Post-Game Talk: DJ Smith leads Leafs to another defensive blunder leafs lose 4-3

[Torontonian]

PP is stale and it was the difference again tonight in winning/losing. We played pretty poorly again but still found ourselves in the game, if we could get one or two goals on our 4 PP chances that was a winnable game.

Getting pretty tiresome watching our D just hand goals to the other team though, with out constant give aways in our own end because Z and Hainsey cannot move the puck properly. It could be worse next season if we do not resign Jake. From a recent interview we know Dubas patience is running out with the lack of being able to move the puck out of end, maybe its time to make a hockey trade and get one.

 

[6ix]

Losing back to back games at home after having so much rest is disgusting. Starts with coaching. 8 million a year coach to do the same stretch pass that doesn’t work and were in year 4 now.

 

[Polaris1010]

The Leafs loss this game today, after watching the highlights, the other goalie was better, and too many giveaways in your own zone.

Matthews passed the puck right to the Minnesota player when he had the puck in a good position, he could have flipped it out, but he gave it away. And the goalie let in a bad goal to let the visitors tie the game.

That's all it took.

 

[DoobieDubas]

We're fine, until the puck ends up in our own zone

Either the system sucks or the boys aren't listening hard enough to follow it but either way we've got a problem that needs solving

ya our wingers dont cover their point and it just feeds the cycle/missed shots wide get rimmed back in..rinse and repeat....literally hockey 101 and it bothers me so much watching it happen.

 

[RomanianLeafs]

We'll be bounced in the first round again if changes are not made. And if Andy goes down...well we're right F&#%ed. How we went from our backup goalie being a strength of this team to a complete liability is just insane. Dubas is really testing my patience this season.

Oh no Dubas is shaking right now because of your patience..

 

[Nineteen67]

The Leafs loss this game today, after watching the highlights, the other goalie was better, and too many giveaways in your own zone.

Matthews passed the puck right to the Minnesota player when he had the puck in a good position, he could have flipped it out, but he gave it away. And the goalie let in a bad goal to let the visitors tie the game.

That's all it took.

They actually turned the puck over/ lost it 4 or 6 times before the winning goal was scored.

The Minny goalie played well but he wasn’t really fooled by the shots and could usually anticipate where and when the shot wold be taken.

 

[yubbers]

Oh no Dubas is shaking right now because of your patience..

What a ridiculous response. Care to discuss why you disagree?

 

[Nineteen67]

Oh no Dubas is shaking right now because of your patience..

If Dubas doesn’t advance the rebuild and have a good showing in the playoffs he will be shaking in his boots.

 

[A1LeafNation]

babcock son a better motivator to get them to start on time

 

[AllDay28]

as long as the ppl in here getting mad understand were SECOND in the nhl in pts.. then yea, everything needs to be changed. DJ Smith needs to be replaced. We went from 10 yrs of awful to 2nd best in the NHL and still ppl complain.

 

[AllDay28]

all Im gonna say is, when the Leafs win the cup, dont celebrate downtown with the rest of us. Find something to bitch about behind your computer because of a meaningless game in January

 

[Superstar]

So yeah. I love Matthews. I think he can be the 2nd best player in the NHL rather easily. When he is on, he is so amazing to watch and completely tilts the game.

However the play he has been having lately, despite his points, has been terrible. That's fine for a 8M player or even a 9M player, but if there is any truth to this McDavid money stuff, or even the 13M, then he needs to be much much better.

He is not getting $13 million, it's ridiculous to even think that. Despite Matthews' impressive points per 60 stat, he is not as great as McDavid...and I really like Matthews...McDavid generates scoring chances every game by his speed, puck handling skills and vision...he literally blows by defenders at will...and not every player can play 26 plus minutes like McDavid, hounded by the top lines and d pair of the opposition, and still be such an effective and prolific scorer on a bad team.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Yeah they lost to a mediocre team (that's seems to have had our number), but they were playing the third string goalie.

Willy scored which definitely helps.

Mitch Marner, not an all star.

Freddy will be back soon, a nice stealth two weeks off.

Though I am bothered by a few things, namely that our cushion over Boston-Buffalo-Montreal is suddenly 4-5 points and not 9-10 points, and Tampa is already almost uncatchable at 12.

Matthews also hasn't been playing well, but he's still elite offensively.

Kinda wanted to see how Petersson did on Saturday, whatever you do, don't read the main thread.

The season is full of ebbs and flows, and they're better than this.

 

[Subway Schenn]

Defense guys, it’s always been our problem. Defense and turnovers. Anderson our most important player masking the problems. It can be fixed but it needs to be fixed.

Freddie better than our 3rd string goalie playing his first game as a Leaf?.... no ****in' ****.

 

[Nooodles]

There not

I the team isn't sleepwalking (like today) there an absolute handful for anybody, especially with a fit rested Andersen

My issue is that now is the time to be getting the system down to the point where no matter how much pressure is on your able to stick to it

We're just not doing that, in fact I think we're getting worse in that regard in pressure situations (like the first 30 minutes today)

Thats because we dont have a system.

People just wont accept this and will say "but its only one game", and "look at the standing"

Well I dont care about these, I actually watch the games and I really dont like what I see. An amazingly talented team, with no actual, real system at all.

 

[Sniper99]

Repetition is the key to learning.

Repitition can be ******** as well

 

[Sniper99]

all Im gonna say is, when the Leafs win the cup, dont celebrate downtown with the rest of us. Find something to ***** about behind your computer because of a meaningless game in January

meaningless? Also lets get past the 1st round 1st before we start talkiing about winning cups.

Wherever you get your Crystal ball please post the link where we can order them as well.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Losing back to back games at home after having so much rest is disgusting. Starts with coaching. 8 million a year coach to do the same stretch pass that doesn’t work and were in year 4 now.

It's a double edge sword. Is it really the system and strategy Babcock is trying to infuse within the players or is it the players themselves with poor execution and poor judgement?

 

[sittler rules!!!]

So yeah. I love Matthews. I think he can be the 2nd best player in the NHL rather easily. When he is on, he is so amazing to watch and completely tilts the game.

However the play he has been having lately, despite his points, has been terrible. That's fine for a 8M player or even a 9M player, but if there is any truth to this McDavid money stuff, or even the 13M, then he needs to be much much better.

I see a lazy streak in him. Or maybe more of a lack of desire to compete. Have noticed that for a while now. I may be wrong but........

 

[Whaleafs]

all Im gonna say is, when the Leafs win the cup, dont celebrate downtown with the rest of us. Find something to ***** about behind your computer because of a meaningless game in January

> Leafs can’t win a meaningless game in January
> already planning the cup parade

Have another blue kool-aid

 

[GoldenGOOSE]

And Leafs win a Cup? I dunno if any of us will live to see it. Nylander and Matthews are not Cup winning type guys. Marner is.

 

[hullsy47]

Fix the ****ing D Dubas....night all.

I concur pretty obvious our MVP IS ANDERSON
wel he is the main reason this defence was allowed to be in place this long
if DJ truly runs the defence which I doubt he does, well anybody who knows DJ also knows he isn't a cuddler
he have no problem sending zaitsev or ossie back to Moscow
this is on babs and dubas to figure out if dubas has any say
Babcock might be starting with the old coach syndrome
stubborn to a fault
look up sparky Anderson in baseball

 

[Nineteen67]

I don’t think winning the Cup is a reasonable expectation this season.
Going into the season we expected they’d be in a battle for a playoff spot, which they are, yet we also hoped they would put themselves in a position to win at least one round. At the halfway point they appear to be on target.

What continues to be troubling is how they defend. Is it effort, lack of talent or both. Look at Spurgeon’s goal yesterday. What were they doing? Ozhiganov was embarrassing on that play. If they continue to have defensive breakdowns the good teams will capitalize and everyone knows how hard it is to win in the playoffs if you give up soft goals.

 

[GoonieFace]

It's a double edge sword. Is it really the system and strategy Babcock is trying to infuse within the players or is it the players themselves with poor execution and poor judgement?

The Leafs are a team built on speed and puck movement. They cannot be a team that chips the puck out of their own zone. The stretch pass works, but they need a few dmen better than Hainsey to be a more complete team. He is too slow in transitioning the puck. So basically, I think the system works but the execution is lacking.

 

[glue]

I will say at this point in the season it’s disappointing to see the leafs still not figure out how to be better defensively as a team. That being said, they still have time to figure this out. Naz needs to be more consistent, Matthews needs to be more consistent, Nylander needs his mojo back, we need Andy to be 100% and our defensive game needs to tighten up. If those things happen by the time we start the playoffs, we should be able to beat just about anyone (other then Tampa in my opinion who just look ridiculous)