Will the long break hurt or help the Leafs?

Leafsfan74

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Jul 2, 2018
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After such a long break, it won't take the TV audience long to get back into the routine of watching hockey. The new format aside, will this break help or hurt the Leafs? Especially considering the tough, grinding hockey they are about to face against Columbus.
 
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Nineteen67

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Dec 12, 2017
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Who knows.I’m sure it’ll be sloppy for everyone for a few games.

Teams that get knocked out early and the teams that didn’t make it will be very rusty when the 2020/21 season starts.
 

Dave92

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Oct 9, 2019
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It better help them or they have no chance. Potentially having a full roster can only be a good thing.
 

deletethis

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Mar 17, 2015
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They had been fighting through a string of defense injuries that had them 8-8-2 in their past 18. They have to be in better shape. I believe it's been revealed that Rielly had been playing hurt most of the season.

BTW, Columbus were 3-12-0 in their past 15. They have to be better opponents than the team that seemed to be free falling.
 
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7even

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They had been fighting through a string of defense injuries that had them 8-8-2 in their past 18. They have to be in better shape. I believe it's been revealed that Rielly had been playing hurt most of the season.

BTW, Columbus were 3-12-0 in their past 15. They have to be better opponents than the team that seemed to be free falling.

Jackets had a rash of injuries as well.

Generally, I think cold hockey favors offense simply because individual ability contributes to goals scored greater than defense, which relies heavily on positioning, communication, and coordination.
 

Randy Randerson

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Jul 28, 2016
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I think this is where your coaching staff & player leadership has to earn it's money, getting everyone refocused and undistracted is probably much less automatic than most of us would assume.

I've never been a fan of trying to place value on intangibles, but I do think this is a situation that those with laser focus & the ability to get their team mates to follow suit have an advantage.

It will be good to have our D corps back, at face value I would have said a short break would benefit the Leafs more than the average team because of all of the injuries that we got back within about 2 weeks of either side of the end of the season. The longer break I think will hurt the less disciplined teams, vacation mode kind of thing
 

Gary Nylund

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Oct 10, 2013
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Help, no question at all for me. With our injury issues, we weren't looking good at all when play was stopped.
 

LeafGrief

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Apr 10, 2015
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Help.

We get our defenders healthy again. A healthy Rielly and Muzzin (and begrudgingly Ceci) is really good for the team. Getting Mikheyev back is nice as well.

But I also think that a nice long break will be huge for Tavares and Marner. Both seemed like they were carrying a lot of mental baggage this season and struggled to be their dominant selves. A reset might help them find their consistency and they both have the ability to win a series single-handedly. The break should also be very good for Barrie, who gets his shot at redemption and auditions for a big UFA contract (from someone else).

The only real concern I think we have is October Freddy. Goaltending can win or lose a series, but I think if he's even average (.910 or so) we beat CBJ easily.
 
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Help.

We get our defenders healthy again. A healthy Rielly and Muzzin (and begrudgingly Ceci) is really good for the team. Getting Mikheyev back is nice as well.

But I also think that a nice long break will be huge for Tavares and Marner. Both seemed like they were carrying a lot of mental baggage this season and struggled to be their dominant selves. A reset might help them find their consistency and they both have the ability to win a series single-handedly. The break should also be very good for Barrie, who gets his shot at redemption and auditions for a big UFA contract (from someone else).

The only real concern I think we have is October Freddy. Goaltending can win or lose a series, but I think if he's even average (.910 or so) we beat CBJ easily.
I thought we had all agreed that Ceci played pretty well for us this season. He was actually.....good.
 
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BoredBrandonPridham

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Aug 9, 2011
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Help. They've had a chance to get healthy, something they've battle with all season.

Also we're basically starting a new season if you consider the length of the break. We could see sloppy defensive play, where the Leafs offensive game can really shine through. At least at the beginning.

also keefe has more time to prep
 

LeafGrief

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Apr 10, 2015
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I thought we had all agreed that Ceci played pretty well for us this season. He was actually.....good.
I must have missed that meeting. Though I have certainly come around to that he was at least okay in a pretty tough role and got more criticism than he deserved. I don't think he was successful enough where I would agree that he was "good", but I think he survived in a really tough situation.
 

Gabriel426

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Jun 30, 2015
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I must have missed that meeting. Though I have certainly come around to that he was at least okay in a pretty tough role and got more criticism than he deserved. I don't think he was successful enough where I would agree that he was "good", but I think he survived in a really tough situation.
Would rather him than Marincin.
Going to be interesting to see where Sandin fits. As I don’t think Sandin should be in the lineup if the D are all healthy.
 
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Advanced stats

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May 26, 2010
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It'll hurt a little, but I'd say not as bad as other teams.

Teams that play structured systems hockey(Columbus, Boston, NYI) will be hurt a lot more than teams that play run and gun hockey.
 
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kb

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Aug 28, 2009
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It'll hurt a little, but I'd say not as bad as other teams.

Teams that play structured systems hockey(Columbus, Boston, NYI) will be hurt a lot more than teams that play run and gun hockey.
This is also a very underrated issue. Good point.
 

Nylander88

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Aug 13, 2016
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It'll hurt a little, but I'd say not as bad as other teams.

Teams that play structured systems hockey(Columbus, Boston, NYI) will be hurt a lot more than teams that play run and gun hockey.
Totally agree with this. Boston is a team that seems to gain steam as they go. A lot of more veteran or structured teams are like that. We should have little issue getting up to speed faster. I think our big X factor is Freddie.
 

New Liskeard

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Jul 7, 2007
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I have to agree with something Marchand said about this, months prior to this coming together. He said something along the lines of, "the younger teams will have an advantage in coming back and performing well if the NHL returns". I have to agree with this, older teams and older players, likely will find it harder to get back into the swing of things. The resiliency of youth may be the turning point.
 
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Antropovsky

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Jun 2, 2007
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I have to agree with something Marchand said about this, months prior to this coming together. He said something along the lines of, "the younger teams will have an advantage in coming back and performing well if the NHL returns". I have to agree with this, older teams and older players, likely will find it harder to get back into the swing of things. The resiliency of youth may be the turning point.
Imagine how heavy Chara's legs are gonna feel...
 
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Antropovsky

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If they win...it helped

If they lose...it hurt

will inevitably be the narrative.

They? As in Leafs or teams as a whole?

If they win (the Leafs)... they have exceeded expectations (and it has helped, i agree it could be perceived this way). If they lose, they have met expectations of the regular season.

Based on the regular season, the leafs are not a favorite. This team beat teams it shouldnt have and lost to teams it shouldn't have. We are not the Bruins or the Blues... we could surprise but we are a middle of the pack bunch that isnt expected to win. We are the definition of a team that could win or could lose... we have the talent to win the cup, more so than columbus, and islanders. But we also have uncertainty... we arent expected to win as much as teams like Boston, Washington and St.louis.
 
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Gary Nylund

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They? As in Leafs or teams as a whole?

If they win (the Leafs)... they have exceeded expectations (and it has helped, i agree it could be perceived this way). If they lose, they have met expectations of the regular season.

Based on the regular season, the leafs are not a favorite. This team beat teams it shouldnt have and lost to teams it shouldn't have. We are not the Bruins or the Blues... we could surprise but we are a middle of the pack bunch that isnt expected to win. We are the definition of a team that could win or could lose... we have the talent to win the cup, more so than columbus, and islanders. But we also have uncertainty... we arent expected to win as much as teams like Boston, Washington and St.louis.

Not sure what "expectations of the regular season means" but it seems like a meaningless phrase to me. We had a ton of injuries, a coaching change etc., why would anyone base their expectations on this regular season is beyond me. Now we should be almost 100% healthy, the new coach will have some time to work on doing things the way he wants and we were much, much better with the new coach even without that.

It's a short series so anything can happen and as always, goaltending will play a huge role so people expecting us to win easily and acting as if us winning is a foregone conclusion are crazy IMO. Having said that, you said it yourself, we have the talent to win the cup and CLB is nowhere close to being able to say that. Forget the regular season, we're 100% the clear favourites in this one.
 

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