Leafs win 20 times in 31 games, third fastest in franchise history

[Havoc]

Pretty good. I came into the season being thrilled about the possibility of going 6/10. Doing even better than that!

 

[I Believe]

I feel like last season was the year where everything went right for us. Every veteran having a career year, trio playing fantastic, etc.

Seems like things have come back down to earth a bit this year, but we're winning more often. We're getting leads and hanging onto them. We're near the top of the standings and yet it feels like we can be playing even better then this.

Good times ahead boys.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Send one more message 6,999 is just not sitting well with me!

Done!

 

[Not My Tempo]

- The Atlantic is really bad this year, Buffalo, Ottawa, Florida, Detroit and Montreal are the 5 worst team in the East by P%

- We (and Tampa) have only played 7 games vs the Atlantic so far this year. We are 5-1-1 and Tampa is 5-2-0

- Most of our games against the Atlantic are gonna happen later on in the season, with quite a few occurring after the trade deadline

- Assuming the 5 teams I mentioned earlier continue to stay bad, they should be sellers at the deadline, meaning they're going to get worse

- So we're going to play a ton of games against bad teams at a time where they are going to be even worse than they are now

- Tampa and Toronto might be 1 -2 in the East and it wouldn't shock me to see both of them have >110 Points

 

[ShaneFalco]

Some rave about Babcock, and I know he's an accomplished coach, but I'm not seeing anything to praise him about so far this year, despite their record.
The team more often than not, starts off at snail's pace (how many times has he said they weren't prepared?), they rarely play a complete a game (more often than not they play a period, at most 2 well), shots against are rising, goal scoring is on the decline, the lines for the most part aren't clicking, he often starts with a line-up only to change it during the game and then revert back the next game. For the most part they get out-played. The team just looks like they're not firing on all cylinders and haven't all year really.....

 

[Buds17]

Out of curiosity I noticed we made the Final both years (lost the first, won the second time)

It is what it is - a nice stat at this point. It's a good spot to be in but nothing significant can obviously be won at the moment. Promising progress and looking forward to seeing where it all leads.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Not sure but that shouldn't matter much? The league is so balanced, especially teams in the playoffs, that I wouldn't bet a whole lot of money for one team to win it all.

Pittsburgh were the 2nd best team last season.

This seems to make sense but at the same time, 3 teams have won the last 6 cups and 4 teams have won the last 9. I'm not sure what to make of that but I think it's worth mentioning.

Perhaps, but I think Cooper's core is about now, and other than Point and Sergachev, are veterans. Leafs core has a gap between their future and those on their later stages of their career.

Exactly this. I'm just gonna keep repeating what Daisy said recently - Babcock is trying to win now but also to mold a team for the future.

Some rave about Babcock, and I know he's an accomplished coach, but I'm not seeing anything to praise him about so far this year, despite their record.
The team more often than not, starts off at snail's pace (how many times has he said they weren't prepared?), they rarely play a complete a game (more often than not they play a period, at most 2 well), shots against are rising, goal scoring is on the decline, the lines for the most part aren't clicking, he often starts with a line-up only to change it during the game and then revert back the next game. For the most part they get out-played. The team just looks like they're not firing on all cylinders and haven't all year really.....

That's true but we're still 6th overall and on pace for 108 points. Not too shabby for a work in progress and who's to say we won't be ready to play our best hockey in the playoffs?

Look at it this way - before the season started, where did you think we'd be on Dec 11th? Better than 6th overall?

 

[Rare Jewel]

That's good.

But seriously stop the woeful 3rd periods please where they just go into bunker mode.

 

[Seras]

In Babcock we trust

 

[MatthewNylander]

The thing that impressed me is that we had a 5 game losing streak, making the 20-9 -2
Record even more impressive.

I think they can play a lot better , we are learning to play a system and that has stifled our offence a bit . If we can get the two things going together, we maybe able to play like our record indicates

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Nothing positive about last night I can tell you that much.

This isn't about questioning the coach, who make mistakes all the time by the way, something he admits. It's about wanting the best for the team and I think there are legit question marks about the team despite being where we are.

If you think we've played great hockey, I'm not sure what to tell you.

I think this is what gets lost in all the debates on the board. At the end of the day 99% of us are Leaf fans and want to watch this team reach the highest level possible. Even when conversations get heated, it’s usually because fans are passionate about the team, regardless of what side of an argument you’re on.

As for how we’ve played recently, it worries me. People say “but look at the wins”, but that doesn’t mean much. Colorado looked like a young upcoming team and plummeted. Edmonton is once again going through growing pains and a team like Ottawa that just went to the conference finals looks disastrous. To say there’s no problems with how we play and we should all be happy because we’re winning is a terrible attitude. This team can be better and should be better. Let’s be happy that we’re banking these points now because If the trend continues we might not be so lucky.

 

[The Podium]

What is somewhat encouraging is that this was accomplished with room for improvement. This team has yet to play a full 60 minutes consistently, the scoring, D and goaltending have all been hot at points but never at the same time. If this team can infuse some synergism and full 60 minute effort consistently, then they can probably be considered a true contender.

 

[BayStreetBully]

This is the third thread I've seen today where this has been brought up. I feel it only fair to add some perspective - with 3 on 3 OT and shootouts, it's much easier to put wins on the board than it once was so calling this an "all-time" record is a stretch. We're having a good season and we look to be a team on the rise, no need to make things sound better than they really are. JMHO.

Yeah, and just generally with respect to the new NHL and points, every team thinks they are breaking new records these days with 3 point games. Once a game gets into the last 5 or so minutes of the 3rd period tied, the two teams begin playing safe just to secure a point and then go for it it OT. At the end of the year, every team has 95 points, it seems.

And it’s not just for inter-conference games. These days, you just have to expect every game to be a 3 point affair, and the only positive result to be 2 points for the Leafs team.

 

[justafan22]

Reminds me of the Early 2000s teams that were good and you just wanted to fast forward to the stretch run.