Pre-Game Talk: Sunday guaranteed: Toronto Maple Leafs vs Vancouver Canucks

[Stephen]

Just look at who throws the most hits in the league and forchecks as hard as any team. Yep that’s Ottawa. Heavy hitting team against possession team. That’s why they have our number. It’s kind of insulting to them to say we don’t play well against them because we do play well against them.

Ottawa was a team that would improve from day one of the season. They are no guaranteed points much more now than the beginning of the season and improving.

We won’t be the only team getting a reality check down the stretch from this team if we don’t match them physically. They are the perfect team to build a playoff style against down the stretch here. Just try matching them physically would be nice to see in our remaining games. The Sens are a likeable team how hard they play.

Respecting the opponent is definitely true regarding Ottawa, but there were stretches where they were struggling very hard and we couldn’t get much going against them at all. Sort of a combination of Ottawa coming out hard to meet a Leafs team stuck in second gear.

 

[baton elevated]

For me personally, the apprehension comes from this core’s track record of being able to come up huge in big moments but also completely no show when you think they’ve got an easy game on their hands.

Just look at our record against Ottawa this year or the Canucks series after we dominated Edmonton as examples of having trouble against the bottom feeders. Not to mention the EBUG incident or the wild momentum swings and effort levels vs Columbus in the ill fated play in round.

If Boston fans have more swagger than Toronto fans it’s because there’s a long history of trust that they will bring a fairly consistent product to the ice in big and routine, regular season and playoff games. For us, it’s high ceiling and low floor.

So are we to infer that this current team is still not a championship team? The 3 game series against the Oilers where we completely shut them down and dominated them in every facet of the game would assume differently. Those 3 games were the best this team has played. I was suckered into believing we had finally turned the corner and established a new level. In typical Leaf fashion, we are afraid of success it seems. We can look like world beaters for a short period of time but then we look like we will never win another game the next.
A strong leader has not emerged on this team to prevent this from happening. Those types (Mario, Gretz, Messier, Sid ). Don't come around too often but when they do, championship teams are made.
Does our core have the possibility of that type of leader? I don't know, the story is still being written. One thing we cannot use as a crutch anymore is ( they are still young ) the window is still wide.
Maybe, maybe not. With cap restrictions and other teams building an arsenal of young talent for the future, these windows close quickly. This is maybe why Dubas is rolling the dice this year.

 

[zeke]

Just look at who throws the most hits in the league and forchecks as hard as any team. Yep that’s Ottawa. Heavy hitting team against possession team. That’s why they have our number. It’s kind of insulting to them to say we don’t play well against them because we do play well against them.

Ottawa was a team that would improve from day one of the season. They are no guaranteed points much more now than the beginning of the season and improving.

We won’t be the only team getting a reality check down the stretch from this team if we don’t match them physically. They are the perfect team to build a playoff style against down the stretch here. Just try matching them physically would be nice to see in our remaining games. The Sens are a likeable team how hard they play.

I mean we're 5-2-1 against the sens, with their only wins against us coming when our goalies shat the bed.

 

[Stephen]

So are we to infer that this current team is still not a championship team? The 3 game series against the Oilers where we completely shut them down and dominated them in every facet of the game would assume differently. Those 3 games were the best this team has played. I was suckered into believing we had finally turned the corner and established a new level. In typical Leaf fashion, we are afraid of success it seems. We can look like world beaters for a short period of time but then we look like we will never win another game the next.
A strong leader has not emerged on this team to prevent this from happening. Those types (Mario, Gretz, Messier, Sid ). Don't come around too often but when they do, championship teams are made.
Does our core have the possibility of that type of leader? I don't know, the story is still being written. One thing we cannot use as a crutch anymore is ( they are still young ) the window is still wide.
Maybe, maybe not. With cap restrictions and other teams building an arsenal of young talent for the future, these windows close quickly. This is maybe why Dubas is rolling the dice this year.

I just always come back to the high ceiling, low floor capabilities of this team and in order to prove themselves as a championship caliber team in they just have to get it done when the time comes.

Right now I think we’re just looking for on ice and psychological cues as to which way they might be leaning. The playoffs are the true test.

 

[zeke]

I just always come back to the high ceiling, low floor capabilities of this team and in order to prove themselves as a championship caliber team in they just have to get it done when the time comes.

Right now I think we’re just looking for on ice and psychological cues as to which way they might be leaning. The playoffs are the true test.

What's these leafs' lowest performance of the season do you think?

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

No GDT yet? Are we expecting this game to be postponed again?

 

[DarkKnight]

Nice to see Robertson playing with skill guys. Kids a keeper.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

Hahaha. Classic.
Leafs just need to add Dr.Tongue. And ofcourse Bruno to shore up the backend.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

What's these leafs' lowest performance of the season do you think?

By my measure, IIRC it was against Vancouver, and we won the game.

I typically exclude the goalie when I’m talking about “how we played”, because goalie performance is such an island.

 

[zeke]

Pretty sure these are the lineups.

With GSVA from theathletic.com:

 

[Sypher04]

Nice to see Robertson playing with skill guys. Kids a keeper.

Wait, who is he playing with tonight?

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Wait, who is he playing with tonight?

Tavares line with Nylander

 

[crump]

No GDT yet? Are we expecting this game to be postponed again?

Says it's guaranteed. Don't know who the Nucks will ice...but.
.

People are guessing Rafferty, Lind, DiPietro replace some with Holtby in net.

or

Nils Hoglander - Bo Horvat - Brock Boeser
Vesey. - J.T. Miller - Travis Boyd
Zach MacEwen. - Brandon Sutter. - Kole Lind
Antoine Roussel- Tyler Graovac -Jayce Hawryluk

Hughes - Travis Hamonic
Tyler Myers - Alex Edler
Rathbone. - Rafferty

Holtby
DiPietro

 

[Pete2000]

The Nucks at this point would probably lose to my sister’s ringette team they’re so decimated. However, they’ll probably beat the leafs. Just saying.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Matthews is in?

 

[Throw More Waffles]

I get what you're saying but it's difficult to put complete faith what medical experts allow or disallow especially when there are so many unknowns.

Due to this so called P1 variant surging in B.C., medical experts suggested interprovincial and international travel restrictions, meanwhile the Leafs just travelled across provincial borders --go figure.

There are other concerns not because VAN players have 'cooties' but because until the Leafs actually been vaccinated (even vaccines aren't 100%) they're all sitting ducks.

the bc provincial health officer said that there is no evidence that any of the variants spread easier or have worse symptoms. This is the foremost expert of the province. We’re supposed to listen to experts,
right?

 

[Gary Nylund]

IMO if you have lost 3 in a row, there is no game that should be considered a trap game.

IMO this is the NHL and any team can lose to any other team on any given night, even when part of the game is played with a zamboni driver in net. For that reason, the guys should be ready to play every night and if they lose because they took their opponent lightly, that's nothing more than a sign of immaturity and/or mental weakness.

They think the game should be easy? Good. Prove it by blowing them out early, then you can rest some players the rest of the game but until you've put them away, play hard just like you should be playing hard every game. That's what winners do, that's what contenders do and that's what champions do.

 

[Smif]

Pretty sure these are the lineups.

With GSVA from theathletic.com:

View attachment 423888

LOVE this lineup.

Every line has an identity.

1. Scoring line 1a
2. Scoring line 1b
3. Energy & Shutdown oppositions scoring line
4. Be better than oppositions 4th line.

 

[Stephen]

What's these leafs' lowest performance of the season do you think?

Pretty obvious that the close season series against Ottawa and the pair or 5-2 losses to Winnipeg would stand out as some problem areas.

 

[Sypher04]

Tavares line with Nylander

Oh sweet. Is Matthews back in tonight? With galchenyuk and marner?

Edit: just saw the posted lineup, nm

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I mean we're 5-2-1 against the sens, with their only wins against us coming when our goalies shat the bed.

Matthew Tkachuk on Sens: 'They work extremely hard and they're very hard to play against'

Teams don’t think they are bad. They are developing and are going to be a handful in years to come. You have to match them. What are you getting defensive about. They battled us for every inch of ice and i like that

 

[zeke]

Matthew Tkachuk on Sens: 'They work extremely hard and they're very hard to play against'

Teams don’t think they are bad. They are developing and are going to be a handful in years to come. You have to match them. What are you getting defensive about. They battled us for every inch of ice and i like that

Oh I like them. I don't think they suck. It's not just hard work they have some legit young talent there - whether that's Tkachuk stutzle Norris batherson up front or Chabot and zub at the back. .

If only their management hadn't saddled them with expensive bad players like Murray and Zaitsev, they could have legit been on their way up already.

 

[Leaf4Life79]

Oh sweet. Is Matthews back in tonight? With galchenyuk and marner?

Edit: just saw the posted lineup, nm

Where did you see tonight's lineup? is Matthews in or not?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I haven't posted for awhile but decided to have a lazy Sunday read. What I'm struck with is how so many posters are afraid of these bottom feeding teams being a threat to a top level contender. Making all kinds of excuses as to why the Leafs may lose the game. This doesn't sound like there is much confidence in this current team. So what has changed? Lackluster play, injuries, goaltending, laziness, fatigue etc etc etc. There is always an excuse with this team?
Do you think the Bruins as an example go into a game afraid of one player or excuses, no. That's the difference between winners and losers. The narrative at The beginning of the season was we need to shut down Pettersen or we will have a difficult time winning the game. Give me a break!!! A team of superstars afraid of one player who isn't McDavid ha ha.
Is this team a contender or just a pretty good team? Constantly fearing other teams is a bad optic, should be the other way around. If we can't beat these low hanging fruit level teams we are no contender at all.

Just because we as fans feel this way does not mean the players or coaching staff do. Let’s be honest this team for 15 years now hasn’t accomplished anything on the ice, but has half a dozen humiliating losses in that time span. We as Leafs fans aren’t afforded the comfort of thinking “yeah they got this” because all too often it turns out they very much DON’T got it and end up making us look like idiots for having any faith in them.

Now hopefully and it seems the players have much better heads on their shoulders this season than we as fans do. This is in part thanks to the acquisitions Dubas has made but also the core maturing. I’m not saying they won’t respect Vancouver as an opponent, but they are probably walking into this believing it’s a winnable game, like they have been all season.

 

[zeke]

I haven't posted for awhile but decided to have a lazy Sunday read. What I'm struck with is how so many posters are afraid of these bottom feeding teams being a threat to a top level contender. Making all kinds of excuses as to why the Leafs may lose the game. This doesn't sound like there is much confidence in this current team. So what has changed? Lackluster play, injuries, goaltending, laziness, fatigue etc etc etc. There is always an excuse with this team?
Do you think the Bruins as an example go into a game afraid of one player or excuses, no. That's the difference between winners and losers. The narrative at The beginning of the season was we need to shut down Pettersen or we will have a difficult time winning the game. Give me a break!!! A team of superstars afraid of one player who isn't McDavid ha ha.
Is this team a contender or just a pretty good team? Constantly fearing other teams is a bad optic, should be the other way around. If we can't beat these low hanging fruit level teams we are no contender at all.

You're describing a problem with leaf fans, not a problem with the Leafs team.

If anything, the Leafs team has been a bit overconfident heading into these games against the lower teams.