Post-Game Talk: MAPLE LEAFS WIN BUFFALO!

[Teeder Keon]

ok, watched the first two periods then fell asleep, not because of a drink but because I have covid. It sucks, but I think I am on the mend.
O'Reilly-Tavares-Marner is smoking. who cares who is centre, surely they will just free form a bit.
Nice to see that O'Reilly still has the hands. And now Marner has another playmate he can feed passes to be buried.

Get well

 

[Petrus]

If Matty can carry Jarnkrok. I would like to try:

58 34 19
15 91 88
47 90 16
12 64 52

I fully expect Keefe to experiment/explore something similar at some point in the regular season.

 

[Notsince67]

Its not strange, juet normal...

Keefe put RoR with tavarea and marner to facilitate transfert of team... he gave 3 game together but sure unti playoff keefe will try different thing... like ror on 3rd line

Maybe ror with marner and jt on third line

Maybe ror with nylander, matthews with marner and jt on 3rd line...

Maybe Ror with matthews and nylander on 3rd

Right now its time to experiment different option of how keefe can use different player hes got, thats it

It's not it. It is a given that ROR would be experimented with. Communicating some level of permanency and then reversing really isn't communicating. There was less confusion before he said anything.

 

[saltming]

He didn't flip flop. He originally said he wants to stick with it and give them more than a few shifts or a game to settle in but at the end of the day, he likely will have Tavares back at center at some point because he did say he would experiment and try out different things. If that line keeps putting up hat tricks and dominating 5 on 5, they will not be changed.

I will throw another wrench in there. I watched the Buffalo feed and they said, reportedly, that Tavares had requesting to be moved to the wing for a while now. True? I don't know, but that's what they said

 

[thusk]

It's not it. It is a given that ROR would be experimented with. Communicating some level of permanency and then reversing really isn't communicating. There was less confusion before he said anything.

Or just oreilly whos adapt faster than keefe anticipated in leafs system so he changed his mind by doing his experiment faster to have a better idea of what he've got....

 

[Notsince67]

Or just oreilly whos adapt faster than keefe anticipated in leafs system so he changed his mind by doing his experiment faster to have a better idea of what he've got....

uh huh...after a single game against buffalo...

 

[Twine Tickler]

I don't know if it's the ROR factor or not, but I cannot remember the Leafs coming out with a start quite like that after a bad loss. They had an optional skate as opposed to a morning skate and all but Matthews and Marner attended. Which I wouldn't read too much into, I am sure there was valid reasoning to their absences. A guy like ROR can really set the tone on what is expected, and I gotta wonder if part of that start is due to his leadership prior to the puck drop. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I really don't think it was a coincidence that he showed up in a big way yesterday and lead the charge in that bounce back effort.

On to the game:

We won that game in the first period. Kind of hard to keep that level of pressure going for a full 60, but we really took our foot off the gas after 1. In all honesty, we could have easily lost that game as a result. We gotta find a way to stay in the fight when the games get out of favor like that. Credit to Buffalo, that is a good team over there, and they never backed down despite being given every reason to.

The good:
JT-ROR-Marner were outstanding offensively. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like they can get a bit scrambley in their own end. Most likely just ironing out new systems for ROR and the fact that JT is now playing on the wall. I expect that to slowly start to improve over time.

Acciari- WHAT A PICK UP. Him and ZAR on that 4th line together is exactly what we need. Kerf has looked good with them, but I also think you could put anyone with them by the way they're playing. Even Bobby McMann I think would be an excellent fit. I'd at least love to try it out before the deadline to see if Kerfoot's money is expendable.

The Meh:
Sammy - Made some big stops in the 2nd that kept that gap in the score. Without those saves who knows what happens in this game. Beaten point blank 3 times in the 3rd. He's gotta have at least 1 of those, likely 2. All n all, he was a big reason we won the game, but also a big reason it was tighter then it needed to be. If that makes any sense.

the Bad:
Connor Timmons: - Might of been the worst Leaf last night IMO. Very poor performance from him. But this is the rawness of his game that we expect to see. He will bounce back. But that was a bad one for him.

nice bounce back boys, onto Minny on friday!!

 

[saltming]

uh huh...after a single game against buffalo...

There were several analysts on Twitter that thought ROR would fit like a glove in Toronto due to our style of hockey. I would agree as he has looked comfortable since game one.

 

[Notsince67]

I don't know if it's the ROR factor or not, but I cannot remember the Leafs coming out with a start quite like that after a bad loss. They had an optional skate as opposed to a morning skate and all but Matthews and Marner attended. Which I wouldn't read too much into, I am sure there was valid reasoning to their absences. A guy like ROR can really set the tone on what is expected, and I gotta wonder if part of that start is due to his leadership prior to the puck drop. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I really don't think it was a coincidence that he showed up in a big way yesterday and lead the charge in that bounce back effort.

On to the game:

We won that game in the first period. Kind of hard to keep that level of pressure going for a full 60, but we really took our foot off the gas after 1. In all honesty, we could have easily lost that game as a result. We gotta find a way to stay in the fight when the games get out of favor like that. Credit to Buffalo, that is a good team over there, and they never backed down despite being given every reason to.

The good:
JT-ROR-Marner were outstanding offensively. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like they can get a bit scrambley in their own end. Most likely just ironing out new systems for ROR and the fact that JT is now playing on the wall. I expect that to slowly start to improve over time.

Acciari- WHAT A PICK UP. Him and ZAR on that 4th line together is exactly what we need. Kerf has looked good with them, but I also think you could put anyone with them by the way they're playing. Even Bobby McMann I think would be an excellent fit. I'd at least love to try it out before the deadline to see if Kerfoot's money is expendable.

The Meh:
Sammy - Made some big stops in the 2nd that kept that gap in the score. Without those saves who knows what happens in this game. Beaten point blank 3 times in the 3rd. He's gotta have at least 1 of those, likely 2. All n all, he was a big reason we won the game, but also a big reason it was tighter then it needed to be. If that makes any sense.

the Bad:
Connor Timmons: - Might of been the worst Leaf last night IMO. Very poor performance from him. But this is the rawness of his game that we expect to see. He will bounce back. But that was a bad one for him.

nice bounce back boys, onto Minny on friday!!

I didn't like Timmins play in the end either but the most taxed pair was Rielly with Holl and I don't think it was on balance, Rielly's fault.
They allowed 17 shots against while generating only 8 shots for.
This pair is a shitshow and needs some changes

 

[thusk]

uh huh...after a single game against buffalo...

With 24 game remaining yes...

You count probably 5 or 6 gamr at the end tonplay with the line up like hes gonna look start to playoff... keefe having like 17-18 game to make experiment

If keefe saw what he want to see, yes 3 game could be enought and doesn't mean he will not trying it again later... you cant spend 10 game of 1 experiment and like 8-9 for everything else

 

[Notsince67]

With 24 game remaining yes...

You count probably 5 or 6 gamr at the end tonplay with the line up like hes gonna look start to playoff... keefe having like 17-18 game to make experiment

If keefe saw what he want to see, yes 3 game could be enought and doesn't mean he will not trying it again later... you cant spend 10 game of 1 experiment and like 8-9 for everything else

I prefer to follow Occams Razor's principle which indicates that Keefe has verbal diarrhea in conjunction with not having a hashed out strategy.

 

[Twine Tickler]

I didn't like Timmins play in the end either but the most taxed pair was Rielly with Holl and I don't think it was on balance, Rielly's fault.
They allowed 17 shots against while generating only 8 shots for.
This pair is a shitshow and needs some changes

agreed. They have been a dumpster fire. They just cannot get a read on one another. Zero chem as a pairing. Not sure why sheldon keeps trying to force the issue on that pair. watching them play together is like jamming jello into a piggy bank. Just a f***ing mess

 

[thusk]

I prefer to follow Occams Razor's principle which indicates that Keefe has verbal diarrhea in conjunction with not having a hashed out strategy.

A coach who didn't adapt their strategy are a pretty bad coach in my mind

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Men against boys for 2 periods .. then Leafs took foot off pedal and Sammy showed his true colors .. but great game by Mitch .. and solid effort from gio and lily too .. 4 lines deep now .. what a breathe of fresh air .. Matty and Willy can be off and team survives

 

[Twine Tickler]

at the end of the day, yesterday is a prime example of how important starting on time is. If you can win the 1st in the fashion that we did, it makes it almost impossible for the opponent to get back into the game. Like I said earlier, Buffalo is no slouch, and we really shouldn't be surprised by the pushback they gave in the 2nd and 3rd. They've done that all year.

I don't expect us to pull ahead in that fashion that early into a game ever in the playoffs with the competition we are set to face. But I don't think it is out of the realm of possibilities that we are faced with the task of protecting a 3 goal lead with about half of the game left to play. We will need to be a lot better. I don't like only sending 1 guy in on the forecheck in these situations. It seems as though yesterday when the game got out of hand we started to play the game as if we were killing a penalty. We needed more sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Even just working the puck down low and eating minutes. That's how you win games with consistency.

Ultimately I'd really like to see a situation where when we are tasked to protect a lead, that our 2 wingers are aggressive in their puck pursuit and have the centre be a bit more dropped back in the play. Put the responsibility on the Centre to play that support role as opposed to splitting that responsibility over 5 guys. As in, ask 1 player to adapt their game, not the 4 others. If the centre is supporting his defensmen, they can remain active in keeping the pucks in at the offensive blue line, and ultimately force the opponent to play in their own end more. We've just never played well when we sit back. Between Matthews/JT/ROR/Kampf/Acciari/Kerf, all of those guys should be up to that task and more then capable of understanding what needs to get done. No matter what combo of Centre's we have 1-4, those men should know how to shoulder that responsibility. That is why they are natural Centremen.

The Centremen is always the forward that should be supporting the D, so asking them to not cheat their responsibility for any reason should not be that big of an adjustment.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Ugly 3rd period, particularly by Samsonov. Otherwise, it was great to see the Leafs dominate in their home away from home.

I was critical of the ROR experiment on the second line but it paid off big time last night. I'm still not sure if it's best for the team in the long run, but Keefe has made his decision for now so we'll see how it plays out.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

I didn't like Timmins play in the end either but the most taxed pair was Rielly with Holl and I don't think it was on balance, Rielly's fault.
They allowed 17 shots against while generating only 8 shots for.
This pair is a shitshow and needs some changes

Love to see the hats raining down on ROR with half the arena chanting Go Leafs Go, especially after so many miserable performances in Buffalo over the years.

As for Rielly-Holl, Keefe seems to keep slamming that square peg into the round hole for some unfathomable reason. But the problem is unfortunately Rielly. He has been a disaster in his own end since coming back. Completely lost positionally, constantly failing to intercept passes, etc. Brodie is basically the only player who can babysit him. Holl is what he is, which is absolutely not a top pair defenceman. Maybe Liljegren can grow into the role when a LD like Sandin is out and Brodie has to shift left, but he's not quite there yet (though I think its fairly obvious he's a better fit than Holl).

 

[Fogelhund]

Love to see the hats raining down on ROR with half the arena chanting Go Leafs Go, especially after so many miserable performances in Buffalo over the years.

As for Rielly-Holl, Keefe seems to keep slamming that square peg into the round hole for some unfathomable reason. But the problem is unfortunately Rielly. He has been a disaster in his own end since coming back. Completely lost positionally, constantly failing to intercept passes, etc. Brodie is basically the only player who can babysit him. Holl is what he is, which is absolutely not a top pair defenceman. Maybe Liljegren can grow into the role when a LD like Sandin is out and Brodie has to shift left, but he's not quite there yet (though I think its fairly obvious he's a better fit than Holl).

I love the good parts of Mo's game.. but it's been years that we've been looking for a partner to babysit him, and have never really found a great partner... not really since Hainsey anyway.

 

[Notsince67]

Love to see the hats raining down on ROR with half the arena chanting Go Leafs Go, especially after so many miserable performances in Buffalo over the years.

As for Rielly-Holl, Keefe seems to keep slamming that square peg into the round hole for some unfathomable reason. But the problem is unfortunately Rielly. He has been a disaster in his own end since coming back. Completely lost positionally, constantly failing to intercept passes, etc. Brodie is basically the only player who can babysit him. Holl is what he is, which is absolutely not a top pair defenceman. Maybe Liljegren can grow into the role when a LD like Sandin is out and Brodie has to shift left, but he's not quite there yet (though I think its fairly obvious he's a better fit than Holl).

I can accept the possibility of your premise but the way I see it, rielly is aggressively offensive which is fine as long as he has a responsible partner. He is who he is. Holl, like a dog distracted by a squirrel sees this as a green light to be more offensively aggressive than he should be. He is abysmal with a stick and is too slow to skate back when he moves too far north and inevitably mucks up the cycle. He needs a relatively large gap againsts an offensive rush. If he is behind or beside, he is useless and Rielly doesn't pay enough attention to defensive positioning to be of much help.
With Rielly, you have a chance to score...but he won't be your main dman attempting to deny zone entry or breaking up a 2 on 1.
Holl is absolutely useless if he doesn't stay on top by a wide span and muscles people to the outside. He can't score and he can't stick check.

 

[Fogelhund]

I can accept the possibility of your premise but the way I see it, rielly is aggressively offensive which is fine as long as he has a responsible partner. He is who he is. Holl, like a dog distracted by a squirrel sees this as a green light to be more offensively aggressive than he should be. He is abysmal with a stick and is too slow to skate back when he moves too far north and inevitably mucks up the cycle. He needs a relatively large gap againsts an offensive rush. If he is behind or beside, he is useless and Rielly doesn't pay enough attention to defensive positioning to be of much help.
With Rielly, you have a chance to score...but he won't be your main dman attempting to deny zone entry or breaking up a 2 on 1.
Holl is absolutely useless if he doesn't stay on top by a wide span and muscles people to the outside. He can't score and he can't stick check.

Holl needs to stick to do what he does well... and he does do things well... but he shouldn't have the greenlight to pinch as you say.. stay at home.

 

[leafsfan5]

Is Tavares - ROR - Marner the smartest line in the NHL?

It feels like their hockey IQ is off the charts

 

[as Pure as Evil]

Makes him even more endearing remembering he did this in boston

 

[Schennanigans]

I think if this line sticks it ends up getting more points than any of our lines.

 

[notdoneyet]

Marner 5 more takeaways tonight.

I think it was 7

 

[Burnie97]

Pretty good stat for Matty