Post-Game Talk: TORONTO @ OTTAWA | That was uh... bad

[Pyrophorus]

Years ago (when this was still needed), I hoped the Leafs would only win 16 games a year: All against the Habs and all against the Sens.

Do they want to lose to us? Do they want us to get a high draft pick?

 

[Budsfan]

The Leaf: Blueprint - Episode seven trailer

 

[PuckMagi]

lines look good to me tonight considering what we're working with.

 

[Daisy Jane]

rookie invasion

 

[LeafsNation149]

Last game was Marincins first decent game in a while...

I still hate the guy so much and regret being happy when Leafs traded a 4th for him

 

[carko32]

Tank can wait tonight, gotta beat them.

And I think that Marincin will look much better with Rielly, we saw that last time. He is good at positioning and everything that is not playing the puck. SO give puck to Rielly and he should look good.

And I love to see Valiev with the big buys, he showed great progress in AHL this season.

 

[shaner8989]

Would like the lines a lot more with Leivo and Leipsic in and Greening and Grabner out.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Last game was Marincins first decent game in a while...

I still hate the guy so much and regret being happy when Leafs traded a 4th for him

He was better than decent.

 

[Damisoph]

Oh when the taaaank
Goes Marciniiin
Oh when the tank goes Marcinin

I lol'd

Also, always beat the Sens. The tank be damned.

 

[Leaf of the Mind]

So if the Leafs finish last place in the league, they only have a 20% chance of finishing with the 1st pick. Sure, that's better than the next team, but that's an 80% chance of NOT picking first overall.

So at this point in the season, why does it matter if they finish in dead last or 29th?

Beating your rival > finishing dead last.

If we draft an impact player with a guaranteed top four pick, that will worry our rivals far more than any single game result. By repeating the "scary 20%" mantra over and over you are proving the tanker's point further. Because the lottery is so risky now it's absolutely necessary that our scouts not only secure top 4 but the best possible picks in all the other rounds.

 

[scotian1]

Just ran the draft simulator 5 times, Leafs didn't get the top pick once and only made the top three once. Better off creating a winning atmosphere, let it continue tonight.

 

[TLeafsFan]

 

[Ovate]

And that is the story on Rielly. Offensively he's ready to be a top pairing defender, however he still needs work on his defensive game, and it would be wise to pair him with a good defensive player.

I'd say the opposite is true. To develop Rielly's defensive game, don't pair him with a defenseman who will allow him to be more offensive and cover for his mistakes. That's just going to encourage him to be more offensive. Instead, put him on a pairing where he's forced to play better defense because he can't rely on his partner to do it for him.

 

[LeafsMonster]

Loov was called up but got injured in practice. Brennan was called up for the game against the Islanders but barely played and was sent back down.

Valiev was called up Thursday. I thought it was just precautionary for Loov but looks like he's out for longer than I thought.

Ahh okay thanks! I thought Brennan was still up. This shuffling is actually good, everyone gets a taste of the NHL, can see first hand what it takes and how to train, can work on their weaknesses in the summer, and be ready for training camp.

I feel like its an episode of the bachelor in the marlies dressing room. A letter comes and they all huddle around to see who gets a date with the NHL next

Marincin. What? I can dream can't I??

Gah I wish it was. He plays decently for a while, I give him credit, and then he turns around and does makes a terrible play again

 

[Budsfan]

 

[sommervr]

Marincin looks bloody terrible on the ice, I don't need advanced stats to tell me that.

On the whole, I'm not a huge fan of corsi, fenwick, and shot suppression/generation stats. They're often times misleading, and are taken as gospel by some over anything else. I trust what my eyes tell me, not what some stupid hero chart provides. And for the record, those same charts say Rielly is beyond awful defensively. Shot attempts against and goals against aren't even bottom pair calibre for Morgan.

Rielly is bad defensively. Hopefully he can grow into the role but he isn't there yet.

 

[rimshot]

because it's not just about winning the lottery. and I really think a tonne of people are so focused on the lottery that they tend to forget that being 30th - means we also draft first in every single round. That is huge. And I think for all but.. what? one round we own our own pick - so that's drafting "first" overall in every round, getting first crack at all the fallers etc, give lou a bigger advantage if he wants to draft someone ("hey you can have our __1st pick!")

Beating Ottawa today - means nothing in the grand scheme of the whole picture for this season. What? So we get to go "Tralalallla, suck it Ottawa" today - but if it impacts our future - then I'm sorry. beating the rival doesn't trump that. I want my team to have the very best chance.

need I remind people who are all "hey - it's good beating Ottawa" - that this time last year we beat ottawa, and that was the game that moved us permanently ahead of Edmonton and how that impacted the final lottery standings?

If we were hands down secured in 30th - sure. why not. but we're not.

I hope Sosh, Valiev, Nylander, Hyman and company put on a show. I hope Rielly is impressive. I hope Sparks plays very well - but I'd like the best chances for my team to ultimately be Amazing down the road all things considering. Not a meaningless game in March.

Yes,and having the first pick in the third round is also important as it is the first pick of day two of the draft. That pick is coveted by teams that are sold on a prospect that fell out of the second round or fear other teams taking that player ahead of them. All teams have time to reassess their draft and make moves on the second day. It is nice to be in the best position on day two.

 

[LeafsNation75]

So if the Leafs finish last place in the league, they only have a 20% chance of finishing with the 1st pick. Sure, that's better than the next team, but that's an 80% chance of NOT picking first overall.

So at this point in the season, why does it matter if they finish in dead last or 29th?

Beating your rival > finishing dead last.

When thinking of the Leafs long term success I rather have them finish last place right now. At least they will have the best odds at the 1st overall pick even at 20% and they won't pick as low as 4th overall should everything go wrong on the night of the lottery.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Rielly is bad defensively. Hopefully he can grow into the role but he isn't there yet.

His high dzone start %, along with the fact that he is playing his offside (making it tougher to exit the zone), also the fact that Hunwick is his partner for the vast majority of the season, combined with the lack of quality on this team, while also adding on he is going up against the best competition for 25+ min a night, at only 21/22 years old in his 3rd NHL season is a recipe for disaster, which it has not been. All these factors lead to Rielly's shot suppression numbers seem worse than they actually are. He isn't as bad defensively as the advanced metrics make it seem.

Also, if you look at Pietrangelo's defensive stats for this season, they are abysmal, while Gardiner's are terrific. There is much more that you have to consider when evaluating if Rielly is good defensively or not.

 

[GoodNewfieBoy]

Rielly is bad defensively. Hopefully he can grow into the role but he isn't there yet.

Haha! Yeah, no

 

[Isvestia]

The Leaf: Blueprint - Episode seven trailer

I see Sparks' hair got Lou'd!

 

[Macallan18]

He was better than decent.

Absolutely!
Best thing is no one harps on Gardiner anymore!!

 

[Finnish your Czech]

because it's not just about winning the lottery. and I really think a tonne of people are so focused on the lottery that they tend to forget that being 30th - means we also draft first in every single round. That is huge. And I think for all but.. what? one round we own our own pick - so that's drafting "first" overall in every round, getting first crack at all the fallers etc, give lou a bigger advantage if he wants to draft someone ("hey you can have our __1st pick!")

Beating Ottawa today - means nothing in the grand scheme of the whole picture for this season. What? So we get to go "Tralalallla, suck it Ottawa" today - but if it impacts our future - then I'm sorry. beating the rival doesn't trump that. I want my team to have the very best chance.

need I remind people who are all "hey - it's good beating Ottawa" - that this time last year we beat ottawa, and that was the game that moved us permanently ahead of Edmonton and how that impacted the final lottery standings?

If we were hands down secured in 30th - sure. why not. but we're not.

I hope Sosh, Valiev, Nylander, Hyman and company put on a show. I hope Rielly is impressive. I hope Sparks plays very well - but I'd like the best chances for my team to ultimately be Amazing down the road all things considering. Not a meaningless game in March.

The difference between pick 31 and 32/33/34 is extremely small, and for any round after that it is negligible...

At this point I want to see the kids play well, and that means I want to see the leafs win. I wouldn't be upset if they lose though.

 

[LeafsNation75]

need I remind people who are all "hey - it's good beating Ottawa" - that this time last year we beat ottawa, and that was the game that moved us permanently ahead of Edmonton and how that impacted the final lottery standings?

If you remember it was two games late season when they defeated Ottawa in overtime and the other game being in a shootout. Plus the game in overtime when Eric Brewer scored the winning goal, Toronto was losing 2-0 and 3-1 at certain points.

 

[Daisy Jane]

If you remember it was two games late season when they defeated Ottawa in overtime and the other game being in a shootout. Plus the game in overtime when Eric Brewer scored the winning goal, Toronto was losing 2-0 and 3-1 at certain points.

yup. and everyone was all trallalalaa we beat Ottawa, tralalalala, who cares that we're fourth, tralallala, tralalalallalalalala.

until Lottery day rolled around. just saying.

like I said - I want the kids to do well, excellent and if that includes them winning and i'm not going to kick and scream about it. but - if this is just about to have some haahhaaaahhhh chuckle over beating Ottawa which means nothing at this point in time - then sorry. I forfeit that right at this moment in time. I'd rather ensure the team is in excellent drafting position and giving Hunter the best spots to find our next Keith, Subban, Benn, etc. earlier = better with competent scouting.