Series Talk: Leafs vs Jackets- Series Preview and Discussion - II

[LeafChief]

Apparently they will be employing a tremendous forecheck along with a strangling trap and targetting our skill players physically.

That's what I heard at least.

Lmao this still kills me.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Leafs rank by non Canadian outfit. Read the quick review on us. They get it. Many leaf fans don’t because we have never had this much talent top of the lineup. High time fans start being objective and lose the inferiority complex towards the team.

NHL Power Rankings: Teams with best long-term outlook

 

[3headeddragon]

I strongly suspect Torts startegic genuis/adaptability is getting pretty overstated in this thread by a substantial margin.

I respect that people feel that Keefe may be untested in the NHL at this point, but Torts has his issues...

Also, Keefe will have a training camp of his own to implement his own vision for the team instead adjusting another coaches plan on the fly.

 

[ULF_55]

Leafs rank by non Canadian outfit. Read the quick review on us. They get it. Many leaf fans don’t because we have never had this much talent top of the lineup. High time fans start being objective and lose the inferiority complex towards the team.

NHL Power Rankings: Teams with best long-term outlook

I'm not surprised at the ranking at all.

I'm surprised they were as bad this year as they were. Wasn't expecting so much regression.

 

[zeke]

I'm not surprised at the ranking at all.

I'm surprised they were as bad this year as they were. Wasn't expecting so much regression.

A goaltending slump can happen to any team really.

 

[ULF_55]

A goaltending slump can happen to any team really.

Certainly, and if you only have 1 that's a management problem.

Though it does seem some teams can support a struggling keeper. That usually requires a solid defense and team buy in.

 

[zeke]

Certainly, and if you only have 1 that's a management problem.

Though it does seem some teams can support a struggling keeper. That usually requires a solid defense and team buy in.

True. The backup goaltending problem in particular is on management.

Then again, the leafs are in 13th, despite having the 21st ranked sv%. And rank 8th with the 20th sv% under the new coach.

Only two teams ahead of them with worse goaltending:

WSH: 5th place, 28th goaltending
CAR: 8th place, 25th goaltending
TOR: 13th place, 21st goaltending

Of course, even the standings are a bit deceiving there thanks to shootouts.

WAS: 37 row (69gms)
CAR: 36 row (71gms)
TOR: 35 row (70gms)

 

[stickty111]

This seems to indicate Leafs will stay in Toronto if it is a hub city. It won't be East teams going to Vegas, and West teams going to Toronto.

 

[Golden_Jet]

This seems to indicate Leafs will stay in Toronto if it is a hub city. It won't be East teams going to Vegas, and West teams going to Toronto.

Wouldn’t be a big advantage to the home team, but Morgan Reilly did say there will be a small advantage.

 

[stickty111]

Wouldn’t be a big advantage to the home team, but Morgan Reilly did say there will be a small advantage.

I agree without fans, there isn't really an advantage. There just is something about playing in your rink though.

 

[FlareKnight]

Leafs rank by non Canadian outfit. Read the quick review on us. They get it. Many leaf fans don’t because we have never had this much talent top of the lineup. High time fans start being objective and lose the inferiority complex towards the team.

NHL Power Rankings: Teams with best long-term outlook

They get it so much that we’re outranked by teams like Boston and Pittsburgh. Unless their definition of long term outlook is next season I’m not sure teams with much older cores should have a brighter future. Plus their reasoning for us being fine is that cup winners have to deal with cap hell...something that happens after they win and gets in the way of winning again.

Honestly not that amazing a breakdown. Leafs have plenty of talent and yet they have a long way to go. Nothing really there that we shouldn’t already know.

 

[Mess]

NHL Hockey - Offensive Stats

Offense

Team	PP%	Score	Shots	PP Goals	PP Chances
Tampa Bay	23.11	3.50	31.10	0.70	3.03
Washington	18.98	3.48	31.99	0.59	3.13
Toronto	22.84	3.40	32.86	0.64	2.81
Colorado	19.09	3.39	32.26	0.66	3.44
Philadelphia -	20.70	3.36	31.39	0.68	3.29

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Toronto: PP% (6th), Goals/g (3rd), Shots/g (6th)

Sortable Stats: NHL Hockey - Offensive Stats

NHL Hockey - Defensive Stats

Defense

Team	PK%	Score	Shots	PP Goals	PP Chances
Boston	84.26	2.49	30.04	0.49	3.09
Dallas	80.65	2.57	31.52	0.61	3.14
Arizona	82.74	2.67	32.36	0.49	2.81
Columbus -	81.66	2.67	29.90	0.44	2.41
St. Louis	79.80	2.72	29.61	0.58	2.86

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Columbus: Goals Against (3rd), Shots Against (6th), PP goals allowed/g (1st), PP chances allowed/g (1st)

Sortable Stats: NHL Hockey - Defensive Stats

 

[zeke]

I still don't understand why the same people who keep saying coaching is so important, at the same time keep judging these leafs by what they did under a different coach.

 

[Merrrlin]

I still don't understand why the same people who keep saying coaching is so important, at the same time keep judging these leafs by what they did under a different coach.

This forum is sometimes a mess where people think it makes you look smart to be overly supportive of our opponents and rivals.

 

[Menzinger]

FYI
NHL.com Jack Adams end of season vote

Torts came 3rd in this end of season vote. I guess his issue is he didn’t come 1st or 2nd?
Looks like he’s being underrated a bit?

I think voters are swayed too often by teams that get long stretches of hot goaltending

 

[Wafflewhipper]

This forum is sometimes a mess where people think it makes you look smart to be overly supportive of our opponents and rivals.

Thats my impression also. If these two goalies Columbus are running ( they still haven’t decided a #1) running with a unsustainably high save % was our guys, the rants against them because of “small Sample size” would dominate the board.

The minimalist scenario is bizarrely common. We score goals at a rate of almost 1 goal per game more than Columbus. We have a combined special teams that ranks higher combined. We have a elite powerplay. We have a proven #1 goalie.

Having better is still viewed cautiously to the point of a bit to much over the line of caution. I think we are going to punish Columbus and win in a sweep. We are simply to skilled and fast as a completely healthy almost full lineup( except Johnsson). Robertson might completely nullify the loss of Johnsson yet also.

Top 4 players we have on offense are undeniably as good as any team.
Morgan Rielly is as lethal when healthy as any teams best defenseman.

I like our extremely productive offense over a extremely challenged offense in a 5 game series where getting off to a fast start offensively can seal the deal.

 

[LeafsNation75]

NHL.com ranked Andersen at #8 among Goalies in the play in round.

Super 16: Top goalies playing in Stanley Cup Qualifiers

8. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Total points: 80

Season stats: 52 games, 29-13-7, 2.85 GAA, .909 save percentage, 3 shutouts

Career playoff stats: 48 games, 25-20, 2.63 GAA, .914 save percentage, 2 shutouts

Andersen was one win from his fourth straight season with at least 30. He's first in the NHL in starts (244) and third in wins in the past four seasons (136). However, he hasn't helped the Maple Leafs win a playoff round in three trips to the postseason with them. They lost to the Bruins in seven games in the Eastern Conference First Round each of the past two seasons.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Wouldn’t be a big advantage to the home team, but Morgan Reilly did say there will be a small advantage.

I think there would be a sizable advantage of being the only eastern team not limited by personnel and/or facilities.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I could go cherry pick a bad run by Columbus to minimize Torts overall record this year you know!

Earlier this season from February 10 - 28, Columbus lost 8 games in a row. Now 5 of those loses were in overtime or the shootout, however either way it was still consecutive loses in a row.

 

[kb]

Earlier this season from February 10 - 28, Columbus lost 8 games in a row. Now 5 of those loses were in overtime or the shootout, however either way it was still consecutive loses in a row.

Exactly, and overall Columbus only won 3 of their last 15 games coming into the stoppage.

Weird how someone glosses over that to cherry pick Leaf stats?

 

[LeafsNation75]

Exactly, and overall Columbus only won 3 of their last 15 games coming into the stoppage.

Weird how someone glosses over that to cherry pick Leaf stats?

Columbus also had the most overtime/shootout loses with 15. So something like that helped them to at least reach the play in round, because they were able to benefit from getting 1 point in the standings with those loses.

 

[Metroid]

We're gonna win this series.
We all know they can. Stop being afraid to say it on the internet.
If for whatever reason we lose, who gives a shit. Does not mean youre better or knowore than the coach or GM, hoping for failure is a sad trait.
Some ppl here are able to see faults in our team and debate it, most just spew shit outta their asses.
Go leafs go

 

[BertCorbeau]

Stay on topic

 

[Mess]

You don't say, I wouldn't have known given how off topic this thread is going.

It would be nice if we can get back to the topic of Toronto vs Columbus, instead of things like how John Tortorella is a better coach than Sheldon Keefe which started this whole mess.

How is discussing the coaches involved in this series considered off topic?

In fact, whichever coach can implement the best strategy and system and get their team up to speed quicker will have a huge impact on the outcome of this Toronto vs Columbus series.

That said due to the near 5 month layoff from when the season ended in March to when this series will be played in August, with an offseason, preseason, training camp we should likely treat this as a whole new season, with not a lot of carry forward including coaching records from last year. IMO

The series play is likely to be closer to the first 5 games of a new regular season rather than a 5 game playoff level series.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

How is discussing the coaches involved in this series considered off topic?

In fact, whichever coach can implement the best strategy and system and get their team up to speed quicker will have a huge impact on the outcome of this Toronto vs Columbus series.

That said due to the near 5 month layoff from when the season ended in March to when this series will be played in August, with an offseason, preseason, training camp we should likely treat this as a whole new season, with not a lot of carry forward including coaching records from last year. IMO

The series play is likely to be closer to the first 5 games of a new regular season rather than a 5 game playoff level series.

Natural scoring and the fact that we depend on offense not defense as our approach to winning favours us. By the time Columbus gets a groove going defensively we might have them chasing the game. Barrie produced 32 pts in 47 games under Keefe. Add a healthy Rielly to that and thete will be ample offense from the back end also. Say what you want about Barrie/Rielly defensively, they could be a handful offensively and Muzzin/Holl are a healthy shut down pair. Add to that our faceoff winning % is pretty much the largest of all the head to head match-ups Columbus is terrible in the faceoff circle and hopefully that continues and allows us to possess the puck plenty.

Columbus will be under the gun to hit their defensive stride right away and if we start burying goals at a high rate they could get frustrated.