Sportsnet: Kessel confident of Leafs avoiding tailspin

[hockeyfanz*]

He was arguing against Volcanologist...
a guy who is claiming that the leafs were FANTASTIC all season, and only had a meltdown due to injuries.

Its really a maddening place...

The Leafs win and people say..don't get too excited because they are not playing well. Then they say..well they are winning you are just jealous or a hater..because its the Leafs.

Then they continue to win with abnormally high shootout percentage wins and abnormally high goalie save percentages. With abnormally high shots against vs. shots for.

The warnings are all there that its not sustainable and the experts as well some unbiased fans say..yes they are winning but luck will run out because their style of play is not sustainable.

Then finally..it all catches up to them and the luck runs out...and then some of the fanbase says but if not for injuries..this was a good team that should have made the playoffs!!

 

[ACC1224]

They missed the playoffs primarily because Bernier got injured, not because their "luck ran out". If he stays healthy they make it.

If you want to keep wallowing in casino analogies though, go for it.

There's little to no doubt that without Bernier's injury they make the Playoffs.

Hopefully he's healthy for the entire season this year.

 

[Morbo]

He was arguing against Volcanologist...
a guy who is claiming that the leafs were FANTASTIC all season, and only had a meltdown due to injuries.

What the actual ****??

Where did I claim that?

 

[Mess]

Its not an excuse. Its what happened. They were lucky. Then they stopped being lucky. Its like when you are in Vegas and you are on a roll...winning 500 bucks and then playing with house money and leaving $500 bucks in the hole.

Luck. Ran. Out.

Here is a perfect example of that.

Take a sample of the Leafs season 13 games between Nov21 - Dec 12th. Leafs went 3-9-1 .. However the 3 wins and SO loss were a result of;

Sat, Nov 23 vs Washington Win 2-1 SO Reimer SV%: 0.980 Shots: 28-50
Wed, Nov 27 @ Pittsburgh SOL 6-5 SO Bernier Shots: 24-48
Thu, Dec 5 vs Dallas Win 3-2 OT Bernier SV% 0.960 Shots:24-50
Sat, Dec 7 @ Ottawa Win 4-3 SO Reimer SV%: 0.940 Shots 31-50

Leafs gave up 50 shots 3 times and won all 3 games getting badly outplayed based on .940 - .980 sv% by Bernier/Riemer and in their SOL to Pitts they gave up 48 shots with a shot differential of 24 in the game.

The team got badly outshot 198 to 107 but recorded 7 of a possible 8 points on unsustainable goaltending sv%. They could have lost all 13 games straight and the collapse would have happened far before the end of the season if not for what could best be described as luck or good fortune. But the team was playing very poorly well before the season ending collapse.

 

[hockeyfanz*]

Instead of "asking me to not respond to you", why don't you just add me to your ignore list? That's the more common technique, you know.

And being that I've been on these boards and have read your posts over the past 10 years, I know PRECISELY what you've been posting.

You make millions of excuses for this team. I can see that you're clearly embarrassed about your post history. I would be too if I was as wrong as you've been.

People like me and Hockeyfanz have been CORRECT about this team. Every. Single. Year.
And I'm not going to let you try and twist that around.
It's YOU that's always wrong.

Its because I don't like reading fiction. I've always been more of a Non-Fiction kind of reader.

Love the posts DO. Keep it real

 

[hockeyfanz*]

Here is a perfect example of that.

Take a sample of the Leafs season 13 games between Nov21 - Dec 12th. Leafs went 3-9-1 .. However the 3 wins and SO loss were a result of;

Sat, Nov 23 vs Washington Win 2-1 SO Reimer SV%: 0.980 Shots: 28-50
Wed, Nov 27 @ Pittsburgh SOL 6-5 SO Bernier Shots: 24-48
Thu, Dec 5 vs Dallas Win 3-2 OT Bernier SV% 0.960 Shots:24-50
Sat, Dec 7 @ Ottawa Win 4-3 SO Reimer SV%: 0.940 Shots 31-50

Leafs gave up 50 shots 3 times and won all 3 games getting badly outplayed based on .940 - .980 sv% by Bernier/Riemer and in their SOL to Pitts they gave up 48 shots with a shot differential of 24 in the game.

The team got badly outshot 198 to 107 but recorded 7 of a possible 8 points on unsustainable goaltending sv%. They could have lost all 13 games straight and the collapse would have happened far before the end of the season if not for what could best be described as luck or good fortune. But the team was playing very poorly well before the season ending collapse.

Hey Mess...you're preaching to the choir buddy. I am in total agreement. When I see a good team..I'll be first to sing their praises.

Haven't seen one since Mr.Quinn was fired by the incompetence known as MLSE.

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

Hey Mess...you're preaching to the choir buddy. I am in total agreement. When I see a good team..I'll be first to sing their praises.

Haven't seen one since Mr.Quinn was fired by the incompetence known as MLSE.

Over the past 10 years, the leafs have been the worst team in the entire nhl. (All as the richest team with the most financial advantages).

I will never understand why some people consider us "bad fans" for being frustrated about that...

 

[Bomber0104]

Over the past 10 years, the leafs have been the worst team in the entire nhl. (All as the richest team with the most financial advantages).

I will never understand why some people consider us "bad fans" for being frustrated about that...

There's a pretty large segment of Leafs fans out there that really don't care whether the team becomes successful or not.

They just want to be entertained, in the present....future be damned.

They don't want any spoiler alerts from fans with the foresight to know what's going to happen. In turn, they don't want to leverage that foresight into an actionable plan to get better and one day be successful.

Nope, ultimately they just want a nice evening on their couch / ACC seats, and be entertained, regardless of the outcome. If the Leafs win, great. If they lose, well that's great too, and insert any number of B.S cliches to justify losing.

 

[Mess]

Hey Mess...you're preaching to the choir buddy. I am in total agreement. When I see a good team..I'll be first to sing their praises.

Haven't seen one since Mr.Quinn was fired by the incompetence known as MLSE.

When you're surrendering 50 shots against in a 60 minute game that means the opposition has puck possession the majority of the game by registering a shot on net almost once every minute on average. You're getting badly outplayed when the shot differential is > 20 and very lucky if you get the 2 points.

How can you be considered a good team when you finish with the 26th worst goals against and neither of your goalies are in the top 30 in GAA? The Buffalo Sabres gave up less goals against by finishing 30th in the standings.

This wasn't a season ending tailspin this was a season long struggle where only the wheels feel completely off in the last 15 games. Hockey experts predicted Leafs would miss the playoffs as it was only a matter of time until luck would run out.

Do you know of any good teams that swapped out ~1/2 their roster like the Leafs did because of a few bad games at seasons end?

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

Not at all. Most of his moves make up the core of our current team, which is pretty talented, but built in a modular way. We've lacked certain parts to the team that have been plugged, and frankly, I think they wanted more maturity in the room.

There were many worse GM's. It's unfair to say that about Burke. I thought he did a a really good job, although not perfect, and I wish him all the best in Calgary. He oversaw the rebuild of the Leaf training facilities. He integrated a lot of charity work into the Leafs requirements. I actually like the Flames now more because he's their GM. He wasn't successful here, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be commended for what he did do.

Burke did a good job off of the ice. No one will argue with that.

But the atrocities he committed with the actual team ON THE ICE is what rational leaf fans have a problem with.
It's been six years now since Burke first became GM and started his 'retool'... AND LAST YEARS TEAM HAD TWO MORE POINTS THAN THAT DISGRACEFUL TEAM FROM SIX YEARS AGO.

 

[Bomber0104]

Burke did a good job off of the ice. No one will argue with that.

But the atrocities he committed with the actual team ON THE ICE is what rational leaf fans have a problem with.
It's been six years now since Burke first became GM and started his 'retool'... AND LAST YEARS TEAM HAD TWO MORE POINTS THAN THAT DISGRACEFUL TEAM FROM SIX YEARS AGO.

Yeah...but Kessel scored 80 points.

That's counts for something.

 

[IWD]

I think you're exaggerating Burke's faults a little. He loved the job, and he did his best, and he supplied some valuable roster fodder for Shanahan's transformation of the team. Now he's out west in a rebuilding Calgary. What possible resentment should anyone have for him?

 

[Daisy Jane]

Over the past 10 years, the leafs have been the worst team in the entire nhl. (All as the richest team with the most financial advantages).

I will never understand why some people consider us "bad fans" for being frustrated about that...

no they have not.

 

[Bomber0104]

I think you're exaggerating Burke's faults a little. He loved the job, and he did his best, and he supplied some valuable roster fodder for Shanahan's transformation of the team. Now he's out west in a rebuilding Calgary. What possible resentment should anyone have for him?

The fact that he failed miserably here in Toronto?

 

[Tyler Biggs*]

Polak is built like a truck...It was overall team D that sank the Leafs along with the over usage of the key players to buff the bottom six. These signings have boosted team D alot which results less pressure on your D core when you have 5 guys back battling along the boards vs your D out manned way too often with forwards standing around waiting for the puck ...Bring on the big B's ..I think they will find the Leafs a lot tougher to play against this year when they are rolling 4 real lines all of which who can put the puck in the net.

 

[4evaBlue]

Many analysts and fans alike did not like the way the Leafs were winning and many many said that it would eventually catch up with them.

The usual crowd with their heads in the sand...spewed out brilliant stuff like

haters will hate
who cares..winning is winning
outscoring your problems is a winning strategy

and so on....

The Leafs LUCK ran out. They were LUCKY to be in the position they were when the LUCK ran out..and percentages caught up to them..they tailspun out of a playoff spot. But of course the people with their heads in the sand never saw it coming and attributed it to BAD LUCK or fatigue or the Olympics or some other nonsense...not realizing that every other team in the league has the exact same amount of games...olympics and injuries. Some teams (the good ones) actually sent two or even in some cases 3X the amount of players the Leafs did to the Olympics...but somehow the Leafs were the most impacted by the Olympic break.

The credibility is declining faster than the Mexican Peso.

Speaking of head in the sand. What those so called analysts have a tendancy to miss while examining their stat sheets is that not all shots are created equal. Many of them take these arbitrary measurements and try to pass it off as a puck possession stat because they can't think of a better one.

Puck possession teams generally don't pepper the net with useless shots (a'la Sens or Preds), but grind the opponents in the corners, waiting for a defensive mistake. Quite a few shift long cycles don't show up in any manner on the stat sheets.

The Leafs have the tendancy to outCHANCE their opponents, despite the shot differential. Not saying that there weren't games Bernier stole for us, just that you can't judge the games by their cover (statsheet).

 

[hockeyfanz*]

I resent him SPECIFICALLY in a personal way.

I think it's his arrogance and ego that directed him to make the PSYCHOTIC moves that he did.
This is just my opinion, and I know many disagree, but I think he is legitimately is a bad person!!

Hahahaha...yeah..Saint Burke is now in Calgary. He can preach his greatness to Flames Nation.. I do not disagree.

 

[crump]

You have to wonder what played the biggest part in that let down at the end of the year. People have been talking about the system that finally exposed the leafs inability to clear their own zone and get constantly outshot, but I would like to put forth the possibility it was a combination of that and injuries that finally caught up the Leafs. Just look at this list of key players that tried to play through some sort of injury.

Bernier: sports hernia ...had surgery
Lupul: knee....had surgery
JVR..mysterious upper body injury since Feb
Phaneuf: upper body...possibly shoulder since that hit in Florida
Gunnarsson...hip injury...had surgery

Add Kessel's mysterious leg injury that caused him to leave practice.

That's basically your whole starting lineup besides Bozak who played through injuries that required surgery or intense therapy to play again. Could any team have played through that?

 

[HamiltonNHL]

what do they expect him to say? "Oh yeah we're totally gonna blow it again."

This.

It's a stupid question.

 

[therealkoho]

Must be all the calming zen he gets from the night fishing

you sir have won the internet this week

screw that 1st time on television kid who watches powerball and gets dizzy on rides

 

[therealkoho]

Agreed

Leafs got outworked, outshot and outplayed in many games last year and were more lucky than good to have the record they did on a hot SO record early on.

That collapse actually could of happened at any stretch during the season where they could easily have lost 12 of 14 games based on being badly outplayed saved only by hot goaltending or streaky scoring. Corsi/Fenwick numbers were near the bottom most of the season.

It is a problem if the players or coaches actually believe wins and losses is the only measure of how the team is playing and should be judged and not how they're actually performing in those games to get those results.

the final tally at seasons end is all that counts, did you win the cup or not, if you won it luck played a huge part in it, if you didn't win it, your luck just ran out somewhere whether it be a bounce or an injury.

just bury the godamned past already, it's gone and reliving it is, is just not smart(to put a positive spin on it), n'est ce pas!

I'm glad that Phil who is as dour and shy a guy as seems to play in the league can muster enough positivity to not dwell on the kind of non-sense that lives on and on, and on and friggin on. and on in LeafLand

We all saw the same thing last season we all had to go through the same disappointment, the managemnt saw it too apparently and decided to do something about it other then whining, pissing and moaning. They have willfully overhauled the roster for the second time in 5 years making the bottom 6 a more offensively dangerous and better skating bunch and adding sorely needed depth, which was the centre of the majority of the teams problems last year.

Sport like time moves forward, moaning and whining about the past does not change the reality of that past but only leads to stagnation and more failure, like a self fulfilling prophecy.

Positivity should not be mistaken for pollyannaism, positivity exists in a far brighter world then the negativity some seem to revel in

 

[therealkoho]

“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”

“Happiness is something we reap from the seeds we sow. Plant misery seeds and that is what you reap.”

“I must die. Must I then die lamenting? I must be put in chains. Must I then also lament? I must go into exile. Does any man then hinder me from going with smiles and cheerfulness and contentment?”

find zen

 

[glucker]

Its really a maddening place...

The Leafs win and people say..don't get too excited because they are not playing well. Then they say..well they are winning you are just jealous or a hater..because its the Leafs.

Then they continue to win with abnormally high shootout percentage wins and abnormally high goalie save percentages. With abnormally high shots against vs. shots for.

The warnings are all there that its not sustainable and the experts as well some unbiased fans say..yes they are winning but luck will run out because their style of play is not sustainable.

Then finally..it all catches up to them and the luck runs out...and then some of the fanbase says but if not for injuries..this was a good team that should have made the playoffs!!

The luck runs out... in the form of the starter getting injured.

CORSI PREDICTED IT!

 

[Disgruntled Observer*]

The luck runs out... in the form of the starter getting injured.

CORSI PREDICTED IT!

So you think that getting hemmed in your own zone 2/3rds of the game being out shot often 2-1 is a recipe for success?

Make all the lame excuses that you want, but the leafs terrible style of play caught up with them.

It's so ridiculous...
I'm trying to imagine the Hawks THOROUGHLY outplaying another team and winning, and then a leaf fans chiming in "excuse me... but this is not a successful way to play. You need to start hemming yourself in your own zone and getting out-shot 2-1. That's what REAL winners do. And then when your EXHAUSTED goalie eventually goes down for being ridiculously overworked, you have a pathetically lame excuse to fall back on".

It's just so embarrassing...

 

[Morbo]

Their starting goalie being injured is a "lame excuse"?

It really is just so embarrasing.