don't want to count Timmins) in expected goal differential and scoring chance differential. Can we not just be honest about how terrible he's been this year and how much it's going to cripple the team to pay him 7.5 million until 2030?
 
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CabanaBoy5

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Rielly's back to leading the defense in ES goals against, even though he's missed 15 games
His defensive game is so poor. He plays rover on the ice constantly out of position. One could overlook this if he produced offensively like he did a few years ago. No goals for an offensive defenceman all season who also plays PP1. Only 2 assists in his past five games. He certainly isn’t earning his contract.
 
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stickty111

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Jan 23, 2017
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It's why I'm still not confident in the bottom 6 come playoff time. Kerfoot, Engvall, ZAR, Jarnkrok. I expect little to no offense out of these guys in a series

We definitely need more scoring come the TDL
Evidence keeps piling up they need another top 6 forward, and bit more reshaping of the bottom 6. If the main forward add brings some grit or jam, even better.
Aside from that, I'm not upset about the loss. We looked tired but were right there til the end.

As someone who defends Rielly, his play is troubling. You can live with the gaffs if his positives were showing but they aren't. Not going to panic yet but something to keep an eye on.
 

therealkoho

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Jul 10, 2009
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You really think the best players in the game all would want to get back together for one weekend at the end of july for an All-Star game after a 9-10 month long season? Screw that. Its summer time for a reason. They probably want to spend their time at the cabin or a few mlb games or golf trips or just travel. Not show up in who really cares where for a skills competition and a game of shinny.

Agreed with the 1-8 format. Shouldnt have left that format in the first place.
Same for the tie, but no for some reason the BettMan has a belief that all Americans hate ties which is horsepuckey


When it was 6 teams 4 of them were in the US, no one ever said dick about ties ever. From the time I was 10 I read Hockey Illustrated, The Hockey News. Newspapers such as The Globe and Mail with Dick Beddoes and Scott Young doing hockey and hockey business features, The Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator both of whom had real hockey departments, and not one of them featured one word neither positive nor negative about tie games or ridding the league of them.

In summation the BettMan is full of it. And the shoot out is a gimmick that is past due on its expiration date.
 

therealkoho

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Tavares is elite on the PP and in the slot...basically he's elite as long as he's standing still.

Luckily, skating on ice is his only weakness.


Wait'll you get a load of him at Roller Derby with the San Francisco Bay Area Bombers playing the whippee roll, lapping the field and banging em out over the rail.
 

therealkoho

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Jul 10, 2009
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I started hockey at age 6.There was hitting then. They taught you how to check. We practiced it too (remember the gauntlet?). After 3 seasons they took it away for safety reasons. It never felt the same for me. I could no longer get up for a non-contact game. Stick handling and watching selfish hockey players hang on to the puck forever was really bad. I kept playing minor hockey, but it just sucked.

It really was figure skating. Or at the very least it was 'hold on to the puck as long as you can ignoring your team mates non-contact public skating'.
I remember and it made hockey great, fun to play and better to watch for the average fan.

But as someone who played a little, I cannot tolerate the dirty stuff, nor should it have any place in the game.

You see a hit that targets the head and everybody wrings their hands and gets all up in arms, and for good reasons, although it wouldn't be happening without the Will Smith movie.

Than you see a guy who gets cross checked across the small of the back, and nothings said or done. It happens again and again, which from the very first one creates the beginnings of crippling back issues and nobody says anything because it's a so called hockey play. Which it isn't and never has been, no more than Dougies was when he cross checked Sandstrom in the upper arm, which would have gone unnoticed if Sandstroms arm hadn't been broken.

BTW I'm the guy who's had two back surgeries and hip problems because that cross check was a hockey play.

And not just me think Benns crosscheck on our MVP
 

Pebble live

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His defensive game is so poor. He plays rover on the ice constantly out of position. One could overlook this if he produced offensively like he did a few years ago. No goals for an offensive defenceman all season who also plays PP1. Only 2 assists in his past five games. He certainly isn’t earning his contract.
It's crazy to me he didn't pick up anything during his time away injured.

Its beyond obvious at this point he's an issue back there. Either the team gets honest about it and try to coach him into a quieter role or they should try and move on from him.
 

Knies iT

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Mar 6, 2015
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It's crazy to me he didn't pick up anything during his time away injured.

Its beyond obvious at this point he's an issue back there. Either the team gets honest about it and try to coach him into a quieter role or they should try and move on from him.
Rielly's gap control hasn't improved since he entered the league. I don't know how it's possible. He hasn't made a single adjustment to it and you know he's had multiple coaches in his ear about it. He's also not going to get better than what he is now.

Been saying it for years but he's a rich man's Krug. You can win with a guy like Rielly/Krug, but it all comes down to utilization and luckily the Leafs are coming to a point where they don't need to overly depend on him.
 

Cap'n Flavour

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Mar 8, 2004
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I remember and it made hockey great, fun to play and better to watch for the average fan.

But as someone who played a little, I cannot tolerate the dirty stuff, nor should it have any place in the game.

You see a hit that targets the head and everybody wrings their hands and gets all up in arms, and for good reasons, although it wouldn't be happening without the Will Smith movie.

Than you see a guy who gets cross checked across the small of the back, and nothings said or done. It happens again and again, which from the very first one creates the beginnings of crippling back issues and nobody says anything because it's a so called hockey play. Which it isn't and never has been, no more than Dougies was when he cross checked Sandstrom in the upper arm, which would have gone unnoticed if Sandstroms arm hadn't been broken.

Yeah, well:

It's why 'Hits' is such a silly stat.
No one watched that game and felt the Leafs were the aggressor.
They were pretty much bullied all night.

Know why?

I’d like to add that I’m glad Ben Chiarot doesn’t actually play ice hockey. Dudes a sumo wrestler combined with a WWE athlete. Takedown after interference after tackle

The key to physical play now isn't to throw hits all the time, it's to do micro cheapshots, stealth stickwork and casual interference that never gets called in the playoffs. So all this whining about how the game isn't physical anymore because guys aren't getting drilled head-first into the boards every period and how badly we need a Tom Wilson is missing the point.
 
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CabanaBoy5

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Wait'll you get a load of him at Roller Derby with the San Francisco Bay Area Bombers playing the whippee roll, lapping the field and banging em out over the rail.
Didn’t Skinny Minny Miller skate with San Francisco? Now there was an elusive skater who rarely was hit! Kinda like Marner.
 

Dayjobdave

Registered User
Apr 29, 2010
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I wonder if Tavares will be next to take a 1 week holiday. He looks like he's low on batteries.
Maybe, but he did score 5 goals in the 4 games before this one.

I agree we should give him a rest. Bring someone up for their first cup of coffee in case we need them. Give captain JT a break.

I need to get this off my chest but the refs tonight sucked.

Bunting gets a stick in his face and his helmet falls off and no penalty. Tavares barley slashes at a Red Wings player stick and gets 2:00 minutes, where as Liljegren gets his stick slashed in half and no penalty is called. Right before Detroit's 2nd goal Kerfoot gets his sticked kicked away and that's why they scored and no penalty is called.
It definitely feels like that guy who roots for whoever is playing the Leafs Got a job as a reF.
 

Dekes For Days

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Sep 24, 2018
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Even just 5v5, he's been on the ice for as many goals against as Giordano in 15 fewer games. On a per minute basis at 5v5, he's comfortably been the guy getting scored on the most of any regular defenseman at 2.52/60. Second worst on the team is Brodie at 2.09, who suffers from being Rielly's most common partner.

I also don't really think he deserves a pass just because the net is empty and especially during 3v3, because he's a big reason the team struggles in those areas.

There's only one defenseman who played for the Leafs this year with a negative goal differential at 5v5, and it's Rielly. There's only one regular defenseman on the team who hasn't scored a goal yet, and it's Rielly. He's also just 6th on the defense (5th if you don't want to count Timmins) in expected goal differential and scoring chance differential. Can we not just be honest about how terrible he's been this year and how much it's going to cripple the team to pay him 7.5 million until 2030?
I mean, if you want to talk about Rielly's play this season, let's actually talk about Rielly's play this season.

Let's not use a stat that's heavily impacted by goaltending and pretend it's showing defensive play - especially considering that Rielly was injured while our goaltending was on fire.
Let's not then misrepresent that stat by including game states that Rielly disproportionately plays relative to our other defensemen, where goals against are massively more abundant because there's either half the players on the ice, or no goalie in the net.
Let's not then pretend that that is fine by falsely accusing him of being the cause of our struggles in those areas this year, with nothing to back that up.
Let's not dismiss the other aspects of the game, and pretend that goals are the only offensive contribution that exist.
Let's not ignore context or deployment or be very selective about how things are described in order to paint Rielly in the worst light.

Rielly has had his ups and downs this season, but I don't think the massive exaggerations and fear-mongering help any case you may have.
There's been a whole lot of arbitrarily blaming Rielly for things that really have nothing to do with him this year. Considering how defense-minded most of our defensemen are, you'd think there'd be more appreciation for what he can bring.
Can we not just be honest about how ridiculous it is to suggest he's terrible and going to cripple the team until 2030?
He's a really good player, and overall, brings a lot of value to a team.
 

Dekes For Days

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Sep 24, 2018
20,327
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Hitting is such an important part of hockey..
Hitting is often used to change momentum in a game when a team sends out an energy line and they go to work with a bit hit the raises intensity.
Hitting is often crucial in regaining puck possession by separating the puck carrier from the puck with a well time hit or battle along the boards and if nothing less the "fear of " being hit causes the player to toss it away to avoid contact and that can result in costly turnovers that result in goal against.
It can also be used as a protection blanket in terms in intimidation to prevent others from taking liberties on your talented players without fear of repercussion, and your skilled players play with more backbone knowing that others have their backs.
Its intent is not to injure, but a big hit that takes fans out of their seats and raises the level of play thereafter if great for the game.
Hitting is just another tool in the toolbox.
There are many ways to change momentum.
There are many ways to regain puck possession.
The whole "protection blanket" and the making people scared stuff aren't actual things.
Hitting can provide value, but its value gets massively exaggerated around here. There doesn't have to be (and there shouldn't be) intent to injure in hitting, but what you posted and celebrated was a play where there was intent to injure the greatest player ever in a dangerous and unnecessary way.
 

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