Pre-Game Talk: Game 4, Boston at Leafs. Flush the Loss, Close the Bakery and Win! (And Stay Alive!)
- Thread starter Daisy Jane
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I Am The Stig
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- Oct 19, 2011
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Kadri didn't flap his lips
He said it was a winnable series. What did you want him to say?
Exactly. No player on the Maple Leafs thinks that Boston is just going to flat out win this series. In fact, it's naive to think that odds for Boston to win this series is 1:1. It is a winnable series for the Leafs if they play their game. Boston can't control a game where there is speed and open ice involved and Toronto can't control a game when they're being smothered. It's whoever executes their gameplan the best and so far Boston has executed theirs better, but that doesn't mean that Toronto can't in the upcoming games.
Kadri didn't flap his lips
He said it was a winnable series. What did you want him to say?
lol I know, what do people expect him to say? "Yeah, Their better then us, theres no chance we win this series."
HellasLEAF
'93 to Infinity
- Sep 14, 2006
- 15,345
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We need to get back to playing the rope a dope that won all the games through April.How do you think Boston won last night.Let the Bruins shoot all they want ,keep them to the outside and wait for a turnover.Treat the whole game like it's a PK and have someone cherry picking.
Gobias Industries
Registered User
Kadri didn't flap his lips
He said it was a winnable series. What did you want him to say?
I think most of the criticism was toward the the "very, very" part, not him saying it was winnable.
There has just been consistent straw manning on this topic.
marktheshark
Registered User
I won a pair of tickets to the game today, so pumped! Will be there cheering loudly and proudly. Hope we get the W.
marktheshark
Registered User
Gobias Industries
Registered User
Even if he said very, very winnable series, it's better to sound confident than not.
And at some point public confidence becomes boasting, which in turn becomes "bulletin board material"
It wasn't a big deal, but I can see why it was a deal, which apparently some can't.
The Winter Soldier
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- Apr 4, 2011
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Kadri is a key component of our team, not sure why RC has decided all of a sudden to scrub him on the 3rd line, but having him in a top 6 position again is vital to us.
We need other players to score that are not named JVR, Kessel, or Lupul. Unless these 3 can carry this team, we need Kadri to return to his form as 2nd leading scorer on the team.
Reunite him with Lupul, and put Frattin on his right side. Think this is going to be a key to the series moving fwd.
We need other players to score that are not named JVR, Kessel, or Lupul. Unless these 3 can carry this team, we need Kadri to return to his form as 2nd leading scorer on the team.
Reunite him with Lupul, and put Frattin on his right side. Think this is going to be a key to the series moving fwd.
Get rid of ROB, sub in Liles. D parings, Phaneuf - Gunnar, Franson - Liles, Gardiner - Fraser. Let Phaneuf - Gunnar play shutdown. Release Liles and Gards to freewheel the puck in to the offensive zone.
One thing I've noticed the most so far in all the games is that Boston is one of those teams that will suffocate you if you try making a gazillion passes. They're a team that lacks foot speed and they more then make up for it by anticipating passes and taking away passing lanes, thus creating turnovers. So far in the series, Gardiner, Lupul, Grabovski, Kessel, JVR have been very able to just slice through the D and skate the puck in. I think we can avoid a ton of neutral zone turnovers if we decided to either chip and chase OR lug the puck in PP style where we do the whole drop pass with speed gig.
Stating the obvious, Toronto's biggest weakness is turnovers and Boston's biggest strength is converting on turnovers. If the Leafs can manage simple breakout passes from their zone, less passes in the neutral zone, they should theoretically get a ton of offensive possession time.
Rask looks extremely beatable. Chara doesn't really intimidate me as much as he did in the past and well the rest of the Bruins defense is really underwhelming to be honest. Forward wise, Yager and Krejci are the only forwards on the team who can stick handle. Rest of their guys have hands of stone when it come to carrying the puck. This is the primary reason as to why they have mastered the dump and chase style on offense. They've got a bunch of shooters on the team but very few puck distributors. They've been getting way too many lucky bounces around the net as well and I think that luck is going to run out soon enough and they'll regress back to their 2 goals a game pace.
We have to limit their point shots. Down low they are a tough team to contain but so far we've been hurt by those harmless point shots that seem to flutter in or get put in via rebounds off players feet and hands. In yesterday's game, you take away the dumb Kessel pass, the pathetic backhanded pass effort by ROB and we're still looking at only 2 goals that the Bruins managed to muster through their offensive zone time (NOT FORCHECK). If the Leafs can cut down on those mental errors and be a little sharper and more aware with their passing, I agree with Kadri in that this is a very very winnable series for us.
Lastly, it kind of annoys me how we're constantly harped about our defensive depth. But the big bad BOOINS without Chara look even worse than the Leafs would without Phaneuf. Bergeron and Chara are the go-to guys for the Bruins. If we can take one of them out of the series, this would be a cakewalk.
One thing I've noticed the most so far in all the games is that Boston is one of those teams that will suffocate you if you try making a gazillion passes. They're a team that lacks foot speed and they more then make up for it by anticipating passes and taking away passing lanes, thus creating turnovers. So far in the series, Gardiner, Lupul, Grabovski, Kessel, JVR have been very able to just slice through the D and skate the puck in. I think we can avoid a ton of neutral zone turnovers if we decided to either chip and chase OR lug the puck in PP style where we do the whole drop pass with speed gig.
Stating the obvious, Toronto's biggest weakness is turnovers and Boston's biggest strength is converting on turnovers. If the Leafs can manage simple breakout passes from their zone, less passes in the neutral zone, they should theoretically get a ton of offensive possession time.
Rask looks extremely beatable. Chara doesn't really intimidate me as much as he did in the past and well the rest of the Bruins defense is really underwhelming to be honest. Forward wise, Yager and Krejci are the only forwards on the team who can stick handle. Rest of their guys have hands of stone when it come to carrying the puck. This is the primary reason as to why they have mastered the dump and chase style on offense. They've got a bunch of shooters on the team but very few puck distributors. They've been getting way too many lucky bounces around the net as well and I think that luck is going to run out soon enough and they'll regress back to their 2 goals a game pace.
We have to limit their point shots. Down low they are a tough team to contain but so far we've been hurt by those harmless point shots that seem to flutter in or get put in via rebounds off players feet and hands. In yesterday's game, you take away the dumb Kessel pass, the pathetic backhanded pass effort by ROB and we're still looking at only 2 goals that the Bruins managed to muster through their offensive zone time (NOT FORCHECK). If the Leafs can cut down on those mental errors and be a little sharper and more aware with their passing, I agree with Kadri in that this is a very very winnable series for us.
Lastly, it kind of annoys me how we're constantly harped about our defensive depth. But the big bad BOOINS without Chara look even worse than the Leafs would without Phaneuf. Bergeron and Chara are the go-to guys for the Bruins. If we can take one of them out of the series, this would be a cakewalk.
Suntouchable13
Registered User
I think they will tie this baby up tomorrow, just like they did in game 2. They will be much more relaxed now that they experienced what it is like to play a home playoff game in Toronto.
I agree with you 95%. You can't spread out the offense too much that it becomes too weak. Put Lupul-Kadri and JVR-Kessel keeps strong offense together and good playmaking. I prefer Lupul-Kadri-Kulemin though due to his defensive capability.
Then third line can be Hamilton-Grabo-Frattin. I prefer Hamilton over Mac right now because Mac has not been good for almost half of the season.
I don't necessarily think the forward lines are an issue, at this point. They were playing pretty well, just not getting the bounces.
If any changes can be called for up front, it's to sit #42 down, if he is in fact injured. His play was 90% lazy, uninspired, and could be improved upon, if that's what he's going to bring. He was thrown out of faceoff after faceoff, looked lost in his own zone, and couldn't bury a gimme to save his life.
Maybe putting Colborne in for a game, to get the extra size and grit, and the strength on the wall, may be a better option. It couldn't hurt, given that Bozak's contribution was in the negative last game.
In the back, ROB and Fraser need a seat, but realistically, only one can, so let that be ROB, and keep Fraser buried on the 3rd pairing, receiving limited minutes. We have to cut down on shooting ourselves in the foot, and it starts with limiting the minutes of passengers.
If any changes can be called for up front, it's to sit #42 down, if he is in fact injured. His play was 90% lazy, uninspired, and could be improved upon, if that's what he's going to bring. He was thrown out of faceoff after faceoff, looked lost in his own zone, and couldn't bury a gimme to save his life.
Maybe putting Colborne in for a game, to get the extra size and grit, and the strength on the wall, may be a better option. It couldn't hurt, given that Bozak's contribution was in the negative last game.
In the back, ROB and Fraser need a seat, but realistically, only one can, so let that be ROB, and keep Fraser buried on the 3rd pairing, receiving limited minutes. We have to cut down on shooting ourselves in the foot, and it starts with limiting the minutes of passengers.
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
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I am not sure where to ask this, so here seemes like a good spot,.......
Do the refs review the game after its over? do their superiors look at game tapes?
Im just curious if they get in crap for all their ****** calls....?
oh and we will easily win the next one........
Do the refs review the game after its over? do their superiors look at game tapes?
Im just curious if they get in crap for all their ****** calls....?
oh and we will easily win the next one........
TonsofPuppies*
Registered User
I would also put Liles in too instead of either Fraser or ROB (probably Fraser just because he doesn't have as much experience).
And replace Hamilton with either MacA or Colborne.
But I feel that these are relatively minor adjustments. The changes from Game 1 to Game 2 were crucial. I think we're a much better team with Gardiner and Frattin in the line-up compared to Game 1. Changing McLaren for Orr isn't going to make a whole lot of difference at the end of the day, though I do think that McLaren is a small upgrade over Orr.
Alternatively, we could go without an enforcer and take out both Orr and Hamilton and put in MacA and Colborne.
A 4th line of:
Komorov - McClement - MacA/Colborne (could actually score a goal)
looks a lot better than:
Komorov - McClement - Orr/McLaren (gl McClement, you're on your own)
Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
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i think it was the media - you can't replace people if they "don't do well" because then it creates the culture of if I suck, I'm going to be benched (which won't do well on the ice either).
was Fraser always this shaky?! I mean I know we're not supposed to buy too much stock in the +/- stat, but the dude was like a +13 or something weirdo-crazy like that. which lends credence that he WAS stable and he IS playing crap-tacular. I wonder if he's just playing nervous.
was Fraser always this shaky?! I mean I know we're not supposed to buy too much stock in the +/- stat, but the dude was like a +13 or something weirdo-crazy like that. which lends credence that he WAS stable and he IS playing crap-tacular. I wonder if he's just playing nervous.
BayStBullies
Burn the Boats!
Crispy Crust
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Daisy Jane
everything is gonna be okay!
- Jul 2, 2009
- 70,276
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thanks !
hehe I like doing the pre-games! I honestly think the leafs will win tomorrow, because this is a team that can adapt quickly. (i wish they could be consistent with their adapations, and apply it).
but for me, it doesn't matter if they win or lose, because I know they are going to win the series. Easier if they win tomorrow, magical and awesome if they don't.
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