Post-Game Talk: Habs dominate Leafs, lose in OT.

[RealityBytes]

That was no practice skate for the loafs. They went all out. Barely won. Tied after 60 minutes.

The point is it doesn't matter. Barely won is still a win for them. They can lose 1 out of 3 games and still achieve what they want. They are using the regular season as practice for the playoffs, that's what I mean by practice skate.

 

[Max2]

The habs have some really good forwards but no one elite at the Matthews and Tavares level.Those elite superstars can change the outcome of a game with one swipe of the stick and that's what we saw last night.Toronto were outplayed but their 2 big guys came through and that's all they needed.Those guys don't miss.Kotkaniemi may be at that level soon enough we hope but for now we have to play a speed system and score by committee.

 

[member 157595]

Didn't see the game, but Domi and Kotkaniemi FO % looks abysmal (38 and 14(!) %).

Lot of work to be done there.

Domi's not a pure center and Kotkaniemi is 18 years old. They're going to get destroyed on the dot early on, that's understandable.

I was really impressed with Kotkaniemi though. I think he's going to make a lot of people eat their words, myself included. Very mature player already.

If you guys play like that consistently, you may not win them all, but you're going to be a pain in the ass to play against. That in itself is a great place to be for a rebuilding team.

 

[RealityBytes]

Sure. This is true and it's a long season. If the Leafs scored 7 goals last night and I said be patient, it's only one game. What would have people said? Pretty sure they would of been all over how bad we are.

We should be proud of the Habs and support them. They took it too the Leafs 5/5 and humbled them! Yeah, they won in OT due to their scoring power but they were humbled by the Habs last night. I'm sure they are happy with the 2 pts but Babcock will be all over them in practice trying to make improvements.

That Leafs D man.... it's worse than I thought. The idea that they can ride with Hainsey for another year when he played above expectations is silly. Just as silly as the Habs thinking Alzner was a good top 4D. If any of the Leafs D go down with an injury, they are in trouble! They don't have the depth to deal with man games lost.

I don't see Hainsey staying around much longer, he's too slow and this is his last contract year. They have Rosen, Borgman, Holl, Marincin, Lindgren, Nielsen as D's to move up and Liljegren next year. Lots of LDs but only Holl and Liljegren are RD. Still, you'll probably see change there soon.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't see Hainsey staying around much longer, he's too slow and this is his last contract year. They have Rosen, Borgman, Holl, Marincin, Lindgren, Nielsen as D's to move up and Liljegren next year. Lots of LDs but only Holl and Liljegren are RD. Still, you'll probably see change there soon.

I get the positive outlook on young D but can they make in impact that early and fill a top 4D role? Look at Dermott. 0.48 pts/game in the AHL and he looks good but can he be a reliable top 4D for them? It's like saying Lernout will fill a bottom pairing role next year cause he is ready. Well he might be ready but the NHL has a way to humble expectations.

Hainsey was decent last year as a 36 year old. Two years in a row and at age 37? Risky! They may have the AHL depth but they don't have proven depth.

 

[sheed36]

I expected Sportsnet to be very pro Leafs last night even for a National game but it just seemed way over the top last night and to the point of being quite sickening to listen to. The Habs played a very strong game last night and gave the Leafs all they could handle but they were pretty much an afterthought with the entire Sportsnet crew the entire game.

I don't think Craig Simpson even realized the Leafs were playing the Habs until sometime late in the 3rd period. The Habs did get a brief mention in the 2nd int when the lovefest for Matthews and Tavares stopped for a second and once again from Friedman sometime later.

 

[paddy]

Good teams win games they should lose and bad teams lose games they should win. A season is 82 games. All bottom feeders will look good at least 10-20 of them and all "cup contenders" will look bad at least 10-20 of them. What separate them is skills. Can't work hard 82 games. Nobody can do that. You got to win the games you don't look good or else you wont go far. Remember 4 years ago when we looked bad every *** games against Buffalo? It did not make Buffalo any better or us any worse.

First win of our streak... This team will have lots of moral victories this year.

 

[dukeofjive]

I know its only 1 game but im happy with how the team played, leafs looked like they where slow compared to the habs.

Hopefully they can keep up this pace all year.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I expected Sportsnet to be very pro Leafs last night even for a National game but it just seemed way over the top last night and to the point of being quite sickening to listen to. The Habs played a very strong game last night and gave the Leafs all they could handle but they were pretty much an afterthought with the entire Sportsnet crew the entire game.

I don't think Craig Simpson even realized the Leafs were playing the Habs until sometime late in the 3rd period. The Habs did get a brief mention in the 2nd int when the lovefest for Matthews and Tavares stopped for a second and once again from Friedman sometime later.

I remember at one point in the third period (when the Habs were really outplaying the Leafs), they cut to commercial where they'd usually show a good scoring chance or save that had just happened.. instead they showed Matthews attempting a weak between the legs drop pass that got easily broken up.

 

[Habssince89]

I think it is a fair point to suggest the pace we play at is somewhat unsustainable over all 82 games. However, one of the most tangible differences between the MT era and CJ+new coaches is that:

A)We are moving the puck much, much better. Therrien would have the team work way way harder than they needed to with inefficient dump-ins and there was a distinct lack of quality passing/passers which led to sloppy play in the opponents zone. We would always fizzle later on as we couldn't match the unsustainable expectations of that idiot MT.

B)Julien has a deeper roster, lots more skill (even if its not elite) and he's allowing the players to use clean passing more which saves tonnes of energy. We are incredibly better in the neutral zone as well which is letting us save energy by skating all the way back to our zone which helps sustain pressure. Look how often the leafs were pinned in their zone because they couldn't get it past centre ice.

The team actually seems to have a real system now, one that reflects the modern NHL. I have confidence that while the energy will be difficult to keep up night in/night out, our system is way better for possession and efficiency.

____________________

Also, Domi was excellent last night. He was drafted where he was for a reason, and I think he could be the guy to break out this year.

 

[Censored Toad]

I remember at one point in the third period (when the Habs were really outplaying the Leafs), they cut to commercial where they'd usually show a good scoring chance or save that had just happened.. instead they showed Matthews attempting a weak between the legs drop pass that got easily broken up.

Its no secret that Snet/Rogers/CBC(Snet) love dem buds.. I get that its in Toronto , hometown team gotta sell them dollars and viewer ship... but maybe split it 70-30 instead of the 90-10 it is now?

 

[DCarriere]

The point is it doesn't matter. Barely won is still a win for them. They can lose 1 out of 3 games and still achieve what they want. They are using the regular season as practice for the playoffs, that's what I mean by practice skate.

It does matter though. If they put out that kind of effort night after night, they're not going anywhere this year. Their offensive stars were very present yesterday, but their defensive play is abysmal. They'll need to be a lot better.

 

[Runner77]

Chucky is not on par with Domi in stick handling or skating. Passing they're about the same, I'd give the edge to the midget. So what skill exactly does Chucky have over Domi.

A few games by Domi in a Habs uniform and only one of them a regular season game and this is all we need to compare him to 6 years of Galchenyuk? To each their own.

 

[Runner77]

I don’t think this team got the memo about tanking.

I don't think any team wants to "tank". That's fan fodder for social media. They'll rise and fall to where their talent and desire will take them. I certainly won't be extrapolating over the one game.

 

[habamillions]

It does matter though. If they put out that kind of effort night after night, they're not going anywhere this year. Their offensive stars were very present yesterday, but their defensive play is abysmal. They'll need to be a lot better.

To add to your post. And against a better team with more talent that leaf d will get destroyed in the playoffs. Luckily for them they have top players in tavares and matthews who scored at key times last night. In the playoffs against better teams these guys get shut down

 

[Habs Halifax]

To add to your post. And against a better team with more talent that leaf d will get destroyed in the playoffs. Luckily for them they have top players in tavares and matthews who scored at key times last night. In the playoffs against better teams these guys get shut down

Try telling the Leafs this. They think they have Crosby/Malkin and they can win with a average D... where their D is not really average and it's worse than ours!

 

[scrubadam]

Domi/Lek/BG

Do these guys have the smuggest looking faces in the NHL?

 

[admiralcadillac]

A few games by Domi in a Habs uniform and only one of them a regular season game and this is all we need to compare him to 6 years of Galchenyuk? To each their own.

He was written off before even lacing skates on though so it's not much different

 

[Runner77]

Missed the game cause I accidentally fell asleep.

Holy **** Lehkonen's Tarzan scream during his celebration though

I didn't hear the scream but his celebration was certainly emphatic:

 

[Runner77]

Scorching hot take:

An HF tradition that's not about to go away.

 

[Stive Morgan]

An HF tradition that's not about to go away.

This AINEC

 

[Runner77]

For those who continue to harp on how Domi was "written off" before he got here, it's not about Domi. It's about what we had to give up to get him. Most here felt that Domi could have been had for less.

And if Galchenyuk was going to be moved, it should have been in a package to get a bona fide top line C.

Let's see how Domi responds, I'm not going to judge him either way on one game.

 

[Kunta Kinte]

Jo Drouin was f***ing bad... Why this guy was drafted 3rd overall again? Looks nothing like a Matthews, Tavares, Marner, etc... Heck i think he was habs worst forward last night.

 

[antiqueslivers]

yeah drouin has to take a step back and remember this is a team game and there are other people on the ice... including the opposition.

 

[Runner77]

Scorching hot take:

Bergevin won the Domi-Galchenyuk trade