Post-Game Talk: "WE'RE GOING TO BOSTON BABY!"

[HamiltonNHL]

Yep, other than Bozak they were eaten alive.

Faceoff Comparison

Kadri 2/12.
Ouch.
Bergeron 23/29.
wow.

 

[BlueForever75]

Actually, Nash was looking at Marleau and Marleau was looking back at Plekanec. I thought Nash should have been called for interference because he could see Marleau coming and ran into him. Marleau didn't have the puck, but had a better weight distribution so he held his ground. So kind of incidental contact that is let go every game.

Its ok, it was a non-call for evening up earlier in the period when Hyman was dragged down by McAvoy the same way Dermott dragged the Boston player to the ice 2 games ago and was called for it. Tit for tat.

Or how about Backes elbowing Andersen in the head, Polak gets in his face they are both roughing it up after the whistle but calls are even??? Should have easily been the initial penalty for goaltender interference, and minors to each for roughing. Resulting in a Leafs PP. So basically the NHL is allowing for goaltenders to be hammered and if teams stand up for them its an even up call??? Something is wrong with that picture.

 

[mashedpotato]

Brown had a shift in the 3rd that made me stand up and cheer for him.

 

[Mess]

Brown had a shift in the 3rd that made me stand up and cheer for him.

Babcock's foot soldiers Brown and Hyman have been excellent contributors to Leafs success to date.

 

[france62]

One more , you can do it , lot's of people are rooting for you guys , and I'm from Montreal not a fan of the Habs though, but others are , gogogo

 

[mashedpotato]

Babcock's foot soldiers Brown and Hyman have been excellent contributors to Leafs success to date.

I remember when the Babcock-led wings won the cup - specifically, I was sitting with a Red Wings fan whom said that Babcock loved his role players - I cant' remember all of them (pls. excuse accuracy) but guys like McCarty were critical to their success.

I don't know what role player means anymore - I think iit meant players relegated down the depth chart that ultimately resulted in less playing playing time and less involvement in critical parts of the game;

I'd be interested in knowing playing time for the team as I suspect that it's relatively even except for special teams; in which case, I'd suspect that players like Brown aren't role players anymore but rather just interchangeable parts on a cycling lineup.

 

[WestCoastLeafs]

Kapanen reminds me of Matt Frattin. Seems to have all the tools, but just can't quite put it together...

I'm hoping he figures it out.

I think one difference is that Frattin was top-six or bust, whereas Kapanen can contribute on any line. He's already produced at the AHL level. Being able to stay in the lineup with his speed, penalty-killing and so on will give him a chance to develop his offensive skills at the NHL level. (And if they don't develop, he'll still be an NHL player.)

 

[Hoverhand]

Who said that, most were saying that this would be a 6 or 7 game series.

After game 2 the main boards were screaming sweep in unison

 

[MyBudJT]

I think one difference is that Frattin was top-six or bust, whereas Kapanen can contribute on any line. He's already produced at the AHL level. Being able to stay in the lineup with his speed, penalty-killing and so on will give him a chance to develop his offensive skills at the NHL level. (And if they don't develop, he'll still be an NHL player.)

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting Kapanen will be Frattin 2.0, but so far thats who I get reminded of.
The largest similarity is the lack of finishing on good chances... I really do hope Kapanen finds his niche at the NHL level.

 

[ToneDog]

Dreger: There are a lot of reasons I'm picking the Leafs in Game 7

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-10...ons-i-m-picking-the-leafs-in-game-7-1.1066219

 

[MR4]

Nope. Marleau clearly interfered with Nash? on that Pleks empty netter, should have been a clear penalty. There were a couple of times in the first or second that Polak tripped some guys but still went uncalled.

But again, Boston got away with some calls. Nash's interference on JVR, Krug taking Marner down when he doesnt even have the puck, Mcavoy on Kap etc.

Again, I just hope that tomorrows game is ref'd fairly unlike the past 3 games in Boston.

The Marleau interference was one of the weakest interferences the whole game, just watch from the 1:00 point in this clip:



HUGE dive, and Backes skated right into Marleau instead of going for the puck.

 

[ULF_55]

Babcock's foot soldiers Brown and Hyman have been excellent contributors to Leafs success to date.

Babcock had those same players on the Wings ... where everyone knows their name. Cheers.

 

[SprDaVE]

HUGE dive, and Backes skated right into Marleau instead of going for the puck.

Definitely just dropped down like a fish. He didn't even try to stand up and just laid on the ice.

Probably a good amount of karma for his elbow on Andersen. He shouldn't even have been able to play the rest of the game.

Since it's not getting any media attention, it's probably going to go unnoticed.

 

[MR4]

Kadri 2/12.
Ouch.
Bergeron 23/29.
wow.

You can put up big numbers if you cheat on draws

 

[ULF_55]

I think one difference is that Frattin was top-six or bust, whereas Kapanen can contribute on any line. He's already produced at the AHL level. Being able to stay in the lineup with his speed, penalty-killing and so on will give him a chance to develop his offensive skills at the NHL level. (And if they don't develop, he'll still be an NHL player.)

I'd say at his very floor Samuel Pahlsson, IMO he's already beyond that.
I believe his is going to be much more though.

 

[ULF_55]

The Marleau interference was one of the weakest interferences the whole game, just watch from the 1:00 point in this clip:



HUGE dive, and Backes skated right into Marleau instead of going for the puck.

Marleau is a beast!

 

[Albert Iafrate]

For all the shit you guys give Babcock, his decisions last night were excellent. I was telling my wife at the end of the second that this game was the classic "rope-a-dope". Cassidy was double shifting the top two lines so much or the first half of the game, it was inevitable that if we survived the onslaught, those guys would be super gassed by the third. So in response to the double shifting, Babcock played our grinders a ton (Brown, Kapanen, Hyman, Pleks), and once he saw the Bruins legs getting shaky, he re-united Matthews and Nylander and we overwhelmed them with speed in the third. They just ran out of gas, and good on Babcock to recognize this and make an adjustment.

My only concern are those "no look bank it off the boards" clearing attempts our D-men keep doing. If I was Babcock, I would fine every guy who tried that shit in the first period (I know that's not how it works, but whatever he can do would be fine). During coaches corner last night, they focused on Winnipeg's "alley-oop" move, and I would much prefer you if our D is trying to clear under pressure that they just flip it up and out. I know our whole offence is predicated on the stretch bank pass, but obviously Boston has closed that loophole.

 

[Albert Iafrate]

For all the **** you guys give Babcock, his decisions last night were excellent. I was telling my wife at the end of the second that this game was the classic "rope-a-dope". Cassidy was double shifting the top two lines so much or the first half of the game, it was inevitable that if we survived the onslaught, those guys would be super gassed by the third. So in response to the double shifting, Babcock played our grinders a ton (Brown, Kapanen, Hyman, Pleks), and once he saw the Bruins legs getting shaky, he re-united Matthews and Nylander and we overwhelmed them with speed in the third. They just ran out of gas, and good on Babcock to recognize this and make an adjustment.

My only concern are those "no look bank it off the boards" clearing attempts our D-men keep doing. If I was Babcock, I would fine every guy who tried that **** in the first period (I know that's not how it works, but whatever he can do would be fine). During coaches corner last night, they focused on Winnipeg's "alley-oop" move, and I would much prefer that if our D is trying to clear under pressure to just flip it up and out. I know our whole offence is predicated on the stretch bank pass, but obviously Boston has closed that loophole.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Babcock's foot soldiers Brown and Hyman have been excellent contributors to Leafs success to date.

Getting those two locked up for like 2 million each were highly underrated moves. That's how you get your intangibles, instead of overpaying FA's like Bolland or Armstrong.

 

[SprDaVE]

For all the **** you guys give Babcock, his decisions last night were excellent. I was telling my wife at the end of the second that this game was the classic "rope-a-dope". Cassidy was double shifting the top two lines so much or the first half of the game, it was inevitable that if we survived the onslaught, those guys would be super gassed by the third. So in response to the double shifting, Babcock played our grinders a ton (Brown, Kapanen, Hyman, Pleks), and once he saw the Bruins legs getting shaky, he re-united Matthews and Nylander and we overwhelmed them with speed in the third. They just ran out of gas, and good on Babcock to recognize this and make an adjustment.

My only concern are those "no look bank it off the boards" clearing attempts our D-men keep doing. If I was Babcock, I would fine every guy who tried that **** in the first period (I know that's not how it works, but whatever he can do would be fine). During coaches corner last night, they focused on Winnipeg's "alley-oop" move, and I would much prefer you if our D is trying to clear under pressure that they just flip it up and out. I know our whole offence is predicated on the stretch bank pass, but obviously Boston has closed that loophole.

That's been part of their breakout for a long long time. The winger(s) take off from the zone and hope they can get their defenseman off guard or out of position during a pinch. The defense either flips it out of the zone or wires it off the boards.

Three things can happen from that; they either touch the puck for a dump in, or they get an odd-man rush, or there's an icing. It hasn't worked very much in this series for some reason and yesterday especially, everything was going wrong in that aspect.

It also doesn't help that half of our defense core can't make a pass half the time. Polak, Hainsey and Zaitsev have struggled mightly at making simple breakout plays. Heck even Dermott last night was reaaaaaaaaally bad and made some god awful plays with the puck.

For some reason, the third period was our best when it's usually our worst with a lead. We made very good zone break outs under pressure and you could tell their top players were exhausted.

 

[ToneDog]

For all the **** you guys give Babcock, his decisions last night were excellent. I was telling my wife at the end of the second that this game was the classic "rope-a-dope". Cassidy was double shifting the top two lines so much or the first half of the game, it was inevitable that if we survived the onslaught, those guys would be super gassed by the third. So in response to the double shifting, Babcock played our grinders a ton (Brown, Kapanen, Hyman, Pleks), and once he saw the Bruins legs getting shaky, he re-united Matthews and Nylander and we overwhelmed them with speed in the third. They just ran out of gas, and good on Babcock to recognize this and make an adjustment.

My only concern are those "no look bank it off the boards" clearing attempts our D-men keep doing. If I was Babcock, I would fine every guy who tried that **** in the first period (I know that's not how it works, but whatever he can do would be fine). During coaches corner last night, they focused on Winnipeg's "alley-oop" move, and I would much prefer you if our D is trying to clear under pressure that they just flip it up and out. I know our whole offence is predicated on the stretch bank pass, but obviously Boston has closed that loophole.

It was Nashville's "alley-oop" move but agree with everything you say.

 

[CanadasTeam]

The Marleau interference was one of the weakest interferences the whole game, just watch from the 1:00 point in this clip:



HUGE dive, and Backes skated right into Marleau instead of going for the puck.

Yep. Back-Ass can suck it

Karma's a bitch.

 

[TorMapleJays]

Yep, other than Bozak they were eaten alive.

Faceoff Comparison

good thing face-offs are not goals eh!

 

[Nineteen67]

I’ve read that Backes was not getting a penalty on the elbow to Freddie’s head, so why was there a whistle?
I watch the NBC broadcast and I’m pretty sure they said there was a penalty before Polak went after him. I thought I saw the refs hand go up?

Anyone have a pic or video?

 

[SprDaVE]

I’ve read that Backes was not getting a penalty on the elbow to Freddie’s head, so why was there a whistle?
I watch the NBC broadcast and I’m pretty sure they said there was a penalty before Polak went after him. I thought I saw the refs hand go up?

Anyone have a pic or video?

His hand definitely went up but I think it was just for goaltender interference, not an elbow. If the ref saw the elbow Backes wouldn't have stayed in the game.

BUUUUUT the problem here is that the official call on the game sheet is that Backes was only called for Roughing against Roman Polak, and the goaltender interference call magically disappeared. Backes should have had 4 minutes. He was lucky enough not to get ejected for an elbow to the head. The Leafs were robbed of a power play because the official completely screwed up.

I don't know how Boston keeps getting those kind of breaks but they have to be the luckiest team I've ever seen in that aspect. It's mind blowing.