Do you like this team?

[Dekes For Days]

Cool I would be happy to do it for you, pay my consulting fee

I'll take that ridiculous side-stepping as your admission that you cannot do it and you know how wildly wrong you are.

 

[MarMarSab3]

I love this team, what I don't like are the misuse of certain players and line combinations.

 

[Stephen]

Bad mistake by Tampa. They are now terrible defensively. Unacceptable to make a mistake, no good team would do such a thing.

Tampa’s fallen to third place in their division and are 5-5-0 in the last 10 so if that overall result combined with a few shaky defensive outings vs Florida have their fans a little concerned.

 

[Stephen]

And Colorado doesn't have an answer for matthews-marner-tavares-nylander and Toronto has a cheaper big-3 on the backend as of next season.

5 on 5 expected goals for and against per 60 indicating Colorado’s level of dominance this season would suggest scoring and defense are not an issue for them and we would be the ones playing catch up:

Colorado's dominance is off the chart (almost literally)

Colorado is running away with individual player points since March 1st

I’m just going by the numbers.

 

[Bluesguru]

Yes. Destiny might be on their side this year. Matthews and his wrist have to stay healthy and strong.

 

[Mess]

Tampa’s fallen to third place in their division and are 5-5-0 in the last 10 so if that overall result combined with a few shaky defensive outings vs Florida have their fans a little concerned.

But they get to add Kucherov for the playoffs as he has missed the entire season to date.

When you can add a recent Art Ross and Hart trophy winner to your lineup it will make a difference in the results.

 

[Stephen]

But they get to add Kucherov for the playoffs as he has missed the entire season to date.

When you can add a recent Art Ross and Hart trophy winner to your lineup it will make a difference in the results.

They actually get to add Kucherov and Stamkos when the playoffs start!

 

[zeke]

5 on 5 expected goals for and against per 60 indicating Colorado’s level of dominance this season would suggest scoring and defense are not an issue for them and we would be the ones playing catch up:

Colorado's dominance is off the chart (almost literally)

Colorado is running away with individual player points since March 1st

I’m just going by the numbers.

No doubt they are looking great. #1 in the important categories. Leafs are all the way down in.....2nd.

Difference would be that the leafs have most of their core locked up for years while the Avs don't.

 

[zeke]

Bad mistake by Tampa. They are now terrible defensively. Unacceptable to make a mistake, no good team would do such a thing.

Dirty little secret might be that the bolts aren't actually great defensively, and rely a ton on Vasilevskiy (and when he poops the bed they get swept by teams like columbus).

Still, definitely one of the two teams to beat.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Tampa’s fallen to third place in their division and are 5-5-0 in the last 10 so if that overall result combined with a few shaky defensive outings vs Florida have their fans a little concerned.

Yet they aren't acting like everything is doomed and the sky is falling, or that their defense is garbage, because they understand that all teams have ups and downs, and all teams make mistakes.

5 on 5 expected goals for and against per 60 indicating Colorado’s level of dominance this season would suggest scoring and defense are not an issue for them

Might want to take a look at who else is up there at the top.

 

[ACC1224]

Tampa’s fallen to third place in their division and are 5-5-0 in the last 10 so if that overall result combined with a few shaky defensive outings vs Florida have their fans a little concerned.

It’s a little easier to overlook your teams flaws when they’re the defending champs.

 

[Stephen]

Yet they aren't acting like everything is doomed and the sky is falling, or that their defense is garbage, because they understand that all teams have ups and downs, and all teams make mistakes.

Might want to take a look at who else is up there at the top.

Don’t you think our attitude would be a little softer on defensive mistakes committed by guys like Rielly if he had won a Conn Smythe 8 months ago en route to a championship?

Tampa is having is some issues the past couple of weeks but I think if fans rest easier knowing what that group can do. We don’t know what the Leafs are capable of yet.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Don’t you think our attitude would be a little softer on defensive mistakes committed by guys like Rielly if he had won a Conn Smythe 8 months ago en route to a championship?

No, quite frankly, I don't, and that's a weak excuse to shift standards to align with a narrative. Either those things are the end of the world and a sign of a bad defensive team for every team, or they are understandable mistakes that every team makes, and we should look at the bigger picture and their overall defensive results. You can't have it both ways. Tampa did those things last year all the time as well (after being utterly embarrassed in the playoffs the previous year), and they still won, in pretty dominant fashion. That's the point.

 

[Stephen]

No, quite frankly, I don't, and that's a weak excuse to shift standards to align with a narrative. Either those things are the end of the world and a sign of a bad defensive team for every team, or they are understandable mistakes that every team makes, and we should look at the bigger picture and their overall defensive results. You can't have it both ways. Tampa did those things last year all the time as well (after being utterly embarrassed in the playoffs the previous year), and they still won, in pretty dominant fashion. That's the point.

The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 54 years so it’s a little curious to presume what a fanbase would and wouldn't give in terms of benefit of the doubt regarding a hypothetical defending champion.

Tampa Bay and Toronto are not equals. One has the track record to suggest they can turn things up and play at a championship level so a fanbase can say "its a rough patch." Toronto has never reached that level so the idea that they can flip a switch is circumspect until they actually do it.

 

[zeke]

The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 54 years so it’s a little curious to presume what a fanbase would and wouldn't give in terms of benefit of the doubt regarding a hypothetical defending champion.

Tampa Bay and Toronto are not equals. One has the track record to suggest they can turn things up and play at a championship level so a fanbase can say "its a rough patch." Toronto has never reached that level so the idea that they can flip a switch is circumspect until they actually do it.

It's a funny thing though - the leafs have largely played very well in the playoffs against mostly objectively better teams.

They've never come anywhere close to faceplanting in the playoffs like the Bolts did the year before.

 

[Stephen]

It's a funny thing though - the leafs have largely played very well in the playoffs against mostly objectively better teams.

They've never come anywhere close to faceplanting in the playoffs like the Bolts did the year before.

If you recall the Lightning were under heavy scrutiny before they got the job done. Luckily for them, they won the cup.

I would also call BS on the idea that Boston was objectively a better team. Seem to recall a lot of posts flying around about how the ‘18 and ‘19 Leafs were better than the Bruins with stats to back it up too.

 

[zeke]

If you recall the Lightning were under heavy scrutiny before they got the job done. Luckily for them, they won the cup.

I would also call BS on the idea that Boston was objectively a better team. Seem to recall a lot of posts flying around about how the ‘18 and ‘19 Leafs were better than the Bruins with stats to back it up too.

True.

And jt wasn't until their core players were in the 25-30 year old range that they finally won.

 

[keonsbitterness]

It's a funny thing though - the leafs have largely played very well in the playoffs against mostly objectively better teams.

They've never come anywhere close to faceplanting in the playoffs like the Bolts did the year before.

Give me four consecutive faceplants if it leads to a Cup in year five.

 

[Dekes For Days]

The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 54 years so it’s a little curious to presume what a fanbase would and wouldn't give in terms of benefit of the doubt regarding a hypothetical defending champion.

There's always something to complain about if that's what an individual is looking for. We have an elite team right now, that every fan should be enjoying, and we still have threads like this and people calling the 3rd best defense in the league garbage, so I'm not sure what leads you to think anything would change.

Tampa Bay and Toronto are not equals. One has the track record to suggest they can turn things up and play at a championship level so a fanbase can say "its a rough patch."

They're a lot closer than you seem to think. It's a brand new season, and regardless of what happened in the past with different versions of these teams (for the record, Tampa has also had much worse lows), it's still a rough patch. It's still normal defensive breakdowns we see all the time from every team. The difference is in your willingness to accept it and look at the bigger picture, and not let isolated instances define your perception. You're labelling the exact same occurrences and suggesting they mean different things for different teams. You can't have it both ways.

Beloved Colorado hasn't won anything, yet you seem pretty confident about their abilities; even citing numbers that you've mocked when they're brought up for the Leafs. Also for the record, the defenseman in that clip was Sergachev. He did not win a Conn Smythe.

Seem to recall a lot of posts flying around about how the ‘18 and ‘19 Leafs were better than the Bruins with stats to back it up too.

That's not true at all.

 

[nsleaf]

There's always something to complain about if that's what an individual is looking for. We have an elite team right now, that every fan should be enjoying, and we still have threads like this and people calling the 3rd best defense in the league garbage, so I'm not sure what leads you to think anything would change.

They're a lot closer than you seem to think. It's a brand new season, and regardless of what happened in the past with different versions of these teams (for the record, Tampa has also had much worse lows), it's still a rough patch. It's still normal defensive breakdowns we see all the time from every team. The difference is in your willingness to accept it and look at the bigger picture, and not let isolated instances define your perception. You're labelling the exact same occurrences and suggesting they mean different things for different teams. You can't have it both ways.

Beloved Colorado hasn't won anything, yet you seem pretty confident about their abilities; even citing numbers that you've mocked when they're brought up for the Leafs. Also for the record, the defenseman in that clip was Sergachev. He did not win a Conn Smythe.

That's not true at all.

Ironic

 

[Stephen]

I think a better question might be, "are the Leafs a likeable team?"

 

[ShaneFalco]

I think a better question might be, "are the Leafs a likeable team?"

Ok Mess

 

[LadyLala]

No, I don’t.

 

[Cecithepylon]

I like that Matthews is gunna win the rocket

 

[mikeyz]

No. In fact I hate this team more then previous seasons teams