Post-Game Talk: The Devil's In the Details, Leafs Win 5-2

[DarkKnight]

Over half the board must be going through their history deleting their comments from first half of the season.

We've all made comments, one thing I did mention was with the new additions it would take time for everything to gel, you could tell things hadn't settled and people were finding their way. Also, we had horrific goaltending, every mistake was in our net and crushing softies killed us.

But the bigger question is, were they serious enough?

I stopped listening to those guys, their podcast became a joke. So embarrassingly bad and biased.

 

[ACC1224]

The team underpreformed early and is clicking now.
Thinking that is accurate, not controversial.

 

[ToneDog]

But the bigger question is, were they serious enough?

The big question is, what grade does Tre get? The summer of Brad not looking so bad today.

 

[Evilhomer]

The team underpreformed early and is clicking now.
Thinking that is accurate, not controversial.

The inaccuracy was people doing the usual jump to conclusions stuff that happens here, like getting worked up about the number of regulation wins or losing to Chicago or Columbus.

 

[weems]

View attachment 849264

Sammy finding his game and Bertuzzi/Domi playing much better have had a huge impact on our second half surge.

Hopefully we're peaking at the right time.

 

[Evilhomer]

The big question is, what grade does Tre get? The summer of Brad not looking so bad today.

He will get the credit, but the truth is that this team will make the conference final (which has always been what I thought would happen) very much because of the players who were here before Treliving showed up. Treliving's biggest contribution has been maintaining patience and adding balance to the lineup. Neither one of those things should be under-emphasized, but he will not be the sole architect of a successful outcome. People will, Heaven forbid, also have to give credit to the guy who preceded him...

 

[All Mod Cons]

It's wild to me that Matthews wasn't even born when someone last scored 66+ goals.


I have this weird feeling they're going to surprise us a bit this year. By January most of us had written them off as any kind of serious threat and they looked very mediocre, but the Ridly Greig incident sparked something in the team and they've had a different mojo since then. On paper this is arguably the weakest roster of the last 3 playoff squads IMO but I think going in as an underdog into the playoffs (assuming Florida/Boston finish higher) and people not really having high expectations may just work in their favour a bit. They also have some guys who are built better for playoff hockey and bring those extra greasy qualities we've been trying to get for so long.

In all honesty I have always thought this is the strongest playoff roster we've had on paper. Regular season I agree that we have had better looking rosters on paper.

The regular season and playoff season are two different sports. In the playoffs, talent counts for a lot less than the regular season. Toughness, will, determination, composure, short memories, bravery, good goaltending having the ability to be opportunistic under pressure, and being able to adapt your team game shift by shift, whistle to whistle depending on the game situation are far more important than talent in the playoffs.

More often than not, the best team doesn't win the Cup.

This is the first time, outside of the Canadian division, that I have any feeling of optimism going into the playoffs.

We've had the big 4 forwards for a while now and I feel we finally have a management team that understands what they need to be surrounded with.

 

[MSZ]

The inaccuracy was people doing the usual jump to conclusions stuff that happens here, like getting worked up about the number of regulation wins or losing to Chicago or Columbus.

They would be fighting for division lead if they didn't lose those games to Chicago and CBJ.

 

[Evilhomer]

They would be fighting for division lead if they didn't lose those games to Chicago and CBJ.

And Boston has also lost to Columbus, Ottawa, etc. If Boston had won those games, the spread would be even greater.

 

[ACC1224]

The inaccuracy was people doing the usual jump to conclusions stuff that happens here, like getting worked up about the number of regulation wins or losing to Chicago or Columbus.

You'll always have extremes at both ends, some see them doing nothing right, some see them doing no wrong.

 

[ToneDog]

He will get the credit, but the truth is that this team will make the conference final (which has always been what I thought would happen) very much because of the players who were here before Treliving showed up. Treliving's biggest contribution has been maintaining patience and adding balance to the lineup. Neither one of those things should be under-emphasized, but he will not be the sole architect of a successful outcome. People will, Heaven forbid, also have to give credit to the guy who preceded him...

Dubas won't get much credit. If they get to the ECF, he will be blamed for failing to get them there in 5 attempts. Many fans already think he wasted 5 years of the window to win and he did it with Tavares not falling off a cliff. Tre getting there is year 1 won't do Dubas any favours.

 

[hotpaws]

He will get the credit, but the truth is that this team will make the conference final (which has always been what I thought would happen) very much because of the players who were here before Treliving showed up. Treliving's biggest contribution has been maintaining patience and adding balance to the lineup. Neither one of those things should be under-emphasized, but he will not be the sole architect of a successful outcome. People will, Heaven forbid, also have to give credit to the guy who preceded him...

you're right we should give credit to your boy Dubas for players who were here before him , lol

i also don't see anyone praising Tre undeservingly or much at all like you and other did for Dumbass

 

[MSZ]

And Boston has also lost to Columbus, Ottawa, etc. If Boston had won those games, the spread would be even greater.

Well that means the Leafs aren't as consistent as those guys when it comes to winning, the current standings reflects that.

It's a moot point now, every team starts at 0-0 when the playoffs begin.

 

[Evilhomer]

you're right we should give credit to your boy Dubas for players who were here before him , lol

i also don't see anyone praising Tre undeservingly or much at all like you and other did for Dumbass

If you can find a post where I am "praising" any GM, have at it. The best thing either of these guys did was not bow to the pressure by trading one of the team's best players.

Dubas won't get much credit. If they get to the ECF, he will be blamed for failing to get them there in 5 attempts. Many fans already think he wasted 5 years of the window to win and he did it with Tavares not falling off a cliff. Tre getting there is year 1 won't do Dubas any favours.

I have no doubt this is exactly what will happen.

 

[Jojalu]

The team underpreformed early and is clicking now.
Thinking that is accurate, not controversial.

A lot of the early failures were due to Samsonov melting down and being awful. Also, outside of Matthew's few hat tricks, he and Marner kind of got off to a slow start.

I like they way they look right now. Here's hoping it carries into the playoffs

 

[DarkKnight]

Sammy finding his game and Bertuzzi/Domi playing much better have had a huge impact on our second half surge.

Hopefully we're peaking at the right time.

We are playing our best hockey anyways, still prone to defensive breakdowns, that's the key for me.

 

[Pi]

I think we're really doing great in the pre playoff prep games but I am extremely worried about our PP.

All our playoff failures have always hinged on specialty teams. On ES, we're great defensively in the playoffs. We okay on the PK and downright terrible on the PP.

If we want to win, our PP has to become formidable in the playoffs.

 

[Jojalu]

Dubas won't get much credit. If they get to the ECF, he will be blamed for failing to get them there in 5 attempts. Many fans already think he wasted 5 years of the window to win and he did it with Tavares not falling off a cliff. Tre getting there is year 1 won't do Dubas any favours.

He shouldn't get a lot of credit, but a rational fan will still see his fingerprints.

Near the end Dubas teied to build tougher rosters, but it never seemed to gel into the pack mentality we see today under Tre.

Maybe Reaves had a bigger impact in the room than we thought. Possibly Domi and Bert lead by example.

The Leafs might lose to Florida this year, but there is no way they get pushed around like last year

 

[weems]

We are playing our best hockey anyways, still prone to defensive breakdowns, that's the key for me.

Yes we are playing good hockey right now.
One of my concerns is the lack of certainty with the lines or defensive pairings but at the same time our overall depth is very strong right now, so we have many different options. Could easily see a scenario where our lineup/lines could really change from one game in the playoffs to the next depending on performance or series dynamic.

We get another super tough first round matchup and will be underdogs but I like the physicality and intensity of this team more than years past.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Sammy finding his game and Bertuzzi/Domi playing much better have had a huge impact on our second half surge.

Hopefully we're peaking at the right time.

Not sold on the goaltending at all. Sammy played well last year, but then his playoff save % was .895. so clearly his good regular season did not carry over to the playoffs at all. I am not pushing the narrative that Woll should start game 1, this is just me being very concerned about the goaltending in general.

 

[hotpaws]

He shouldn't get a lot of credit, but a rational fan will still see his fingerprints.

Near the end Dubas teied to build tougher rosters, but it never seemed to gel into the pack mentality we see today under Tre.

Maybe Reaves had a bigger impact in the room than we thought. Possibly Domi and Bert lead by example.

The Leafs might lose to Florida this year, but there is no way they get pushed around like last year

the rational fan will understand he wasted 5 yrs of our elite cores window , the Dubesters will spin themselves stupid trying to give him credit for any playoff success this team has

 

[weems]

Not sold on the goaltending at all. Sammy played well last year, but then his playoff save % was .895. so clearly his good regular season did not carry over to the playoffs at all. I am not pushing the narrative that Woll should start game 1, this is just me being very concerned about the goaltending in general.

I think it's understandable if some fans aren't sold on Samsonov as we've seen some really good and also really bad.

He's a talented goalie that when locked in can really carry a team but can also lose confidence fairly easily.

If he starts the series off bad, I don't think there will be alot of patience and they will shift to Woll pretty quickly.

 

[Jojalu]

the rational fan will understand he wasted 5 yrs of our elite core window , the Dubesters will spin themselves stupid trying to give him credit for any playoff success this team has

It's not rational to say he wasted 5 years at all.

Should the Leafs have had more success? I would say yes.

But there is no linear path that is an absolute.

Dubas coulsn't make Matthews or Marner score more in a game 6 or 7.

Regardless, as of now there are still a lot of guys he brought in on the roster. If they make a run, or heaven forbid win, he will still be a part of it.

Tavares signed
Brodie signed
Samsonov signed
McMann signed

Gio trade
McCabe trade

Robertson draft
Knies draft
Holmberg draft

That is 40% of the roster.

 

[Havoc]

The Real MVP of this season is the employee behind the scenes who keeps Samsonov mentally ready for games / helped him get to his current mental state.

As long as he's not in his own head, he's a bonafide no.1

 

[All Mod Cons]

Yes we are playing good hockey right now.
One of my concerns is the lack of certainty with the lines or defensive pairings but at the same time our overall depth is very strong right now, so we have many different options. Could easily see a scenario where our lineup/lines could really change from one game in the playoffs to the next depending on performance or series dynamic.

We get another super tough first round matchup and will underdogs but I like this physicality and intensity of this team more than years past.

Agreed.

I think the things that can contribute to our downfall are:

Keefe really doesn't seem to know what lines he likes/works best (does he ever?)
Lack of line consistency and repetition
Our PP doing its normal playoff thing
The refs finally calling Edmundson for cross checking