Post-Game Talk: You get a blown lead! You get a blown lead! Everyone gets a blown lead!

[LeafsMonster]

I don't know what the solution is truthfully, but I want to atleast see the lines juggled a little bit. Still early in the season, we should see if other combos work.

Moving brown up, moving marner, maybe hyman I don't know. But we've seen these lines play for 5 games now, yeah a small sample size, but what harm could it do? We lose games? Yeah well we're doing that anyway. Doesn't make much sense not to switch something up

 

[Mess]

Andersen is the reason we made it to a shootout last night. He was fanrastic in OT. Only 1 goal can be pinned on him, which is the bad rebound in front of the net. His rebound control is pretty good, he'll sort that out.

Other then semantics what is the difference by losing in OT verses the SO?

Too little too late would be the moral of coming up big in OT, simply prolonging the inevitable really as you earned your loser point already.

Freddy needs to make those type OT saves in regulation time and the Leafs walk away with 2 points, then it makes a difference.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Andersen has been improving, but as mentioned, he needs to deliver that big save when the team needs it, and so far, he hasn't been able to deliver.

That being said, his pedigree suggests that he has it in him. I don't think he is 100% in form yet.

 

[Menzinger]

May be more than you but personally I disagree. I think that role suits him perfectly. Hes fast, tenacious and plays with an edge. He's always a threat to score as well so teams can't just sit back on him. I actually think he himself looked good last night. The line itself was a step behind though.

He's looked just fine in that role for me - seems like a guy Babcock can trust.

 

[Babcocks Marner]

I don't know what the solution is truthfully, but I want to atleast see the lines juggled a little bit. Still early in the season, we should see if other combos work.

Moving brown up, moving marner, maybe hyman I don't know. But we've seen these lines play for 5 games now, yeah a small sample size, but what harm could it do? We lose games? Yeah well we're doing that anyway. Doesn't make much sense not to switch something up

Well we are scoring near 4 goals a game. Lines have been pretty good, just not so much on defense, and I can't see a swap that is really going to improve that without hurting the offensive aspect.....

We need to be better defensively, bottom line.

 

[deletethis]

Yeah id love to see Gauthier soon prototypical shutdown C move Bozak to the wing or even better off the team completely and give the goat a chance to learn what it takes.

Gauthier isn't really good at shutting down AHL centers right now. Maybe one day.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The way this team has been playing, we need the modern incarnation of Grant Fuhr, and then we'll be fine.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Other then semantics what is the difference by losing in OT verses the SO?

Too little too late would be the moral of coming up big in OT, simply prolonging the inevitable really as you earned your loser point already.

Freddy needs to make those type OT saves in regulation time and the Leafs walk away with 2 points, then it makes a difference.

The point is he gave his team a chance to win the game. They had to kill 2 penalties in OT, which is almost always a death sentence. Getting to the shootout gave them equal opportunity.

Again, I don't think he played terribly in regulation. He didn"t steal the point for us, but he certainly is not to blame for the result. Most of the goals against were premium scoring opportunities by one of the best offensive teams in the game.

He flashed his ability in OT. He can be that good. He's still not at his best.

 

[TheBigThree]

I gotta say **** the coaching staff if it's true that they told andersen to be more aggressive and change his style. Everyone that I have talked to in ANA has said that he never left the net as far as he is with the leafs.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Gauthier isn't really good at shutting down AHL centers right now. Maybe one day.

The AHL is a **** show. Decent for flexing offensive tools, but it's mostly a disorganized mess. I don't take the results there too seriously. We've seen what Freddy can do. He's close.

 

[LeafsMonster]

Well we are scoring near 4 goals a game. Lines have been pretty good, just not so much on defense, and I can't see a swap that is really going to improve that without hurting the offensive aspect.....

We need to be better defensively, bottom line.

Yeah thats why I'm confused. Offensively, 4 goals is what you like. But these same lines struggle defensively. So something needs to change where the offense isn't compromised and the defense is more balanced.

Maybe try matthews line against top lines, best defense is offense? I think its too early for that but komarov and michalek look way to slow against top lines and I don't trust the bozak line with that, certainly not the fourth line. Maybe for a shift or two, try matthews against top tier players because that line is fast and can match some skill wise. Brown replacing leo or hyman is an upgrade offensively and might be an upgrade defensively.

Marner on kadri's line could work also because the part that has surprised me most about his game is he is defensively very good already. Blocks shots, and his speed allows him to catch up to players to backcheck.

I don't know, I just think while we're early in the season there is no harm in trying different things out. I don't see why we should stick to the first lineup we try because clearly its flawed and the only way to change that is get better players, but unil then you have to start trying different combos.

With the defense, we're a little tied because we just don't have the talent. But offensely, there are a lot of options that are worth exploring.

 

[schenneuf]

The point is he gave his team a chance to win the game. They had to kill 2 penalties in OT, which is almost always a death sentence. Getting to the shootout gave them equal opportunity.

Again, I don't think he played terribly in regulation. He didn"t steal the point for us, but he certainly is not to blame for the result. Most of the goals against were premium scoring opportunities by one of the best offensive teams in the game.

He flashed his ability in OT. He can be that good. He's still not at his best.

That's true. JVR with the HORRIBLE penalty. Andersen stood on his head in OT.

 

[ObscureAlien]

Hunwick needs some time in the press box. Kadri line got outclassed but that was to be expected when facing Panarin - Anisimov - Kane. I'd like to see Brown moved up and Komarov/Michalek moved down. And re: Andersen, yes he let out 2 juicy rebounds. The 1st one was a bad one, but no one took the man out front of the net and the 3rd CHI goal was a well placed shot, he either kicks out that puck to the slot or it slides underneath his pad.

 

[Diatomic]

Depressing. If you have a lead, your goalie doesn't need to stand on his head everytime to get a win, you play solid smart hockey and kill the clock.

 

[ECanuck]

People are losing it!

Am I and a few people the only ones exited to watch these guys? Sure they are making lost of mistakes right now but the skill is off the charts compared to other rosters in previous years.

Tune in to next game. The board is going to explode on one of these topics:

The vets screw up.
The young guns screw up.
Mr. Andersen gets lit up.
Mike "Morpheus" Babcock's prophesies were a lie.

ORRRRRRRRR

We win a game outright and talk about the cup erupts!

I can't wait........

 

[Purity*]

People are losing it!

Am I and a few people the only ones exited to watch these guys? Sure they are making lost of mistakes right now but the skill is off the charts compared to other rosters in previous years.

Tune in to next game. The board is going to explode on one of these topics:

The vets screw up.
The young guns screw up.
Mr. Andersen gets lit up.
Mike "Morpheus" Babcock's prophesies were a lie.

ORRRRRRRRR

We win a game outright and talk about the cup erupts!

I can't wait........

This team oozes so much potential right now. It must be scary for other fanbases to watch.

 

[ECanuck]

Hunwick needs some time in the press box. Kadri line got outclassed but that was to be expected when facing Panarin - Anisimov - Kane. I'd like to see Brown moved up and Komarov/Michalek moved down. And re: Andersen, yes he let out 2 juicy rebounds. The 1st one was a bad one, but no one took the man out front of the net and the 3rd CHI goal was a well placed shot, he either kicks out that puck to the slot or it slides underneath his pad.

They were scared and sitting back the whole time. No forecheck or cycle. You want the puck to be on your stick to be effective against Kane and Panarin. If they have the puck on their stick most of the game you are cooked.

 

[moon111]

Gardiner (23rd), Zaitsev(39th), Rielly(43rd) are offensive leaders.
Hunwick(24th), Carrick(78th), Polak(85th) lead in hits.
Reilly(15th), Polak(55th), Zaitsev(74th) lead in blocked-shots.
Marincin (19th), Carrick(29th), Gardiner(47th) lead in shots/game.

If you were to make a 'fair' system in the NHL, everyone would have one defenceman in the top 30, 31st-60th, 61st-90th... Consider this average.

The Leafs somewhat manage this. However one of the problems is there's not allot of overlap. The guys who provide the offence, lack in other areas. Guys who do those categories well, don't have much in the way of offence.

And in one category the Leafs are actually lacking in is hits from defencemen. You might think offense would be the hardest attribute to find for a blue-line. Leafs are doing okay. Maybe prompted up by such strong offensive forwards. But one area you'd think would be relatively easy to fill, would be hits. Hunwick leads the team. Polak, jumps to 55th in the league in just two games. Connor Carrick isn't someone I'd figure would be putting out the hits. Well done. Zaitsev is managing one per game. He seems to be pretty well-rounded and is getting his first taste of NHL action. Have to give him a pass. Now have to look at Morgan Rielly. He had 58 in 82 games last season. For a .7 hits per game. He's at a .4 hits per game this season. The exact same hits and ratio of Mitchell Marner. I don't think we need one of our most talented defenceman running around like a Darcy Tucker, and getting hurt either. But he could step up the intensity up a notch. His size is no different then Gardiner really.

Then there's Martin Marincin. 6'4". 1 point. -3. And if there's one category you might expect from 6-7th defenceman... 1 hit. Good grief. Played only 3 games, but 1 ??? Someone like him should be fighting tooth and nail and playing blood and guts hockey.

So what to do? Well honestly the Marlies should stay Marlies. Think they're all where they should be. With the cupboard empty, the only solutions would be a trade or draft. The Leafs won't over-pay to fix a problem for today's roster. Perhaps the best and most likely solution will come from finishing near the bottom, scooping up a defenceman. It won't be a big flashy news worthy event like Matthews, but it might be the perfect fix for the team. So reality? No use crying about the pain, it's no use. It is what it is, time will hopefully heal all wounds.

 

[Rick74*]

I've taken screenshots of the 4 goals that the Leafs had against them last night and I'm going to try and explain the play that preceeded the goal.

GOAL 1

View attachment 92401

So this is the goal where Panarin was coming in, Andersen let out the rebound and Anisimov scored.

I think most of the blame went to Kadri and Hunwick.

But the way I saw it was the Leafs had the numbers in their favour. They had Kadri, Komarov and Zaitsev back and the Hawks only had Panarin & Anisimov because everyone else was on a change.

Kadri does lose body positioning on Panarin, Komarov is back in case their is a high man in the slot coming down and Zaitsev should be looking for Anisimov. Instead, all 3 Leafs collapse on Panarin, Andersen lets out a rebound based on the way Panarin angled his shot and no one is left covering Anisimov. He's got the open net for him.

Kadri should have not been out-muscled for the puck, but even if he was, everyone else should be doing their jobs and the rebound comes out to a covered man in the slot and you have the 3rd guy (Komarov) there to get the puck out of the zone at the very least.


GOAL 2

View attachment 92407

Here's the Hawks 2nd goal on the power play. The puck gets worked around the umbrella and comes to Campbell for the shot. Andersen lets out a huge rebound in the slot and everyone else is too slow rotating over to get a man.

For all the Andersen haters, this is probably the only goal that you could fault him on. The shot from the point was easy to see and should have been easy to control. Instead he puts it out into the slot and was an easy goal. To be fair to Andersen, Rielly was in floating around somewhere and left Michalek to cover both the point shot and Motte behind him (who eventually ended up scoring).

GOAL 3


View attachment 92409

So this might be sacrilege, but I'm pointing out that Morgan Rielly should have been covering his man better.

On the 3rd goal, Campbell enters the zone and puts a shot on Andersen. Andersen lets out a rebound to the middle of the slot and Anisimov scores again. I know a lot of people should say that Andersen should control his rebounds better. And I do agree with that to a point. But when a shot is coming in from that angle, his only choice is to try and stop the puck and hope that everyone else has someone covered. Rielly was late reacting to his coverage and it cost them.

Awesome post and exactly how i see it.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Things you can say is Andersen is slightly getting better and the leafs don't have to learn to score. We would be further back in the rebuild if we weren't scoring and losing. We would need time to learn how to score and then time on how to defend a lead.

We are ahead of the process. If we can continue to score and learn how to defend the lead by the end of the year. We are pretty much done our rebuild 3 years ahead of schedule.

 

[swint]

The tight triangle formation the Leafs use to defend when on the PK in OT is the most predictable, frustrating thing that this team does. Nobody makes an effort to box their man out, and the other team is given 2, 3 opportunities to bat at loose pucks before it either A) goes in, or B) finds its way back to the point for another attempt on goal. Hate it.

 

[mikeyz]

I was willing to give Andersen the benefit of the doubt through training camp because of that concussion he got.

But now I am starting to question if he's a legit #1 or not.

 

[SprDaVE]

I was willing to give Andersen the benefit of the doubt through training camp because of that concussion he got.

But now I am starting to question if he's a legit #1 or not.

He never had a concussion. He had a shoulder injury.

 

[dimi78]

People are pissed because we here understand the game. We understand Babcock is messing up and that Hunny and Polak are problematic. He could optimize better and we all know this.

Give me a freaking break. Most on here don't have a clue of the x's and o's in what's happening. They're too emotional to even grasp them in game speed and frankly only see results not mention fail to even understand that there's an opponent on the ice to give credit to for when they execute against the Leafs.

Chicago a contender brought there A GAME and the Leafs showed that they belonged ON THE ROAD to boot and you want to talk about Polak and Hunny when the culprit's on the blue line were a direct miss assignments from 2 players people are raving about? If Gardiner played the reads in front of the net like the way Reilly did on 2 goals people would loosing there minds... but it's Reilly the blame is on Andersen who played well giving his team a chance to win the game which is all you could ask from your goalie.

Further more the personal bias rather in favor or angst of players many in the the masses who get angry and vocal about it clouds there judgment of the x's and o's and it's getting tiring from these so called people who understand the game. They understand very little. Those who understand the game know that last night was the best they played all year against an opponent who outclasses them.

Leafs lose it's Polak, it's Hunwick, it's Bozak, it's JVR, it's Kadri, it's Gardiner
Leafs win it's Mathews, it's Nylander, it's Marner, it's Reilly

That's about as much these so called people who understand the game see.

 

[Northernguy10]

Some of you guys really should pick a new hobby, or choose a different team if you get so angry over a game and a team that is still learning the ropes.

Negatives for the kids:

Matthews - needs to be better on his defensive aspect. Leading forwards in the give away dept.

Nylander - Same as Matthews, but doesn't give the puck away. Would like to see him back check a bit harder, but he has already been much better defensively over the first 3 games.

Marner - Shoot more.


Positives:

They have 18 points in 5 games. Marner and Nylander lead the team in Take aways. They are 1,2,3 on the team for shots on goal. Marner has more blocked shots than any defender not named Rielly. Matthews is freaking 3rd in the NHL for points.


How can you not be happy? I love this team more than ever. Losing or not, the positives out weigh the negatives by x1000000. All I wanted to see this year were the kids get better and better and they hop out of the gate like beasts.

Give it a rest on Babs as well, insanity.... 5 games and some cry like they are personally insulted over what D pair was on the ice, or who shot in the shoot out. It's one thing to disagree, it's another level to actually be angry about it.

Guy was handed a bag of apples and told to make peach cobbler. If you don't have the patience to suffer for a couple years to actually become a REAL competitor, than like I said, find a new hobby. Going to get a stroke or heart attack getting all worked up over a game. Plus, you should be used to losing. We been garbage for 50 years. I would hate to see some of you 2 years ago

I don't even mind losing while watching our ever so bright future. Still on a 82 point pace, huge improvements from last year, even with horrible luck. The kids are only going to get better, as will the lines as the adjust to the new faces. We need to add a good D man, and goal tending has to be better.... lots of time for that, the parade route isn't even set yet

Pain is here, we were all warned well in advance. (imo not even that painful this year )

Good post. When you understand where we were even two years ago as compared to now, I'm happy with the direction we are going. I'm enjoying the skill and speed we have with more good young prospects developing in the AHL, Junior, NCAA and Europe. Are there going to be mistakes ?.. without a doubt. It's all part of the growing pains. I'm enjoying the games and looking forward to steady, albeit, slow progress. I'm curious how we'll look at the 20 game mark as the kids acclimate to the league and our line up becomes set.