Series Talk: North Division Round 1: Leafs (1) vs. Canadiens (4)

[Aashir Mallik]

Can’t wait till Mitch counts to 16 in his face

 

[crump]

Nash confirmed

 

[Leafsfan74]

Nash confirmed

A solid, playoff shutdown center. Love these under the radar pickups.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Nash confirmed

Not a fan right now, hopefully he will win me over. I just think what killed us last year was no offence from the bottom 6. Riley Nash just kills any offence.

 

[Leafsfan74]

I'd rather still load up, but my big concern is that it suggests Hyman goes to the top line. I'd much rather see Foligno there and Hyman with JT to offset the speed for each line.


I expect we'll see Kerfoot or Nash swapped with one of the 4th line guys pretty early in the series.

What I'd like to see is both Thornton and Simmonds be net presences on their respective PP units.

Also need some balance with shots from the point where warranted. Muzzin does this well. Slap, snap, writer, backhand or puck flip, just get something from the point to keep opposition guessing. Preferably one-timers.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Not a fan right now, hopefully he will win me over. I just think what killed us last year was no offence from the bottom 6. Riley Nash just kills any offence.

Yeah I'm on the fence here as well. If he kills offence then that's great if he's matching up against top lines, but kind of useless if he's matching up against 3rd lines that we should be hoping to outscore instead of shutting them down. We'll see I guess.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Nash is great in theory against a team like Edmonton. Against a team that has strong defense but little offense, taking Galchenyuk out for Nash makes little sense

 

[Menzinger]

Not a fan right now, hopefully he will win me over. I just think what killed us last year was no offence from the bottom 6. Riley Nash just kills any offence.

I think Nash will see heavy defensive zone starts while Spezza will get the offensive zone ones. There probably won't be a huge gap in icetime between the two lines

 

[crump]

Not a fan right now, hopefully he will win me over. I just think what killed us last year was no offence from the bottom 6. Riley Nash just kills any offence.

Yes, it’s hard to gauge really. Don’t know how this shakes out, he’s a vet so it shouldn’t be too hard to jump in as long as he’s really healthy. Keefe must really like what he sees because Galchenyuk wasn’t horrible with Tavares and Nylander.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Is it any different in here? Half of this thread is talking about the need to blow up our team.

What?

 

[leafsfan5]

Yeah I feel like Nash's usage should depend upon the team we face. Round 2 and onwards when teams have elite offensive talent he's extremely helpful and a big asset, but against Montreal I don't know if he's the best option. I guess we'll see

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Without bias towards the ol boys.
This lineup is unreal

Foligno - Matthews - Marner
Galchenyuk - Tavares - Nylander
Hyman - Nash - Mikhayev
Engvall - Spezza - Kerfoot
Thornton - Brooks - Simmonds

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Sandin - Bogosian

Campbell
Rittich

 

[Eternal Leaf]

Nash is great in theory against a team like Edmonton. Against a team that has strong defense but little offense, taking Galchenyuk out for Nash makes little sense

Can't throw him into an Edmonton/Winnipeg series without proper reps.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Yeah I feel like Nash's usage should depend upon the team we face. Round 2 and onwards when teams have elite offensive talent he's extremely helpful and a big asset, but against Montreal I don't know if he's the best option. I guess we'll see

I'd like to get his game legs going tho. Give the Hyman - Nash - Mikhayev line assignments...but otherwise play our game and get the right guys in

 

[Cor]

I am excited to see how the lines look. Can't believe we need to wait another 4 days

 

[Mats13]

Not surprising but great to hear nonetheless

Now just sweep the Habs and let’s go

 

[zeke]

What?

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I am excited to see how the lines look. Can't believe we need to wait another 4 days

 

[mrbagina]

for the first time I am hoping the Leafs lose in the playoffs. It would be brutal waiting all this time for a Cup and the year they finally win it there are no fans cheering and they don't even get a parade.

What in the actual *#!*#? No No NO No ...go to your room right now young man and THINK about what youve done.

 

[Duffman955]

Nash is great in theory against a team like Edmonton. Against a team that has strong defense but little offense, taking Galchenyuk out for Nash makes little sense

Saying Galchenyuk provides offense is a huge stretch

 

[zeke]

Simple comp - goal and point Paces split up into even strength and PP, plus expected goals for relaitive to teammates at even strength. Save percentage and difference from expected save percentage for goalies, in total and split up in 5v5 and PK.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Saying Galchenyuk provides offense is a huge stretch

In the last 25 games, he's 5th on the team in 5v5 goals and points

 

[IPS]

Nash is great in theory against a team like Edmonton. Against a team that has strong defense but little offense, taking Galchenyuk out for Nash makes little sense

Agreed. I'm not a fan at all of modifying that 2nd line which has done so well lately. And this is against Gally's old team too, guarantee he'd come out extra hard against them.

 

[Atomos2]

If we end up bleeding goals and find ourselves running into a hot Carey Price then yea I'd put in Galchenyuk to provide a bit more offensive options. But Galchenyuk wasn't that great defensively and if Nash can provide a higher impact based on his defensive play then I'm all for it. Either way, Game 1 will tell us lot.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

I’m assuming Nash will be be a key penalty killer. Has anyone seen the PK lines?