10 games left - 3 home and 7 away
- Thread starter Fenway
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Paddington
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Sean McIndoe tries to figure out where the Leafs are at right now
DGB weekend power rankings: The Lightning are the NHL's best...
Cold streaks sometimes happen to teams just like they happen to goalies, but as Scott Wheeler broke down yesterday, there’s more going on here. The Leafs have been a very good team for most of the season, but the standings have sometimes exaggerated their true level of play. James Mirtle flagged that way back in November and we’ve been seeing it play out in the second half. This isn’t a team that had one bad week; this is a team that’s won just 17 of its last 34 games dating back to the end of December. This isn’t some sort of blip. This is who they are right now.
The question is whether they can fix it. The good news is that they still have ten games before the showdown with the Bruins. While it would be nice to catch Boston for home-ice advantage, it’s looking unlikely, and the Canadiens’ recent struggles mean there’s virtually no chance Toronto misses the playoffs even if they crash and burn the rest of the way. That gives Mike Babcock and company three weeks to figure things out without necessarily having to worry about every point along the way.
Is that enough? Given that many of this team’s problems date back to earlier in the season and even previous years, it doesn’t seem like it. Maybe this miserable week is enough of a low point to raise the urgency level. We’ll see.
Either way, the Leafs will be a fascinating team to watch over the next few weeks. They’re still good enough to beat the Bruins, and if they do then we’ll all look back at posts like this and roll our eyes at the overreactions. But if they don’t, and they make their third straight first-round exit, things are going to get very interesting in Toronto. The Babcock era has been given an extended honeymoon, largely well-earned, from a fan base that isn’t used to optimism. If it turns out that all that progress of the last few years means they’ve topped out as just the third-best team in their own division, the offseason is going to get ugly.
Sean McIndoe launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His new book, The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL, is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.
DGB weekend power rankings: The Lightning are the NHL's best...
Cold streaks sometimes happen to teams just like they happen to goalies, but as Scott Wheeler broke down yesterday, there’s more going on here. The Leafs have been a very good team for most of the season, but the standings have sometimes exaggerated their true level of play. James Mirtle flagged that way back in November and we’ve been seeing it play out in the second half. This isn’t a team that had one bad week; this is a team that’s won just 17 of its last 34 games dating back to the end of December. This isn’t some sort of blip. This is who they are right now.
The question is whether they can fix it. The good news is that they still have ten games before the showdown with the Bruins. While it would be nice to catch Boston for home-ice advantage, it’s looking unlikely, and the Canadiens’ recent struggles mean there’s virtually no chance Toronto misses the playoffs even if they crash and burn the rest of the way. That gives Mike Babcock and company three weeks to figure things out without necessarily having to worry about every point along the way.
Is that enough? Given that many of this team’s problems date back to earlier in the season and even previous years, it doesn’t seem like it. Maybe this miserable week is enough of a low point to raise the urgency level. We’ll see.
Either way, the Leafs will be a fascinating team to watch over the next few weeks. They’re still good enough to beat the Bruins, and if they do then we’ll all look back at posts like this and roll our eyes at the overreactions. But if they don’t, and they make their third straight first-round exit, things are going to get very interesting in Toronto. The Babcock era has been given an extended honeymoon, largely well-earned, from a fan base that isn’t used to optimism. If it turns out that all that progress of the last few years means they’ve topped out as just the third-best team in their own division, the offseason is going to get ugly.
Sean McIndoe launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His new book, The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL, is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @DownGoesBrown.
It'll start Thursday the 11th, Muse is there on the 10th plus you know they'd want Thursday-Saturday so they can do HNIC for game 2 and probably game 5
Don Cherry
Registered User
- Sep 28, 2017
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Jean_Jacket41
Neely = HOF
Bruins would still beat the Leafs starting on the road but why take the chance...
Bruins 2nd best home team in NHL behind TB with 28-7-3. Only 15-13-6 on the road.
Secure home ice, get healthy and eliminate them in 5.
Bruins 2nd best home team in NHL behind TB with 28-7-3. Only 15-13-6 on the road.
Secure home ice, get healthy and eliminate them in 5.
Yes it would be the 11th - I misread the calendar.
Game 2 is penciled in for the 13th - prime time on NBC and CBC.
BruinsFan37
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- Jun 26, 2015
- 1,601
- 1,721
Bruins should win six or seven of those games, Leafs should win about the same. So they're (Leafs) not going to pickup the points needed to pass the B's if all goes as expected.
Of course that's why you play the games, cause it never goes completely as expected...
I like the odds though.
Of course that's why you play the games, cause it never goes completely as expected...
I like the odds though.
OV
Obstructed View
.....or a certain former coach of the Chicago Blackhawks who very recently
said he's ready to get back at coaching next season after having some good
down time this year.
Alberta_OReilly_Fan
Bruin fan since 1975
bruins having the easier finish means we had the harder start. it all balances out
if Toronto was concerned about the difficulty of their finish they should remember this when gloating over their quick start to the season. I still remember the talk shows after 2 weeks... can Matthews score 70? will riley break all of bobby orrs records? how many 100 point guys will Toronto have?
10 game stretches of hockey can be important... but really only when they are the final 10 games of the season. the rest of the year doesnt have a very big influence on how a team stacks up for the playoffs. the people worried about playoff matchups say they want to freak out if a team with 3-4 more points gets an opponent with more points than some other team with 3-4 less points... but it really doesnt matter
how a team finishes the year matters... how healthy they are... how effective are they listening to the coach... how is their confidence... how did the trade deadline effect the team... these questions matter
weve just come off a 20 game stretch we are the best in the league... Toronto had their 20 game stretch a year ago. they might have had a reason for hope a year ago.
im not counting my chickens... these next 10 games are more important than the last 20 and then every single game after that is more important then all 82 games this 'regular season.'
fine tune the team these last 10 games... get line combos established... rest some of the vets like chara specifically and maybe rask too... marchand is chasing 100 points so hard to rest him and still need to decide on line combos
for gods sakes bubble wrap carlo especially if we play Washington again {not looking at the schedule now}
first round should be easy for us... but one thing weve all learnt in recent years, no playoff round is ever easy anymore. we arnent a perfect team but we are built for playoffs... Toronto is less perfect and not built for playoffs.
if we lose, I cant give them the credit. a loss would mean we lost not that they won. a loss will suck bad. I dont see it coming, so im brimming with confidence bordering on arrogance that its ours to take
tampa… wont be ours to take. tampa will be a war if we are lucky {slaughter if we arent}
we have a better chance against tampa this year {but thats largely because nash and carlo were hurt last year... if healthy, last years team was a bit better than this years team is}
getting excited... see the playoffs just around the corner. ive been alive for 3 cup wins but only a fan for 1. I want another cup win I can celebrate more than a 3 year old can.
go bruins go
if Toronto was concerned about the difficulty of their finish they should remember this when gloating over their quick start to the season. I still remember the talk shows after 2 weeks... can Matthews score 70? will riley break all of bobby orrs records? how many 100 point guys will Toronto have?
10 game stretches of hockey can be important... but really only when they are the final 10 games of the season. the rest of the year doesnt have a very big influence on how a team stacks up for the playoffs. the people worried about playoff matchups say they want to freak out if a team with 3-4 more points gets an opponent with more points than some other team with 3-4 less points... but it really doesnt matter
how a team finishes the year matters... how healthy they are... how effective are they listening to the coach... how is their confidence... how did the trade deadline effect the team... these questions matter
weve just come off a 20 game stretch we are the best in the league... Toronto had their 20 game stretch a year ago. they might have had a reason for hope a year ago.
im not counting my chickens... these next 10 games are more important than the last 20 and then every single game after that is more important then all 82 games this 'regular season.'
fine tune the team these last 10 games... get line combos established... rest some of the vets like chara specifically and maybe rask too... marchand is chasing 100 points so hard to rest him and still need to decide on line combos
for gods sakes bubble wrap carlo especially if we play Washington again {not looking at the schedule now}
first round should be easy for us... but one thing weve all learnt in recent years, no playoff round is ever easy anymore. we arnent a perfect team but we are built for playoffs... Toronto is less perfect and not built for playoffs.
if we lose, I cant give them the credit. a loss would mean we lost not that they won. a loss will suck bad. I dont see it coming, so im brimming with confidence bordering on arrogance that its ours to take
tampa… wont be ours to take. tampa will be a war if we are lucky {slaughter if we arent}
we have a better chance against tampa this year {but thats largely because nash and carlo were hurt last year... if healthy, last years team was a bit better than this years team is}
getting excited... see the playoffs just around the corner. ive been alive for 3 cup wins but only a fan for 1. I want another cup win I can celebrate more than a 3 year old can.
go bruins go
Ugh. That's gonna make it tough for me to get to a game...
I have Tuesday/Wednesday off, and would have to be back in Minneapolis by Wednesday night.
Thu 11th - G1
Sat 13th - G2
Mon 15th - G3
Wed 17th - G4
Fri 19th - G5
Sun 21st - G6
Tue 23rd - G7
That means I can either take out a loan for tickets and try and get to Toronto for Game 3 (which probably won't work as I won't get there early enough)...or I can potentially go to Game 7 (if there is one).
Of course, the whole plan goes out the window if they bump back Game 5 to Saturday (HNIC), and then 6 and 7 would be Monday/Wednesday.
I've been to a playoff game every season that the B's have played a game since 2009-2010. Don't wanna see my streak end. Yes, I can hope the boys make it to Round 2 (it happened last year), but I hate the possibility of that not happening.
Gabe I have nothing confirmed but this is what NBC did last season and I have no reason to think they will change
A huge factor is NBC throwing a bone to their struggling Boston owned station, WBTS NBC 10 Boston.
The first-round schedule is always the most challenging because you are dealing with 16 teams and 16 different arenas. Building availability always plays havoc with scheduling.
“The league makes the schedule,” Flood said. “But we talk about series that we think would do better on prime time on NBC, or what we think would be the right matchups for various windows.
"But the NHL is looking at it the same way. For example, the Toronto/Boston being the prime game on NBC the last two Saturdays made a ton a sense for the league because the Canadians want that game prime time on a Saturday night.”
So why did Saturday afternoon NHL playoff games both start at 3 p.m. in the first round? Because NBC was regionalizing two games, coverage plans that will exist only in the first round.
By starting both games at 3 p.m., the four markets involved receive their hometown game. The other game is shown on the alternate NBC feed. That's called reverse regionalizing.
“A Tampa fan who was not in the Florida market can still see that Tampa game by going to the alternate feed,” Flood said. “The beauty of it is you get to watch your team if you are a displaced fan. And as we know, there are a lot of displaced fans.”
RedeyeRocketeer
Registered User
Really unreal how much better our stats are at home. 31% PP at home is silly. It's a pretty big drop on the road.
Pretty unusual for the Bruins over the last few years. I looked it up, we've never seen this kind of home road discrepancy in this era.
Our PK is the worst it's been since the cup win at 81%. Do with that what you will. So I guess our home PP is sort of carrying the PK. Even strength our goal scoring is way down it seems. So I don't love relying on a hot PP against the best in the league. But we've also never seen this deeper roster all together. Lots of reasons to expect better.
Pretty unusual for the Bruins over the last few years. I looked it up, we've never seen this kind of home road discrepancy in this era.
Our PK is the worst it's been since the cup win at 81%. Do with that what you will. So I guess our home PP is sort of carrying the PK. Even strength our goal scoring is way down it seems. So I don't love relying on a hot PP against the best in the league. But we've also never seen this deeper roster all together. Lots of reasons to expect better.
"we have a better chance against tampa this year {but thats largely because nash and carlo were hurt last year... if healthy, last years team was a bit better than this years team is}"
====================================================================================================
Well actually both Nash's were damaged by the time the playoffs started IIRC?
Also:
Don't forget the addition of Charlie Coyle and Joe (MoJo) Hanson...
Coyle I feel is going to be a big addition to the team in the playoffs. His play at center on line 3 will pay off. Johansson on the other hand I have way less expectations for. I will be ecstatic if I'm wrong. If he and DK/JDB light it up and we get past round 1 and then line 2 with Coyle and MJ contributing as Sweeney felt that they would I will eat my hat.
NOTE: I will be looking for a recipe to make/bake a hat out of bread in the meantime if they get past the second round!
A player that seems to be overlooked is Wagner. To me, he is 100 times more effective than Shaller was last year.
22Brad Park
Registered User
22Brad Park
Registered User
I am gonna say 2 .Buffalo and Carolina.If cannot catch Bruins by time Canes game ends he might get the last 2 to avoid an Anderson injury .
22Brad Park
Registered User
Rubber Biscuit
Registered User
^^^
ODAAT
Registered User
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