Nithoniniel
Registered User
My takeaway from the game:
We can lament the results and assign blame all day, but the thing I felt like bringing up after the game is our start. Now, any time you talk about performance you really should talk about the other side of it, so I'll start with Chicago. The Hawks weren't good to start the game. They were diligent and dutiful, but they weren't making great plays up and down the ice. With that said, they were miles better than us.
I've never been the kind of Leafs fan who just watch our games. I like to watch two games per day, every day of the week if I can. So it's from that position that I say that I don't think I've seen a team look that lackadaisical all season. Nobody seemed to take a step more than necessary if they didn't have the puck. When they did have the puck, they preferred handing it over to someone else rather than actually fight or work their way somewhere. And when they did hand it over, they did even that lackadaisical, as if they couldn't be bothered to put it hard and distinct on the tape of a teammate. There was one situation where Holl moved the puck up, got himself some room and space.... and it just ran out for him, because every single teammate was gliding after him, looking at him like they wondered what he would do next. He had nothing to do, nowhere to go, on what should have been a good rush opportunity.
The team sometimes remind me of track & field athletes, how they slowly get moving a bit, going through the motions, to loosen themselves up for when the real stuff begins. Except in this case, someone will knock you to the ground and steal your spot. And potentially your clothes too, leaving you very embarrassed in the spotlight.
This is a problem. It would still have been a problem if Andersen performed and we weathered it. It was a huge issue under Babcock, but disappeared for a long time under Keefe. The team needs to figure out what that actually comes from, and not just hide behind platitudes like "we need to start on time" or "we need to look each other in the eyes and show some pride."
We can lament the results and assign blame all day, but the thing I felt like bringing up after the game is our start. Now, any time you talk about performance you really should talk about the other side of it, so I'll start with Chicago. The Hawks weren't good to start the game. They were diligent and dutiful, but they weren't making great plays up and down the ice. With that said, they were miles better than us.
I've never been the kind of Leafs fan who just watch our games. I like to watch two games per day, every day of the week if I can. So it's from that position that I say that I don't think I've seen a team look that lackadaisical all season. Nobody seemed to take a step more than necessary if they didn't have the puck. When they did have the puck, they preferred handing it over to someone else rather than actually fight or work their way somewhere. And when they did hand it over, they did even that lackadaisical, as if they couldn't be bothered to put it hard and distinct on the tape of a teammate. There was one situation where Holl moved the puck up, got himself some room and space.... and it just ran out for him, because every single teammate was gliding after him, looking at him like they wondered what he would do next. He had nothing to do, nowhere to go, on what should have been a good rush opportunity.
The team sometimes remind me of track & field athletes, how they slowly get moving a bit, going through the motions, to loosen themselves up for when the real stuff begins. Except in this case, someone will knock you to the ground and steal your spot. And potentially your clothes too, leaving you very embarrassed in the spotlight.
This is a problem. It would still have been a problem if Andersen performed and we weathered it. It was a huge issue under Babcock, but disappeared for a long time under Keefe. The team needs to figure out what that actually comes from, and not just hide behind platitudes like "we need to start on time" or "we need to look each other in the eyes and show some pride."
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