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Playoffs Round 1: Battle of Ontario

Bender said:
Well that's a choice. We need secondary scoring and we sit Robertson? And still no Kampf?
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Kampf, I get. They started the season basically looking to see if Holmberg was a suitable in all those same roles, and then they went and got Laughton + Carlo, so Kampf is basically a one trick pony with no niche left to fill.

If it were up to me, it'd be Pacioretty-Holmberg-Robertson with McMann opposite Nylander, and Domi seeing how much popcorn he can fit in his mouth with all that extra teeth space available vs Ryan Reaves.

Ultimately, who plays on the 4th line is negligible. Big dogs gotta show up like they did when penalties were being called and assert themselves on the game. Another no-show from Matthews and it doesn't matter what the result with Ottawa is because Florida is going to chew them up anyway. Putting up Phillip Danault defense is not really what his pay grade entails.

Tavares is doing his job; big draws, big goals in big moments
Knies is doing his job: big goals backed by his big bottom
Nylander could be doing better, but he has scored one and had 3 nasty primary assists that were as good as goals.
Marner started off hot and has been very good defensively and racked up a lot of pts; still want to see more if he's looking north of 13M

Matthews, though he has the same even strength output as Marner (1G-2A), is paid more to do more. His lone goal was arguably Marner's work. A different outcome on a couple of posts and that missed 2-on-1 might change the picture, but again, he is paid to put it in the net.
 
Nylander probably pushes close to 100 points if Holmberg isn't on their line half the year. The guy had no ability to finish a play. So many times the play would die on his stick. He's perfectly fine as the 4C do nothing guy but he shouldn't only play in the top 6 when you are trying to shore up defence when defending a lead.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Holmberg could absolutely have missed that one...
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Absolutely. Marner did the hard work with the puck, but the majority of the league would not have recognized how that play could (and did) develop and get into a good spot to deliver that shot. Most of the credit goes to Marner, for sure, but Matthews still contributed an important aspect to turning it into a legit chance and a goal.
 
L K said:
Nylander probably pushes close to 100 points if Holmberg isn't on their line half the year. The guy had no ability to finish a play. So many times the play would die on his stick. He's perfectly fine as the 4C do nothing guy but he shouldn't only play in the top 6 when you are trying to shore up defence when defending a lead.
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There were a few times in the last game where the Leafs had pressure for a couple shifts until the puck ended up on his stick. He wasn't finishing his checks or making good plays with the puck. He's shown flashes of being able to be more - and, maybe he just needs to put in more time with the skills team working on his shot, etc. - but, right now, 3rd/4th liner at best.
 
herman said:
Matthews, though he has the same even strength output as Marner (1G-2A), is paid more to do more. His lone goal was arguably Marner's work. A different outcome on a couple of posts and that missed 2-on-1 might change the picture, but again, he is paid to put it in the net.
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"Matthews, though he has the same even strength output as Marner (1G-2A), is paid more to do more. His lone goal was arguably Marner's work."

I think Matthews goal was also Marner's idea for the Leafs.

Its basically Cooper's play that Makar Marner and McDavid executed in the OT winner for the 4 Nations versus US. 100% Elite!


Rielly wrap around pass to Marner and to Matthews in front of the net for the goal. 100% Elite!
 
I am happy we won, but I hope the Leafs are cognizant that they need to elevate to another level or two to compete in the following round(s). Their opponent was, relative to the field, barely a playoff team.

What I was pleased to see was how offense was being generated: screens and tips mostly, burying a rush chance or two, attacking early in the possession. Only two goals of the (6+3+3+3+0+3(+1EN)) goals were scored without screens/deflection/preshot movement, both by Nylander.

Withstanding some adversity relatively early on will help. Nevermind that the adversity was largely self-manufactured lol.
 
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herman said:
I am happy we won, but I hope the Leafs are cognizant that they need to elevate to another level or two to compete in the following round(s). Their opponent was, relative to the field, barely a playoff team.

What I was pleased to see was how offense was being generated: screens and tips mostly, burying a rush chance or two, attacking early in the possession. Only two goals of the (6+3+3+3+0+3(+1EN)) goals were scored without screens/deflection/preshot movement, both by Nylander.

Withstanding some adversity relatively early on will help. Nevermind that the adversity was largely self-manufactured lol.
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What gives me hope is that the Leafs tend to play to the level of their competition. When they're up against a weaker team, they underperform, but when facing a strong opponent, they elevate their game. So, despite all the anxiety from the last series, I believe they can hold their own against Florida. They know there's something to prove, and I think they'll rise to the occasion
 
Zee said:
What gives me hope is that the Leafs tend to play to the level of their competition. When they're up against a weaker team, they underperform, but when facing a strong opponent, they elevate their game. So, despite all the anxiety from the last series, I believe they can hold their own against Florida. They know there's something to prove, and I think they'll rise to the occasion
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I think that's what is so perplexing. First game of the series, they made Ottawa look like chumps. Games 2 and 3 they let up and squeaked out two wins in overtime. Game 4 was much of the same but ended up losing in OT. Game 5 they mailed it in. Game 6 they did enough to win.
 
Guru Tugginmypuddah said:
I think that's what is so perplexing. First game of the series, they made Ottawa look like chumps. Games 2 and 3 they let up and squeaked out two wins in overtime. Game 4 was much of the same but ended up losing in OT. Game 5 they mailed it in. Game 6 they did enough to win.
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Leafs are the underdogs in this series despite the standings, so I think they'll rise to the challenge.
 
Frank E said:
So last night the Leafs dressed 8 players that they drafted...and I'm including McMann and Woll.
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I would guess that would be low compared to other playoff teams. Trev has done a great job. Dubas' D was always awful. OEL/Tanev/McCabe have all jumped over Reilly. Reilly/Carlo didn't play the last 4.5 minutes.
 
cabber24 said:
I would guess that would be low compared to other playoff teams.
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The Panthers had just 3 dressed in their last game (Barkov, Lundell, and Kulikov). Ekblad would obviously give them 4 but didn't play because of the suspension. Kulikov's got a bit of an asterisk too as he drafted 16 years ago and played for many teams between his two Florida stints.
 
Are guys like Ben Danford/Easton Cowan eligible to join the roster if their OHL teams gets eliminated? Not that they would be playing but are they eligible to be around the team or did they need to be on the roster before the trade deadline?
 
L K said:
Are guys like Ben Danford/Easton Cowan eligible to join the roster if their OHL teams gets eliminated? Not that they would be playing but are they eligible to be around the team or did they need to be on the roster before the trade deadline?
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They would be eligible, yeah. Winnipeg just called up their top prospect Brayden Yager after his WHL team was eliminated.
 
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