Round 1 - Boston Bruins (A2) vs Toronto Maple Leafs (A3)

[Rekker]

5 hours ago, iinatcc said:

 

The benefit of the doubt I give on the salary structure is that there was an expectation that the cap was going to go up but Covid happened and kind of derailed that. The Cap would probably have been 100 Million by now more than enough to fill supporting players around their star players and their salary. 

 

Except they have had more than enough time since Covid to make the right changes, but keep making the same mistakes. It's just a badly built hockey team. Like a Hollywood Star with too much plastic surgery, there's no saving them.

[Rekker]

9 hours ago, Jaimito said:

Is anyone here surprised at the situation?

 

Their deficiencies were evident all year.  High end talents but not playoff competitive. 

Not surprised. Real good shinny hockey team that only pads stats against weak teams or good teams having a bad game. They cannot push through any resistance. 

[Rekker]

9 minutes ago, Hogs and Podz said:

Might not agree but to me Petey has some similar character traits to Mariner, Matthews, Nylander... Skill for days but not mentally tough yet. 

 

I cannot argue against you on that one. I will say I see way more fight out of EP when he's on his game than any of those core Leafs. EP is very competitive when he's on his game. This latest slump though, ya, I agree.

[Hogs and Podz]

1 minute ago, Rekker said:

I cannot argue against you on that one. I will say I see way more fight out of EP when he's on his game than any of those core Leafs. EP is very competitive when he's on his game. This latest slump though, ya, I agree.

Petey has better habits and been taught to play the right way... But mentally, he's still working on changing the attitude... Whatever it takes.  Like Bergeron one playoff where he had a punctured lung, broken ribs and still played... Or linden back in the day playing with multiple injuries and still playing.  

 

It takes a certain personality to be willing to go to the edge, sacrificing your health... Possibly long term for the goal of winning now.  It has such a powerful effect on a team to see a player sacrifice so much for the common goal.  It galvinizes the group... Makes them that much stronger as a whole. 

 

T. O. has none of that.  Hopefully Petey has that type of quality in him.  If he does, acts on it.... This team will continue to get better and winning a cup will be achieved. 

[Boudrias]

5 hours ago, Drakrami said:

Dont know why people always diss Leaf's defense. Their defense actually isnt that bad. Their problem is more like when you paying 50% of your salary cap to 4 players and those 4 players don't carry you. You have 0 depth, no good role players in the 3rd/4th lines because they are all making 825K. 

Sorry but criticism of the Laffer defense is more than fair. Not only are they challenged in their own zone but they don't have a true ringer on the back end that can generate steady offence off the blue line. Hughes and Josi say hi. 

 

The fab 4 up front are truly talents but their CAP hit has limited the options on the bottom 6. They sign Reaves and quickly turns the puck last game for a Boston goal. I hate to bring it up again but their coaching has not done the job molding this group into a playoff team. There has been a constant stream of coaches thru the org with nothing to show. Is Keefe worse than previous coaches, not really. IMHO the offensive upside of Mathews, Taveres, Marner, Nylander puts shades on the d-side. Rielly is their #1D and isn't good enough. Domi centering the #1 line, seriously? Bertuzzi, nope. 

 

The Laffers will be the 1st Canadian team out of the playoffs and how does the HNIC panel fluff that off? I guess they will fire Keefe and reboot. Notice how their Bob Cole tribute was all Laffer hilites? 

[Bob Long]

11 hours ago, Coconuts said:

Like him or not, Marchand is a playoff performer 

 

Tonight's game puts him up to 56 goals and 80 assists for 136 points in 150 games 

 

No one cares about that part, he's a dangerous slew foot artist who gets away with too much dirty stuff.

[iinatcc]

35 minutes ago, Rekker said:

Except they have had more than enough time since Covid to make the right changes, but keep making the same mistakes. It's just a badly built hockey team. Like a Hollywood Star with too much plastic surgery, there's no saving them.

 

I guess it's the idea that once you are a deep in the rabbit hole it's hard to get out?

[kettlevalley]

Toronto karma......the center of the universe.  Can't be gone fast enough for me. 

[iinatcc]

11 hours ago, Coconuts said:

Like him or not, Marchand is a playoff performer 

 

Tonight's game puts him up to 56 goals and 80 assists for 136 points in 150 games 

 

You are right ... I don't like him

 

 

[Bob Long]

41 minutes ago, Hogs and Podz said:

Might not agree but to me Petey has some similar character traits to Mariner, Matthews, Nylander... Skill for days but not mentally tough yet. 

 

Unfortunately for T. O., they don't have any old school like, character vets on the team that play a significant role to help show these young guys how to play playoff hockey.  We do more so with character gritty guys like JT, Dakota, Myers, big Z, Lindy, Cole, Soucy, Bluger... Petey has great role models around him, Toronto does not... So as a result they aren't learning.  Whereas Petey is... Hopefully fast enough to find away to contribute in this series. 

 

If Petey wasn't willing to engage physically, I could see your point but he actually tries to battle. He falls down a lot doing it, but he actually tries to do things like reverse hit.

 

He's also always been a very selective shooter, so if he's having a hard night it looks worse or like the effort isnt there but i think it is.

 

He needs more dangerous and/or heavy line mates to help him get more open space. 

[Rekker]

5 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

 

I guess it's the idea that once you are a deep in the rabbit hole it's hard to get out?

Maybe. To me it always starts at the top. The vision of this team, the makeup starts at the top. Shanaplan is a disaster. Also, Hunter is an old school hard ass who would never have let this team become the joke it now is.

[Rekker]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

If Petey wasn't willing to engage physically, I could see your point but he actually tries to battle

Exactly. He gets in there and also works hard in the defensive zone to block lanes and strip pucks. 

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Rekker said:

Exactly. He gets in there and also works hard in the defensive zone to block lanes and strip pucks. 

 

Yep. He works hard.

 

I don't know how/if Petey can figure out how he's being defended currently, but if he can look out. 

[Canuck You]

[Miss Korea]

6 hours ago, Drakrami said:

Dont know why people always diss Leaf's defense. Their defense actually isnt that bad. Their problem is more like when you paying 50% of your salary cap to 4 players and those 4 players don't carry you. You have 0 depth, no good role players in the 3rd/4th lines because they are all making 825K. 

 

43 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Sorry but criticism of the Laffer defense is more than fair. Not only are they challenged in their own zone but they don't have a true ringer on the back end that can generate steady offence off the blue line. Hughes and Josi say hi. 

 

The fab 4 up front are truly talents but their CAP hit has limited the options on the bottom 6. They sign Reaves and quickly turns the puck last game for a Boston goal. I hate to bring it up again but their coaching has not done the job molding this group into a playoff team. There has been a constant stream of coaches thru the org with nothing to show. Is Keefe worse than previous coaches, not really. IMHO the offensive upside of Mathews, Taveres, Marner, Nylander puts shades on the d-side. Rielly is their #1D and isn't good enough. Domi centering the #1 line, seriously? Bertuzzi, nope. 

 

The Laffers will be the 1st Canadian team out of the playoffs and how does the HNIC panel fluff that off? I guess they will fire Keefe and reboot. Notice how their Bob Cole tribute was all Laffer hilites? 

 

Treliving had enough opportunity to improve the team where it was needed.  He could've paid Soucy, Cole, Blueger, Suter, and kept Lafferty.  Instead he went for Domi, Bertuzzi, Reaves, and Klingberg.

 

The criticism should be on the GM.  They had enough cap space to improve the defence and Treliving did nothing about it.  To make matters worse, he turned an elite regular season team into a team that looked mediocre all year long.

 

I don't buy into this "Leafs dont have what it takes to succeed in playoffs" bullshit.  They just haven't played good hockey this year.  And now they're matched up against a team that has better offence, better defence, and crazy better goaltending.  It has absolutely nothing to do with "clutch" ability.  If a team like Toronto matches up with an opponent that is OBJECTIVELY better at everything, wtf are we supposed to expect?

 

Look at it this way: after last year's catastrophic debacle, are we honestly supposed to believe that this Bruins team is built different?  Come on.

 

Edited April 28 by Miss Korea

[Rip The Mesh]

Yes he's a slime bucket, and we do all remember but whatever it takes to beat the Laughes is a good thing, and they are not Canada's team !!

 

 

[DrJockitch]

9 minutes ago, Miss Korea said:

 

 

Treliving had enough opportunity to improve the team where it was needed.  He could've paid Soucy, Cole, Blueger, Suter, and kept Lafferty.  Instead he went for Domi, Bertuzzi, Reaves, and Klingberg.

 

The criticism should be on the GM.  They had enough cap space to improve the defence and Treliving did nothing about it.  To make matters worse, he turned an elite regular season team into a team that looked mediocre all year long.

 

I don't buy into this "Leafs dont have what it takes to succeed in playoffs" bullshit.  They just haven't played good hockey this year.  And now they're matched up against a team that has better offence, better defence, and crazy better goaltending.  It has absolutely nothing to do with "clutch" ability.  If a team like Toronto matches up with an opponent that is OBJECTIVELY better at everything, wtf are we supposed to expect?

 

Look at it this way: after last year's catastrophic debacle, are we honestly supposed to believe that this Bruins team is built different?  Come on.

 

Bertuzzi was the only one that made a little sense, the Klingberg signing was an absolute head scratcher. 
‘I think Treliving felt couldn’t say no to local guys willing to take a discount even if they really didn’t fit need. Chose good contract over good fit. 

[HKSR]

Defence and goaltending... 

 

Once the Leafs figure that part out, they might make some noise.  Until then, they will be a regular season team.

[Bell]

1 hour ago, Bob Long said:

 

No one cares about that part, he's a dangerous slew foot artist who gets away with too much dirty stuff.

They said on the broadcast last night he hasn't even had a single minor penalty yet in the series.  That is some truly hilarious officiating.

[Bob Long]

Just now, Bell said:

They said on the broadcast last night he hasn't even had a single minor penalty yet in the series.  That is some truly hilarious officiating.

 

He's a greasy little asshole. He's perfected getting his leg tangled with guys. 

[Elias Pettersson]

 

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Miss Korea]

45 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Defence and goaltending... 

 

Once the Leafs figure that part out, they might make some noise.  Until then, they will be a regular season team.

 

The Leafs aren't a regular season team.  Ask any Leaf fan: they are dogshit in the regular season now.  They're just a mediocre team that got in because of some extremely weak teams in the East.

 

Think about it.  Other than Willy's early success and Matthews' goal-scoring tear, was there any good news coming out of Toronto throughout the year?

[Ghostsof1915]

When you can work your frustration with your hockey team into your sponsor. That was hilarious.

[Toyotasfan]

Once the leafs get bounced will I still have to watch 50 Austin Mathews commercials every hockey game on Sportsnet?

crushed it? He must mean the fan’s expectations