Pre-Game Talk: Leafs @ Sabres - Time to goon it up.....

[Diatomic]

You want Clarkson dish the puck more? The guy has not made very many clean passes all season.

I'd rather have him try to make a semi-accurate pass than shoot a foot wide every time he has the puck

 

[Trapper]

I believe the Leafs will win the next 2 against Buffalo and Montreal.
That being said, there is a lot of doom and gloom for what is essentially still a rebuild. If you think the Leafs are anything more right now then a team that fights for a playoff spot, you might be disappointed.
That's not a bad thing, it is what it is.
This is how I think of them to avoid having a stroke.
For me, the rebuild started with drafting Rielly, the JVR trade and Nonis taking over.
Don't get me wrong, I like the things Burke did, credit where credit is due, but it wasn't a rebuild, it was a salvage operation.
A lousy NHL team, no AHL team, zero prospects and bad scouting.
How would you feel about the team if we started the rebuild now? It would probably look like this.
A lot of good pieces, but still missing key pieces.
We will have stinker nights but we are still better than some teams that have been drafting top 5 for the past 6 years.
We got a point against Pittsburgh and now have a chance for 2 against Buffalo.

 

[StringsAttached]

It'll go like this;

Great first few minutes, all momentum in our favour and an early lead.

Refs: 'Leafs are up? Not in this ****ing game they're not, not while we're on the ice'

5-3 for the Sabres because of 2 garbage calls and they score.

Refs: 'Job well done boys now remember, no matter how dirty the Sabres get do not call penalties, we got center ice tickets here and want a close game, for the fans!'

All momentum sucked dry from the Leafs and the Sabres dominate, we still manage to score on the occasional PP but do not play a full 60 minutes for whatever absurd reason (bad coaching, defensive lapses).

Another night of bad officiating and our gritty playstyle is non-existent. Too scared to play our game in fear that it will result in PP's for the Sabres.

End result; very close game but we manage to pull a win and hang on by the skin of our balls.

 

[Quares27]

How about instead of gooning it up we get some points vs the worst team in the league after that blowout vs Columbus and Pejorative Slured loss vs Pittsburgh?

sounds good

 

[Asif16*]

How about instead of gooning it up we get some points vs the worst team in the league after that blowout vs Columbus and Pejorative Slured loss vs Pittsburgh?

sounds good

Or maybe we can do both??

I dont care if your pro fighting or anti fighting, fact of the matter was, we won most of our games last season when we fought early in the game. It was part of our identity.

Now we barely fight. Now im not saying that the lack of fights are the reason we suck right now...but still.

 

[HockeyGuy82]

Kadri please do not hit Miller

it's not funny but...

 

[Cor]

We need to get our identity back. We need to hit everything, we need to fight anyone. It was apparent this opened up ice for Kessel, Kadri, Lupul etc to do their thing

 

[Anchor Town*]

Who is probable to start?

 

[jimmycarter]

leafs lose both games this weekend. go on winning streak in late feb when rob ford steps down. playoffs ensue.

 

[Diatomic]

We split games with buffalo 1-1 a while back, this isn't going to be an easy win by any means. While Buffalo is a horrible team this leafs team is on the brink of disaster.

Also I saw a stat on Theleafsnation where we've been outshot something like 43-10 (or something like that) in our recent 3rd periods for our last few games. Yeah, its that bad .

 

[Rayzorexe]

I don't care as much if Toronto loses tomorrow versus the Sabres and Saturday versus the Habs (well maybe not that one). As long as they put enough effort in their game till the point where we don't see them running around in our own zone for 3 to 5 minutes at a time or go long stretches without a shot or a scoring chance on net, I'm okay with it (for now)

 

[leafstilldeath*]

Just run with this;

JVR-Holland-Kessel
Raymond-Kadri-Clarkson/Kuli
McClement-Bozak-Clarkson/Kuli (SHUT DOWN LINE) since Randy is a line matching coach
McLaren-Smithson-Orr

Be a 2 scoring line team with a beast shut-down line to neutralize opposition's top line.

Tweak it when we play teams with 2 scoring lines.

Get it done Randy you old Buffoon. And for goodness sake learn to use your time-outs

 

[Erdinger]

Even though Ted looks the part and bees hot they don't have it. Buffalo just doesn't have it. They are a weak team. But in the NHL any team can win at any time if the motivation/energy/wanting to win level is not at its fullest. Interesting game for certainly.

You already know we are the hardest out there. Carlyle might lose a tire and one of his temples if Ted Nolan gets the best of him in this one.... I want to see Carlyle's temples bubbling up big time. Maple Leafs should hide seek and destroy here. Fight some hard.

I'm finding it harder and harder not laugh at your schtick

 

[Erdinger]

I don't care as much if Toronto loses tomorrow versus the Sabres and Saturday versus the Habs (well maybe not that one). As long as they put enough effort in their game till the point where we don't see them running around in our own zone for 3 to 5 minutes at a time or go long stretches without a shot or a scoring chance on net, I'm okay with it (for now)

No that is completely unacceptable against those 2 teams.

 

[34]

Please don't touch anyone. Let the other team push our goalie for a free goal.

Don't even sneeze because we'll get called for it.

LOL, so true. I hate to play the "blame the refs" but this has been silly this season.

 

[rdawg1234]

We need to get our identity back. We need to hit everything, we need to fight anyone. It was apparent this opened up ice for Kessel, Kadri, Lupul etc to do their thing

Yea what is up with the lack of fighting this season! not that it makes a massive difference, but it was definitely apart of our identity last season.

Almost every game we would fight, this year I've seen maybeee, 2-3 fights from our 4th line?

 

[CellarDweller0]

For the love of God if we are up by 1 can we still forecheck?

^ THIS! Please for the love of everything that is sacred, THIS!

 

[Warden of the North]

Game Day!

 

[Daisy Jane]

Why I think we'll do well this weekend is that the team did have the right response after the Columbus game and we all know what happened in the third period. I feel that the good will carry off into the games. all will be great

 

[Warden of the North]

Got a good feeling about this weekend. Back up the 18 wheeler!

 

[ACC1224]

No doubt they'll win tonight. Hopefully they show a pulse why doing it.

 

[HockeyGuy82]

If they don't win tonight, whatever small talks Nonis has going on with other GM's might pick up a lot of momentum.

I really like Gardiner. He's a good kid. He still has great potential, but maybe not as much with Carlyle's system.

 

[samyy]

If they don't win tonight, whatever small talks Nonis has going on with other GM's might pick up a lot of momentum.

I really like Gardiner. He's a good kid. He still has great potential, but maybe not as much with Carlyle's system.

Or maybe its Carlyle that is the problem.

 

[false bobo]

Gardiner has looked solid this year for the most part. Not sure what problem people are seeing.

 

[Warden of the North]

We need a GDT!