Pre-Game Talk: Leafs vs arizona coyotes

[Tufted Titmouse]

It was only a few years ago that Samsanov was considered in the same tier as Sorokin and Shestyrkin. Obviously that's not true anymore, but what a huge development for the org it would be if he could at least be a decent starter.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

you're always going to get the odd poster who goes a little over the top but for the most part people are just discussing the merits of who should start

i could go both ways but i feel it's more important to keep/get Samsonov on a roll and up his confidence than it is to get our 3rd stringer some games

Yeah I mean I just don't think it is an overall important decision. They could have easily gone to Samsonov in this game but he is going to get lots of hockey in over the next month either way and we are going to have to find Kallgren starts here and there...so why not tonight.

 

[Lightsol]

you believe every poster is delusional who doesn't blindly support/defend every move the team makes like you , lol

No, clearly it's more logical to assume the management is making decisions based on a minor league deal from 4 years ago that blew up in the team' face...

 

[hotpaws]

No, clearly it's more logical to assume the management is making decisions based on a minor league deal from 4 years ago that blew up in the team' face...

I don't know what you see in Malgin so far but i see the same player who failed with us his first go around . We're knee deep in somewhat talented smurfs so what make it so important to give this one an extended opportunity when we have a much more talented one who needs an opportunity to prove whether he can contribute at the NHL level ?

and surprisingly to me that ''minor league deal'' amounted to us giving away the exact type of player this team needs

 

[Pebble live]

the 3rd string goalie is currently our backup and we have 7 games in 14 nights, is it really that bad?

worst case for Robertson, I am pretty sure his salary just went up 10x, so I am sure he is happy. Obviously, he'd be happier playing, but he will have a chance.

I'd rather let Engvall sit for a game or push ZAR out for a game and run 3 scoring lines with Nylander/Robertson/Malgin on line 3, but I can see this being experimented with at some point anyway, so I won't lose sleep over it.

I just want to see this at some point this season:

Bunting - Matthews - Marner
Kerfoot - Tavares - Jarnkrok
Robertson - Nylander - Malgin
Engvall - Kampf - NAK

someone's 3rd line is going to have to shut down Nylander or Tavares, not a fun task.

Engvall and Kampf should be a solid shutdown line for the leafs. Their neutral zone and d-zone stats are great.

But most teams are running 2 lines that can score. Robertson, Nylander, Maglin are not going to be shutting anyone down and who on that line is going to retrieve pucks? They're fast, but in no way physical.

I don't want line 1 having to worry about that. They should be offence first and responsible enough to be a very solid net positive.

That 2nd line of JT, Kerf and Jarnkrok could be interesting and bring balance i guess.

It's fun to think about how other teams would deploy their line ups to shut down the leafs, but the leafs need to be doing the exact same thing. We need a 3rd line that can neutralize top offensive lines and a 4th line that can generate some energy and grind players down.

 

[LeafChief]

Hoping Robertson gets in tonight.

 

[Nhlpowerweek]

Doesn't anyone find it odd, and a bit contradictory how we as a fanbase and Sheldon as the coach continually demand better results against non-playoff teams, and not playing down to our opponents. Yet, accept the fact that we are not putting out our best lineup, in this case goaltender, because the opponent is not worthy of our best lineup???

Sheldon has made this mistake before by playing our backup against "bad" teams before, and it has cost us points. So it's not a one-off. IMO, by icing a less then optimal lineup as a coach you have already played down to your opponent before the puck has even dropped.

We have shown time and time again an inability to control games against teams exactly like the yotes. We get too cute with the puck, and we play exactly into their system. We get caught on sloppy turnovers, and it bites us in the ass. We lost the division, and an ideal first round opponent last season by going:

Montreal (2-2-0) 4/8 pts available
Arizona (0-1-1) 1/4 pts available
Buffalo (1-3-0) 2/8 pts available

we got 7 of the possible 20pts against these 3 teams. If we were to have got 16 of those pts we would have won the division, and that's not even considering the 3+ goal leads we lost FLA and COL (and probably others), as well as going 0-2-0 against another non-playoff team in Vancouver.

All I am saying is our division is way too good to be giving up points to shitty teams. We cannot guarantee a good matchup in R1 even if we win the presidents trophy, but last season it was the difference in playing TB over WAS in R1. Every game matters. We have to respect every opponent

Me and keefe for example don't agree. We should't respect them. We should actually dress simmonds and clifford both too cause of Conan O'Brien's cousin, Liam O'Brien. He is always hunting for heads..... victims. We have to fight tonight and only score those 8 during the same time. We will score, but only the fighting is the one we should be looking into, not to the game itself. That one is already over like keefe knows, with the källgren.

 

[Pebble live]

I don't know what you see in Malgin so far but i see the same player who failed with us his first go around . We're knee deep in somewhat talented smurfs so what make it so important to give this one an extended opportunity when we have a much more talented one who needs an opportunity to prove whether he can contribute at the NHL level ?

and surprisingly to me that ''minor league deal'' amounted to us giving away the exact type of player this team needs

I think Malgin gets a few more games. This is it for him though. He needs to break through. He's playing with a PPG centre in Tavares and one of the most offensively talented forwards the leafs have had over the last 10 years in Nylander. If he can't make it work with them, he's done.

Too small to be a bottom 6 player.

 

[BallardEra]

Had a feeling he'd get the start tonight.

Hopefully the boys come out with some intensity.

 

[LeafChief]

I think Malgin gets a few more games. This is it for him though. He needs to break through. He's playing with a PPG centre in Tavares and one of the most offensively talented forwards the leafs have had over the last 10 years in Nylander. If he can't make it work with them, he's done.

Too small to be a bottom 6 player.

I think by the middle of November, Malgin will likely have played himself to the Marlies. He had a good pre-season for sure but pre-season should be taken with a grain of salt.

I don't dislike the player at all but I can't imagine him on the playoff roster unless he somehow starts to explode offensively. He's good depth for sure but I'd rather see Robertson getting those reps right now.

I understand the move (sending 89 down and keeping 62 up) due to waivers but I don't think that was every a final determination. Malgin will be given his shot and if he doesn't continue to produce, he's on waivers himself.

 

[justashadowof]

Keep testing Samsonov don't coddle him. Management and coaching staff really need to understand what he is going to be for the team.

 

[hotpaws]

Did a short guy steal your boyfriend? Why do you ALWAYS bring up height?

Colorado was the 20th tallest team last year, their D especially is "smurfs".

Toronto is also taller than Colorado this year, the favourites.

because unlike yourself and Dubie i don't believe you can win the cup with over half the team being roughly 5-10 and moderately skilled like Dubie wants to build it

Col has 2 sub '6 D and Makar is one of the best players in the game so what's your point ?

also what does this have to do with the post you replied too ?

 

[jiggy35]

Don’t mind Kallgren here tbh, if things get lopsided Zona has some guys that could pull some funny business on the tendy. Kallgren cannon fodder

 

[Jojalu]

because unlike yourself and Dubie i don't believe you can win the cup with over half the team being roughly 5-10 and moderately skilled like Dubie wants to build it

Col has 2 sub '6 D and Makar is one of the best players in the game so what's your point ?

also what does this have to do with the post you replied too

because unlike yourself and Dubie i don't believe you can win the cup with over half the team being roughly 5-10 and moderately skilled like Dubie wants to build it

Col has 2 sub '6 D and Makar is one of the best players in the game so what's your point ?

also what does this have to do with the post you replied too ?

Half the team 5'10?

Like Dubas wants to?

This seems all so disingenious.

I respect the fact that you don't like Dubas but you can't just make up facts to support your dislike.

I certainly don't believe for a second thwy are playing Malgin because of the trade.

There have been a half dozen other trades and signings that would support that.

I don't think he looks for small players( he does draft for skill no matter the size) but he has went out and acquired a bunch of players to disprove that argument.

Lastly, besides Kerf, (Marner is good enough to not fall into this based on your Makar statement) who are these smurfs?

 

[therealkoho]

Really?

I may be wrong but at 26 Kallgren may now be ready to blossom into an NHL back-up, he's big, he's very athletic but quite raw like most Euro goalies when they arrive. He has the tools he needs and will need lots of work with the coaches because he's nowhere near being a finished product as yet, but I think he won't hurt us handling the b/u duties.

Obviously Samsonov will have to be the starter unless Murray can regain his health and I'm doubtful at this point that he will. I wouldn't be real surprised if he spent the rest of the year on the LTIR list, it's to the teams advantage as we all know.

 

[al secord]

Me and keefe for example don't agree. We should't respect them. We should actually dress simmonds and clifford both too cause of Conan O'Brien's cousin, Liam O'Brien. He is always hunting for heads..... victims. We have to fight tonight and only score those 8 during the same time. We will score, but only the fighting is the one we should be looking into, not to the game itself. That one is already over like keefe knows, with the källgren.

Keefe be playin' some 4D checkers, sire.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

This is going to be a difficult game

 

[ACC1224]

People losing their minds about Samsonov not playing tonight would be the same people dooming if he were to go into the playoffs "playing to much". We have to get our backup games at some point and this is a game we should win with our 3rd stringer in net.

There's a lot of needless bitching around here considering we have b2b wins and lead the division

I must have a bunch on ignore. I haven't seen anyone bitching or losing their minds.

 

[Gabriel426]

Kally reminds me of Markstorm, in that both weren’t really top prospects and we’re supposed to be backup at best. Then Marky got the starting job and never looked back. Hope Kally can do the same

 

[DarkKnight]

What an easy start to the season. Two bottom feeders, one meh team and a decent squad.

I think Malgin gets a few more games. This is it for him though. He needs to break through. He's playing with a PPG centre in Tavares and one of the most offensively talented forwards the leafs have had over the last 10 years in Nylander. If he can't make it work with them, he's done.

Too small to be a bottom 6 player.

No shots on net the last two games, I feel like tonight is incredibly important for him, especially with the call ups. The metric has changed.

 

[francis246]

What an easy start to the season. Two bottom feeders, one meh team and a decent squad.


No shots on net the last two games, I feel like tonight is incredibly important for him, especially with the call ups. The metric has changed.

Keefe has pretty much said that much today in his comments. He was really tempted to play Robertson today but wants to make the guys in the line up feel the pressure of the call ups. I expect Robertson will be in the line up next game

 

[DarkKnight]

Keefe has pretty much said that much today in his comments. He was really tempted to play Robertson today but wants to make the guys in the line up feel the pressure of the call ups. I expect Robertson will be in the line up next game

Thanks, missed his comments today.

 

[vpasla1]

What an easy start to the season. Two bottom feeders, one meh team and a decent squad.


No shots on net the last two games, I feel like tonight is incredibly important for him, especially with the call ups. The metric has changed.

He only hit the post twice...

 

[hotpaws]

Half the team 5'10?

Like Dubas wants to?

This seems all so disingenious.

I respect the fact that you don't like Dubas but you can't just make up facts to support your dislike.

I certainly don't believe for a second thwy are playing Malgin because of the trade.

There have been a half dozen other trades and signings that would support that.

I don't think he looks for small players( he does draft for skill no matter the size) but he has went out and acquired a bunch of players to disprove that argument.

Lastly, besides Kerf, (Marner is good enough to not fall into this based on your Makar statement) who are these smurfs?

drafting for skill regardless of size is just deflecting away from Dubie drafting a very large amount of small players so he can say ''look at me , i'm so smart by reinventing the wheel on how to build a NHL team''

most prospects bust regardless of size but if you took over the team Dubas did would you draft a large amount of moderately skilled players around 5-9/5-10 ?

and as far as Malgin goes , while i don't think he's in the lineup entirely because he was traded for i do believe it does play a part it in

 

[rocketman588]

Yotes are trash Kallgren is a good move if healthy