What to do after our 2nd loss?

[meefer]

As disappointing as these losses were, we're coming home and management needs to do something to light a fire under the collective bum that is this roster. We have not played well. That we are minus Kadri for the next two games obviously hurts our chances, but the team's 'spark' which made them so entertaining isn't present in these playoffs. I'm not sure if one approaches Tuesday cautiously or balls to the walls, but as coming back to win a series from a 3-0 deficit is just about impossible, game 3 appears to be our season's defining moment. I'd go all in with a f*** it approach and let the chips fall where they may. To that end:

Marleau Matthews Marner (keep them away from Bergeron's line and pray for magic)
Johnsson Nylander Kapanen (going 3rd line vs 3rd line can our speed produce results?)
Hyman Moore/Pleks Brown (can anyone stop Boston's #1 line? Hold them to 3? M vs P, I don't know )
JVR Bozak Leivo (limited minutes but on paper a definite skills upgrade over Boston's 4th)

Rielly Dermott (Hainsey can't handle the load)
Gardiner Carrick (transition and skating over size)
Hainsey Zaitsev (limited minutes and pk)

Andersen (he's your #1 or he isn't going to be here much longer)

Fingers crossed, hoping for better results on Tuesday, regardless of the line-up.

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[The Best Leafs Ever]

ACC gives them a chance with a 'RESET' button. If they can grab this chance they can run with it but if they can't then we can all just scratch this year.

 

[hfman]

give it up guys. just see it for what it is.

Why all this denial?

 

[meefer]

give it up guys. just see it for what it is.

Why all this denial?

I really hope we can revisit this comment

 

[leafs rule 11]

josh leivo if their was a time to step out of the ashes...babcock permitting..its now! lol

 

[Dough72]

first thing to do is teach them that no matter how badly they want to get on the ice, no matter how tempting it is to leap majestically over those boards so they can skate around getting their silly asses beat, you can't have 6 players on the ice at once

 

[nobody]

As well as Boston had played thus far, they've gotten a ton of bounces go their way. Leafs need to settle down and just play their game. Right now they are getting in their own way more than the Bruins are beating them. It's hard enough to face the Bruins but when you're determined to beat yourself its pretty much impossible.

We need to just relax and let the game come to us. Instead of anticipating and planning for every shift and every line matchup, how about we go out and have some fun. The kids need to have fun. How many times do we see Matthews and Marner take shots or make passes in haste. They have a ton of time to work with but for some reason they've gotten themselves convinced that they have no space. The Bruins don't care about playing the puck in their dzone. All they are focused on is physically punishing the boys as soon as they're anywhere near the puck. They're being extremely aggressive with their play trying to take away time and space but if the boys can stay patience they can take advantage of the Bruins consistently putting themselves out of position. Right now we're just getting flustered as soon as our guy has a puck in their zone.

In any sport, less is always more. Sometimes you need to give the old brain a little break and work with your instincts. TO media has spent the good part of 4 days+ working the boys reminding about the collapse and the big bad Bruins and their top line. We're giving way too much respect to their top line. I want to see some pissed off players out there. Not guys backing down and giving free space and open shots to that line.

 

[TOGuy14]

As disappointing as these losses were, we're coming home and management needs to do something to light a fire under the collective bum that is this roster. We have not played well. That we are minus Kadri for the next two games obviously hurts our chances, but the team's 'spark' which made them so entertaining isn't present in these playoffs. I'm not sure if one approaches Tuesday cautiously or balls to the walls, but as coming back to win a series from a 3-0 deficit is just about impossible, game 3 appears to be our season's defining moment. I'd go all in with a f*** it approach and let the chips fall where they may. To that end:

Marleau Matthews Marner (keep them away from Bergeron's line and pray for magic)
Johnsson Nylander Kapanen (going 3rd line vs 3rd line can our speed produce results?)
Hyman Moore/Pleks Brown (can anyone stop Boston's #1 line? Hold them to 3? M vs P, I don't know )
JVR Bozak Leivo (limited minutes but on paper a definite skills upgrade over Boston's 4th)

Rielly Dermott (Hainsey can't handle the load)
Gardiner Carrick (transition and skating over size)
Hainsey Zaitsev (limited minutes and pk)

Andersen (he's your #1 or he isn't going to be here much longer)

Fingers crossed, hoping for better results on Tuesday, regardless of the line-up.

Babcock took the Kadri suspension as an excuse to put Komarov on the top line. There is 0% chance he would shuffle that much.

 

[hfman]

I really hope we can revisit this comment

I would love you to, trust me. But it won't happen, so trust me again.

 

[great]

I actually like the lines you gave there, it may really help the team. From what I’ve noticed during the season, line up changes like that have sparked them. But honestly neutralizing Boston first line is a big challenge.

 

[Mikey88]

Things will be better when we're at home in terms of matching lines, if Komarov is out I hope Babs dresses Martin. He's actually played pretty well last playoffs vs the Caps and we could use a bit more size in the lineup. I'm not saying he's the key to winning games, that will come down to our PP and PK which have been horrendous.

 

[meefer]

I would love you to, trust me. But it won't happen, so trust me again.

Now I'm blushing
(and ya, I know what you meant )

 

[The List Of Jericho]

As disappointing as these losses were, we're coming home and management needs to do something to light a fire under the collective bum that is this roster. We have not played well. That we are minus Kadri for the next two games obviously hurts our chances, but the team's 'spark' which made them so entertaining isn't present in these playoffs. I'm not sure if one approaches Tuesday cautiously or balls to the walls, but as coming back to win a series from a 3-0 deficit is just about impossible, game 3 appears to be our season's defining moment. I'd go all in with a f*** it approach and let the chips fall where they may. To that end:

Marleau Matthews Marner (keep them away from Bergeron's line and pray for magic)
Johnsson Nylander Kapanen (going 3rd line vs 3rd line can our speed produce results?)
Hyman Moore/Pleks Brown (can anyone stop Boston's #1 line? Hold them to 3? M vs P, I don't know )
JVR Bozak Leivo (limited minutes but on paper a definite skills upgrade over Boston's 4th)

Rielly Dermott (Hainsey can't handle the load)
Gardiner Carrick (transition and skating over size)
Hainsey Zaitsev (limited minutes and pk)

Andersen (he's your #1 or he isn't going to be here much longer)

Fingers crossed, hoping for better results on Tuesday, regardless of the line-up.

While many are pining for Tavares, this series goes to show you how much the Leafs back end needs work

Rielly- Better as a #2 right now
Gardiner- Suited for a 3-4 role
Hainsey- Is playing top pairing but should be 5-6
Dermott- High upside but a 3 at best right now
Zaitsev- Flashes of a steady 3-4 but playing below average so 5-6
Polak-Shouldn't be an option on a contender

So that’s one top pair guy, two second pair and three other guys that may be suited to be on the bottom pair. The Leafs need another top pair guy to succeed plain and simple.

 

[IPS]

Babcock took the Kadri suspension as an excuse to put Komarov on the top line. There is 0% chance he would shuffle that much.

I still can't believe we witnessed a coach who's regarded as the best in the world willingly stick Leo Komarov with 2 of our best offensive players.

 

[biotk]

6 of the 7 series that have 2 games completed are 2-0. In 5 of those 6 it is was the home team that won both games (the other being SJS).

The Leafs haven't played well, but they were also probably as unlucky a team as I have seen in years. So I think they should just play their game. Boston is a far better team than most people recognized.

I would like to see Leivo in next game (and on the PP). I have no confidence in Plek, but I can't see Moore doing any better (he would probably get two stupid penalties in the first period and then get benched for the rest of the game). Perhaps they could just do a random draw of a fan before the game starts and dress them as our 4C.

 

[meefer]

6 of the 7 series that have 2 games completed are 2-0. In 5 of those 6 it is was the home team that won both games (the other being SJS).

The Leafs haven't played well, but they were also probably as unlucky a team as I have seen in years. So I think they should just play their game. Boston is a far better team than most people recognized.

I would like to see Leivo in next game (and on the PP). As much as I haven't liked Moore, I have no confidence in Plek, but I can't see Moore doing any better (he would probably get two stupid penalties in the first period and then get benched for the rest of the game).

hence the in the OP

 

[hfman]

I still can't believe we witnessed a coach who's regarded as the best in the world willingly stick Leo Komarov with 2 of our best offensive players.

Komarov (along with Kadri) is one of the only players on this entire team that isn't afraid to play with grit and try to bang hard. He's all we have right now in this regard.

The guy at least tries to stick up for his team and fights back, regardless of how "good" or "not good" he is.

Does he suck? I don't know, I don't care. But he has some heart, something the rest of the team has none of so far.

 

[IPS]

Komarov (along with Kadri) is one of the only players on this entire team that isn't afraid to play with grit and try to bang hard. He's all we have right now in this regard.

The guy at least tries to stick up for his team and fights back, regardless of how "good" or "not good" he is.

Does he suck? I don't know, I don't care. But he has some heart, something the rest of the team has none of so far.

Agreed 100%. You know the Bruins used to have several guys like that - Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell.

They did not play Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell with Bergeron/Marchand/Krejci etc...

 

[FlareKnight]

I really wonder what the mood in the arena will be. These losses have been so bad that the Leafs might have sucked the life out of the building before puck drop.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Komarov (along with Kadri) is one of the only players on this entire team that isn't afraid to play with grit and try to bang hard. He's all we have right now in this regard.

The guy at least tries to stick up for his team and fights back, regardless of how "good" or "not good" he is.

Does he suck? I don't know, I don't care. But he has some heart, something the rest of the team has none of so far.

It's bad that he is hardly a shell of his past self. I wouldn't mind the Komarov we signed back that year but he is not that good anymore and it shows when he was demoted to 4th line. If your coach is against young guys what's the point of building such a strong farm and development system that we actually have? We have invested both in drafting and developing the team pretty hard and even getting our ECHL team here so that we can control the development of the players we have in abundance.

I see absolutely zero point in doung this as long as Babcock is here.

 

[Moncherry]

A lot of changes can be made, but one I've been pining for a long time is actually having a first line be a first line, as in having the top players play together and play top minutes (20+ not this 16-18 crap).

Just f***ing put Marner and Matthews together already. He tries every possible winger combination for Matthews except that one. Keep Hyman on left-wing if you have to. Stack your damn lines and let your best players be your best players. The rest of the forward group is deep enough that it won't be stripped bare. Boston stacks their top line and the result isn't that their team is unbalanced, it's that their top line steamrolls the opposition. Stop trying to be cute with your matchup bullshit.

Or maybe I'm wrong. But never getting to see Matthews and Marner on the ice together has been the biggest form of hockey blue balls.

 

[HellasLEAF]

While many are pining for Tavares, this series goes to show you how much the Leafs back end needs work

Rielly- Better as a #2 right now
Gardiner- Suited for a 3-4 role
Hainsey- Is playing top pairing but should be 5-6
Dermott- High upside but a 3 at best right now
Zaitsev- Flashes of a steady 3-4 but playing below average so 5-6
Polak-Shouldn't be an option on a contender

So that’s one top pair guy, two second pair and three other guys that may be suited to be on the bottom pair. The Leafs need another top pair guy to succeed plain and simple.

Painful to read but true.

 

[hfman]

I really wonder what the mood in the arena will be. These losses have been so bad that the Leafs might have sucked the life out of the building before puck drop.

Nah. Business as usual. All the flags flying, all the kids out at Maple Leafs Square, etc. The ACC will be a little louder than usual before the game (all those suits might be just a little more excited). There's no doubt about that at all.

Let them enjoy their 2 last games at home.

 

[Menzinger]

They just need to settle things down and execute, especially on the power play and Andersen has got to be better.

The PK is the biggest issue too - it’s been lousy all year. I’d like to see more Dermott less Polak for a start.

 

[hfman]

It's bad that he is hardly a shell of his past self. I wouldn't mind the Komarov we signed back that year but he is not that good anymore and it shows when he was demoted to 4th line. If your coach is against young guys what's the point of building such a strong farm and development system that we actually have? We have invested both in drafting and developing the team pretty hard and even getting our ECHL team here so that we can control the development of the players we have in abundance.

I see absolutely zero point in doung this as long as Babcock is here.

The guy is trying. Is he effective - I don't know. Doesn't look like it. But he's trying. He cares.

This is why Babcock puts him up there.

I don't get why everyone is criticising Babcock for the decision to use Leo. It's all he has. His hands are tied. What's he gonna do, put Marner and Nylander up against Boston's biggest guys? lol. That's a laugher. Grit has to be matched with grit - and grit is something the Leafs have none of besides Leo and Kadri.

The fact that Leo is the ONLY player on this team that Babcock can use to counteract the Bruins physicality is the proof right there that this team is just not on any level ready to compete in this series. There is nobody on the roster capable of fighting back physically. Not even close. And that is why this will very likely be a 4-game exit. See it for what it is.