Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose 4-3

Ciao

Registered User
Jul 15, 2010
9,961
5,768
Toronto
I don't agree that the sky is falling.

It's a very competitive league. The Leafs are going through a slump -- as most teams do. I think all of their issues are fixable, and fortunately they have the better part of a week to work some things out.

It also helps that Matthews and any others with nagging injuries will get some much needed time to heal, and that no matter what else happens they can't lose another game until at least Friday of this week.

It would be too boring if they won every game.
 
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Ciao

Registered User
Jul 15, 2010
9,961
5,768
Toronto
I don't know how a team effectively moves player X (say, Kerfoot) because his salary is too high in comparison to his performance.

Is there a cache of other teams that are anxious to take on an over-paid player without receiving other assets, the loss of which may compromise the Leafs' long-term plans of being competitive year-in year-out?

I don't agree with mortgaging the future for a fleeting moment of success -- unless the true success of a Stanley Cup championship were much nearer at hand. The Leafs are simply not there yet.

The Leafs have no bad contracts, but I don't think there's much of a market for big-ticket items because the entire league is up against the cap. It is a season of austerity.

I think most of the answers will, as usual, need to come from within. That's not impossible, and is perhaps as it should be.
 

Stephen

Moderator
Feb 28, 2002
78,722
53,257
It's the Leafs. Nothing surprises me any more lol

What scares me about this group is the wild swings from their high ceiling game to their low floor game. It’s also the same group that could lose to an EBUG employee by them on home ice on a Saturday night and then shut out the eventual Stanley Cup champion Lightning in the same week.

When they were rolling it was maybe taken as a sign that they had raised their low floor game and consistency. But the recent struggles just emphasizes that any possible rebound after break could also be followed up by some unique and dramatic malfunction further down the road.

I guess it boils down to a trust and confidence issue.
 
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81Leafs50

Registered User
May 14, 2010
3,170
1,277
Toronto
Too little, too late. But Marner and Rielly need to hit the damn net.

name the last game Marner went all world and dominated? why are we paying this guy 11M?

Nylander has had his night. Matthews has had all world games. Hyman has dominated.

Where is Mitch Marner and why can he not dominate against all these lesser teams with lesser talent? He clearly DOES NOT have the killer instinct of McDavid and Draisaitl.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
35,591
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name the last game Marner went all world and dominated? why are we paying this guy 11M?

Nylander has had his night. Matthews has had all world games. Hyman has dominated.

Where is Mitch Marner and why can he not dominate against all these lesser teams with lesser talent? He clearly DOES NOT have the killer instinct of McDavid and Draisaitl.

He needs Matthews or Tavares to finish off his plays. He is arguably the best set up guy in the league but if he does not have anyone to finish off what he starts, then he is not really playing at 100%. That is the case for really any playmaker in this league. Backstrom isn't 100% without Ovechkin. I wonder how Barzal starts looking without Lee cleaning up the garbage on weak goalies and defenses for the Islanders. That doesn't necessarily mean they are ineffective or useless, but nobody fears their shots as much as their passing ability so they just take the lesser of two evils and that usually ends up hurting the playmaker.

It may be an idea to put Marner back with Tavares until Matthews is fully healthy. Not for Tavares, but for Marner. However I am sure Tavares will benefit from having a world class playmaker instead of a hybrid sniper-playmaker like Nylander on his winger.
 
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Rondo Hatton

Registered User
Dec 20, 2013
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He needs Matthews or Tavares to finish off his plays. He is arguably the best set up guy in the league but if he does not have anyone to finish off what he starts, then he is not really playing at 100%. That is the case for really any playmaker in this league. Backstrom isn't 100% without Ovechkin. I wonder how Barzal starts looking without Lee cleaning up the garbage on weak goalies and defenses for the Islanders. That doesn't necessarily mean they are ineffective or useless, but nobody fears their shots as much as their passing ability so they just take the lesser of two evils and that usually ends up hurting the playmaker.

It may be an idea to put Marner back with Tavares until Matthews is fully healthy. Not for Tavares, but for Marner. However I am sure Tavares will benefit from having a world class playmaker instead of a hybrid sniper-playmaker like Nylander on his winger.

that is a pretty good idea, of course now with the break, Matthews may be back to form
 

Stephen

Moderator
Feb 28, 2002
78,722
53,257
Matthews Marner Tavares Nylander should always be in a mix and match blender depending on circumstances, hot streaks, cold streaks and opposition. There’s no argument to be made that we can put everything else in the blender but we are static on those duos. Especially when both centres have thrived with both wingers.
 
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NK94

Registered User
Feb 5, 2019
1,153
1,585
The Leafs are the only team in the league that can still be in 1st, have a tough stretch, and have said stretch just erase the much longer stretch of good play completely.
 

notDatsyuk

Registered User
Jul 20, 2018
9,877
7,743
When the refs took over the game and somehow disallowed a goal for goalie interference where nobody touched the goalie, I knew we'd bring it to within one but lose.

Getting really tired of having to beat multiple teams in the same game.

Lol you can't push a defense man into the net who ends up blocking his own goalie. That was clearly no goal.

The problem wasn't the defenceman in the net, or anyone bumping the goalie, but Engvall in the crease, preventing the goalie from getting across to play the shot. Correct call.
 
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Dekes For Days

Registered User
Sep 24, 2018
20,238
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The problem wasn't the defenceman in the net, or anyone bumping the goalie, but Engvall in the crease, preventing the goalie from getting across to play the shot. Correct call.
He didn't prevent the goalie from getting across though. The puck was in the net before the goalie even got over to him. Incorrect call.
 
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scotian1

Registered User
Dec 19, 2011
3,112
1,005
Kingston, N.S.
My biggest concern is all the unforced turnovers they make as a result of poor decision making. Reilly's attempt to clear the puck when he was under no immediate pressure that was intercepted by Brady Tkachuk and resulted in a goal. They make far too many of those errors in a game.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
35,591
16,773
The problem wasn't the defenceman in the net, or anyone bumping the goalie, but Engvall in the crease, preventing the goalie from getting across to play the shot. Correct call.

Except Engvall did absolutely nothing to prevent Daccord from physically getting to that puck, which is exactly why it was the incorrect call. Daccord was even able to get to the puck, but it went off his blocker and in the net.

It is even worse when they initially called it a good goal and decided that was "enough" to call it back. It was enough to overturn a 'no-goal' call, so it certainly was not enough to call back what was 100% a good goal.
 

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