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Are the Leafs Tough Enough for Playoffs

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Bounces R Way

Bounces R Way

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Machinehead said:
Kadri is one of the nastiest mother****ers in the league. Hainsey plays the body. Hyman plays his nuts off.
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Lmao no he is not. Nobody is scared of those guys. Hockey is a physical sport, intimidation might not have the same relevance that it did in the past but that doesn't make it irrelevant at all. The BOS-TOR series last year was a good example of this. Leafs got pushed around and as a result were mostly kept to the perimeter. To be successful in this league you need to own the center of the ice.
 
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KCC

KCC

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Poor Andersen has to stand on his head so many games especially come playoff time because #1) they have no defense and #2) teams clamp down defensively and shut down the Leafs' offense so it puts all the stress on him. I have a hard time believing Andersen can bail out his team for 4 rounds and win the cup because the offense will dry up and is not sustainable come the post season.
 
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Satire

Satire

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They remind me a bit if Vancouver in 2010 but probably even more skilled. That team came within a win of a Stanley Cup - I wouldn't be shocked to see Toronto do the same. I think it is reasonable to question the toughness of the team in a playoff environment.

They will just need to bring their individual toughness up in the playoffs. Anyone who doesn't think Toronto has a good shot to make a decent playoff run hasn't been watching. The Leafs are a much better team this year than last. That does not guarantee you any wins in playoffs either.
 
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Machinehead

Machinehead

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Bounces R Way said:
Lmao no he is not. Nobody is scared of those guys. Hockey is a physical sport, intimidation might not have the same relevance that it did in the past but that doesn't make it irrelevant at all. The BOS-TOR series last year was a good example of this. Leafs got pushed around and as a result were mostly kept to the perimeter. To be successful in this league you need to own the center of the ice.
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This has been proven to be untrue.
 
Satire

Satire

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Kelly said:
What? No they didn't :laugh:

Inconsistent goaltending, the big line for the Bruins and them shutting down our first line, and our PK sucking ass all sunk the Leafs, literally had nothing to do with toughness.

The Leafs definitely could use a big SKILLED physical player -- but I would put a top 4 RH defenseman way above that on our list of needs. As much as some of you don't want to admit it, the Leafs are probably one of the most skilled teams in the league, and while a Reaves or Wilson would be useful, a player like that isn't going to be the difference of us making it past the first round.

We could've had Tie Domi and Matt Martin on the ice, and I doubt it would've stopped Kronwall from boarding Matthews - that's going to happen regardless. Only thing that may have changed is us also getting a penalty when they try to kick the **** outta him.

Babcock said it best, our toughness is our red hot PP -- take a penalty, we'll make you pay. This isn't the 1980s anymore gentleman :laugh:
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I mean I agree with most of what you said - but in the playoffs they tend to not hand out penalties as much as they should and just let it play out. I don't think a red hot PP will get you as far in that environment or a grueling best if 7. Players gotta play tougher too. :)
 
robertmac43

robertmac43

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I don't think they necessarily need to be tougher, but they do need to adapt to games where they get easily edged out by their bigger opponents.
 
Porkleaker

Porkleaker

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First you need to be tough enough all season and let's face it, it's a long grueling season and a lot of times there's at least a few players with underlying injuries just coping during the playoffs or ones just back from injuries that haven't fully recovered. Toughness absolutely matters, but with the loss of Glassews and how they've kept doing well, if Toronto can avoid any other major injuries this season
I see absolutely no reason why they won't have yet another 1st round exit.
 
robertmac43

robertmac43

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Peggy said:
They can't. They don't have the defense
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I don't think that deters them from being able to adapt. Ultimately they just can't expect to brush off contact through the neutral zone and along the boards, they need other ways of gaining the zone and maintaining some possession.
 

thefutures

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Satire said:
They remind me a bit if Vancouver in 2010 but probably even more skilled. That team came within a win of a Stanley Cup - I wouldn't be shocked to see Toronto do the same. I think it is reasonable to question the toughness of the team in a playoff environment.

They will just need to bring their individual toughness up in the playoffs. Anyone who doesn't think Toronto has a good shot to make a decent playoff run hasn't been watching. The Leafs are a much better team this year than last. That does not guarantee you any wins in playoffs either.
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Decent comparison to Van, they are without a doubt much more talented up front. Van just had those 2 or 3 extra prime defenders. Only few teams really matchup to the leafs up front on paper that i can think of.
 

Peggy

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robertmac43 said:
I don't think that deters them from being able to adapt. Ultimately they just can't expect to brush off contact through the neutral zone and along the boards, they need other ways of gaining the zone and maintaining some possession.
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Of course it does lol. You need defense to compete. You dont have dynamic of offense and defense you're not winning
 
Bounces R Way

Bounces R Way

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Machinehead said:
Hits were even. It's not intangible.
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Lot more to playing physically than raw hits counted by the homer stats guys. They don't show who owns the front of the net, they don't show who owns the corners, they don't show the mistakes forced by a forechecker on a dman, and they don't show how keeping players to the half boards and out of the middle of the ice affects the game.
 
robertmac43

robertmac43

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Peggy said:
Of course it does lol. You need defense to compete. You dont have dynamic of offense and defense you're not winning
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You do need to defense to compete, but I said nothing about competing. I'm talking about adapting which you can do with whom ever the personal.
 
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