Post-Game Talk: Oh That Elusive 3rd Road Win a Calender year...So Close (3-2 Caps SO)

[scooter87]

Loving games like this. Great play from the boys but no W - the tank is on. You can see a sustainable hockey system unfolding right before our eyes. As soon as the young talent replaces the plugs that are currently in the line-up we'll FINALLY have a good hockey team.

To the posters who want to go back to the run and gun style of barely scraping into the playoffs in a shortened season, I have no idea what to say to you...

 

[Clark4Ever]

If we had even one game breaker in the lineup, a lot of these 1 goal losses would be converted to wins. It's clear that Babcock's system is effective. We just need to infuse some talent into the lineup and receive steady goalkeeping next season to start getting results.

 

[thewave]

If we had even one game breaker in the lineup, a lot of these 1 goal losses would be converted to wins. It's clear that Babcock's system is effective. We just need to infuse some talent into the lineup and receive steady goalkeeping next season to start getting results.

We need dominate pairs. That's the best way to win in the current NHL. Top 6 is obsolete now. Top 3 lines with 2x top6 quality players.

Ie

Nylander Marner
Jvr Kadri
Lupul? ???

By doing this you add guys like Komarov, fast skating high energy grinders to work the boards and do the dirty work.

The better your top 9 is the better your team will be. Also all players should be speed and style matched.

 

[Mess]

There was a very interesting stat they mentioned during yesterdays game.

Ovechkin was drafted in 2004 and Leafs have drafted 83 players since then and all those Leaf draft picks combined have less NHL goals than OV all by himself.

 

[dimi78]

We need dominate pairs. That's the best way to win in the current NHL. Top 6 is obsolete now. Top 3 lines with 2x top6 quality players.

Ie

Nylander Marner
Jvr Kadri
Lupul? ???

By doing this you add guys like Komarov, fast skating high energy grinders to work the boards and do the dirty work.

The better your top 9 is the better your team will be. Also all players should be speed and style matched.

The Scotty Bowman train of thought

It comes down to on ice chemistry and the thing is you never truly know what will work and what wont. St. Louis traded for Gretzky thinking that having him with Brett Hull will bring a super pair that was once the Oates to Hull combination. On paper it should have worked but man were they ever awful together on a line.

I was hoping to reunite Frattin with Kadri when Nonis reacquired him... I bet if Babcock got to view some game tape of the 2 together the little light bulb in his would light up with the thought " There it is" "On ice Chemistry"

Is it ironic that neither player hasn't produced like they did during the shortened season when they were together with Komorov? With Frattin he's lost his game all together once Carlyle split them up for no apparent reason.

Agh what could have been.., such is life I guess just hope the Nylander, Brown combo is kept together and brought up as a pair and give it a season or 2 before breaking them up. Those 2 have something together as linemates and would be huge for there comfort level & confidence if they're kept together in the NHL when the Leaf brass is ready for them because now it's not that the players are not ready and want to over ripen them (Whatever that means as over ripen means grown rotten ). Now it's the Leafs that aren't ready for there ready NHL players. How anybody buys into this BS I'll never understand. Guess that's the difference between somebody that has played at a high level compared to somebody that hasn't.

 

[dimi78]

There was a very interesting stat they mentioned during yesterdays game.

Ovechkin was drafted in 2004 and Leafs have drafted 83 players since then and all those Leaf draft picks combined have less NHL goals than OV all by himself.

and neither won a cup so who cares

 

[Daisy Jane]

and neither won a cup so who cares

that's what twitter kept asking too. Mirtle was like. "this is why the Leafs are where they are" (shows 5 leafs drafted players on roster) and this is why the Caps are where they are (shows like 10-12 Caps drafted players and it's like.

where exactly - is Washington?
like i don't know if i'd use that organization as a bestion of "this is how things should be done. They haven't won anything, they've been pretty see-saw-y, yes they draft well (and we hope to do so). but it was like. what's the point?

and the same thing with the Ovy scoring the same amount of goals of 83 Leafs draft picks. so? i bet you can roughly do that with any team. it was a weird thing to highlight.

 

[Ovate]

that's what twitter kept asking too. Mirtle was like. "this is why the Leafs are where they are" (shows 5 leafs drafted players on roster) and this is why the Caps are where they are (shows like 10-12 Caps drafted players and it's like.

where exactly - is Washington?
like i don't know if i'd use that organization as a bestion of "this is how things should be done. They haven't won anything, they've been pretty see-saw-y, yes they draft well (and we hope to do so). but it was like. what's the point?

and the same thing with the Ovy scoring the same amount of goals of 83 Leafs draft picks. so? i bet you can roughly do that with any team. it was a weird thing to highlight.

Honestly, I'd call Washington a contender. They're definitely a top 10 team, and arguably top 5. They have their #1 goalie, #1 defenseman, #1 center AND one of the best goal scorers of all time. Over the last two years, they've also fixed their depth and coaching, which were their biggest problems (along with goaltending) before that.

If they decide to make a splash at the deadline (trade their 2016 1st and maybe more), then they have the potential to be cup favorites going into the playoffs.

Agreed that 483 goals is an awful lot. I wouldn't be surprised if that's more than half the League's draft picks since 2014.

 

[Pyrophorus]

and neither won a cup so who cares

I bet some of those 83 players did.

 

[dimi78]

Honestly, I'd call Washington a contender. They're definitely a top 10 team, and arguably top 5. They have their #1 goalie, #1 defenseman, #1 center AND one of the best goal scorers of all time. Over the last two years, they've also fixed their depth and coaching, which were their biggest problems (along with goaltending) before that.

If they decide to make a splash at the deadline (trade their 2016 1st and maybe more), then they have the potential to be cup favorites going into the playoffs.

Agreed that 483 goals is an awful lot. I wouldn't be surprised if that's more than half the League's draft picks since 2014.

They've done a really good job in implementing there youth giving them a deep team now. Definitely a contender but again who cares that Ovy scored more goals than 83 prospects drafted by the Leafs... I bet if they calculated Kessel would be on par and again who cares. Give me something with substance that matters.

Like I don't know some statistic analysis that Kadri's goal scoring slump will soon end.... That should get some folks on here going.

 

[TheOneArmedMan]

Man this team is so terrible. They started to play well but they are still losing. By the time they start winning its probably going to be too late and it will screw up the chance at the top pick. I can see Bozak and JVR really miss Kessel.

Last year this was a 1 line scoring team and now nobody is scoring at all.

 

[carko32]

Honestly, I'd call Washington a contender. They're definitely a top 10 team, and arguably top 5. They have their #1 goalie, #1 defenseman, #1 center AND one of the best goal scorers of all time. Over the last two years, they've also fixed their depth and coaching, which were their biggest problems (along with goaltending) before that.

If they decide to make a splash at the deadline (trade their 2016 1st and maybe more), then they have the potential to be cup favorites going into the playoffs.

Agreed that 483 goals is an awful lot. I wouldn't be surprised if that's more than half the League's draft picks since 2014.

I totally agree with you, I think that Washington of 2015-2016 is much better team than last years Caps. They have added Oshie and Williams upfront, while Kuznetsov has become a really good C, capable of playing on 1st line and allowing Backstrom to play on 2nd line and add some depth that way or playing Kuznetsov on 2nd line and ahving him as main player there, and having 2 really talented scoring threats.
Plus John Carlson is a really good defender, a true #1, and he has quite some support, even though losing Green will hurt them a little, since they are not as deep on D as they were last year, but on the other hand their young guys are playing pretty well.
I can see them going much deeper in playoffs than last year and since we are pretty far from competing, I will be supporting them for a Cup.

If they do not win it in this or next season, we will be able to see that you really need great depth to win the Cup, even if you have #1C, #1D and #1G. But I hope that they have added that depth and like you said, maybe they will add some more at trade deadline.

 

[Tyler Biggs*]

I actually feel really bad for this team. They've been going out there and playing decent hockey despite the clear lack of skill on the roster. It hasn't translated into wins but I appreciate the effort because the games are actually fun and enjoyable. That is more than I can say for the team under Carlyle.

 

[Gabriel426]

Don't be, as some of them are playing for their last big payday and Leafs are allowing them to showcase themselves.
While some are playing for a possible Cup run with a contender.
If anything, I think they are in a great position.
Imagine, Boyes plays well and get traded to Chicago and then win a cup.

 

[egd27]

Great individual player but still needs to win a CUP to be considered a great. Sorry.

Gilbert Perreault, Dale Hawerchuk, Peter Stastny, Marcel Dionne, Brad Park, just to name a few, weren't considered great players?

History disagrees with you.

 

[deletethis]

In a 30 team league there are going to be many Hall of Fame level talents who won't be on Stanley Cup winners. It's 20 years max for the best talents with only 1 of 30 teams winning the Cup.

 

[Gabriel426]

Guess Mike Gartner is not a great player bc he didn't win a Cup.

 

[hoglund]

I actually feel really bad for this team. They've been going out there and playing decent hockey despite the clear lack of skill on the roster. It hasn't translated into wins but I appreciate the effort because the games are actually fun and enjoyable. That is more than I can say for the team under Carlyle.

Babcock has gotten the most out of this team, they are playing well enough to have about 10 more points than they do, but have had a lot of bad luck.

 

[Mess]

Babcock has gotten the most out of this team, they are playing well enough to have about 10 more points than they do, but have had a lot of bad luck.

The close scores are a real credit to Babcock who has the team working hard and that compete and possession is keeping the game within reach.

Leafs have 7 games where the games were 1 goal difference.

 

[hoglund]

The close scores are a real credit to Babcock who has the team working hard and that compete and possession is keeping the game within reach.

Leafs have 7 games where the games were 1 goal difference.

and a few where it was 2 goal difference with empty netters, so essentially 1 goal difference too.

 

[Menzinger]

There was a very interesting stat they mentioned during yesterdays game.

Ovechkin was drafted in 2004 and Leafs have drafted 83 players since then and all those Leaf draft picks combined have less NHL goals than OV all by himself.

Yep. The Leafs drafting record has been pathetic for the past decade or so.

For example, of all the players the Burke regime drafted, only Rielly and Kadri (two top ten picks) have played a noticeable amount of games at the NHL level.

This is unacceptable.

 

[Menzinger]

that's what twitter kept asking too. Mirtle was like. "this is why the Leafs are where they are" (shows 5 leafs drafted players on roster) and this is why the Caps are where they are (shows like 10-12 Caps drafted players and it's like.

where exactly - is Washington?
like i don't know if i'd use that organization as a bestion of "this is how things should be done. They haven't won anything, they've been pretty see-saw-y, yes they draft well (and we hope to do so). but it was like. what's the point?

and the same thing with the Ovy scoring the same amount of goals of 83 Leafs draft picks. so? i bet you can roughly do that with any team. it was a weird thing to highlight.

To be fair, they've seen an awful lot more playoff success than the Leafs have. I'd swap the Caps past 10 years for the Leafs recent history in a heartbeat. You could look at cup winners like LA or Chicago and see a similar differentiation- their cores have all come from the draft.

Sure Mirtle was being a bit trolling (as always) but he raises a valid concern for he Leafs.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Babcock has gotten the most out of this team, they are playing well enough to have about 10 more points than they do, but have had a lot of bad luck.

Yea, I am sure it's only bad luck. Has nothing to do with the lack of talent at all. 10 more points would put them 2nd place in the division. You can't seriously believe that this roster is that good, can you? Maybe if they had more talent, they would have 10 more points.

 

[Morguee]

I bet some of those 83 players did.

Tuukka?

 

[hoglund]

Yea, I am sure it's only bad luck. Has nothing to do with the lack of talent at all. 10 more points would put them 2nd place in the division. You can't seriously believe that this roster is that good, can you? Maybe if they had more talent, they would have 10 more points.

I wouldn't say only bad luck, but that does play a part. Babcock has gotten the most out of a team with little talent and with some luck they could be 10 points better, just look at their losses, the vast majority they were in position to win and or tie. The Leafs have too many losses this year where they were the better team, that needs to change.