Post-Game Talk: Leafs win 2-1 OT

[Gallagbi]

Great catch just watched highlight over again ... 2 defenders and centre all in corner together HAHAHAHAHA house league hockey ... Flames deserved to score ... but behind back no look pass by Holl to Flames and then 2nd mistake by getting tricked to leave net front ... anywho he is learning

He stays with his man on the goal, but Dermott and Engvall get confused in the corner. Dermott needs to be in a better spot for the outlet. He's late getting to his spot and doesn't do enough to cutoff the wall. Just a lackadaisical play by him, which he does often in his own end.

It would be great if Holl makes a better outlet, but it's a D to D that Dermot shouldn't completely lose

 

[HoweHullOrr]

After those early first, second and 95% of the third period jitters they really found their game.

Ya, I was a little worried that we wouldn't pull this off, but we did in the end and found a way to win.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

He stays with his man on the goal, but Dermott and Engvall get confused in the corner. Dermott needs to be in a better spot for the outlet. He's late getting to his spot and doesn't do enough to cutoff the wall. Just a lackadaisical play by him, which he does often in his own end.

It would be great if Holl makes a better outlet, but it's a D to D that Dermot shouldn't completely lose

There were lots of errors to go around but bottom line as a defender you can't throw puck around like a no look grenade in your own end ... if a guy is not in right spot then you eat a puck ... take it to wall, absorb a hit and hold it with your feet until whistle ... very very elementary play ... in my day when you throw a backhand no look pass up wall you get benched ... it is like throwing puck to winger on wall when you see a defender is gonna destroy ur man ... again u eat puck ... would it have been better if Dermy was on wall prepared for pass yes ... but he wasn't and backup plan should have been utilized ... u never see a Bogo or a Muzzy make those kinda plays ... i mean Holl is no Bobby Orr

 

[Papi 4 Hart]

Nylander seems to thrive when he has open ice. Situations like 3 on 3 or 4 on 4. He's more of an east west type of player where the more bigger European size rinks benefits him.
NHL rink size playing 5 on 5 doesn't benefit him as much, force's him to play more of a North South type of game and kind of limits his abilities for his style of play.

Well if you look at his career he's in the top 10% of NHL players putting up 30 goal/60 point sesasons.

So must be some sort of North South type player. SMH.....

 

[Gallagbi]

There were lots of errors to go around but bottom line as a defender you can't throw puck around like a no look grenade in your own end ... if a guy is not in right spot then you eat a puck ... take it to wall, absorb a hit and hold it with your feet until whistle ... very very elementary play ... in my day when you throw a backhand no look pass up wall you get benched ... it is like throwing puck to winger on wall when you see a defender is gonna destroy ur man ... again u eat puck ... would it have been better if Dermy was on wall prepared for pass yes ... but he wasn't and backup plan should have been utilized ... u never see a Bogo or a Muzzy make those kinda plays ... i mean Holl is no Bobby Orr

He puts it in the least dangerous spot possible. The dead corner his partner should be headed to and where he has his center also supporting. Both are late and play it poorly, which causes the goal. It's a soft dump to a safe spot where he has support, but our two closest people don't read the situation with any urgency

 

[JT AM da real deal]

That was on Dermott 100%, he chickened out going after the puck along the boards, he went for it and then pulled back when their D man came down the boards (looked like he was scared to take the hit to make a play) ended up in no mans land. Didn't get the puck, puck carrier or the guy in front of the net. I screamed NO so loud the moment I saw him take that half step and then pull back, you gotta either commit to the puck there or cover the pass, he did neither.

He got put in nowhere land by Holl ... if you played pro hockey you would know you never make a blind backhand pass ... you eat puck on wall, absorb hit and hold it with your feet until you get centre support ... sure Dermy was likely in wrong spot but it happens all da time with wingers ... good defenders over time learn (like Muzzy and Bogo) to eat pucks

 

[JT AM da real deal]

He puts it in the least dangerous spot possible. The dead corner his partner should be headed to and where he has his center also supporting. Both are late and play it poorly, which causes the goal. It's a soft dump to a safe spot where he has support, but our two closest people don't read the situation with any urgency

You are missing da point ... you don't EVER throw puck away in your end EVER .. there is no safe spot ... you take puck behind net to wall ... you eat it and wait for support from ur centre

 

[hockeyes]

They also played like they would go 0-2 with a couple of 5 spots.

They played like ass against us. Rittich just pulled a Korpisalo and was easily the best player on either team in both games (sorry Nylander). I will be more worried about the Leafs' lack of scoring when we aren't in the top 10 in pretty much every scoring category at ES and no longer have like a top 5 PP.

It doesn't matter how good or bad a team is or looks if they have a superior game plan and are effective implementing it. For 118 minutes Calgary was able to do this and the Leafs looked as dead in the water as they did vs Korpisalo and CBJ in their losses. The strategy of collapsing tight and keeping things to the outside dramatically helps goalies, how many quality 2nd chances did Toronto create before finally scoring? It was a lot of one and done shots with no traffic where Rittich only needed to focus on the initial shot. It requires a goalie in the zone but it doesn't require an all-star back there either to pull off.

Tampa bay was able to drive the net a lot better and CBJ save % dropped by .2 between the rounds. .2 doesn't sound like a lot but that would have been the difference of an extra 3-4 goals in the Leaf series which likely would have been the difference in winning.

Until Leafs have proven they can overcome teams that want to play this way consistently they are always going to be at risk of getting upset and have a hard time going deep.

 

[AvroArrow]

He got put in nowhere land by Holl ... if you played pro hockey you would know you never make a blind backhand pass ... you eat puck on wall, absorb hit and hold it with your feet until you get centre support ... sure Dermy was likely in wrong spot but it happens all da time with wingers ... good defenders over time learn (like Muzzy and Bogo) to eat pucks

That was an easy pass for Dermott. He should've gone behind the net there to, to give Holl an outlet, no pressure on him he's wide open Holl made the correct play to go D to D behind the net. Dermott was standing still watching the play, stick in the air and a couple steps behind, should've had his stick down and taken that extra stride instead of gliding to give Holl an option. Missed the pass and then let the puck go, I put that goal mostly on Dermott. Wasn't really a blind pass, Holl saw he had has D partner wide open, Dermott should've been more involved in the play.

Holl shouldn't have left the front of the net to chase the guy behind the net after too, and then when he did, Nylander should've hustled to get the man in front. Bad defensive breakdown, but it started with Dermott sleeeping on the initial play.

 

[Confucius]

It doesn't matter how good or bad a team is or looks if they have a superior game plan and are effective implementing it. For 118 minutes Calgary was able to do this and the Leafs looked as dead in the water as they did vs Korpisalo and CBJ in their losses. The strategy of collapsing tight and keeping things to the outside dramatically helps goalies, how many quality 2nd chances did Toronto create before finally scoring? It was a lot of one and done shots with no traffic where Rittich only needed to focus on the initial shot. It requires a goalie in the zone but it doesn't require an all-star back there either to pull off.

Tampa bay was able to drive the net a lot better and CBJ save % dropped by .2 between the rounds. .2 doesn't sound like a lot but that would have been the difference of an extra 3-4 goals in the Leaf series which likely would have been the difference in winning.

Until Leafs have proven they can overcome teams that want to play this way consistently they are always going to be at risk of getting upset and have a hard time going deep.

We do overcome that when Simmonds and Thornton play. They screen the goalie a d plug up the front even more.
We will be fine once they get back.

 

[therealkoho]

They make you feel like you're almost watching black and white tv?

I remember when it was only broadcast in B&W, which was OK because in those days we only had a black and white TV

We got our first colour TV in the winter of 66 a Phillips 26" there were only a few broadcasts in colour but it was amazing to watch HNiC when they started their color broadcasting full time during the 67 playoffs although they tested it out on some reg season games. It was nothing like todays colour, the red's looked red but Leafs blue looked almost black unless it was a close up, I still have a vivid memory of Pulford making the pass up to Army on the RW just short of centre and then him sliding that puck past Laperriere into the empty Montreal net

You have no idea how much I want to see that happen at least one more time

 

[therealkoho]

He stays with his man on the goal, but Dermott and Engvall get confused in the corner. Dermott needs to be in a better spot for the outlet. He's late getting to his spot and doesn't do enough to cutoff the wall. Just a lackadaisical play by him, which he does often in his own end.

It would be great if Holl makes a better outlet, but it's a D to D that Dermot shouldn't completely lose

not to get involved or take sides but this ^^^^ is how I saw it

because the centre is behind the red line Nylander has to identify the threat of the open man between the dots and should have been on him like ugly on an ape, not sure what he was thinking or where he was looking, but that kind of play is exactly why he does not play centre at the NHL level, awareness in the defensive zone isn't his strong suit

 

[JT AM da real deal]

That was an easy pass for Dermott. He should've gone behind the net there to, to give Holl an outlet, no pressure on him he's wide open Holl made the correct play to go D to D behind the net. Dermott was standing still watching the play, stick in the air and a couple steps behind, should've had his stick down and taken that extra stride instead of gliding to give Holl an option. Missed the pass and then let the puck go, I put that goal mostly on Dermott. Wasn't really a blind pass, Holl saw he had has D partner wide open, Dermott should've been more involved in the play.

Holl shouldn't have left the front of the net to chase the guy behind the net after too, and then when he did, Nylander should've hustled to get the man in front. Bad defensive breakdown, but it started with Dermott sleeeping on the initial play.

I always tell people one simple thing in hockey and business never rely on SHOULD COULD DA ... yes Dermy should have been in a better position for sure ... but it doesn't mean a want my CFO putting 100K in an account to pay someone before legal docs/accounts are finalized ... oh well it was gonna happen ... bottom line best to not to put yourself in a bad spot

 

[Zybalto]

Nylander's production and analytics under Keefe so far (66 games)

Production (with league rank out of the 88 forwards who have played at least 1100+ minutes):

Goals/60: 1.54 (10th out of 88)
Points/60: 2.98 (23rd out of 88)

5v5 stats (with league rank out of the 54 forwards who have played at least 800+ minutes):

CF%: 54.11 (5th out of 54)
xGF%: 54.70 (11th out of 54)

 

[DarkKnight]

 

[hockeyes]

We do overcome that when Simmonds and Thornton play. They screen the goalie a d plug up the front even more.
We will be fine once they get back.

Yea I don't know if I'd want to bank on those two guys surviving a full playoff series let alone multiple.

 

[Warden of the North]

According to Hockey Central, Rittich has the best save % of any opposing goalie with at least 5 GP in Maple Leafs history.

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

Gutsy win. I know we have injuries and are missing some toughness. But one of my biggest wants for the playoffs is a bruising top 9 forward, either at the 3c or 2/3 lw. We should have snagged up Nick Richie last year.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Let's not act like all these players (save simmonds) injured wouldnt be out there in the playoffs or in a crucial game.

Keefe, trainers and co. Know how to condition teams to be ready to peak at the right time

Guys will be taking these 'day to day' undisclosed injury breaks quite a bit...and we have a good enough buffer to allow for it(not to mention putting more attention on our depth players)

Not saying they aren't hurt or we are totally pulling 'maintenance' days; but we dont give a damn about a weekday game in February if it has potential to cause damage down the stretch.

 

[al secord]

View attachment 400356

It's amazing that Hyman was able to stand there without performing a double knee drop to the back of Rittich's neck.

 

[GBLeaf]

I always tell people one simple thing in hockey and business never rely on SHOULD COULD DA ... yes Dermy should have been in a better position for sure ... but it doesn't mean a want my CFO putting 100K in an account to pay someone before legal docs/accounts are finalized ... oh well it was gonna happen ... bottom line best to not to put yourself in a bad spot

Sorry but that's a flawed principle.

By that notion, every time a player passes the puck, it should only ever land on a teammate's stick. Passing into the path of a player, or putting it into an area where a player SHOULD go should not be done, because you shouldn't rely on what a teammate SHOULD do, only what they can physically do then and there.

I want players to be forward thinking, work on instinct and take risks to get the rewards. Sometimes it wont work, but if you make positive choices, good things happen. Moreover, good things happen more than bad ones done.

I act in such a way that I anticipate what others around me should be doing, so i'm ahead of the game. I play soccer, not hockey and I played to a reasonable standard because I read the play, anticipating what others do and making decisions on what people SHOULD do. Not waiting for them to have done it and then reacted.

 

[GBLeaf]

View attachment 400356

Kudos to the ref, I know it wasn't out of sight for long, but i've seen some refs blow the second they can't see the puck and it's near the Goaltender.

 

[lipstickjunkie]

Kudos to the ref, I know it wasn't out of sight for long, but i've seen some refs blow the second they can't see the puck and it's near the Goaltender.

That's a really good point

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Sorry but that's a flawed principle.

By that notion, every time a player passes the puck, it should only ever land on a teammate's stick. Passing into the path of a player, or putting it into an area where a player SHOULD go should not be done, because you shouldn't rely on what a teammate SHOULD do, only what they can physically do then and there.

I want players to be forward thinking, work on instinct and take risks to get the rewards. Sometimes it wont work, but if you make positive choices, good things happen. Moreover, good things happen more than bad ones done.

I act in such a way that I anticipate what others around me should be doing, so i'm ahead of the game. I play soccer, not hockey and I played to a reasonable standard because I read the play, anticipating what others do and making decisions on what people SHOULD do. Not waiting for them to have done it and then reacted.

To each his own ... I have had a bunch of old school coaches through minor hockey, junior and minor pro so I have been taught sure fire let's not get scored on defensive principles ... if you own your end and allow no goals against then your team generally wins games ... when you play on da fly and anticipate everything da puck is bound to wind up in your net which is what happened in this case ... it is also why most businesses fail too ... they are too loose ... goalers and dmen have to play tight and control puck in their own end ... forwards can take risks to try to score ... i am new to soccer past few years as a spectator but even in your sport most to elite coaches want to control game and position in their own end with a big and solid backline with speed ... every team needs creative midfielders to make anticipation passes too but you only need 1 or 2 of those guys ... other 2 guys better play rock solid defense ... da reason our Leafs are better this year is really simple OUR defenders this year are best we have had since 1993 ... not much has changed up front or in net ... but with Brodie, Muzzy and Bogo we got 3 guys who understand defense and have necessary experience to have seen it all which they are sharing with our Rielly's and Holl's and Dermy's ... that is how it really works

 

[GBLeaf]

To each his own ... I have had a bunch of old school coaches through minor hockey, junior and minor pro so I have been taught sure fire let's not get scored on defensive principles ... if you own your end and allow no goals against then your team generally wins games ... when you play on da fly and anticipate everything da puck is bound to wind up in your net which is what happened in this case ... it is also why most businesses fail too ... they are too loose ... goalers and dmen have to play tight and control puck in their own end ... forwards can take risks to try to score ... i am new to soccer past few years as a spectator but even in your sport most to elite coaches want to control game and position in their own end with a big and solid backline with speed ... every team needs creative midfielders to make anticipation passes too but you only need 1 or 2 of those guys ... other 2 guys better play rock solid defense ... da reason our Leafs are better this year is really simple OUR defenders this year are best we have had since 1993 ... not much has changed up front or in net ... but with Brodie, Muzzy and Bogo we got 3 guys who understand defense and have necessary experience to have seen it all which they are sharing with our Rielly's and Holl's and Dermy's ... that is how it really works

That's not the case, football, like hockey is now demanding ALL players to be able to do ALL facets of the game. In football now, right-backs can play as centre-mids. Heck, goalkeepers can pass the ball like centre-mids nowadays.

Arsenal's 'invincible' side are the best team i've ever seen play. Their centre-backs constantly passed the ball 10 metres ahead of the full-back, for them to run onto it and drive forwards. It was risky, because if intercepted, they'd be caught on the break. But they'd constantly play those passes without even looking, because the full-back SHOULD have been ready and anticipating the play.

That's what Dermott should have done. If you always react, you are behind the 8-ball. You need to be pro-active and depend on your teammates to make the right moves and act accordingly. The game moves so fast, you simply have to. That's why these guys are so elite. Occasionally, one person isn't where they should be and it costs. But the principle of it shouldn't alter because of that for me.

I want to see people make plays based on where their teammates should be and anticipating what they should be doing. Not waiting for it to happen then acting depending on it. They all need to be on the same page, else the fluidity isn't there.

I think hockey, like football, is trending in that direction.