Leafs @ Sharks - Oct. 30th, 10:30pm - SNO, TSN 1050

[herman]

Y’all should love Hyman more.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

I chided grieves about ragging on Babcock but this team looks real Carlyle right now and the coaching isn't helping.

[disco]

Still a helluva lot of pieces here. We've got a lot to be thankful for. In this for the long haul.

[herman]

Definitely deserved the loss but really nice to see them make a fight of it once they benched their terrible performers.

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

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But Leivo isn't good enough.

[mr grieves]

I think there is a difference between being upset with the decisions that the coach is making, and claiming that they are a glorified motivational speaker.  I don't think that Babcock got dumber between this year and last.

If by "got dumber" you think I mean he's suffered severe head trauma or developed early-onset dementia, no. Obviously not.

But not-dumb people sure can get stupid when they see something they want, think they can get it easy.

Treasure of Sierra Madre sorta thing on Bay Street, I guess.

If Leivo wants to make this team he is going to have to learn to not be good at hockey but be a gud pro. Maybe get married and have a couple of kids.

It is very weird how assumptions about domestic stability and spreading of the seed play into hiring and promotion decisions, even supposedly progressive professions. I say this as someone who's certainly benefited from it.

Hockey, of course, isn't a very progressive profession. But the appeal of sports is that clear performance demands can make it a true meritocracy...

[mr grieves]

I chided grieves about ragging on Babcock but this team looks real Carlyle right now and the coaching isn't helping.

Speaking of the Carlyle era...

Did you notice the game's call had weird echoes of the last decade?

Team's getting caved in, nothing's happening, somehow hanging on but we know what the result is... announcers grasping at straws to make the game seem more competitive, closer than it is.

Good times.

[CarltonTheBear]

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Wow.

[CarltonTheBear]

So let's get our guesses in now. Who thinks that Martin sits on Wednesday? I'm still saying no.

[L K]

So let's get our guesses in now. Who thinks that Martin sits on Wednesday? I'm still saying no.

Bozak will sit and Marleau will play center while Leivo gets into a game.   It's deserved but Martin getting a guaranteed spot is absurd at this point.  He's a useless loaf on the ice.

[Bullfrog]

I didn't see the game. Is there a reason Kadri got less than 13 minutes?

[L K]

I didn't see the game. Is there a reason Kadri got less than 13 minutes?

?Babsock 

Komarov was bad.  Kadri was kind of silent but hardly a standout for poor play in the game.  Bozak/JVR were awful.  The 4th line was awful.  This probably should have been a 2-line game but really only the Matthews line did anything positive in terms of play.

[Zee]

So let's get our guesses in now. Who thinks that Martin sits on Wednesday? I'm still saying no.

I mean, Babcock has a history of success in the league, he can't be stupid can he?  Can he??  If everyone watching the games sees that guys like Martin and Polak are bad, doesn't he see the same thing?  I'm saying it right here, they aren't real gud players and their drive trains are broken.  They're the opposite of real gud pros, they're real bad players.

[Significantly Insignificant]

I didn't see the game. Is there a reason Kadri got less than 13 minutes?

?Babsock 

Komarov was bad.  Kadri was kind of silent but hardly a standout for poor play in the game.  Bozak/JVR were awful.  The 4th line was awful.  This probably should have been a 2-line game but really only the Matthews line did anything positive in terms of play.

I agree with all of this.  Komarov stopped momentum on a couple of plays by making the wrong play and coughing the puck up.  Also, Gardiner is making some really weird decisions with the puck. 

They are out of sync for sure.  Marner loses the puck with regularity now.  It's like he is trying to do something flashy on every play rather than taking his time to make the right play.

Part of it may be that the team is trying to commit to defence, but doesn't know how to do that and still generate offense.  They are so used to just blowing the zone the minute they get the puck, that they seem to be going more east-west now instead of north-south.

[Coco-puffs]

I didn't see the game. Is there a reason Kadri got less than 13 minutes?

?Babsock 

Komarov was bad.  Kadri was kind of silent but hardly a standout for poor play in the game.  Bozak/JVR were awful.  The 4th line was awful.  This probably should have been a 2-line game but really only the Matthews line did anything positive in terms of play.

Komarov was bad?  18-8 shot attempts (69% CF), 6-5 Shots.  Yeah, in a game where our team was outshot badly Komarov was a positive.  Kadri wasn't far behind (20-10 shot attempts, 7-7 shots). 

On another note: For all the praise the Matthews line got, yes, they were positive in the shot attempt battle (22-20 for Matthews, Nylander was better at 23-17)... but they only got 4 of those 22 shot attempts on net.  12 of them were blocked.  Why?  They were hard matched against Vlasic-Braun, probably the best shutdown pair in the league. Man would a pair like that be nice on the Leafs.