Pre-Game Talk: Leafs vs Sabres

[Kiwi]

For sure
Sorry I can’t give you a thumbs up as I’m in the sin bin again for a violation so can just click a thumbs up

Not to worry mate, it happens to the best of us

 

[Gary Nylund]

Actually the Leafs are 4th, tied for 3rd and Buffalo is 2nd there are 4 points between and 6th and they are in 2nd basically on the back of Eichel, one bad week from him and they are back in 6th.

That's why I'm not willing to call them a good team, there is one line carrying the lead how long can that last?

There is no depth when that to line goes into a slump, and it will it happens to everybody Buffalo will start to struggle, because like Edmonton Buffalo doesn't have the depth to withstand a slump from their top guys.

Good is a subjective term so whatever. Wins and losses are all that matters, if it's one line or 4 doing the damage, who cares. Everyone has slumps, slumps always end. I'm not willing to downgrade teams because they rely on one line, not when they're winning.

As of today, by PTS% BUF if 2nd, their .574 being well ahead of our .529.

Anyone can have a good week or a bad week, we just had a good week and are still 12th in the East.

 

[Coachcorner]

Oh mayne, even if barrie ain't gon play, we gon pound these suckas down. Treal hard. And they KNOWS THIS already. In hand. We that talented offensively and oriented in our minds. We got that great speedy gonzalez they ain't got(!)

We got this and make the whole playoff run even more exciting. Invest a lot. I do, and I wins. :money: :paper: :dollar: :happy: :gilmore: :do: :it: :invest:

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Oh mayne, even if barrie ain't gon play, we gon pound these suckas down. Treal hard. And they KNOWS THIS already. In hand. We that talented offensively and oriented in our minds. We got that great speedy gonzalez they ain't got(!)

We got this and make the whole playoff run even more exciting. Invest a lot. I do, and I wins. :money: :paper: :dollar: :happy: :gilmore: :do: :it: :invest:

lol speedy gonzo-lez. He was a carpet layer i think, used a lot of undalay if he wasn’t.

 

[Torontonian]

A must win tonight, these games are too important right now for us and the for the playoff picture to lose, take 2 points and take a game from a team thats 3 points ahead of us in the standings.

 

[TheDoldrums]

For the love of all that is holy, move Kapanen down.

He destroyed the Tavares/Marner line when he was on it to start the year. Now he's doing it to Matthews/Nylander.

He's a third line player. Full stop. Put him with Kerfoot and let him chase pucks. He can't cycle and lacks the offensive instincts and touch to play with our stars.

Mikheyev or Moore seem like better fits. I'd even give Engvall a chance at this point.

 

[Marshy]

What the hell happened to Kappy he used to be a clutch scorer now it looks like he has Matt Martin's hands.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Unfortunate because of injury. But I think Johnsson slowly being fazed out of this lineup was going to happen.

Mikhayev , Engvall and Moore (hopefully when healthy) make that transition easier

Here is hoping he has some value in trade

 

[Warden of the North]

I think Id put Moore with Auston and Willy

 

[18leafsfan18]

I think Id put Moore with Auston and Willy

Might as well try it, could end up being their Hyman.

We all know Matthews and Nylander can play great together, just need to find that right chemistry with another player, wasn't Kappy, Johnson unfortunately.

 

[Zizzzzy]

What the hell happened to Kappy he used to be a clutch scorer now it looks like he has Matt Martin's hands.

Last game his body language said it all. He would mess up a play and just look defeated. He has no jam at all right now.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Last game his body language said it all. He would mess up a play and just look defeated. He has no jam at all right now.

All shake no bake

 

[egd27]

Win outright and we're only 1 point back of a divisional rival, lose and we're either 4 or 5 points back.

So are these the "new" Leafs or "old" Leafs ? I know what would happen to the old Leafs.

 

[Marshy]

I gotta record this one too. My son's playing hockey out of town at 8 PM tonight.

I used to be able to record games and not see the score but now I don't even try doing that I'd have to turn my phone off completely.

 

[Alerion]

Matthews and Nylander have slumped basically since when Johnsson got hurt, yet we know that Johnsson isn't a good fit there? I'm on mobile and can't pull the numbers but I think people are discounting Johnsson way too easily in favour of the shiny new toys further down the lineup.

 

[MyBudJT]

Matthews and Nylander have slumped basically since when Johnsson got hurt, yet we know that Johnsson isn't a good fit there? I'm on mobile and can't pull the numbers but I think people are discounting Johnsson way too easily in favour of the shiny new toys further down the lineup.

They started slumping WELL before Johnsson got hurt, tbh. Well, Matthews at least has been.

Since Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 4GP 3G
WN: 4GP 1A

Previous 9 games before Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 2G, 2A
WN: 3G, 2A

Last 13 games total (with and without Johnsson):
AM: 5G 7P
WN: 3G 6P

 

[18leafsfan18]

They started slumping WELL before Johnsson got hurt, tbh. Well, Matthews at least has been.

Since Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 4GP 3G
WN: 4GP 1A

Previous 9 games before Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 2G, 2A
WN: 3G, 2A

Last 13 games total (with and without Johnsson):
AM: 5G 7P
WN: 3G 6P

Where do these stats come from ?

(Serious question, was looking for a while and couldn't find line stats anywhere).

 

[MyBudJT]

Where do these stats come from ?

(Serious question, was looking for a while and couldn't find line stats anywhere).

I just looked at their game logs.

WN:

AM:

Alternatively, you could use the date filter at NHL.com

 

[stopclickbait]

Matthews and Nylander have slumped basically since when Johnsson got hurt, yet we know that Johnsson isn't a good fit there? I'm on mobile and can't pull the numbers but I think people are discounting Johnsson way too easily in favour of the shiny new toys further down the lineup.

I'd would argue Johnsson has done a more than reasonable job on that line. There really isn't a big sample size with other players but when Mikheyev was with them he did great as well.

Line Stats - Natural Stat Trick

 

[SomethingWild77]

The past games against Buffalo this year have been close. I just hope the Leafs show up and play like this game is as important as it is. If they take 10 minutes off I fully expect Buffalo to pounce, they've been playing good lately (5-1-4 in last 10).

 

[DarkKnight]

They started slumping WELL before Johnsson got hurt, tbh. Well, Matthews at least has been.

Since Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 4GP 3G
WN: 4GP 1A

Previous 9 games before Johnsson got hurt:
AM: 2G, 2A
WN: 3G, 2A

Last 13 games total (with and without Johnsson):
AM: 5G 7P
WN: 3G 6P

On the plus side, we’re still winning without them being hot.

 

[Vaive50]

I gotta record this one too. My son's playing hockey out of town at 8 PM tonight.

I used to be able to record games and not see the score but now I don't even try doing that I'd have to turn my phone off completely.

I like to record games on my DVR only so I don't have to sit through the commercials and certain parts of the intermissions but found it very tough not to hear the score from some source. So I decided to record and start watching about an hour and 15 minutes after the start, this way I can still forward what I want and catch up to the game when it finishes. This way I've only used about an hour and 15 minutes to watch the game rather than 2 hours and 45 minutes. It helps ease the pain of lost time, especially when the lose.

 

[Clark4Ever]

I'd would argue Johnsson has done a more than reasonable job on that line. There really isn't a big sample size with other players but when Mikheyev was with them he did great as well.

Line Stats - Natural Stat Trick

I would really like to see Mikheyev get an extended look on the Matthews line before Johnsson comes back. If it works, our bottom 6 could look very strong.

Johnsson-Kerfoot-Kapanen
Engvall-Spezza-Moore

Gauthier
Timashov

Looking beyond that, if Johnsson is moved for a quality backup goaltender, we still have the depth to compensate.

 

[Vaive50]

Win outright and we're only 1 point back of a divisional rival, lose and we're either 4 or 5 points back.

So are these the "new" Leafs or "old" Leafs ? I know what would happen to the old Leafs.

The "old" Leafs wouldn't have been able to shutdown McDavid and beat the Oilers with Matthews/Nylander slumping or come out of that road trip 3-1 in games. Let's just hope the 'new" Leafs keep getting better as they are getting healthier.

 

[mcleex]

Huge for playoff implications lol