YukonLiving 6 Report post Posted February 24, 2017 Yep. Another lacklustre performance from #51. I really don't understand what Babcock sees in him. Good game from Nylander though! He had some jump. And Matthews shot in the shootout was a laser. I wish he would pull the trigger like that in games but he needs a set up man, and Hyman is not that guy. I like Hyman on the PK - it seems to me like that's when he skates the best. I'd look to swap out Soshnikov or even Leivo onto the Matthews/Nylander line. Its really amazing how Marner carries Bozak and VanReimsdyk. He's dearly missed on the power play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YukonLiving 6 Report post Posted February 26, 2017 Well... would have been nice for Matthews to get the hat trick in OT. That was very close. Next time... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 4, 2017 Season's over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kgbeast 195 Report post Posted March 4, 2017 11 hours ago, IPv6Freely said: Season's over. Is it that bad? They are only a point from wildcard behind Rangers. It also looks like Rangers have tougher opponents than what the Leafs have left with. Not going to be surprised if Leafs make into playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 4, 2017 3 hours ago, Kgbeast said: Is it that bad? They are only a point from wildcard behind Rangers. It also looks like Rangers have tougher opponents than what the Leafs have left with. Not going to be surprised if Leafs make into playoffs. They've been playing like garbage since the all-star break, winning just a couple games here and there. Giving up leads almost every game is not helping. At one point when they were a point behind Boston with 5 games in hand I would have said it's their spot to lose. Well, they've pissed that away. The problem I'm seeing is that they don't appear to be in any particular type of slump. They're very consistent in their inconsistencies. They've been largely the same all year (other than the first month) and it's just not enough. The California swing is the real test and it was not a good one. Should have got that point against SJ... no excuse. And then in OT it's a crapshoot. Letting LA back into the game was awful to watch. They dominated the first period, and while the second was more even they were still the better team. Giving up two quick goals and then losing in SO is frustrating. (Also, how/when did the Kings become this bad?? Carter is literally the only threat on the ice...) And then the Anaheim game which was just embarrassing. Don't get me wrong, there's no doom and gloom here; the kids are going to get better. The teams around them in the standings are either in a decline or in a bubble-team holding pattern, whereas the Leafs will only get better. I just think the ONLY way for them to get into the playoffs is to go on a streak which based on the rest of the season so far seems unlikely. It's just frustrating as a fan to see them struggling for a playoff spot while a dumpster fire like Boston is actually ahead of them. I know the expectations for this season were super low but based on what the rookies have done I think anything less than a playoff spot is a failure. Bottom line: I think they WILL be better, it will just take more time than they have left this season. I'd be happy to be wrong, though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kgbeast 195 Report post Posted March 5, 2017 Fair enough. Just looking at standings, I see that Toronto is probably the best candidate for the last wildcard slot from what is left. That said, even if they make in the playoffs, they will have to face some tough first round opponents... I think they will be looking at Capitals and this club is certainly exceeding all my expectation for this season. ... ps: in my post I wrote "Rangers" but I meant "Islanders". Looks like it was accepted by default. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 6, 2017 Congrats Joe! I miss him doing the television games. There's actually an entire twitter account dedicated to posting every Leaf goal with Bowen's radio call dubbed over it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 15, 2017 Three wins against garbage teams, two of which they barely hung on for, and now getting smoked by an average team. What's going to happen when the Blackhawks roll into town?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chippa13 1844 Report post Posted March 15, 2017 The Panthers are a much better team than their record indicates. Injuries really hurt them this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 15, 2017 16 minutes ago, chippa13 said: The Panthers are a much better team than their record indicates. Injuries really hurt them this year. Completely agree, they've had a rough go. Though in the rankings of elite/average/dumpsterfire they're in the middle somewhere. I'm actually more blown away by the run Tampa is going on. All year the radio guys would go back and forth with "watch out for tampa" and then "come on, they have no chance. They're showing ZERO signs of life". And then with all the injuries and being deadline sellers they're now right in it. Amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chippa13 1844 Report post Posted March 15, 2017 Teams that are sellers go one of two ways, they either limp to the finish line or refuse to believe they're out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 21, 2017 I'll take a point vs Chicago, though when you get into OT it really could have gone either way. I swear the Leafs have got to have the most number of OT breakaways without scoring in the league this season! What I don't fully understand is why anyone is making a fuss about the OT goal being off-side when it very VERY clearly isn't. Just people not knowing the rules, I guess? Great game vs Boston. Fairly evenly matched game, but they came through. Boston coach is bitching about the late penalty call, but if you watch the video it's pretty much the textbook definition of interference. You could certainly make a case that it's a weak call that late in the game, but suggesting it's not a penalty is just plain wrong. At first review I said "I don't see anything there" and then they showed the view from in front of the net and I was like "oh, hahaha... yeah, that one's obvious." Whatever, sour grapes. I do wonder if Marchand is going to be fined for his dive, though. They're in a good spot right now, but the schedule is not a friendly one. Ending the season vs WSH, TBL, PIT and CBJ hurts... a lot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adam14 182 Report post Posted March 21, 2017 I thought that game was great last night and really made me look forward to playoff hockey. As a Bruins fan I couldn't believe Boston couldn't buy one on Anderson he played very well. in terms of that penalty, I thought it was a "hockey play" and given that there were a lot of no calls and the whistles were put away I thought it was soft to call that with 2 minutes left in the game. Bruins and leafs are both battling down the stretch. Should be fun to watch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chippa13 1844 Report post Posted March 21, 2017 There were a few curious calls made last night. Matching them up when Bergeron got boarded didn't make sense. If they wanted to give Bergeron the roughing call then it should have been 2 on Bergeron for roughing and 2 on Soshnikov for boarding and 2 for roughing. There is no way that should have been matching. I didn't catch the Marchand flop, when did that happen? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kgbeast 195 Report post Posted March 21, 2017 1 hour ago, chippa13 said: ....I didn't catch the Marchand flop, when did that happen? If you watch Toronto broadcast, their commentator implied that Marchand flopped. I think it was in third when Zaitsev pushed him in the corner with basically one arm... It did not look like Marchand flopped, but he did go down pretty hard... If Marchanded did not "flop", Zaitsev is a tank. Penalty was assigned to Zaitsev by the way and Boston had a PP out of this, but no score. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 23, 2017 Where did THIS team come from?! 5 of 6 points vs Chicago, Boston and Columbus puts them back into 3rd in the division. Crazy. The PK that ended up being 7 minutes because somehow they didn't put a man in the box actually ended up helping them as Columbus had only a single weak shot on goal the whole time. People challenged the veterans, and they've responded. Kadri, Bozak and JVR have all been really good over the last while. The question is really just how long can they keep this up for? Long enough to make it? I was definitely not expecting to see them playing like this a few weeks ago! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crow93 12 Report post Posted March 23, 2017 2 hours ago, IPv6Freely said: The question is really just how long can they keep this up for? Long enough to make it? I was definitely not expecting to see them playing like this a few weeks ago! I think it's a combination of the emergence of their draft picks and the Babcock effect. They're intriguing for sure. I hope they make it and Boston falls out of contention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 24, 2017 It was hard enough already for them to leave Leivo out of the lineup. Now I think he's cemented his spot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewie 721 Report post Posted March 24, 2017 I thought their season ended 3 weeks ago? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 24, 2017 1 minute ago, Stewie said: I thought their season ended 3 weeks ago? Sure seemed like it was about to. They were playing like garbage and everyone around them were playing really well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted March 26, 2017 Ouch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted April 9, 2017 Was there ever a doubt?? Well okay, yes there very much was. Beginning of the season nobody had any idea because of the garbage start. In March when the team was playing extremely poorly I said it was over. Not because they wouldn't be making it close but because they had been fairly consistent aside from the first month and that just didn't seem good enough because of how well everyone around them was playing. When they failed to beat Tampa I thought it was over. Tampa and NYI just wouldn't stop winning! There was just no room for error and it felt like they were out of space. When Gardiner put it into his own net half way through the 3rd period I thought it was over for sure. Could there be a more Leafs-like way to lose?! But no. Not this time. This group was not going to allow it to happen. Despite Andersen being knocked out of the game by Sestito, McElhinney comes in and saves the day. The save on Crosby is by far the biggest save of the season. All the doubts are gone. This IS a playoff team. They earned it. They didn't back their way in by banking on a Tampa and Islanders loss. Icing on the cake was Matthews scoring his 40th. I don't see them lifting the cup but the experience for this group will be massive in their growth. Bring on the playoffs! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPv6Freely 2094 Report post Posted April 10, 2017 Shame they couldn't finish it off. Down two defencemen they just had no chance. Hopefully Zeitsev and Polak are ready to go on Thursday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
