Post-Game Talk: TOR loses 8th in last 11 | TOR 2 OTT 4

[BertCorbeau]

There have been positive signs over the last week but ultimately still losses and shoddy goaltending.

Whatever the case, the next week will be very telling for this team as they end the season with games against the Isles, Canes, Lightning, and Habs .. They should all be competitive.

 

[therealkoho]

Jeebuzz cripes the refereeing was worse then sub-par, if the Leafs didn't send the tape of the 3rd period to the league and ask for a reasonable explanations of both the non calls andalso what was called, then they have to be willing to lay down and just take it forever, or, start making hard head high clears along the boards, once a few linesman started counting their stitches after Leafs games they might have an epiphany, as would running over the officials who make continual questionable positioning decisions during cycles, impeding Leaf progress

Ok that's my rant

Willie had a great game game though am i right!!! i really liked it when instead of going to the front of the net, he drifted off 5 feet outside the post and a foot behind the red line as a pass by
Matty (who did a lot of hard work to maintain the puck, went drifting through the blue paint...WTF

 

[Zybalto]

Losing two key defenseman will do that to an already questionable defense.

Im not exactly confident in this team right now but it is what it is and this point theres nothing to be done to dramatically improve it.

5v5 (scoring and venue adjusted) scoring chances against Oct.1 - Feb. 28th:

Scoring chances against/60: 28.44 (26th best in the NHL)
High danger chances against/60: 10.74 (17th best in the NHL)

5v5 (scoring and venue adjusted) scoring chances against March:

Scoring chances against/60: 27.18 (21st best in the NHL)
High danger chances against/60: 10.48 (14th best in NHL)

Theres actually been a marked improvement in team defense the last month led by the top 4 really playing some solid hockey. Bottom pairing issues and lapses in forward defensive play were the problem areas but with the return and Dermott and Gards, things are really looking up defensively. The PK has also been one of the best in the league which is a nice thing to see going into the series with Boston.

 

[ManosArriba]

Even with a tandem of Price and Holtby this team wont be going anywhere in the playoffs. Way too front loaded with soft high priced guys who disappear when it counts, an outdated coach with systems that cant compete with the current NHL. Shanahan and co will be long gone before this mediocre team catches a whiff of the Stanley Cup.

 

[PaulD]

They probably did a lot of good things. Again most of their wins are because the goalie was excellent and made timely saves.

Sens did more good things. Score of the game after 60 minutes still counts eh Babs?

 

[nuck]

So one more Sparky start and then a rested Andy is ready for the playoffs? Either the club plays tighter in front of him and they have positive momentum from the win or he goes porous and they are gratetful that he is done for the year so they have more positive momentum.

 

[PaulD]

5v5 (scoring and venue adjusted) scoring chances against Oct.1 - Feb. 28th:

Scoring chances against/60: 28.44 (26th best in the NHL)
High danger chances against/60: 10.74 (17th best in the NHL)

5v5 (scoring and venue adjusted) scoring chances against March:

Scoring chances against/60: 27.18 (21st best in the NHL)
High danger chances against/60: 10.48 (14th best in NHL)

Theres actually been a marked improvement in team defense the last month led by the top 4 really playing some solid hockey. Bottom pairing issues and lapses in forward defensive play were the problem areas but with the return and Dermott and Gards, things are really looking up defensively. The PK has also been one of the best in the league which is a nice thing to see going into the series with Boston.

If you really ant to see what marked improvement in team defense looks like .....look no farther than Lou and Trotts New York Islanders.

Babcock has not had a team play real good team defense since Lidstrom retired.

To use one of the leaf coaches terms "real good"

 

[PaulD]

Detroit will probably be in the playoffs next year too.

Sabres with a new coach by October will be in the following year.

 

[Zybalto]

If you really ant to see what marked improvement in team defense looks like .....look no farther than Lou and Trotts New York Islanders.

Babcock has not had a team play real good team defense since Lidstrom retired.

To use one of the leaf coaches terms "real good"

I'd say the NYI had more of a dramatic improvement in D but we arnt really talking about them here right?

We're talking about how the D here hasnt been that big an issue compared with the goaltending this month....which is the obvious case. Boston and the Sharks are two other really good teams suffering from the same thing going into the playoffs, which is going to make for an interesting series for us.

 

[PaulD]

Over the last 10 games the Leafs have been outscored 33 to 43 with a PDO of 0.951. If the Leafs had had the same shooting percentage and sv% over the last 10 games as they had for the previous 68 that would have been the equivalent of 44 GF and 28 GA.

The month of March is the toughest hockey of the regular season . Play off like. Leafs game and coaching has struggled with this. Obviously.

 

[PaulD]

I'd say the NYI had more of a dramatic improvement in D but we arnt really talking about them here right?

We're talking about how the D here hasnt been that big an issue compared with the goaltending this month....which is the obvious case. Boston and the Sharks are two other really good teams suffering from the same thing going into the playoffs, which is going to make for an interesting series for us.

Good points.

Interesting series ? Yes. But I would be willing to bet the Bruins win in 5 games.

Boston looks far better to me than they were last season.

While the leafs dont really seem to have improved much over last seasons team.

 

[biotk]

The month of March is the toughest hockey of the regular season . Play off like. Leafs game and coaching has struggled with this. Obviously.

I don't buy it. Bad puck luck happens.

 

[Zybalto]

Good points.

Interesting series ? Yes. But I would be willing to bet the Bruins win in 5 games.

Boston looks far better to me than they were last season.

While the leafs dont really seem to have improved much over last seasons team.

Boston is a great team that has been decimated by injuries at points, most importantly to the defense earlier in the season. Rask has been so brutal for them the last while I wouldnt be surprised if we get Halak in the first round. It all comes down to goaltending in the end in the playoffs doesnt it? If Anderson all of sudden plays like he did at the Worlds last year (after slumping in late March and in the playoffs for us) we could ride that to the cup. Holtby was brutal in March for the Caps last year, lost his starting job and then came off the bench and went all world to win the cup.

Just make the playoffs and anyone can win....as long as the goalkeeper is elite.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

The month of March is the toughest hockey of the regular season . Play off like. Leafs game and coaching has struggled with this. Obviously.

No it absolutely isn’t. What is this nonsense. We’ve had critical injuries to our defense and our goaltending has suffered as a result. That’s why we’ve been losing, the games aren’t getting harder we just had our weakest area take too many hits on both the AHL and NHL team.

Sub in Rosen for Marincin or Holl and this team has a better record.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Sens did more good things. Score of the game after 60 minutes still counts eh Babs?

They didn’t, unless the the only good thing is scoring.

 

[Xanner]

7 Mins in this interview will should clear things up. Mind boggling

Good god, i had some hope that dubas could implement some toughness in this group in the offseason, but after hearing him we are going to be soft until this guy gets fired, i guess the silver lining is that Matthews and Marner are 21 so their careers won't be completed wasted by dubas.

Dubas would watch our 4 series against the sens and be stumped as to how we beat them 4 years in a row in the playoffs.

 

[TheOneArmedMan]

Not often you can say this, but this loss was 100% on Gerry Sparks

Yes I agree. Andersen was the better goalie. Team defense wasn't great but Sparks wasnt great either. I would rather have Hutchinson as the backup

 

[Shanwhatplan]

You can't turn down a shot to get a JT.

But at the expense of not addressing our defence? As I said, I love Tavares, but when is the last time a team with 4 offensive players eating up that big of a chunk of the salary cap, gone deep into the playoffs or hoisted the Cup?
Do we blame Dubas, Shanahan, or both for signing Nylander rather than trading him (when his value was higher) for help on defence?

 

[POVERTY]

This team is looking to get slapped by Boston right now

 

[ToneDog]

Still a Babs fan but I am not sure whether he is losing his mind or is just plain BSing us because he thinks we are dumb. When asked if the boys would want to win Monday's game vs Isles for JT he said the boys want to win all their games. Sure Babs.

 

[DarkKnight]

Still a Babs fan bu I am not sure whether he is losing his mind or is just plain BSing us because he thinks we are dumb. When asked if the boys would want to win Monday's game vs Isles for JT he said the boys want to win all their games. Sure Babs.

I think it helps if you accept that he isn't going to be honest with the media, he's always coy or flippant or dismissive. He isn't like that with the team, so I don't really care how he phrased things to a bunch of people forever looking for an angle. It's just the media, he's under no obligation to say much if anything real or substantive. What he said about JT is generic media speak, meaningless to analyze.

 

[Gallagbi]

Still a Babs fan but I am not sure whether he is losing his mind or is just plain BSing us because he thinks we are dumb. When asked if the boys would want to win Monday's game vs Isles for JT he said the boys want to win all their games. Sure Babs.

You mean he gave a logical token answer? Why get frustrated over that? You should expect it from any pro coach

 

[member 262271]

Wow cant believe the leafs are in 6th place in the whole league despite playing like trash for, what, the last 2 months?

I’m starting to think it’s a weak year for team point totals.

 

[ToneDog]

I think it helps if you accept that he isn't going to be honest with the media, he's always coy or flippant or dismissive. He isn't like that with the team, so I don't really care how he phrased things to a bunch of people forever looking for an angle. It's just the media, he's under no obligation to say muc if anything real or substantive. What he said about JT is generic media speak, meaningless to analyze.

Agreed but generally he is much better at being coy

 

[Gallagbi]

I’m starting to think it’s a weak year for team point totals.

A lot of equity across the league. The fact we haven't clinched but are 6th overall shows that. Many years this would have clinched already