Post-Game Talk: Leafs Lose 5-3

[bionic]

I remember last October losing some pretty ugly games too. It happens to a lot of good teams early on. Not a big deal. ottawa played good but leafs were better last night. They just converted on their chances.

 

[Zybalto]

Tavares is REALLY good at deflections from what I have seen so far.

Unlucky to not have had a couple goals last night just on those alone.

 

[deletethis]

Zaitsev got too much term and AAV but he can play. Let's concentrate on those who can't play or are miscast.

 

[socko]

Tavares is REALLY good at deflections from what I have seen so far.

Unlucky to not have had a couple goals last night just on those alone.

Yeah, he had some good chances. He needs to be more than just the trash man for $11 million though, he needs to make his linemates better. I didn't see that yesterday.

 

[swint]

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Marleau - Tavares - Nylander
Leivo - Kadri - Kapanen
Johnsson - Lindholm - Ennis
****

Rielly - Zaitsev
Gardiner - Dermott
**** - ****

Brown, Hainsey, and Oz don’t look like NHLers at this point.

Not sure why the Leafs keep trying to scoop guys performing well in euro leagues over the summer to fill out the D core when every single year 5-10 serviceable NHL defensemen get picked up by teams on 1 year 1M contracts in free agency.

That being said, I’ve loved Lindholm’s game at 4C... that line just hasn’t had much of an opportunity to get anything going.

Kapanen needs a promotion, IMO he’s one player on the roster who I’ve noticed looks bigger and more engaged than in previous years.

Finally, I am still of the opinion that the Leafs lost their first round matchup to the Bruins last year because of the poor play of Freddy Andersen. It’s like that stretch of games we had during the collapse of 2013/14 where every single game for about 15 in total, Reimer would let in an early stinker and the team would deflate. Not comparing Andersen to Reimer in terms of skill; I think Fred is one of the league’s top goaltenders when he’s on, but he needs to find a way to minimalize costly errors that kill momentum.

All in all, were only talking game 2 here. Leafs will make it 81-1 this year.

 

[Cotton]

Opened the thread with the intent of reading it all. Made it 5 pages in. Too many here are in mid season form. Jesus, the negativity.

Ha, you get a LIKE

I actually ran out and HF hasn't restocked me yet. This has to suffice.

 

[Zybalto]

Yeah, he had some good chances. He needs to be more than just the trash man for $11 million though, he needs to make his linemates better. I didn't see that yesterday.

When it comes to possession and scoring chance differential, was our best center last night.

Needs to finish his chances though.

 

[ULF_55]

These early games better serve as wake up calls for the team that no matter who you're playing, when you've been labelled as a cup favourite, you're getting this effort against you every night so you've got to bring it.

Chance to bounce back tonight against the Hawks.

On another note - Zaitsev has been pleasantly quiet to start the first two games. Nothing flashy but nothing flagrantly bad either.

Yes, they really deserve their record so far.

I find solace in non negotiable stats interesting but of little value when it comes to moving the team up the standings.

It is early, but it's early for all teams.

Andersen wasn't good, but neither was the coverage.

Marner and Matthews have produced, and Tavares has been okay, but ... Do do not do there is no try.

 

[egd27]

Freddie wasn't good last night. Sparks plays tonight in Chicago. Never had a question about Leafs goaltending last year, now in game three there is.

Did you miss Ander5en and Andersieve last year? It was exactly the same, and will be every time a Leaf goalie has a bad game.

As soon as Sparks loses, which he will at some point, the torch and pitchfork locals will be out in full force.

I rarely say this but ...........bank on it

 

[deletethis]

A very good result for Tavares in 2018-19 is around 40 goals. 1 goal in 2 games is exactly at that pace. And 4 SOG per game to date is higher than he has ever managed in his career and is a rate of a top 5 NHL shot taker.

 

[luvdahattymatty]

Gramps here. I watched game again on tape this morning twice because sometimes when you are watching game in person from row 10 you miss some things. You know servers coming by and people getting up. But I stand by everything I said Freddy was getting scapegoated on here because he had a bad October last year people saying things they want to hear to explain a shot total. Freddy was horrible on goal 1 totally on him. A house league level goalie just stands there and it hits his stick. Goals 2 3 and 4 were all shots within 10 feet of net on breakaways with no Leaf defender around to limit the attacker. Could Freddy have made a 10 beller or two like in Montreal game sure he could of. But he didn't. Most of us who have played pro hockey understand you dont expect your goalie to make 10 beller saves you expect him to make every routine save with an occasional screw up here and there. Hopefully that one softie was that occasional screw up. None of us are perfect. Too many fans throw goalies under the bus. I never played goal either but did play as a 6ft5 defender in an age when i was the Chara of todays hockey. Not bragging here just truth. Leafs made 3 very boneheaded individual defensive errors which created each of those kill zone chances. To improve we must think defence first. These were not systems issues they were individual mistakes.

But lets focus on the positive Chabot is going to be the best defenseman in the NHL I can see it now. He is by far the best skater on the ice. He also has great hands. He made a couple defensive errors on his positioning but those are things he will learn with experience.

Matty and Marner are game changers with great acceleration and hands. We have a great future with them. When Nylander comes back a couple of those grade A chances where Matty passed to Marleau will go to Willy and we would have won that game too. Those skill plays decide games. With Willy back that game would have been 2 pts.

Really really like Dermott wow I can see him becoming our #1 in a year or two. I like Rielly too but the blow byes are concerning. He played very well offensively but defensively there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Overall we are getting better from game 1 to game 2. But the Freddy narrative should really STOP as it is just not fair to him.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Yes, they really deserve their record so far.

I find solace in non negotiable stats interesting but of little value when it comes to moving the team up the standings.

It is early, but it's early for all teams.

Andersen wasn't good, but neither was the coverage.

Marner and Matthews have produced, and Tavares has been okay, but ... Do do not do there is no try.

Some teams figure it out quicker than others, it is what it is. Toronto turns out is a team that needs more time to gel and get into a good groove. Some teams come out like gangbusters than fade as the season goes on. I'd rather be a team that gets better and better as the season goes. Remember when the Leafs were icing mediocre/bad teams, how many times did they start out fast out of the gate only to collapse later?

 

[ULF_55]

Gramps here. I watched game again on tape this morning twice because sometimes when you are watching game in person from row 10 you miss some things. You know servers coming by and people getting up. But I stand by everything I said Freddy was getting scapegoated on here because he had a bad October last year people saying things they want to hear to explain a shot total. Freddy was horrible on goal 1 totally on him. A house league level goalie just stands there and it hits his stick. Goals 2 3 and 4 were all shots within 10 feet of net on breakaways with no Leaf defender around to limit the attacker. Could Freddy have made a 10 beller or two like in Montreal game sure he could of. But he didn't. Most of us who have played pro hockey understand you dont expect your goalie to make 10 beller saves you expect him to make every routine save with an occasional screw up here and there. Hopefully that one softie was that occasional screw up. None of us are perfect. Too many fans throw goalies under the bus. I never played goal either but did play as a 6ft5 defender in an age when i was the Chara of todays hockey. Not bragging here just truth. Leafs made 3 very boneheaded individual defensive errors which created each of those kill zone chances. To improve we must think defence first. These were not systems issues they were individual mistakes.

But lets focus on the positive Chabot is going to be the best defenseman in the NHL I can see it now. He is by far the best skater on the ice. He also has great hands. He made a couple defensive errors on his positioning but those are things he will learn with experience.

Matty and Marner are game changers with great acceleration and hands. We have a great future with them. When Nylander comes back a couple of those grade A chances where Matty passed to Marleau will go to Willy and we would have won that game too. Those skill plays decide games. With Willy back that game would have been 2 pts.

Really really like Dermott wow I can see him becoming our #1 in a year or two. I like Rielly too but the blow byes are concerning. He played very well offensively but defensively there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Overall we are getting better from game 1 to game 2. But the Freddy narrative should really STOP as it is just not fair to him.

I find nothing to take exception to here.

Andersen did screw up the 1st. goal, but coverage wasn't good enough to win the game.

With reference to Rielly, I find his defensive ability always on the edge of being poor. Offensively, he's the opposite, always on the edge of being good. I know I'm hard on Rielly and that is probably unfair, because not every defender can play the game with anticipation. Rielly seems to react to the play, whereas elite defenders seem to anticipate the play. Last year it seemed Dermott capable of anticipation. That difference might take Dermott to that #1 role.

Without Nylander, I think they might have to restructure all the lines, while leaving Marner and Tavares together, but everything else can be changed.

 

[ShaneFalco]

2 bad goals from. Andersen and he knew it
Time. To move Brown down. He’s. Been given a free pass for too long

 

[56 Years No Cup]

Gramps here. I watched game again on tape this morning twice because sometimes when you are watching game in person from row 10 you miss some things. You know servers coming by and people getting up. But I stand by everything I said Freddy was getting scapegoated on here because he had a bad October last year people saying things they want to hear to explain a shot total. Freddy was horrible on goal 1 totally on him. A house league level goalie just stands there and it hits his stick. Goals 2 3 and 4 were all shots within 10 feet of net on breakaways with no Leaf defender around to limit the attacker. Could Freddy have made a 10 beller or two like in Montreal game sure he could of. But he didn't. Most of us who have played pro hockey understand you dont expect your goalie to make 10 beller saves you expect him to make every routine save with an occasional screw up here and there. Hopefully that one softie was that occasional screw up. None of us are perfect. Too many fans throw goalies under the bus. I never played goal either but did play as a 6ft5 defender in an age when i was the Chara of todays hockey. Not bragging here just truth. Leafs made 3 very boneheaded individual defensive errors which created each of those kill zone chances. To improve we must think defence first. These were not systems issues they were individual mistakes.

But lets focus on the positive Chabot is going to be the best defenseman in the NHL I can see it now. He is by far the best skater on the ice. He also has great hands. He made a couple defensive errors on his positioning but those are things he will learn with experience.

Matty and Marner are game changers with great acceleration and hands. We have a great future with them. When Nylander comes back a couple of those grade A chances where Matty passed to Marleau will go to Willy and we would have won that game too. Those skill plays decide games. With Willy back that game would have been 2 pts.

Really really like Dermott wow I can see him becoming our #1 in a year or two. I like Rielly too but the blow byes are concerning. He played very well offensively but defensively there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Overall we are getting better from game 1 to game 2. But the Freddy narrative should really STOP as it is just not fair to him.

The "Freddie narrative" is rightly deserved.

 

[razkaz]

Watched bits a pieces of the game and from what I saw it looked like vintage October Freddy.

Leafs looked better getting out of their D zone and had some decent O zone cycles so that’s progress I guess.


Crappy hockey outcome but one hella fight between a McGregor and Khabib

 

[ottomaddox]

A lot of sadness today...

 

[Zybalto]

Random fun stats.

With all but 6 teams having played 2 games, here is where the Leafs stand on the analytics front:

Tied for 1st for Scoring chances created.
5th worst in scoring chances allowed.
7th worst save %
10th place for possession
10th place scoring chance differential
15th place HD scoring chance differential


Zaitsev and Dermott are standouts on the backend so far.

 

[haymaker22]

Leafs need better D and thats just the truth. Can you really see them beating out another cup contending team with the D we have now? NO

 

[ottomaddox]

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Marleau - Tavares - Nylander
Leivo - Kadri - Kapanen
Johnsson - Lindholm - Ennis
****

Rielly - Zaitsev
Gardiner - Dermott
**** - ****

Brown, Hainsey, and Oz don’t look like NHLers at this point.

Not sure why the Leafs keep trying to scoop guys performing well in euro leagues over the summer to fill out the D core when every single year 5-10 serviceable NHL defensemen get picked up by teams on 1 year 1M contracts in free agency.

That being said, I’ve loved Lindholm’s game at 4C... that line just hasn’t had much of an opportunity to get anything going.

Kapanen needs a promotion, IMO he’s one player on the roster who I’ve noticed looks bigger and more engaged than in previous years.

Finally, I am still of the opinion that the Leafs lost their first round matchup to the Bruins last year because of the poor play of Freddy Andersen. It’s like that stretch of games we had during the collapse of 2013/14 where every single game for about 15 in total, Reimer would let in an early stinker and the team would deflate. Not comparing Andersen to Reimer in terms of skill; I think Fred is one of the league’s top goaltenders when he’s on, but he needs to find a way to minimalize costly errors that kill momentum.

All in all, were only talking game 2 here. Leafs will make it 81-1 this year.

I'm not sure why you would type that.

I think you should be prepared for Nylander being in another uniform.

 

[LeafSteel]

For the billionth time, why couldn't Dermott have been born RHD????

 

[Heritage]

My biggest takeaways after two games are as follows:

Matthews & Marner are awesome.

Zaitsev is playing much better so far this year.

It is much easier to add people to your ignore list after a loss.

 

[Duffman955]

We won a game we should have lost and lost a game we should have won.

Fate

 

[CanadasTeam]

Random fun stats.

With all but 6 teams having played 2 games, here is where the Leafs stand on the analytics front:

Tied for 1st for Scoring chances created.
5th worst in scoring chances allowed.
7th worst save %
10th place for possession
10th place scoring chance differential
15th place HD scoring chance differential


Zaitsev and Dermott are standouts on the backend so far.

Thanks for those numbers.

Not geared to you but in general so please don't take this the wrong way. I have this tiny pet peeve when it comes to stats. I wish they'd list them with some consistency like for e.g., why not just rank from 1st to 31st and forget about worst or best as it's least confusing:

1st place (tied) for Scoring chances created.
10th place for possession
10th place for scoring chance differential
15th place for HD scoring chance differential
25th place in save %
27th place in scoring chances allowed.

 

[Zybalto]

Thanks for those numbers.

Not geared to you but in general so please don't take this the wrong way. I have this tiny pet peeve when it comes to stats. I wish they'd list them with some consistency like for e.g., why not just rank from 1st to 31st and forget about worst or best as it's least confusing:

1st place (tied) for Scoring chances created.
10th place for possession
10th place for scoring chance differential
15th place for HD scoring chance differential
25th place in save %
27th place in scoring chances allowed.

Trying to feed a kid a waffle and get another one in the shower to get ready to go for Thanksgiving while figuring our formatting on my phone isnt always a smooth process. A bit quick and dirty I know but I'll try and make it more consistent.

What the hell happened to zeke? Hope hes OK.

Guy fell off the face of the earth right before the season started. He used to do some of this work.