Post-Game Talk: Leafs beat Canes 4-1! Canes unable to perform post game Cirque du Soleil routine.

[Swedish Gretzky]

It seems as though Matthews has been clearly instructed to not be so aggressive on take-aways since coming back from injury. Perhaps as a temporary measure?

I havent seen once clear take away since and usually he get the puck 9 times out of ten in these situations.

 

[Nalens Oga]

I gotta eat crow, he’s been playing well lately. I wanted him gone 20 games in.

Nah I like him but he's more suited to an average team lacking scoring depth than us. He's fine in a game like this but a game like the Boston one or even the Buffalo one exposes him. He got ragdolled by the Bruins, he's not the sort of guy you want on your 4th line going into a playoff series.

 

[Peiskos]

Great bounce back game. The real test comes Thursday though against TBL, a team that imo is essentially a veteran more experienced version of what the Leafs are right now. Gotta reel them in can’t let them run away with the division.

 

[Marshy]

Great bounce back game. The real test comes Thursday though against TBL, a team that imo is essentially a veteran more experienced version of what the Leafs are right now. Gotta reel them in can’t let them run away with the division.

Boston didn't let the Leafs distance themselves last Saturday with a greatly inferior lineup.

Leafs have just as much reason to want to not let Tampa pull ahead, and the Leafs have all hands on deck minus Hyman to accomplish it.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Ozhiganov looked really good a couple of times tonight, hope he keeps it up

 

[Swedish Gretzky]

Once Nylander is back with Matthews, they are gonna light the league up

 

[BTP]

Matthews has been shooting way less often, I think he is shook.

 

[i1]

Great bounce back game. The real test comes Thursday though against TBL, a team that imo is essentially a veteran more experienced version of what the Leafs are right now. Gotta reel them in can’t let them run away with the division.

What's crazy is even with the Leafs' "defensive woes" they're still 6th in GA; Tampa, a true contender with a superior top four, is 11th.

Wish I could take comfort in this stat but the playoffs are a hell of a drug

 

[Swedish Gretzky]

Matthews has been shooting way less often, I think he is shook.

Yeah doesn't look like he's not 100% yet, and Im not referring to his conditioning

 

[IrishInOntario]

Really looking forward to a Marleau / Kadri / Kapanen third line if Babcock keeps Johnsson up with Matthews and Nylander a couple weeks from now. I think both Kapanen and Kadri are going to work exceptionally hard to create offense and old man Marleau still knows where to go in order to finish. I could see Patty up around 22 goals in a healthy 82 games, getting 2nd pp minutes playing with Kadri and Kapanen consistently for 40+ games.

I'd love Johnsson to emerge with the top line and be a really viable trade piece, along with a contract Toronto needs to dump in Zaitsev, in a deal for a top pairing RHD (even if it requires more pieces and picks).

If somehow Dubas were able to get rid of Zaitsev's contract, move Marleau in the off season, dump Hainsey and add a top RHD, at the cost of Johnsson or Kapanen, I'd do it in a heartbeat, as sad as I would be to see either go... A dream defensive scenario for me heading into next year would be...

Reilly / RHD
Gardiner / Dermott
Rosen / OZ
Liljegren

 

[Mr Hockey]

Willie may not be game shape but he starting to look good again! its to bad he will never get more than 60 points, eh lol

 

[Lenovs]

2/3 is 66.6666666

even worse. trade him and a 1st for pesce!

 

[Eb]

Nah I like him but he's more suited to an average team lacking scoring depth than us. He's fine in a game like this but a game like the Boston one or even the Buffalo one exposes him. He got ragdolled by the Bruins, he's not the sort of guy you want on your 4th line going into a playoff series.

Lol.

Just lol. Need me some more Matt Martin!!!!

 

[Dreakmur]

Willie may not be game shape but he starting to look good again! its to bad he will never get more than 60 points, eh lol

I usually wait until I’m actually right before I go into the I told you so routine.

 

[Leafling]

Watched the full 60 after a while, wasn't disappointed. Would like people to ease up on Zaitsev. He is never going to be a playmaking defencemen and we don't need him to be with rielly, gards and our group of forwards. It's nice to see him disappear and do his job. Also Nylander looked gassed after every shift but his crisp passing show why he earned that money. That marleau goal had everything i waz looking for, Kadri making a swift pass to a guy who anticipated the move (willie) and marleau finishing it off.
Also people are probably going to say AJ and Kapanen are racking points thanks to Matthews, well i didn't see it that way, those two are pure beast at puck hounding. Hope they maintain this play for the later half of the season as well.

 

[CelticDruid]

William Nylander and Nazem Kadri were a 68% CF tonight and outshot the opposition 11-3 at 5v5, to go along with the one goal for and none against. Against the Bruins on Saturday, they were an 83% CF (19 shot attempts for, 4 against), outshot the opposition 8-2, and weren’t on for any of the goals against.

 

[unitedstars87]

Kadri plays his best when he plays edgy and ups the intensity. Needs to start taking over games like he did the last few seasons.

 

[stickty111]

William Nylander and Nazem Kadri were a 68% CF tonight and outshot the opposition 11-3 at 5v5, to go along with the one goal for and none against. Against the Bruins on Saturday, they were an 83% CF (19 shot attempts for, 4 against), outshot the opposition 8-2, and weren’t on for any of the goals against.

Put skilled players with skilled players, good things happen.

 

[unitedstars87]

Watched the full 60 after a while, wasn't disappointed. Would like people to ease up on Zaitsev. He is never going to be a playmaking defencemen and we don't need him to be with rielly, gards and our group of forwards. It's nice to see him disappear and do his job. Also Nylander looked gassed after every shift but his crisp passing show why he earned that money. That marleau goal had everything i waz looking for, Kadri making a swift pass to a guy who anticipated the move (willie) and marleau finishing it off.
Also people are probably going to say AJ and Kapanen are racking points thanks to Matthews, well i didn't see it that way, those two are pure beast at puck hounding. Hope they maintain this play for the later half of the season as well.

Problem is I feel you can survive with only one of these types of players. I look at Washington last year and they had Orpik who zaitsev plays like. But when you add hainsey and Oz, it’s too much of the same thing. I feel Gardiner, Reilly, and to a lesser extent Dermott have a shoulder a lot of trying to create puck movement for our forwards.

Ideally IMO having guys like Sandin, Liljegren and Rosen will be key, just hoping they devolp great but also hopefully faster than expected like Dermott could be what we need to compete at the teams full potential.

 

[Leafling]

Problem is I feel you can survive with only one of these types of players. I look at Washington last year and they had Orpik who zaitsev plays like. But when you add hainsey and Oz, it’s too much of the same thing. I feel Gardiner, Reilly, and to a lesser extent Dermott have a shoulder a lot of trying to create puck movement for our forwards.

Ideally IMO having guys like Sandin, Liljegren and Rosen will be key, just hoping they devolp great but also hopefully faster than expected like Dermott could be what we need to compete at the teams full potential.

True, but i have to disagree on ozi here. The guy can handle the puck pretty well in the offensive zone from what i saw. I think Zaitsev is a good defenceman to have considering most of the other young guys we got like to be involved with the forwards. As u mentioned gards, rielly, and dermott are great doing that job.
As for hainsey, man i hope i caught a bad game but the guy made so many bad plays and looked tired almost midway through the second. Could be (probably is) due to all the crazy pk we have been doing lately.

 

[Leafling]

William Nylander and Nazem Kadri were a 68% CF tonight and outshot the opposition 11-3 at 5v5, to go along with the one goal for and none against. Against the Bruins on Saturday, they were an 83% CF (19 shot attempts for, 4 against), outshot the opposition 8-2, and weren’t on for any of the goals against.

That's crazy! I knew they looked good but damn.

 

[LeafingTheWay]

Nylander played fantastic tonight. Look at his zone entries. He's an absolute beast at those and there's no one on the team better at it. His passing was also on display tonight. Some people forget that before Marner become then PP star, it was Nylander doing almost the same thing in his 1st yr (He set some Leaf PP records).

Kadri looked back to his top self again, something I haven't seen this season so fsr.

 

[unitedstars87]

True, but i have to disagree on ozi here. The guy can handle the puck pretty well in the offensive zone from what i saw. I think Zaitsev is a good defenceman to have considering most of the other young guys we got like to be involved with the forwards. As u mentioned gards, rielly, and dermott are great doing that job.
As for hainsey, man i hope i caught a bad game but the guy made so many bad plays and looked tired almost midway through the second. Could be (probably is) due to all the crazy pk we have been doing lately.

Agreed with everything you said. Feel Hainsey is best suited for a 6th dman role and PK. For Reilly I feel they could get the most out of him with a true solid partner. He reminds me a lot of Brian Leech when I was younger. Same style and impact.

 

[therealkoho]

"unable to perform post game Cirque du Soleil routine"


maybe they can take up singing that old soccer song, uhmm I think it's called the Oil of Ole song

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I hope Babs keeps this experiment of giving the Big Three their own lines going for a little while longer. Much like how Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel were on their own lines in Pittsburgh, let's see what Matthews, Marner, and Nylander can continue doing on their own separate lines.