Post-Game Talk: Leafs win 7-4. Good response

[SeaOfBlue]

How many seasons has he been in the league and he still can't defend a 2-on-1.
I was hoping Dubas would get some value for him while it's still there but Reilly's injury probably shot that idea.

He defended Coleman decently well on the 2-on-1 given the position he was in. Coleman is not a slow skater and he had quite a few strides on a non-fresh Barrie at the time, but Barrie still made him have to pull off a tough backhand.

My concern with that play was the poor shot selection by Barrie that put him in that poor defensive position, and the fact that Andersen made that shot look a lot more deadly than it should have been. It was probably the best shot/goal he let in that game, but that just shows you how shaky he was. The other three, you could maybe argue one of them could have gone in, but all three is really bad.

 

[ShaneFalco]

 

[ZEBROA]

They were fine. Much better than lately, especially Tavares. He still looks a bit off, like he's a bit slow in his reactions and decisions, but he was still good.

Great to hear its on the right track

 

[hoglund]

Why do so many fans hate Millin?

 

[BertCorbeau]

Why do so many fans hate Millin?

Because he’s not that good at his job

 

[pcruz]

This was also said about players like Kessel and Bozak

The same person said the same things about those players.

Somehow, they won 3 of the last 4 cups.


Hmmmmmm

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Parity in the NHL is funny. NJ looked pretty awful to me. Several of our goals were beyond easy tap ins (plus a couple very good tips). Yet they just beat two of the best teams. Weird. Glad for the win, need to get sharper.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

In the past how often had we seen a Leaf team blow 3 goal leads, that was usually because the Leafs decided that protecting the lead was the way to go. It seems strange to me that a team that plays a style that enables them to build up a 3 goal lead would then deviate from that game plan to protect the lead. As far as I'm concerned continue applying offensive pressure till the end of the game, score 3 more or even more.

Agreed. Never sit back or go into a shell.

 

[Duffman955]

The same person said the same things about those players.

Somehow, they won 3 of the last 4 cups.


Hmmmmmm

Never said that. Go through my post history.

Dont make up bullshit just cause Barrie is sgit and you have no arguments proving how he improves our defense.

 

[ShaneFalco]

John Bartlett doesn't cut it as the play-by-play for me. We should have the best out there. Bartlett makes me feel like I'm watching a minor hockey league game

 

[JT AM da real deal]

The forward lines were buzzing last night. I think we are getting real close to what is our best forward lineup.
Hyman Matty Marner
Engval Tavares Willy
AJ Kerfoot Kappy
Timmer Goat Spezza
This assumes Moore and Mik are out for quite some time.
That 4th line with Spezza going like last night is very good.
Mik when he gets back likely drops Engval down to 3rd line. I can see how Kerfoot gets moved on? Good for CAP and team unaffected.
Moore when he gets back likely bumps AJ or Timmer. Likely AJ due to CAP only. and again team unaffected.

The goals in garbage time last night mean nothing. The game was over. Freddy was fine when he was needed at start of game.

Hard to tell about defense as it was the Devils after all. We will see more against Calgary on Thursday as they have 2 lines which can forecheck.

 

[Clark4Ever]

John Bartlett doesn't cut it as the play-by-play for me. We should have the best out there. Bartlett makes me feel like I'm watching a minor hockey league game

Agreed. He's still better than Romanuk though.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The forward lines were buzzing last night. I think we are getting real close to what is our best forward lineup.
Hyman Matty Marner
Engval Tavares Willy
AJ Kerfoot Kappy
Timmer Goat Spezza
This assumes Moore and Mik are out for quite some time.
That 4th line with Spezza going like last night is very good.
Mik when he gets back likely drops Engval down to 3rd line. I can see how Kerfoot gets moved on? Good for CAP and team unaffected.
Moore when he gets back likely bumps AJ or Timmer. Likely AJ due to CAP only. and again team unaffected.

The goals in garbage time last night mean nothing. The game was over. Freddy was fine when he was needed at start of game.

Hard to tell about defense as it was the Devils after all. We will see more against Calgary on Thursday as they have 2 lines which can forecheck.

Regarding Freddy, he still needs to finish those types of games strong if for no other reason than to regain his confidence.

The scoreline flattered the Devils in my opinion.

 

[ACC1224]

Agreed. Never sit back or go into a shell.

It doesn't have to be either/or.
Perhaps the area in between would be the more successful approach?
Continue to press but stay on the right side of the puck.

 

[Schooner]

Regarding Freddy, he still needs to finish those types of games strong if for no other reason than to regain his confidence.

The scoreline flattered the Devils in my opinion.

Hopefully, mentally, the all star game, etc will be a bit of a confidence boost for Andy and he will get back to his regular self after the break

 

[MSZ]

John Bartlett doesn't cut it as the play-by-play for me. We should have the best out there. Bartlett makes me feel like I'm watching a minor hockey league game

He was a minor league PBP guy before Rogers won the current TV deal. Not anywhere near the best for sure, I would rather have Joe Bowen but Joe himself doesn't want to do TV stuff anymore.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

He was a minor league PBP guy before Rogers won the current TV deal. Not anywhere near the best for sure, I would rather have Joe Bowen but Joe himself doesn't want to do TV stuff anymore.

People will watch the Leafs on whatever channel they can as long as they are in the playoff hunt. Rogers overpaid for NHL hockey so they decided to cut back on their expenses including highly paid people. It is a kinda short sighted but understandable. A great play by play guy does not change the viewership totals. Much like MLSE has a 20,000+ person lineup for Leaf season tickets. Changing the players/coach has zero impact on it. People just do not give them up unless they have no other choice as they know they will never get them back.

 

[LeafingTheWay]

He defended Coleman decently well on the 2-on-1 given the position he was in. Coleman is not a slow skater and he had quite a few strides on a non-fresh Barrie at the time, but Barrie still made him have to pull off a tough backhand.

My concern with that play was the poor shot selection by Barrie that put him in that poor defensive position, and the fact that Andersen made that shot look a lot more deadly than it should have been. It was probably the best shot/goal he let in that game, but that just shows you how shaky he was. The other three, you could maybe argue one of them could have gone in, but all three is really bad.

I agree. But when I re-watched that goal after the game, it looked like half of the blame should go to the forward.

That was a fantastic scoring-chance. IMO, Engvall should have rotated up high when Barrie went to support Nylander for the one-timer. Our D make that play routinely, and Holl/Sandin also did it in their following shifts (Sandin and Holl went deep for scoring chances while the F covered them).

I think that's what the team needs to tighten up in. Defensemen need to make smarter pinches and forwards need to follow the system to make smarter defensive decisions.

 

[DarkKnight]

Freddie does deserve some critiquing at the moment, I'll separate the posters into legitimate concerns and those with three year hangups always looking for a chance to say "told you so".

I wonder why Barrie gets little flack for horrible offensive decision making when we are up big and just need to ride out the minutes for a victory? That's the kind of tone deaf play that drives a coach wild, I assure you.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Hopefully, mentally, the all star game, etc will be a bit of a confidence boost for Andy and he will get back to his regular self after the break

Yeah if there's one guy on our team who needs to "reset", it's him.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Barrie didn’t have to and shouldn’t have been pinching when we are up 6-1. I just got a dislike big time for him

 

[LeafingTheWay]

Never said that. Go through my post history.

Dont make up bull**** just cause Barrie is sgit and you have no arguments proving how he improves our defense.

He's our best offensive D-man for majority of the season (especially after his horrid start to the season). Healthy Rielly is better, but not this season.

Last 20 games (Even-strength, among the normal 6D):
CF/60 = 67.6 (1st)
GF/60 = 4.31 (1st)
xGF/60 = 2.88 (1st)
HDCF/60 = 12.26 (1st)
HDGF/60 = 2.32 (2nd)

So yes, he does improve our team. Do I like him defensively? No. But does he improve our team? Yes.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Barrie didn’t have to and shouldn’t have been pinching when we are up 6-1. I just got a dislike big time for him

He has no other choice. It is his only game where he can look good man. Think about it if you sucked as a defender and did not want to get hit on the forecheck you are much better off trying to keep puck in attacking end. The traditional game of going back to retrieve pucks, taking the hits and breaking up the ice as a team is not Barrie's game.

 

[Duffman955]

He's our best offensive D-man for majority of the season (especially after his horrid start to the season). Healthy Rielly is better, but not this season.

Last 20 games (Even-strength, among the normal 6D):
CF/60 = 67.6 (1st)
GF/60 = 4.31 (1st)
xGF/60 = 2.88 (1st)
HDCF/60 = 12.26 (1st)
HDGF/60 = 2.32 (2nd)

So yes, he does improve our team. Do I like him defensively? No. But does he improve our team? Yes.

Starts exclusively on the PP and the Ozone with Matthew's line.

Same thing happened in Colorado. That's why they moved him.

No one needs to overpay a guy who you need to shelter that hard

 

[Wafflewhipper]

He has no other choice. It is his only game where he can look good man. Think about it if you sucked as a defender and did not want to get hit on the forecheck you are much better off trying to keep puck in attacking end. The traditional game of going back to retrieve pucks, taking the hits and breaking up the ice as a team is not Barrie's game.

He takes days to figure out where he is moving the puck out of our end too. Countless times he lets a forcheck get right on top of him and either almost steals the puck from him when he is last man back or take it off him. It happens alot for some reason. The forwards should never blow the zone when this guy has the puck. So how useful is he. They should trade him regardless Morgs being out. He’s a disaster.