Pre-Game Talk: Playoff Discussion .[ MOD warning in the OP ]

[BigDaddyLurch]

Mark April 12, 2021 as the day Kotkaniemi was broken.

 

[Habano]

I'm 55, and the Leafs were a rival only b3cause of being Toronto. But nothing comes close to the Bruins. Ever. Yeah, the Merdiques maybe. But they're dead.

I'm a few years older than you and I agree. In the Merdique days, they were by far our most hated rival. Since they bit the dust it's been Boston ainec. I don't recall a Fig rivalry mainly because they've been insignificant for more than a half century.

 

[Habano]

Leaf fans are just hopeless and full of themselves. I'll happily take a Bruins fan any day over any of them.

1000%

 

[Ginger Papa]

Never thought the 'pipes in a rock song would work.but it does

I think you sell yourself short my HF Habs friend...

 

[Habano]

It’s unfortunate, but KK should sit to start the series. He’s just in a massive funk right now. Hope to god this isn’t just who he is.

Caufield is interesting, no doubt he can be a game breaker offensively but he still is very much an adventure in every other aspect. If we get down early on the series, Caufield could be an impact player out of the pressbox.

As massive of a funk as he's in, he still brings more than Staal. The guy can't skate and for a guy his size, he never throws a hit. He's just going through the motions and Dummynic Douchearm is buying it.

 

[Habano]

I expect that Kotkaniemi gets traded this summer. Staal is done and won't add anything to this team, we all know it. The guy looks like as if he is in a coma on skates for christ's sake.

It's probably the best thing that can happen for his sake. This team destroyed the kid and he's only 20 smfh.

 

[Habano]

Actually, he looked his best when... Muller was coaching lmao




1:55 - He's pointing at you.

People's short memory's freaks me out honestly lol

Pretty crazy lol. Thx for the vid. and I hope that KK gets a chance over sloth, er I mean Staal.

 

[Walrus26]

I don't really care about Weber if I'm being honest. I don't think he's a difference-maker anymore. Let's just hope Gally, Danault and Price are 100%.

Captain Crease Crosscheck incoming. I would bet that the Leafs forwards really care about Weber playing or not.

 

[OldCraig71]

Montreal Canadiens acquire Eric Staal from Buffalo Sabres. Mar. 26, 2021

I predicted that this would happen.

 

[Runner77]

I predicted that this would happen.

 

[slybel]

I still can't believe we only won 3 series in the last 10 years.

Let's go 4 for 11 !!

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Montreal Canadiens acquire Eric Staal from Buffalo Sabres. Mar. 26, 2021

Staal was brought in as insurance for Evans lol

the fact Evans responded and has played his ass off, is just a credit to him. Shame KK hasn’t been able to step his game up like that.

 

[Lshap]

Staal was brought in as insurance for Evans lol

the fact Evans responded and has played his ass off, is just a credit to him. Shame KK hasn’t been able to step his game up like that.

Evans found a gear we didn't know he had. Absolutely - full credit to him.

Kotkaniemi lost the gear he'd been showing. Is it gone forever? Of course not. Right now he looks as ineffective as Suzuki did for a month – remember the Suzuki from March, the player who was coasting aimlessly without producing? Unless Kotkaniemi is going through a unique problem, a week off and a playoff series is the perfect recipe for him to come out of a funk, just as Suzuki did. Much better chance of that happening than Staal playing like he's on Team Canada.

 

[Tanknation]

Mark April 12, 2021 as the day Kotkaniemi was broken.

Awwwe, they even bought a dog together. How cute, how mint.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Good points for sure! What worries me is not Price's physical health. It's his mental health and confidence. Our fan base is just waiting for him to fail and they jump all over it and Price knows it. It's a distraction. I guess that's what you get when you go after a $10.5M AAV and try to set a new bar for goalies. Tough challenge for him to live up with and I don't think he ever will.

Price has thick skin clearly. I hope he overcomes this. A better team D helps yes

Price has played in a pressure cooker his whole career. He’s usually at his best when the playoffs come around. Not worried about that at all.

Him coming off a concussion is far more worrisome.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

70-71 Habs had no business beating Boston...

Same with 2014. Boston were favourites to win the cup that year.

 

[Tyson]

Price has played in a pressure cooker his whole career. He’s usually at his best when the playoffs come around. Not worried about that at all.

Him coming off a concussion is far more worrisome.

Hopefully during this time off with some intense practices he regains his form and the concussion issues are behind him.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Hopefully during this time off with some intense practices he regains his form and the concussion issues are behind him.

Normally I’d be confident that he’d at least play well in a losing cause. But he’s a total wildcard. Hasn’t played in a while. I don’t even think he’s practiced and coming off a concussion... There’s a good chance we see Allen in some of this series.

 

[26Mats]

Price has played in a pressure cooker his whole career. He’s usually at his best when the playoffs come around. Not worried about that at all.

Him coming off a concussion is far more worrisome.

Chiasson didn't even get a penalty for doing this much damage.

Kind of an unlucky pkay. But bbn if this league had stiffer penalties for accidentally blind siding a goalie in his own crease, this probably doesn't happen.


They should have already announced an update to the rules based on this incident. Automatic 20 game suspension. See how often it happens after that. Remember when there were bench clearing brawls and when players would inappropriately shove or otherwise make contact with a referee? Then they put it automatic 10 game suspensions. Now how often do you see those things?

 

[sandviper]

When it boils down to it, assuming some of our key players down the stretch don't suddenly run cold (Suzuki, Toffoli), there are basically 4 things that concern me:

1) Price (if playing) or Allen need to be at least 0.920-0.925 goalies. I'm going with the mindset if we give up more than 2 goals in a game, we're going to be in a lot of trouble.

2) Kotkaniemi needs to elevate his game. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's the key piece here. Assuming Danault is busy dealing with Matthews and Suzuki with Tavares, KK and his line needs to be the difference against the Leaf's bottom-6.

3) Anderson has to be at 100%. If he's cycling low and wreaking havoc, I don't think the Leafs have an answer for him.

4) Weber, Chiarot, Kulak/Merrill and Romanov have to keep it simple and not do anything stupid.

Even if 1 of the 4 above doesn't pan out, we may be ok, but any more than that is going to be a problem.

 

[De Montreal]

I hope Kulak stays in for Merrill. Merrill does not bring anything, Kulak can move the puck.

I'm not overly confident but maybe Weber / Edmundson / Chiarot benefit from playoff hockey, can play more of a checking game without being called by the ref. If so maybe it gets in the Leafs head.

 

[417]

When it boils down to it, assuming some of our key players down the stretch don't suddenly run cold (Suzuki, Toffoli), there are basically 4 things that concern me:

1) Price (if playing) or Allen need to be at least 0.920-0.925 goalies. I'm going with the mindset if we give up more than 2 goals in a game, we're going to be in a lot of trouble.

2) Kotkaniemi needs to elevate his game. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's the key piece here. Assuming Danault is busy dealing with Matthews and Suzuki with Tavares, KK and his line needs to be the difference against the Leaf's bottom-6.

3) Anderson has to be at 100%. If he's cycling low and wreaking havoc, I don't think the Leafs have an answer for him.

4) Weber, Chiarot, Kulak/Merrill and Romanov have to keep it simple and not do anything stupid.

Even if 1 of the 4 above doesn't pan out, we may be ok, but any more than that is going to be a problem.

Doubt the coaching staff feels the same way.

 

[1909]

Awwwe, they even bought a dog together. How cute, how mint.

Did Mete took the dog with him to Ottawa ? That could be the reason why KK is so down.

 

[Binary Code]

Did Mete took the dog with him to Ottawa ? That could be the reason why KK is so down.

Looks like a Mira dog photo op

 

[Andrei79]

I'm not very confident about this series.

Petry has poor production in the playoffs. Weber has never been a post-season performer. He usually plays solid for a few games, then drops off and even plays like a liability. Edmundson is solid, but he's not a producer. If this team had trouble with transition and production from the D in the regular season, I just can't imagine how bad it'll be in the playoffs.

Then there are the forwards. I have faith in Suzuki, but the rest ? I could see Toffoli step up from his usual pace, but he's had scoreless rounds of playoffs in the past.

Gallagher has never upped the production. Danault and Tatar are ghosts. Just awful playoff performers.

Armia and Anderson are probably going to be strong checkers and play well, but neither have been significant producers either. I think Perry will look good, but is he going to produce at this stage ? And for a guy who's been in the league for almost two decades, Staal doesn't have much experience past his very early career. He's been a non-factor for most of the last few years.

I've seen worst upsets, but I do think in many of them I could find underlying reasons why they could happen. Here, we'd be witnessing quite the outlier, so I'm not feeling confident this team can win more than 1 or 2 games unless Toronto really craps the bed, especially against both Tavares and Matthews who seem to enjoy destroying the Habs more than any players, save maybe Tkachuk and Crosby.