Series Talk: Toronto vs Boston - Round #1 - PGDT (NOT for other series' discussion)

[BertCorbeau]

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[MattySnipes]

This was pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I don't think the downside is that bad, he could probably hold up his guy enough to not be behind, and a line change should still be possible given that he'd be covering the #5 guy. However, everyone changing at the same time is generally a really bad idea for just the reasons you mentioned.

One of my pet peeves with NA hockey is how willing teams are to just hand over possession. Dump-ins with half-assed attempts to win the puck back being one example. Manage the puck. I think one of the reasons why Nylander always seem to push shot metrics is because he likes to circle back and give people time to change, so that the next line can actually attack with the puck rather than work to get it back first. You rarely see the forward circling back pressured so much that it's a real risk of dangerous turnovers at that point, not with both d-men to back him up.

Mine too. It's bizarre to see many Leafs players just hand posession away on multiple occasions. Especially considering Babcock's game is puck possession and making good decisions on both ends of the puck.

 

[moon111]

Although the Bruins are a tough team, they will also have to balance toughness for skill with their roster. They had a lot of players who stepped in this season, played very tough games, but might not dress for the playoffs. And really, Boston doesn't want to go into the sin bin if they can help it either. If anything, the Leafs might just have a few players who'll have to cool their jets and balance toughness with playing smart. The Leafs need to deal with one of the best offensive lines in hockey, and then some of the most offensive choking lines after that. If anything, the only area of toughness the Leafs need to improve upon is around their net. Gardiner was the goat of the playoffs, but Hainsey's soft non-Polak presence in front of the net might of cost at least two games in itself.

2018/19 Regular Season compared to 2017/18 Playoffs
(Except for Tavares because he suffered playing for the Islanders)​

Leaf Player	Hits per Game	Playoff Hits/game	Boston Player	Hits per Game	Playoff Hits/game
Jake Muzzin	2.0	1.0 L.A.	Anton Blidh	6.0
Nikita Zaitsev	1.7	3.6	Chris Wagner 4th RW	3.3
Travis Dermott	1.6	1.6	Noel Acciari 4th C	3.1	3.3
Zach Hyman	1.4	2.1	Connor Clifton	2.1
Frederik Gauthier	1.4		David Backes	2.0	2.7
Kasperi Kapanen	1.2	1.4	Kevan Miller	1.9
Nazem Kadri	1.2	3.5	Brandon Carlo #2 RD	1.9
Ron Hainsey	1.1	1.1	Sean Kuraly	1.8
Igor Ozhiganov	1.1		Charlie McAvoy #1 RD	1.7	2.5
Jake Gardiner	1.0	1.3	Jakub Zboril	1.5
Tyler Ennis	1.0	--*MW	Zdeno Chara #1 LD	1.3	3.0
Patrick Marleau	0.9	2.7	John Moore	1.3
Martin Marincin	0.9		Steven Kampfer #3 RD	1.3
Andreas Johnsson	0.8	0.5	Joakim Nordstrom #4 LW	1.2
Justin Holl	0.8		Trent Frederic	1.2
Morgan Rielly	0.7	1.3	Colby Cave	1.1
John Tavares	0.7	1.2 NYI 2015	Lee Stempniak	1.0
Trevor Moore	0.6		Jeremy Lauzon	0.9
Connor Brown	0.4	0.6	David Pastrnak #RW	0.9	1.1
Auston Matthews	0.4	2.0	Torey Krug #2 LD	0.8	1.5
Mitchell Marner	0.4	0.9	Charlie Coyle #3 C	0.8
William Nylander	0.3	0.9	Danton Heinen #3 RW	0.7	0.4
Calle Rosen	0.3		Matt Grzelcyk #3 LD	0.7	1.1
			13 more with .7 or under.

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Tak7]

Mine too. It's bizarre to see many Leafs players just hand posession away on multiple occasions. Especially considering Babcock's game is puck possession and making good decisions on both ends of the puck.

This caused the Leafs so many problems last year against Boston.

They were hemmed in for extended periods of time, and when they finally got the puck back, they were forced to dump it in / change, and the cycle repeated itself.

It absolutely crushed them in games 1 and 2, and led to the collapse in game 7.

 

[stickty111]

Okay guys whats your predictions. I don't want to hear Bruins in 4, they are too big, and Leafs are soft.
I want to see predictions from the actual rational fans.

 

[thewave]

@IPS The changes would be in assistant coaches, roster, and possibly as an extreme Dubas. Not Babcock though.

 

[LeafGrief]

We're going to win this series by exploiting the depth matchups. The Bruins may be the best defensive team in the league, but they don't have to play the Leafs and Lightning 82 games a year. It's not that hard to limit the Flyers and Hurricanes of the world, just put the Bergeron line out there to win the big minutes and then go even on the rest. Score on a PP or two and boom, it's easy to win a lot of games and have a great GAA. Now, I'm not disparaging the Bruins here, they are a good team from top to bottom, but the entire engine for success is that top line. They score, they shut down, they win games almost singlehandedly.

Whichever line that we put out against their top guys is going to have a hard time. Whether it's Tavares or Matthews that Bergeron is working against, that's not a matchup that I expect our guy to win. But the next matchup is Tavares/Matthews against Krejci and that's a matchup that we should absolutely dominate. Then Kadri against Coyle? We dominate again. Our offensive depth is strong enough that we can give the Bruins fits, they can't shut a whole team down. We're going to need our top line to do well against Bergeron's line and limit their chances while scoring a bit themselves, but I think this series will be won on the backs of our second and third lines.

Leafs in 6, but I might die from the stress around game 4.

 

[Peiskos]

Leafs in 6, we're a deeper and more talented team overall than last year and if Boston needed 7 against a Tavares less, Muzzin less Leafs team I like our chances this time around.

 

[razkaz]

Seems everyone is writing off the Leafs on the main boards, pretty bizarre for a team that has maintained top 5-7 position for the entire regular season, a team that went 7 with the Bruins without Kadri for half the series and a C depth of Matthews-Bozak-Plekanec.

2018 - Matthews-Bozak-Plekanec = 7 games.

2019 - Tavares-Matthews-Kadri

You have to think the major bolstering of Toronto's C for this series will have a difference. I expect JT to make his mark on this series in particular, if Andersen plays light outs in game 1 I would not be surprised in the slightest if the Leafs draw first blood in this series to take the lead.

Main boards would be comedic gold unlike we've ever seen before.

The problem is that we're still unsure which version of the Leafs will show up for the post season. We have had our full lineup for maybe a month in Feb where they went 9-4-2 before Dermott got hurt. After that it's been a mess.

Let's just hope Andersen, Matthews, Nylander and Kadri are up to the task this year.

 

[Peiskos]

The problem is that we're still unsure which version of the Leafs will show up for the post season. We have had our full lineup for maybe a month in Feb where they went 9-4-2 before Dermott got hurt. After that it's been a mess.

Let's just hope Andersen, Matthews, Nylander and Kadri are up to the task this year.

I think we've seen the Leafs have that ability to flip the switch when they want to or need to. When they really need a win they play hard. I agree that motivation to show up has been a concern at periods of this season but what other motivation do you need than the playoffs? I expect the Leafs to be ready for game 1 and for it to be the opposite of last years game 1 in boston.

 

[HellasLEAF]

Game 1 is the one to steal. Hopefully we catch them off guard.

GLG!!!!

 

[RoyalCitySlicker]

Kyle Dubas is not being fired after less than a year on the job.

You can book that. Don't forget Shanahan and co. chose him over Mark Hunter/Lou Lamoriello.

They're not going to abandon that decision after 12 months. That would be unprecedented.

 

[razkaz]

I think we've seen the Leafs have that ability to flip the switch when they want to or need to. When they really need a win they play hard. I agree that motivation to show up has been a concern at periods of this season but what other motivation do you need than the playoffs? I expect the Leafs to be ready for game 1 and for it to be the opposite of last years game 1 in boston.

For sure, I think the Leafs have a good chance to advance to the second round if everyone plays to their abilities.

I'm not buying the whole flipping a switch thing yet though.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Kyle Dubas is not being fired after less than a year on the job.

You can book that. Don't forget Shanahan and co. chose him over Mark Hunter/Lou Lamoriello.

They're not going to abandon that decision after 12 months. That would be unprecedented.

And ridiculous

 

[Pi]

Kyle Dubas is not being fired after less than a year on the job.

You can book that. Don't forget Shanahan and co. chose him over Mark Hunter/Lou Lamoriello.

They're not going to abandon that decision after 12 months. That would be unprecedented.

True but the fact that anyone is even thinking about Dubas being fired is idiotic IMO. Why would anyone even think of firing Dubas?

Is adding Tavares and Muzzin without giving up anything from the roster not good? If his biggest mistake was not choosing the right back up goaltender (a decision that was 100% right at the time, always go with the younger, cheaper asset who was AHL goalie of the year) then he's had a pretty good year.

 

[Kelly]

Maple Leafs Square vets;

What time do you recommend arriving on Saturday to ensure a spot inside?

 

[Suntouchable13]

I believe in the roster, I don't believe in the coaching. I will happily give coaching props if we win the series, though.

 

[FlareKnight]

It is a series the Leafs can win. Comes down to them coming out of the gate fired up.

I'd certainly hope to see a lot of guys ready to start. This is what Tavares signed here for. A big first round matchup where he can be the difference. A big chance for Matthews to take over. We've seen him go all out this season and when he does it is a scary prospect to defend against. Of course throw in Nylander, Marner, Kadri, Rielly, Andersen, etc as guys who need to have a big series.

No telling what will happen. But the first step is to take that first game. Start off the series with a lead and not chase the whole time.

 

[8816 others]

Leafs need to be relentless on the forecheck. Back them into a corner.

 

[slozo]

I'll be living and breathing hockey the next two weeks . . . taking my son to tryouts all next week (and hopefully don't have to go to tryouts the next week after that! ) and luckily most of those skates end just as the Leafs game will begin, so it's gonna rock.
Going to have to pack both our Leaf jerseys in his hockey bag, lol.

 

[leafers]

The Leafs will play an inspiring hockey with plenty of heart and passion and win this time.

Marner is on a different level and we have Tavares.

 

[MattySnipes]

This caused the Leafs so many problems last year against Boston.

They were hemmed in for extended periods of time, and when they finally got the puck back, they were forced to dump it in / change, and the cycle repeated itself.

It absolutely crushed them in games 1 and 2, and led to the collapse in game 7.

I agree and they targeted our RDs hard. Hope Babs is ready.

 

[Warden of the North]

Yikes

 

[Tak7]

Maple Leafs Square vets;

What time do you recommend arriving on Saturday to ensure a spot inside?

6 pm.

2 hours before puck-drop is always a good rule. THey normally have a lineup, and open the square up 90 minutes before.

 

[IPS]

Yikes

Was offside IIRC and Babs never even f***ing challenged it.