Systematic issues that have plagued this team for the last 3 seasons

[MarMarSab3]

I for one am not a fan of Babcock, but more concerning is his lack of desire to change or adapt.

1) zone entries are atrocious on the PP this constant skate to red line then drop pass to trailing player is over it worked the one year and every team figured out how to defend it yet the Leafs continue to use it

2) Giving up the blue line in the offensive zone, defence leaves zone far to early and thus we lose possession more times then necessary

3) Giving the opposing team our blue line all the time, our wingers drop far too deep giving up the points far too often

4) usage of our PK d pairings, PK requires IQ not size it blows my mind at guys like Marincin even get a minute on the PK, the ability to read a play and get the puck out is how you kill penalties

Just my 2 cents

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[SprDaVE]

The drop pass on the PP does work. It backs off the 1 forechecker close to their blueline and makes them stop, and it allows the trailing forward that receives the drop pass to enter the zone with speed while the other team is stationery at their blue line. I'd say every single team uses this method of entering the zone on a PP. The dump in method is far worst in terms of zone entry because goaltenders can stop the dump in and then opponent can clear the zone so much easier.

There is a risk factor in pinching from your blue line to keep possession. I'd say the Leafs are for more likely to activate a pinch in from their defense than many other teams in the league.

I do agree that the wingers drop too low and we do give up more point shots as a result. The Leafs would rather cut down on chances in the house and one draw back of this is that it opens up the blue line to shots more often.

Marincin is terrific on the PK because he doesn't have to handle the puck very much. He has a good stick, long reach and generally does very well at defending passes. It's probably the one thing he's great at and you want to remove him from that?

 

[MarMarSab3]

We have the puck carriers and effective passers to gain zone entries without having to one waste time dropping back and 2 clogging up the neutral zone. We have gained the zone far more effectively by just skating the dam thing up.

You're right there's a risk however again we have the speed in our wingers to cover our point men if they pinch, it's Babcocks refusal to allow them to hold the line thats frustrating

And how many times has he gotten the puck on his stick with no clue what to do with it and we lose possesion?

 

[SprDaVE]

We have the puck carriers and effective passers to gain zone entries without having to one waste time dropping back and 2 clogging up the neutral zone. We have gained the zone far more effectively by just skating the dam thing up.

You're right there's a risk however again we have the speed in our wingers to cover our point men if they pinch, it's Babcocks refusal to allow them to hold the line thats frustrating

And how many times has he gotten the puck on his stick with no clue what to do with it and we lose possesion?

They do carry the puck all the time on the PP. The drop pass is to get the opponent forechecker in the neutral zone to back off and allows our puck carrier to enter with more speed and less pressure. We don't have that many issues entering the zone on the PP, at least not with our top group. They are doing what you want, which is "carrying the damn thing up"... so I don't understand the problem, all they are doing is doing 1 extra step to ensure they enter the zone with more speed.

Marincin hasn't been a problem at all on the PK. I think this is a problem where you think there's a problem but it doesn't exist.

 

[TheShape]

Leaving the points wide open is the absolute worst. We concede a ton of goals this way usually on rebounds and redirections. See game against the habs for example

for the life of me can’t understand why Babcock hasn’t changed to some sort of man to man coverage. It isn’t rocket science

 

[ottomaddox]

Is toughness a system?

 

[Nineteen67]

Leaving the points wide open is the absolute worst. We concede a ton of goals this way usually on rebounds and redirections. See game against the habs for example

for the life of me can’t understand why Babcock hasn’t changed to some sort of man to man coverage. It isn’t rocket science

Does leaving the point open concede a ton of goals? I don’t really know that stat. You could be right.

A lot of teams leave the point men now. You see passes between point men the entire width of the rink that never saw before. Part of that is bigger offensive zone , the goalies cover the entire net and the forwards are so quick and cut off seam passes.
I think it’s wise to protect the HDS areas rather than the points.

 

[CelticDruid]

Leaving the points wide open is the absolute worst. We concede a ton of goals this way usually on rebounds and redirections. See game against the habs for example

for the life of me can’t understand why Babcock hasn’t changed to some sort of man to man coverage. It isn’t rocket science

Giving up those points shots when you can't clear the front of your net is problematic.

 

[ShaneFalco]

We just give the opposition too much time and space. With the speed of this team, I'd like to see an aggressive PK

 

[CelticDruid]

Is toughness a system?

Randy Carlyle and Brian Burke believed that it was.

 

[Drytoast]

The biggest issue for me?

They play as a bunch of highly skilled individuals and less as a cohesive unit that have each other's backs or play as a team.

Until that changes we are not winning a damn thing.

 

[Fogelhund]

Randy Carlyle and Brian Burke believed that it was.

Yes they did. Neither are coaching in the NHL anymore, and neither had great success for the Leafs.

 

[CelticDruid]

Yes they did. Neither are coaching in the NHL anymore, and neither had great success for the Leafs.

It was an example of how the game used to be played.

Carlyle won a cup with the Ducks using intimidation as a key factor in their wins.

 

[Suntouchable13]

The biggest issue for me?

They play as a bunch of highly skilled individuals and less as a cohesive unit that have each other's backs or play as a team.

Until that changes we are not winning a damn thing.

Yes, that's my biggest concern for this team.

 

[Drytoast]

It was an example of how the game used to be played.

Carlyle won a cup with the Ducks using intimidation as a key factor in their wins.

Washington Pittsburgh and St Louis all had an edge to their game where they refused to shy away or back down from being hit or getting hit.

 

[Ratboy]

We haven't had a good defensive team since Pat Burns was here. Not sure why we can't get that right.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

The biggest issue for me?

They play as a bunch of highly skilled individuals and less as a cohesive unit that have each other's backs or play as a team.

Until that changes we are not winning a damn thing.

I'm just waiting until the playoffs & whether our team can/will elevate their game as required by playoff hockey.

There's less time & space in playoff hockey and the battles for the puck are more intense = different animal.

 

[DarkKnight]

5 of 6 points and were enduring this stuff already. Ref***inglax..

 

[The CyNick]

Leaving the points wide open is the absolute worst. We concede a ton of goals this way usually on rebounds and redirections. See game against the habs for example

for the life of me can’t understand why Babcock hasn’t changed to some sort of man to man coverage. It isn’t rocket science

The only way giving up the point results in goals is if the puck goes right in. Rebounds and redirections are usually the result of missed assignments in front of the net. This is in large part the result of our soft as butter team.

You could try to limit shots by getting close to the point, but then if your guy beats you, you leave the house vulnerable and considering how soft we are even with numbers in there, being man on man seems like a recipe for disaster.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

We haven't had a good defensive team since Pat Burns was here. Not sure why we can't get that right.

It’s like we’re cursed. I don’t understand why this team can’t execute good defensive structure. Every year I’ve watched defence is a problem. We’ve had years where great goaltending masked our defensive deficiencies, but aside from that they’re always poor at our end of the ice.

 

[Fogelhund]

We haven't had a good defensive team since Pat Burns was here. Not sure why we can't get that right.

A lot of younger players, playing key roles, just learning the all round game.

Take a look at Steve Yzerman. It took him almost a decade of play in the NHL, to become the completely rounded player he became. I sure hope it takes our core less, but it can take some of these guys quite some time to become great defensively.

 

[horner]

trying to protect a lead in the 3rd period. we suck at sitting back.

this is when we should be applyin more pressure in there end.

keep a dman back at center .

we have never been any good when we aren't skating at full speed.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

5 of 6 points and were enduring this stuff already. Re****inglax..

You're right. If Kapanen doesn't throw that stick we're 6/6 in points, and people are saying how great this team is given all the good that has happened, better PP and PK, new blood that's actually good, that we finally have a good backup, and everything smells of sunshine and pine needles. Let's give it some time to see how things shake out at the 10 game mark.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

trying to protect a lead in the 3rd period. we suck at sitting back.

this is when we should be applyin more pressure in there end.

keep a dman back at center .

we have never been any good when we aren't skating at full speed.

We were actually the best team in the entire league at doing this last year if memory serves?

 

[Ratboy]

A lot of younger players, playing key roles, just learning the all round game.

Take a look at Steve Yzerman. It took him almost a decade of play in the NHL, to become the completely rounded player he became. I sure hope it takes our core less, but it can take some of these guys quite some time to become great defensively.

Yeah you're right. But we still haven't had this in decades. Even the Sundin teams relied heavily on Cujo and Belfour.