FTP: Blues @ Maple Leafs 10/07/2019
Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:58 am
As always, the Leafs-GDT has too many pages. Therefore, I put the pregame and postgame threads together.
Lot of dislike for their top players and Babcock in the postgame thread. Some good words about the Blues, especially Binny.
The original pregame-thread link is here:
https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/ ... s.2695115/
Page number: 1
Too much doom and gloom after the habs loss. Lets close the chapter, bring on the champs!
Need a tighter effort. This is a elite team we are going up against and our first real test. Need the stars to be ready. If kap is in the lineup he better show up and gain back the trust of the team. Need a goal from him
They should scratch Kapanen for one game as a disciplinary move. He's willing to take full responsibility so there should be a cost.
Agreed.
I actually would like to see a bit of a shuffle of the lineup with moving Kap down to the third line and one of Moore or Mikey up to the Tavares line to get that line going 5 on 5
Or maybe a better punishment would be to double shift him
No, nothing fancy. Just give him a one game sit down and let someone else have his spot for a game and let him squirm with the vision of someone else taking his job.
I hope Kapanen is in the bottom 6 now
Trouble is he might welcome the press box against St Louis.
I was pretty upset last night not because they lost but the way they did, our next assignment is against the champs. St' Louis is a good team but we can compete against any team in the league. We just need to be disciplined, tougher and tighten up our own end
I miss Zach Hyman.
2 big tests this week. First, the Cup champs then it's the President's trophy winners. Should be interesting.
What? No, he tossed his stick after it broke. That is it.
Kapanen is too dumb to be on the team
Tavares and Marner miss him more I can assure you
We have a horrendous October schedule this year. We have 3 more back to backs yet against Washington, Boston and *GASP*, Montreal again. We have to win every home game especially after a days rest. So bring on the Blues and the Lightning this week. There's no reason why we shouldn't win both.
Sorry I'm not one to correct another's grammar but your sentence makes no sense. Loss, the habs didn't lose. Sorrrrrrry
This. Plus not going to win many back to backs where the top 4 has to play 48-50 minutes combined on consecutive nights.
No he is not. He is an intelligent player. Dumb move with the stick throwing though.
Detroit is hot too.
TB blew a 3-1 lead to Canes, lost in OT.
I realise most of you haven't seen St Louis play but they play a very entertaining brand of hockey . They were a treat to watch last year in the playoffs, hopefully they'll bring some of it tomorrow.
Hopefully they are garbage and the Leafs win
Yes we want the Leafs to win but an entertaining game would be better to watch
Tampa dropped two in a row. If they can drop 2 in a row we can live with dropping the second of a back to back.
Honest mistake, I'll make the correction
Page number: 2
I'm sorry but are the shot statistics right on the game sheet? Carolina outshot Tampa 44-13. They deserved to lose with that. They had 13 shots in 62 minutes of a game. That is just under 1 shot every 5 minutes.
I'm sorrrryyyyyy
TAMPA DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE SHOT IN THE SECOND PERIOD. THEY HAD 11 IN THE FIRST AND 2 IN THE 3RD. 0 IN OVERTIME. WTH!!!!!!!!!
Next two games are the make or break games for Sandin. He had a poor showing the other night, chance for him to look better and more deserving of a spot against a real PO team.
Looks like they are continuing on with their horrible playoff performance. But I'm sure they'll kick butt again, I just hope not ours.
nevermind
Hes actually got... Let me check the numbers.... 6 more games to make it or break it.
This is going to be a rough one. St. Louis is big and they play like it. There are some players on this team that disappear against teams like St. Louis, hopefully that isn't the case. I expect an intense game, though.
I read the article and still don't understand the problem.
We gets points like erreysingle night baby! We rockin the earth, others just watching and seeing. They be jelious, but don't be alarmed. Now we gon school the champing champs tonight. This one gon be ours for sure again, we win almost every night. That's what greats too, just win. Almost never lose, just gittin points. Scoring and dirt. Look at our talent. Thats like mui much. Mayne baby, we bout to hit on that score again. Matthews line finna score two, Tavares, John the Captain finna score 1 also. So that's a 3 goals already. Blues better survive that. Is they gon score more? It's doable, but nah mayne, we could score 6. So that's what we bout. We bout that paper. Ain't no paper tiger neither. This game is already over, much better talented team (us) won. Invest.
I think 2 was mentioned because if he has another two lacklustre games, that would be 5/5 games where he has not done enough to warrant keeping this year, and over half of a 9 game sample where he hasn't been good enough.
I think he's sent down once Dermott is back, or 9 games is up. Whichever is first. Hopefully Dermott can be back by the time Sandin has to go down, but otherwise the Leafs just need to buy time with Marincin, Holl and maybe another Marlie. At least we shouldn't need to do that for more than a few games, and it's not like Babcock has been leaning on his bottom pairing much anyways. They've only been playing 9-11 minutes a night against bottom 6's. Anyone can handle that.
Need to bounce back. Boys look dejected during their Saturday collapse. A win here would be a good way to get back on track.
Holy crap.......lmao
Is this tonight?
3 games in 4 nights is a bit woof
Are you serious?
He got caught up in the moment. It was stupid. He won't do that again.
Get over it.
This will be a really good test .
Stanley Cup champs big bruising team
Vs
Skill
This will be an eye opener win or lose
You know, I can sympathize with people who feel that way. For example, I understand why it's weird that the HNIC game is Leafs vs Red Wings, and not Canadiens vs Oilers.
This article annoys me though, as it argues like a lot of people around here. First they trash the Leafs game because we're facing "a team in rebuild mode." Then it lauds up Canadiens game against a similar dreadful team in Oilers because of their vaunted history. It's a double standard, and any time someone need to use that I'm left wondering "is that really the best argument they can make?"
Doesn't get better when they start bringing up Hughson's comments. Distasteful as they were, they have absolutely nothing to do with the topic. With the idea of a corporate message and then claiming that Kypreos and MacLean was let go because they were not Leafs friendly enough, it reads like a conspiracy theory.
If I didn't know the situation, I'd get the impression that things were exactly the way the article describe, that Leafs are the only major franchise and the rest are just minor league stuff. It doesn't produce a single argument for why it is otherwise.
LOL.
Every Canadian team is available for viewing on Saturday night. I can't speak for the West, but we can access the Ottawa and Montreal games over here (CityTV, RDS). There's choice. Also, the Western teams, you know, are situated in a different timezone. If we featured the Oilers at 5 pm to accommodate us, they would write a whole other article saying how we changed their game times to suit us. The Western team are featured at 10pm anyway.
Humanity 101 on display. You Shall Not Covet.
This is the NHL, St. Louis had to travel to Toronto and are playing in a different timezone. Games come at teams at a rapid pace, is that new?
I expect the type of intensity that a Monday game in october typically brings.
Wouldn't mind to see Kappy moved to the 3rd line and putting Moore on the 2nd. Same situation last year with Kappy on AM34 line, hes just doesn't have the IQ to play with players like JT,Am34 and Marner.
4 games in 6 nights after tonight.
Hack article about a topic no one actually cares about.
The Montreal Gazette huh? And people wonder why print media is dying. Most of the stuff that gets printed is as nourishing as Miracle Whip and half as enjoyable to consume, and so predictable and full of platitudes you could spit out a near facsimile with the first open source AI software you can find on Google.
Page number: 3
No. Am I not allowed to think that's a heavy start?
Either way, put me down for a W
They need to come out of it healthy if they can get points, great.
I can't believe how many of you guys have that much angst over what Kapanen did. It was game 3 of the regular season not game 7 of the Cup Finals. Sheesh.
I doubt we see "œplayoff Blues" tonight, but Monday night in October is much better than Jan or Feb
There are 8 Ontario boys plus Alex Steen and Tyler Bozak on the Blues. They will not mail in a typical October game.
However they know the Leafs won't bring a physical game and may not bring their intensity.
FIFY
I've never been a Kapanen fan, but this should go without saying. Dumb play, just as dumb as any other boneheaded play.
We're just less used to seeing them now that Kadri is gone!
I dont expect some physical onslaught from the Blues.
It's a Monday game... Toronto likely feeling that loss and will be prepared.
I expect a 1 goal game... low score. How Babcock wants the team to play.
Yet apparently you are (and your post had a bunch of bad grammar/punctuation too, FYI).
This won't go over well, but I believe St Louis has become overrated. They've been a fringe team for the longest time and barely squeaked into the playoffs last year. Obviously they won the cup, but they were never expected to, and never seen as one of the elite teams. Probably one of the flukiest cup wins in recent memory. Some regression could definitely be expected for them.
I believe we are more of a contender than they are this year.
Tonight should be a good game though. No doubt we are outmatched physically, but at the same time we definitely have way more skill.
Everything has to come together at the right time, as it did with them. Goaltending being one of the most important aspects
This will be a good test for the Leafs stylistically as they don't match up well against teams that play big, heavy games other than speed.
St Louis always seems to give the Leafs trouble.
Not too optimistic on this one.
Agreed, although I think it has something to do with how terrible he's been all year so far, including preseason
Even going back to the end of last season/playoffs
Ontario born players put on a show in front of mommy and daddy
3-2 HDGF against Ottawa
0-0 HDGF against Columbus
2-2 HDGF against Montreal
Sure the chances aren't equal but Toronto has done a good job so far of converting or keeping it the same when getting those chances.
Also I'd like for you to look up relative HDCF% or relative SCF% and it's quite clear that the Tavares line has been struggling. I'd like to see a few more games before talking about mixing the lines.
I specifically watch the Leafs for Tavares, and sadly, his SCF% and HDCF% numbers have been really ugly. I would say his line has easily been the worst on the team. He and Marner look dangerous on the PP, but 5v5 they are REALLY struggling.
Provide a few examples of how it's one of the flukiest wins in recent memory and explain how they squeaked into the playoffs?
Did you watch their entire playoff run?
Tavares himself hasn't looked terrible, but he has not been to the level he was last year. I think that has more to do with Kapanen and Marner struggling than him though, and he's just feeling the weight of having to drag them. He's looking more like Long Island Tavares when he had to spend much of his career dragging far inferior line mates.
Marner and Kapanen need to be better. Marner's 5 points in 3 games are a façade compared to how good he has actually been to start thus far. Nylander has looked more dangerous than Marner IMO.
Probably saying that because they never had to go up against any #1 seeds. Just three #2's and a WC. Plus there were some documented cases where calls went their way (i.e. the Bozak goal in the SCF).
Blues have been a good team 2019. They were not a good team before this year (the current iteration).
I don't think we've seen the best of the Leafs yet, by any stretch.
I think the 3rd. and 4th. lines have been fine, but Tavares line has been disappointing at even strength.
Maybe they'd like to try a left winger on the Tavares line rather than a recently converted RW?
Page number: 4
it amazes me how the media is already panicking over Tavares line/ Kapanen etc. 3 games into the season, lets take a breath. They will be fine.
Or the documented Karlsson OT winner
1. Starting with the principal that absolutely no one had them pegged to win the cup. I'm not the only one thinking it was flukey. They definitely got hot at the right time, but the vast majority of the time in the last 5 years they've been a fringe team.
2. They got calls their way and got lucky on a few timely goals. Part skill, but definitely part luck.
3. Going through the stars, jets and sharks in the playoffs is hardly the most daunting lineup when you're talking the best of the best. Obviously this past playoffs was a complete gongshow though.
4. Is Jordan Binnington the real deal? Or a lucky career start?
Again, I'm not saying the Blues are a bad team, they're definitely top 10 for me and no doubt a playoff team, are they in the upper echelon though? That's where I don't think they are.
Yup. So far... 2nd line surprisingly has been the weak link to me. I like Kappy but he isn't working there.
I'd try Moore on the 2nd line... drop Kap to the 3rd.
When Hyman is back ... Moore goes to 4th line. He can play with Spezza and Goat.
Its very early in the season obviously, but maybe Kapanen is more expendable then I thought. If Moore keeps playing this way it sure would look that way.
Not one valid argument
1.Several people picked at the beginning of the year - Kypreos
2.Scoring timely goals
3. Did you watch a single minute?
4. The guy was phenomenal and a key reason they were the best team in the NHL from Jan - June.
so...we have a 50-50 chance at winning based on those stats?
anyone have any ideas for line up tonight?
Same as the one vs Columbus. Shore, Marincin and Timashov sit, while Spezza, Holl and Petan come in.
Is your definition of a fringe team a team that averaged 104 points per season over its last 7 full NHL seasons?
And regarding "fluked" out a Stanley Cup: weren't they the hottest NHL team from January forward?
Do we know that it's still a month? These guys seem to just heal faster and faster.
I can't wait to see Dermott and Marincin back together -Babcock, probably
I'd say it's great for Hyman since his injury is knee related... so skating is a good sign that he might be slightly ahead of schedule. Dermott had a shoulder injury, so that's probably still up in the air.
Either way, I don't think either had much of a work out filled summer, so there might be a long period of time where they are simply catching up to a lost summer.
They have to miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days for LTIR. Otherwise, the league can challenge it.
It's gonna be a grind tonight.
I doubt there was any plan for the Leafs to play them before that time frame anyway. The earliest they could come back with that time frame is October 22nd against the Bruins.
It's going to be a very difficult game for the leafs to get any space to play their game. The leafs play much better at high tempo free for all, St.Louis will not
Let that happen.
Tonight should give us an idea if we can win in the playoffs against these kind of teams.
Guess that clears that up. I can't imagine anyone on the Leafs wants the league looking at our LTIR situation.
Thing is people freak out but the defense looks so much better than last year. Go back and watch some highlights of the first games of the year last year. Letting in 6 or 7 goals, hanging Freddy out to dry and him saving out asses.
All teams will tighten up defensively as the year goes on. We need to give more time to the new coaching staff to fine tune the systems and get the players comfortable with where to stand.
Half the offense is on fire and half is asleep. This is why we have 2 elite lines and 82 games. Matthews will be invisible one game and JT will light it up.
Really our concern should be the backup goaltending. We need an upgrade badly, as basically it's a fluke to not lose if Andersen doesn't start. It is going to wear him down and if he gets hurt at any crucial times, it would be great to have a Halak to take over.
Lol.. yeah I think Lance Hornby was poking fun at himself for that stat in his tweet. .. but yes about 50/50... so how every game starts lol
The only Solace is Hutch if only slightly, is still slightly better than Sparks. Less flailing, more puck tracking, better positions.
He might just be our guy to save andersons fatigued arse so lets hope he gets the program and loves the Goaltend staff.
Go leafs!!
We got this.
Please, make my sentences proper English in your eyes and we will compare. Cheers!
I was being lighthearted in a pregame thread. You are the *****e here, bud.
edit: and I'm not trying to be perfect, this is a message board. I just ask that sentences make sense. Their/they're/there, loss/lose, etc... like the sentence I corrected said the habs lost the other night against us... I think that's acceptable, NO?
Page number: 5
Sandin and Holl wont see much ice-time
How is Kapanen still on that line? I swear he better pop off or gtfoff that line real fast!
Would like to see
65-34-88
42-91-16
18-15-24
33-26-19
Edit: Nylander edited his number
Is that #29 a trade ?
I don't think you're going to see playoff mode St Louis tonight. Maybe the first half of the first period....long way to go.
Look for bozak to score. Former leafs always score.
Need a better goaltending Performance than we had last game, they play the same way they did against Montreal for the first 50 minutes but with better goaltending they win.
Also need to get that PP going hoping for a big night from Tavares
I'm hoping for a side by side pic of Bozak with Barrie so we can decide once and for all if they are twins separated at birth......
I disagree with the majority here. Keep Kapanen on the Tavares-Marner line.
Tavares-Marner were expected to face some regression due to their high oish% last year. It was expected they wouldn't have a crazy hot start like usual. They'll return to their ways soon, you can bet on that (With or without Kapanen).
Once Tavares-Marner start getting their mojo back, Kapanen could be great on that line. He has a good shot, something that Hyman/Mikheyev/Moore are not as good as Kapanen as.
Nah, Jeremy Bracco
Agreed. Its 3 games. Not 20 or 30.
The sample size is wayyyyyy to small to come up with conclusions.
We all know Kapanen is a placeholder for Hyman so no real reason to get him off that line just yet.
The real question is if the current 3rd line continues to produce, where does Kapanen go?
It has more to do with getting Kapanen back on RW. Tavares-Marner will be fine with or without him, I agree, but Kapanen just hasn't looked good on the left so far.
I think most of us need to stop looking at 3.2mil Kapanen to get 21.893million Tavares-Marner going. Our stars need to be stars.
Don't they normally have a GDT or am I missing something?
Good players work around there situation.
Matthews had kappy most of last year.
Marner and jt can suck it up till hyman gets back.
I think keep moore where he is, the 3rd line has been gold. And they are feasting out there.
We need a great all around effort from our Boys tonight. We need to tighten up defensively, limit chances, and take advantage of the little room that they do give us. This should be the first real test of where the team is at.
I mean anyone can make them. Just no one ever wants to. It's kind of funny at this point. We can argue for 40 pages about Jason Spezza but can't make a GDT.
First time I saw Barrie I thought he looked just like Bozie as well..... not as much in those two pics.
Yup
No need to move Kappy if our stars play like crap (5on5).
How about Matthews going: "this is our time" in the pregame interview?
Wow.
I love it.
Not that I care much either way but why would we need a GDT when there's still 5 hours until the game starts? This is a pre-game thread, we're pre-game so ...
I would like to see Moore or Miky tried on the second line. Moore's assist last game is like Hyman on steroids. All the grit, but the speed to react to immediately pass for a goal. Kapanen's speed would help out the bottom 6 as well. Regardless, I see a HUGE game from Nylander and to a lesser extent, Matthews. Jury is out on the Tavares line though. Need it to get going.
That is mostly brought down by the Tavares line currently. Matthews line has been carrying and the bottom 6 has been pretty good. Once Marner-Tavares get going together again, the Leafs are back in the top 3-5 in the league in HDCF.
Page number: 6
I think it's fair to say Babcock has changed slightly, but for better or worse is the question?
I still don't understand why you don't call a timeout at 4-3.
STL has lacked centers and a goalie to become truly elite in recent years. They have added ROR, Schenn, Bozak and goalie Binnington played lights out. Parayko has turned into an elite defender too. This is a different team than in years past where they couldn't get past rd 1.
Watch the Tavares line tonight
Kappanen is the left winger on that line but he keeps going back to the right side forcing marner to play left wing.
Kappanen has to play his position or move him to the third line and replaced by Soupy or Moore
Apologies for being a pedant. Kapanen.
Maybe I underrate the blues but I dont think they are that good of a team. Just managed to get hot at the right time with a goalie on his A game.
Leafs definently missed out last year. If we had beaten the Bruins, imo, we wouldve made it to the finals which I think we couldve won.
From game 25 to to the end of the season, they won more games than anybody but Tampa. They are a pretty good team.
Curious, does preseason dates/games play in to this at all?
This.
It's less of they got hot at the right time, and more of they just had a bad start. They were hot for an awful long time before playoffs
I'd like to see Souperman stay on the third line a bit longer since they have some good chemistry and would be good for his confidence level. Leave Kapanen on the 2nd line for now and maybe re-shuffle lines after this week if the Tavares line stays stagnant.
Who the Hell is Soupy?
Soupy = Mikheyev loves soup!!
Mikheyev
Just regular season games. Boston on the 22nd I believe is the earliest they can come off?
But they will keep them out longer. That would be too suspicious.
After reading that interview, i really wanted to try his girlfriends soup
They look kinda similar when you see them wearing helmets. I definitely thought that Barrie resembled Bozak the other day when they interviewed him rink side during warm up.
You're just gonna drive yourself crazy expecting Babcock to change something that's not working. His stubbornness is off the charts.
It's beyond frustrating having a lineup so loaded with offensive talent being managed by a coach who's completely unwilling to be flexible with it.
Especially when he designs his lines around forward pairs. The third member should be rotated to find the best chemistry.
Going to be tough to win face offs tonight as we are playing against one of the better teams down the middle.
Wow, so many games stacked close together to start the season. Pro athletes in any sport aren't usually in the best of condition to start the year. Three games ion 4 nights contributed to the loss vs MTL.
The only change you can expect Babcock to make is to put Nylander on the fourth line for some minor mistake.
If Nylander pulled a kapanem he would be playing on the Marlies 4th line.
We have the Spezza
When have appeals to logic and reason ever penetrated Babcocks thicc skull.
Lot of dislike for their top players and Babcock in the postgame thread. Some good words about the Blues, especially Binny.
The original pregame-thread link is here:
https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/ ... s.2695115/
Page number: 1
Too much doom and gloom after the habs loss. Lets close the chapter, bring on the champs!
Need a tighter effort. This is a elite team we are going up against and our first real test. Need the stars to be ready. If kap is in the lineup he better show up and gain back the trust of the team. Need a goal from him
They should scratch Kapanen for one game as a disciplinary move. He's willing to take full responsibility so there should be a cost.
Agreed.
I actually would like to see a bit of a shuffle of the lineup with moving Kap down to the third line and one of Moore or Mikey up to the Tavares line to get that line going 5 on 5
Or maybe a better punishment would be to double shift him
No, nothing fancy. Just give him a one game sit down and let someone else have his spot for a game and let him squirm with the vision of someone else taking his job.
I hope Kapanen is in the bottom 6 now
Trouble is he might welcome the press box against St Louis.
I was pretty upset last night not because they lost but the way they did, our next assignment is against the champs. St' Louis is a good team but we can compete against any team in the league. We just need to be disciplined, tougher and tighten up our own end
I miss Zach Hyman.
2 big tests this week. First, the Cup champs then it's the President's trophy winners. Should be interesting.
What? No, he tossed his stick after it broke. That is it.
Kapanen is too dumb to be on the team
Tavares and Marner miss him more I can assure you
We have a horrendous October schedule this year. We have 3 more back to backs yet against Washington, Boston and *GASP*, Montreal again. We have to win every home game especially after a days rest. So bring on the Blues and the Lightning this week. There's no reason why we shouldn't win both.
Sorry I'm not one to correct another's grammar but your sentence makes no sense. Loss, the habs didn't lose. Sorrrrrrry
This. Plus not going to win many back to backs where the top 4 has to play 48-50 minutes combined on consecutive nights.
No he is not. He is an intelligent player. Dumb move with the stick throwing though.
Detroit is hot too.
TB blew a 3-1 lead to Canes, lost in OT.
I realise most of you haven't seen St Louis play but they play a very entertaining brand of hockey . They were a treat to watch last year in the playoffs, hopefully they'll bring some of it tomorrow.
Hopefully they are garbage and the Leafs win
Yes we want the Leafs to win but an entertaining game would be better to watch
Tampa dropped two in a row. If they can drop 2 in a row we can live with dropping the second of a back to back.
Honest mistake, I'll make the correction
Page number: 2
I'm sorry but are the shot statistics right on the game sheet? Carolina outshot Tampa 44-13. They deserved to lose with that. They had 13 shots in 62 minutes of a game. That is just under 1 shot every 5 minutes.
I'm sorrrryyyyyy
TAMPA DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE SHOT IN THE SECOND PERIOD. THEY HAD 11 IN THE FIRST AND 2 IN THE 3RD. 0 IN OVERTIME. WTH!!!!!!!!!
Next two games are the make or break games for Sandin. He had a poor showing the other night, chance for him to look better and more deserving of a spot against a real PO team.
Looks like they are continuing on with their horrible playoff performance. But I'm sure they'll kick butt again, I just hope not ours.
nevermind
Hes actually got... Let me check the numbers.... 6 more games to make it or break it.
This is going to be a rough one. St. Louis is big and they play like it. There are some players on this team that disappear against teams like St. Louis, hopefully that isn't the case. I expect an intense game, though.
I read the article and still don't understand the problem.
We gets points like erreysingle night baby! We rockin the earth, others just watching and seeing. They be jelious, but don't be alarmed. Now we gon school the champing champs tonight. This one gon be ours for sure again, we win almost every night. That's what greats too, just win. Almost never lose, just gittin points. Scoring and dirt. Look at our talent. Thats like mui much. Mayne baby, we bout to hit on that score again. Matthews line finna score two, Tavares, John the Captain finna score 1 also. So that's a 3 goals already. Blues better survive that. Is they gon score more? It's doable, but nah mayne, we could score 6. So that's what we bout. We bout that paper. Ain't no paper tiger neither. This game is already over, much better talented team (us) won. Invest.
I think 2 was mentioned because if he has another two lacklustre games, that would be 5/5 games where he has not done enough to warrant keeping this year, and over half of a 9 game sample where he hasn't been good enough.
I think he's sent down once Dermott is back, or 9 games is up. Whichever is first. Hopefully Dermott can be back by the time Sandin has to go down, but otherwise the Leafs just need to buy time with Marincin, Holl and maybe another Marlie. At least we shouldn't need to do that for more than a few games, and it's not like Babcock has been leaning on his bottom pairing much anyways. They've only been playing 9-11 minutes a night against bottom 6's. Anyone can handle that.
Need to bounce back. Boys look dejected during their Saturday collapse. A win here would be a good way to get back on track.
Holy crap.......lmao
Is this tonight?
3 games in 4 nights is a bit woof
Are you serious?
He got caught up in the moment. It was stupid. He won't do that again.
Get over it.
This will be a really good test .
Stanley Cup champs big bruising team
Vs
Skill
This will be an eye opener win or lose
You know, I can sympathize with people who feel that way. For example, I understand why it's weird that the HNIC game is Leafs vs Red Wings, and not Canadiens vs Oilers.
This article annoys me though, as it argues like a lot of people around here. First they trash the Leafs game because we're facing "a team in rebuild mode." Then it lauds up Canadiens game against a similar dreadful team in Oilers because of their vaunted history. It's a double standard, and any time someone need to use that I'm left wondering "is that really the best argument they can make?"
Doesn't get better when they start bringing up Hughson's comments. Distasteful as they were, they have absolutely nothing to do with the topic. With the idea of a corporate message and then claiming that Kypreos and MacLean was let go because they were not Leafs friendly enough, it reads like a conspiracy theory.
If I didn't know the situation, I'd get the impression that things were exactly the way the article describe, that Leafs are the only major franchise and the rest are just minor league stuff. It doesn't produce a single argument for why it is otherwise.
LOL.
Every Canadian team is available for viewing on Saturday night. I can't speak for the West, but we can access the Ottawa and Montreal games over here (CityTV, RDS). There's choice. Also, the Western teams, you know, are situated in a different timezone. If we featured the Oilers at 5 pm to accommodate us, they would write a whole other article saying how we changed their game times to suit us. The Western team are featured at 10pm anyway.
Humanity 101 on display. You Shall Not Covet.
This is the NHL, St. Louis had to travel to Toronto and are playing in a different timezone. Games come at teams at a rapid pace, is that new?
I expect the type of intensity that a Monday game in october typically brings.
Wouldn't mind to see Kappy moved to the 3rd line and putting Moore on the 2nd. Same situation last year with Kappy on AM34 line, hes just doesn't have the IQ to play with players like JT,Am34 and Marner.
4 games in 6 nights after tonight.
Hack article about a topic no one actually cares about.
The Montreal Gazette huh? And people wonder why print media is dying. Most of the stuff that gets printed is as nourishing as Miracle Whip and half as enjoyable to consume, and so predictable and full of platitudes you could spit out a near facsimile with the first open source AI software you can find on Google.
Page number: 3
No. Am I not allowed to think that's a heavy start?
Either way, put me down for a W
They need to come out of it healthy if they can get points, great.
I can't believe how many of you guys have that much angst over what Kapanen did. It was game 3 of the regular season not game 7 of the Cup Finals. Sheesh.
I doubt we see "œplayoff Blues" tonight, but Monday night in October is much better than Jan or Feb
There are 8 Ontario boys plus Alex Steen and Tyler Bozak on the Blues. They will not mail in a typical October game.
However they know the Leafs won't bring a physical game and may not bring their intensity.
FIFY
I've never been a Kapanen fan, but this should go without saying. Dumb play, just as dumb as any other boneheaded play.
We're just less used to seeing them now that Kadri is gone!
I dont expect some physical onslaught from the Blues.
It's a Monday game... Toronto likely feeling that loss and will be prepared.
I expect a 1 goal game... low score. How Babcock wants the team to play.
Yet apparently you are (and your post had a bunch of bad grammar/punctuation too, FYI).
This won't go over well, but I believe St Louis has become overrated. They've been a fringe team for the longest time and barely squeaked into the playoffs last year. Obviously they won the cup, but they were never expected to, and never seen as one of the elite teams. Probably one of the flukiest cup wins in recent memory. Some regression could definitely be expected for them.
I believe we are more of a contender than they are this year.
Tonight should be a good game though. No doubt we are outmatched physically, but at the same time we definitely have way more skill.
Everything has to come together at the right time, as it did with them. Goaltending being one of the most important aspects
This will be a good test for the Leafs stylistically as they don't match up well against teams that play big, heavy games other than speed.
St Louis always seems to give the Leafs trouble.
Not too optimistic on this one.
Agreed, although I think it has something to do with how terrible he's been all year so far, including preseason
Even going back to the end of last season/playoffs
Ontario born players put on a show in front of mommy and daddy
3-2 HDGF against Ottawa
0-0 HDGF against Columbus
2-2 HDGF against Montreal
Sure the chances aren't equal but Toronto has done a good job so far of converting or keeping it the same when getting those chances.
Also I'd like for you to look up relative HDCF% or relative SCF% and it's quite clear that the Tavares line has been struggling. I'd like to see a few more games before talking about mixing the lines.
I specifically watch the Leafs for Tavares, and sadly, his SCF% and HDCF% numbers have been really ugly. I would say his line has easily been the worst on the team. He and Marner look dangerous on the PP, but 5v5 they are REALLY struggling.
Provide a few examples of how it's one of the flukiest wins in recent memory and explain how they squeaked into the playoffs?
Did you watch their entire playoff run?
Tavares himself hasn't looked terrible, but he has not been to the level he was last year. I think that has more to do with Kapanen and Marner struggling than him though, and he's just feeling the weight of having to drag them. He's looking more like Long Island Tavares when he had to spend much of his career dragging far inferior line mates.
Marner and Kapanen need to be better. Marner's 5 points in 3 games are a façade compared to how good he has actually been to start thus far. Nylander has looked more dangerous than Marner IMO.
Probably saying that because they never had to go up against any #1 seeds. Just three #2's and a WC. Plus there were some documented cases where calls went their way (i.e. the Bozak goal in the SCF).
Blues have been a good team 2019. They were not a good team before this year (the current iteration).
I don't think we've seen the best of the Leafs yet, by any stretch.
I think the 3rd. and 4th. lines have been fine, but Tavares line has been disappointing at even strength.
Maybe they'd like to try a left winger on the Tavares line rather than a recently converted RW?
Page number: 4
it amazes me how the media is already panicking over Tavares line/ Kapanen etc. 3 games into the season, lets take a breath. They will be fine.
Or the documented Karlsson OT winner
1. Starting with the principal that absolutely no one had them pegged to win the cup. I'm not the only one thinking it was flukey. They definitely got hot at the right time, but the vast majority of the time in the last 5 years they've been a fringe team.
2. They got calls their way and got lucky on a few timely goals. Part skill, but definitely part luck.
3. Going through the stars, jets and sharks in the playoffs is hardly the most daunting lineup when you're talking the best of the best. Obviously this past playoffs was a complete gongshow though.
4. Is Jordan Binnington the real deal? Or a lucky career start?
Again, I'm not saying the Blues are a bad team, they're definitely top 10 for me and no doubt a playoff team, are they in the upper echelon though? That's where I don't think they are.
Yup. So far... 2nd line surprisingly has been the weak link to me. I like Kappy but he isn't working there.
I'd try Moore on the 2nd line... drop Kap to the 3rd.
When Hyman is back ... Moore goes to 4th line. He can play with Spezza and Goat.
Its very early in the season obviously, but maybe Kapanen is more expendable then I thought. If Moore keeps playing this way it sure would look that way.
Not one valid argument
1.Several people picked at the beginning of the year - Kypreos
2.Scoring timely goals
3. Did you watch a single minute?
4. The guy was phenomenal and a key reason they were the best team in the NHL from Jan - June.
so...we have a 50-50 chance at winning based on those stats?
anyone have any ideas for line up tonight?
Same as the one vs Columbus. Shore, Marincin and Timashov sit, while Spezza, Holl and Petan come in.
Is your definition of a fringe team a team that averaged 104 points per season over its last 7 full NHL seasons?
And regarding "fluked" out a Stanley Cup: weren't they the hottest NHL team from January forward?
Do we know that it's still a month? These guys seem to just heal faster and faster.
I can't wait to see Dermott and Marincin back together -Babcock, probably
I'd say it's great for Hyman since his injury is knee related... so skating is a good sign that he might be slightly ahead of schedule. Dermott had a shoulder injury, so that's probably still up in the air.
Either way, I don't think either had much of a work out filled summer, so there might be a long period of time where they are simply catching up to a lost summer.
They have to miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days for LTIR. Otherwise, the league can challenge it.
It's gonna be a grind tonight.
I doubt there was any plan for the Leafs to play them before that time frame anyway. The earliest they could come back with that time frame is October 22nd against the Bruins.
It's going to be a very difficult game for the leafs to get any space to play their game. The leafs play much better at high tempo free for all, St.Louis will not
Let that happen.
Tonight should give us an idea if we can win in the playoffs against these kind of teams.
Guess that clears that up. I can't imagine anyone on the Leafs wants the league looking at our LTIR situation.
Thing is people freak out but the defense looks so much better than last year. Go back and watch some highlights of the first games of the year last year. Letting in 6 or 7 goals, hanging Freddy out to dry and him saving out asses.
All teams will tighten up defensively as the year goes on. We need to give more time to the new coaching staff to fine tune the systems and get the players comfortable with where to stand.
Half the offense is on fire and half is asleep. This is why we have 2 elite lines and 82 games. Matthews will be invisible one game and JT will light it up.
Really our concern should be the backup goaltending. We need an upgrade badly, as basically it's a fluke to not lose if Andersen doesn't start. It is going to wear him down and if he gets hurt at any crucial times, it would be great to have a Halak to take over.
Lol.. yeah I think Lance Hornby was poking fun at himself for that stat in his tweet. .. but yes about 50/50... so how every game starts lol
The only Solace is Hutch if only slightly, is still slightly better than Sparks. Less flailing, more puck tracking, better positions.
He might just be our guy to save andersons fatigued arse so lets hope he gets the program and loves the Goaltend staff.
Go leafs!!
We got this.
Please, make my sentences proper English in your eyes and we will compare. Cheers!
I was being lighthearted in a pregame thread. You are the *****e here, bud.
edit: and I'm not trying to be perfect, this is a message board. I just ask that sentences make sense. Their/they're/there, loss/lose, etc... like the sentence I corrected said the habs lost the other night against us... I think that's acceptable, NO?
Page number: 5
Sandin and Holl wont see much ice-time
How is Kapanen still on that line? I swear he better pop off or gtfoff that line real fast!
Would like to see
65-34-88
42-91-16
18-15-24
33-26-19
Edit: Nylander edited his number
Is that #29 a trade ?
I don't think you're going to see playoff mode St Louis tonight. Maybe the first half of the first period....long way to go.
Look for bozak to score. Former leafs always score.
Need a better goaltending Performance than we had last game, they play the same way they did against Montreal for the first 50 minutes but with better goaltending they win.
Also need to get that PP going hoping for a big night from Tavares
I'm hoping for a side by side pic of Bozak with Barrie so we can decide once and for all if they are twins separated at birth......
I disagree with the majority here. Keep Kapanen on the Tavares-Marner line.
Tavares-Marner were expected to face some regression due to their high oish% last year. It was expected they wouldn't have a crazy hot start like usual. They'll return to their ways soon, you can bet on that (With or without Kapanen).
Once Tavares-Marner start getting their mojo back, Kapanen could be great on that line. He has a good shot, something that Hyman/Mikheyev/Moore are not as good as Kapanen as.
Nah, Jeremy Bracco
Agreed. Its 3 games. Not 20 or 30.
The sample size is wayyyyyy to small to come up with conclusions.
We all know Kapanen is a placeholder for Hyman so no real reason to get him off that line just yet.
The real question is if the current 3rd line continues to produce, where does Kapanen go?
It has more to do with getting Kapanen back on RW. Tavares-Marner will be fine with or without him, I agree, but Kapanen just hasn't looked good on the left so far.
I think most of us need to stop looking at 3.2mil Kapanen to get 21.893million Tavares-Marner going. Our stars need to be stars.
Don't they normally have a GDT or am I missing something?
Good players work around there situation.
Matthews had kappy most of last year.
Marner and jt can suck it up till hyman gets back.
I think keep moore where he is, the 3rd line has been gold. And they are feasting out there.
We need a great all around effort from our Boys tonight. We need to tighten up defensively, limit chances, and take advantage of the little room that they do give us. This should be the first real test of where the team is at.
I mean anyone can make them. Just no one ever wants to. It's kind of funny at this point. We can argue for 40 pages about Jason Spezza but can't make a GDT.
First time I saw Barrie I thought he looked just like Bozie as well..... not as much in those two pics.
Yup
No need to move Kappy if our stars play like crap (5on5).
How about Matthews going: "this is our time" in the pregame interview?
Wow.
I love it.
Not that I care much either way but why would we need a GDT when there's still 5 hours until the game starts? This is a pre-game thread, we're pre-game so ...
I would like to see Moore or Miky tried on the second line. Moore's assist last game is like Hyman on steroids. All the grit, but the speed to react to immediately pass for a goal. Kapanen's speed would help out the bottom 6 as well. Regardless, I see a HUGE game from Nylander and to a lesser extent, Matthews. Jury is out on the Tavares line though. Need it to get going.
That is mostly brought down by the Tavares line currently. Matthews line has been carrying and the bottom 6 has been pretty good. Once Marner-Tavares get going together again, the Leafs are back in the top 3-5 in the league in HDCF.
Page number: 6
I think it's fair to say Babcock has changed slightly, but for better or worse is the question?
I still don't understand why you don't call a timeout at 4-3.
STL has lacked centers and a goalie to become truly elite in recent years. They have added ROR, Schenn, Bozak and goalie Binnington played lights out. Parayko has turned into an elite defender too. This is a different team than in years past where they couldn't get past rd 1.
Watch the Tavares line tonight
Kappanen is the left winger on that line but he keeps going back to the right side forcing marner to play left wing.
Kappanen has to play his position or move him to the third line and replaced by Soupy or Moore
Apologies for being a pedant. Kapanen.
Maybe I underrate the blues but I dont think they are that good of a team. Just managed to get hot at the right time with a goalie on his A game.
Leafs definently missed out last year. If we had beaten the Bruins, imo, we wouldve made it to the finals which I think we couldve won.
From game 25 to to the end of the season, they won more games than anybody but Tampa. They are a pretty good team.
Curious, does preseason dates/games play in to this at all?
This.
It's less of they got hot at the right time, and more of they just had a bad start. They were hot for an awful long time before playoffs
I'd like to see Souperman stay on the third line a bit longer since they have some good chemistry and would be good for his confidence level. Leave Kapanen on the 2nd line for now and maybe re-shuffle lines after this week if the Tavares line stays stagnant.
Who the Hell is Soupy?
Soupy = Mikheyev loves soup!!
Mikheyev
Just regular season games. Boston on the 22nd I believe is the earliest they can come off?
But they will keep them out longer. That would be too suspicious.
After reading that interview, i really wanted to try his girlfriends soup
They look kinda similar when you see them wearing helmets. I definitely thought that Barrie resembled Bozak the other day when they interviewed him rink side during warm up.
You're just gonna drive yourself crazy expecting Babcock to change something that's not working. His stubbornness is off the charts.
It's beyond frustrating having a lineup so loaded with offensive talent being managed by a coach who's completely unwilling to be flexible with it.
Especially when he designs his lines around forward pairs. The third member should be rotated to find the best chemistry.
Going to be tough to win face offs tonight as we are playing against one of the better teams down the middle.
Wow, so many games stacked close together to start the season. Pro athletes in any sport aren't usually in the best of condition to start the year. Three games ion 4 nights contributed to the loss vs MTL.
The only change you can expect Babcock to make is to put Nylander on the fourth line for some minor mistake.
If Nylander pulled a kapanem he would be playing on the Marlies 4th line.
We have the Spezza
When have appeals to logic and reason ever penetrated Babcocks thicc skull.