That Carolina game is the marker of how to beat this team.
Pressure their defense and they will make stupid mistakes.
Pressure their forwards and they crumble.
Clog the neutral zone and you grind the team to a halt.
Guess who did just that over a 5 game span ( to varying success)?
Just to add:
Most teams can’t do this. Most teams don’t have the make-up to play CBJ hockey.
Tampa is a great match for Toronto.
Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Washington, hell, nearly all playoff teams left would be fine for us to play.
There would be issues, but they don’t grind you down like CBJ.
Boston is still a brutal match for us, as would Minnesota be.
So it’s not all doom and gloom!
It feels like teams in the NHL play one of two ways, either aggressive fore check or stretch pass. CBJ likes the aggressive forecheck, usually 2 players pressuring the puck carrier, Toronto under Babcock loved the stretch pass.
What concerns me is it feel like whatever team we face over the last 4 years in the playoffs/qualifying round is the worst team for us to face. Which to me suggest if every team you face in the playoffs is a bad match up for you, either you have a coach/system (Babcock) that you are unwilling or unable to adapt to beat the other team or you have a team of players that is simply unable, unwilling or does not have the skillset to counter act the other team.
I look at the most recent version of the Leafs and I can see 4 players, JT, MM, AM and WN that have an identity, they push the play, they are high octane, high possession, offence type players. I look at our defence and I see Rielly, great skater, very good 2 way guy. Muzzin shutdown , big d-man The rest of the team, I see nothing, absolutely no identity. I think about the rest of the team and I don't know what they bring to this team. I don't see any shut down Selke type forwards, I don't see any PP specialists. I don't see any elite fore checkers, I don't see any shift disturbers. I see no secondary scoring, I see no leadership (save for Spez). I see 6 forwards and 4 dmen that just skate and eat ice time, with no effect on the game. I see no one that is willing to do the thankless but necessary jobs that you need people to do to win...everyone on this team wants to be a goal scorer, everyone wants to be the hero, everyone wants to be a setup man, you can't have that mindset and be successful. Someone has to wash the dishes, take out the garbage, serve the customers... not everyone can be the chef.