Post-Series Talk: Boston Bruins Defeat Toronto Maple Leafs (win 4-3)

[KCbus]

Samsonov ranks 18th among the playoff goalies to play 30+ minutes in SV%. 18th and there are only 16 teams..... He let in 4,2,3,3,2 goals and his GAA was over 3.

It's pretty hard to win in the playoffs with those numbers. While yes, the offence bears much of the blame, they can score more than that, Samsonov was a big part of the problem.... But as I said before, the blame should lie on the guy who kept playing him.

So he allowed 3 goals or less in four of his five games. If that’s not good enough, that says more about the rest of the team.

I don’t know when the last time was that a group of fans double, triple, quadruple and quintupled down on such a bad opinion. The Maple Leafs scored 12 goals in the series. 12. The Martin Brodeur Devils would’ve had a hard time winning a series with those numbers. With the offensive firepower they have, holding your opponent to two goals should be more than enough to win, and holding them to three should absolutely give you a chance. And Samsonov held Boston to one goal through regulation in game 7 on the road.

Goaltending is the least of your problems.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Should really stop The Maple Leaf Square stuff. Really embarrassing

 

[habamillions]

Should really stop The Maple Leaf Square stuff. Really embarrassing

I ageee. If it was the stanley cup finals then fine. But the 1st round, come on

 

[EpochLink]

Should really stop The Maple Leaf Square stuff. Really embarrassing

It worked for the Raptors with the whole Jurassic Park theme, Leafs haven’t had so much success.

 

[Quickdraw2828]

Sixty six million dollars for one playoff round .
Good deal.

 

[NDiesel]

Does anyone know what was wrong with Mathews?

Bruin flu...always hits Toronto in April/May

 

[Buck Naked]

People aren't crediting the Bruins for the play they ran there, it's an excellent setup that forced quick second adjustments by Toronto. Marner was a step slow and didn't read it, so was Samsonov and Rielly was flat-footed against a top 3 goal scorer in the game coming at full speed. The Bruins also got the perfect bounce to allow Pasta to take the puck at full speed

Finally, someone said it! Was thinking exactly the same when I saw that goal. That play would've fooled most players in the NHL. So wrong to blame individual players for not reading the situation when the whole thing was a mastepiece play by the Bruins.

 

[Angry Little Elf]

Does anyone know what was wrong with Mathews?

Suds

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Does anyone know what was wrong with Mathews?

I'm sure fans will come up with a million excuses for him, but I think it's clear at this point he's simply not a playoff performer. He's not someone who can elevate his game when it matters. His production (or lack of it) in the playoffs compared to his peers is proof of this.

 

[Whoot Whoot]

Did anyone else think that goal was offsides ?

 

[Sentinel]

For sure. Marner being the most egregious. Just imagine if the Leafs had that $11M in cap space to spread throughout their roster. It was said at the time of signing and is still relevant today in that very few small wingers are worth that kind of money. He's a complete waste of cap.

I can only think of Martin St. Louis and Kucherov

Did anyone else think that goal was offsides ?

It wasn't.

I'm sure fans will come up with a million excuses for him, but I think it's clear at this point he's simply not a playoff performer. He's not someone who can elevate his game when it matters. His production (or lack of it) in the playoffs compared to his peers is proof of this.

He doesn't even need to "elevate" his game. Merely keeping it at the RS level would be just fine.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Does anyone know what was wrong with Mathews?

He shat the bed in the playoffs again, this time literally…

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

I was impressed by Domi and Knies. Both had a good series I thought.

 

[Sentinel]

This reaction says so much.

Well, the boy's hair looks 70s enough.

 

[mjhfb]

The Leafs are running a 1-3-1 in that setup and Nylander is the middle guy in the 3 with his main purpose being denying an entry up the middle of the ice. What did you expect him to do?

People aren't crediting the Bruins for the play they ran there, it's an excellent setup that forced quick second adjustments by Toronto. Marner was a step slow and didn't read it, so was Samsonov and Rielly was flat-footed against a top 3 goal scorer in the game coming at full speed. The Bruins also got the perfect bounce to allow Pasta to take the puck at full speed

A practiced, set play that executed when they needed it.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

He doesn't even need to "elevate" his game. Merely keeping it at the RS level would be just fine.

I meant more in terms of his intensity and fire in his belly, because you can't perform at an elite level in the playoffs if your demeanor is that of a mid November game against Anaheim.

 

[Over the volcano]

"Just BeLeaf.."

 

[Thirty Seven]

I was impressed by Domi and Knies. Both had a good series I thought.

I thought Domi was going to be a problem for game 7 but he was pretty irrelevant in my opinion. Didn't seem as engaged as the other games. Knies is a keeper for sure.

 

[ZYXWVUT]

For all these Canadian broadcasters who claim they are “neutral”, listening to cuthbert call of Toronto first goal vs boston last night is ridiculous. At least own the fact you are a fanboy towards the leafs or said Canadian team, then I would have more time for it.

 

[blundluntman]

2 points in 7 games from a player taking up 11 million in cap space is absolutely gut wrenching . Toronto needs to trim the fat and trade him (and Marner) this off-season. he’s just taking up space and wasting their core’s window

 

[TorontLoL 67]

Did anyone else think that goal was offsides ?

Didn't you see all of the headlines and the outrage by the Toronto media about the GWG being offside? Oh right, I didn't see it either because it wasn't and that is ridiculous to even consider.

 

[CrazyJoeDavola]

I've heard lots of Leafs fans (on HFBoards and elsewhere) challenge Marner and Tavares for their lack of production (and effort), but I don't understand how Matthews is seemingly immune to criticism.

Over the past four years, he's scored just 11 goals in 30 playoff games. That's a 30 goal pace (per 82 games) compared to a 62 goal pace in the regular season. Granted, scoring usually drops in the playoffs, but usually it's by around 10%. Matthews' goalscoring is cut in half. There are 30+ players who have scored more goals per game during this period (min 20 games played).

Especially during this past season, I saw many people argue that Matthews has been a better goal-scorer than Alex Ovechkin (through this stage in their careers). If so, shouldn't Matthews be able to score more GPG than Artturi Lehkonen, Roope Hintz, Carter Verhaeghe, Valeri Nichushkin, and Gabriel Landeskog (among many others)? Ovechkin, through his first eight years, scored at a 48 goal pace in the playoffs, in a lower-scoring league.

It's not like Matthews turns into a playmaking wizard either - he's under 1PPG during the past four playoffs. Granted, he's just barely under, but shouldn't more be expected of the player with the 4th highest cap hit in the league? (I can accept that Matthews is in the discussion for the 2nd best forward in the league in the regular season - along with Kucherov, MacKinnon and Draisaitl - but the gap between their playoff performances, at this point, is so cavernous that it makes these comparisons insulting).

To be clear, Matthews hasn't been Toronto's most disappointing or overpaid player (those "honours" go to Marner and Tavares). Still, management has given him everything he's asked for (two rich contracts, a NMC, his preferred contract length - and both deals were carefully structured in a way that minimizes his income taxes). I don't blame Matthews (and his agent) for extracting as much as they can from Leafs management. At the same time, there seems to be a lack of accountability. The lack of criticism towards Matthews is puzzling.

This guy had the laziest shot block attempt on the game tying goal but is the teflon don and can do no wrong.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

This was a very winnable series for Toronto.They only have themselves to blame for digging themselves into a 3-1 hole. I bet if Nylander played the first three games this would have been 2-2 after 4 games. Nylander is that much of a difference maker.

 

[ae530]

April allergies, happens to him every year

Playoffitis

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Did anyone else think that goal was offsides ?

Pastrnak is at least 2 feet from the blueline when the puck enters the zone