https://twitter.com/MarkLazerus/status/1453027089637154817
Oh god...
Oh god...
2021-22 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
Guilt Trip
Active member
Nope, we're winning it. Have faith lol.herman said:
herman
Well-known member
Guilt Trip said:
You mean have faith in the same team that sputtered against an ailing Vancouver Canucks team that just came back from a COVID outbreak while some of them could barely lace up their skates? or didn't show up against an AHL team this past week? or couldn't put the puck on net against their own practice goalie in a game they were already leading?
The Leafs are extremely good at being the supervillain that is overcome by the plucky underdog protagonist facing insurmountable odds. We even have the shooting percentage of Imperial stormtroopers. ;D
Guilt Trip
Active member
Yup...those guys.herman said:
herman
Well-known member
https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1453073553947967489
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1453074371313025026
Great, not only do we continue to ignore Willy as the zone entry guy, they can now safely ignore him (and JT) while passing the puck fruitlessly around the perimeter.
Edit:
How hard would it be to just recreate the Hiller tactic that dominated? Everyone saw it coming and could do nothing about it.
JvR
Bozak - Kadri - Marner
Rielly
-->
Tavares
Nylander - Matthews - Marner
Rielly
Set up, every flow downhill with Marner getting Tavares or Matthews as his two primary options, and Nylander to mop up rebounds
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1453074371313025026
Great, not only do we continue to ignore Willy as the zone entry guy, they can now safely ignore him (and JT) while passing the puck fruitlessly around the perimeter.
Edit:
How hard would it be to just recreate the Hiller tactic that dominated? Everyone saw it coming and could do nothing about it.
JvR
Bozak - Kadri - Marner
Rielly
-->
Tavares
Nylander - Matthews - Marner
Rielly
Set up, every flow downhill with Marner getting Tavares or Matthews as his two primary options, and Nylander to mop up rebounds
https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1453074052310962179
I generally like the idea of loading up the top PP unit but 1) nobody really seems to understand how to best utilize the big-4 on one individual unit and 2) this ones a little more minor but Simmonds is currently occupying a spot in the line-up and will likely do so all season long and arguably his biggest attribute (net front PP presence) isn't being used at all. Also Engvall on the PP is just kinda bleh.
So I do think there are times where the PP should get loaded up and the team needs to have a system in place for when that happens, but I also don't think throwing out separate units from time to time even if it's just to throw the opposing penalty killers off is a bad idea either. You could run:
Simmonds
Matthews-Bunting-Nylander
Rielly
Ritchie
Tavares-Spezza-Marner
Sandin
I generally like the idea of loading up the top PP unit but 1) nobody really seems to understand how to best utilize the big-4 on one individual unit and 2) this ones a little more minor but Simmonds is currently occupying a spot in the line-up and will likely do so all season long and arguably his biggest attribute (net front PP presence) isn't being used at all. Also Engvall on the PP is just kinda bleh.
So I do think there are times where the PP should get loaded up and the team needs to have a system in place for when that happens, but I also don't think throwing out separate units from time to time even if it's just to throw the opposing penalty killers off is a bad idea either. You could run:
Simmonds
Matthews-Bunting-Nylander
Rielly
Ritchie
Tavares-Spezza-Marner
Sandin
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
In terms of common criticisms of both it's kinda funny how Keefe is just the bizarro version of Babcock. Babcock was a dick to players, Keefe is too lenient with the players. Babcock doesn't play the stars enough, Keefe plays the stars too much. Babcock never plays Matthews and Marner together, Keefe (until recently) never split them up. An outsider could say "well that's just Leafs fans always resorting to hating their coach" and maybe there's some truth to that but I also don't think it should be that unreasonable to expect a happy medium in those examples I listed.
L K
Active member
The Leafs really feel kind of predictable. Their passes on the PP seem slow and plodding rather than crisp. They don't seem to make the goalie move side to side much.
It's Rielly passing to Marner or Mathews back and forth until they finally take a shot. They don't have guys skating and shifting positions. I just don't understand how a team with this much offensive talent (at least in the top 4-5 forward and 1-2 defensemen) can be so boring and predictable.
It's Rielly passing to Marner or Mathews back and forth until they finally take a shot. They don't have guys skating and shifting positions. I just don't understand how a team with this much offensive talent (at least in the top 4-5 forward and 1-2 defensemen) can be so boring and predictable.
AtomicMapleLeaf
New member
L K said:
I don't usually jump into the fray and I'm usually an optimist with the Leafs. But I think we need a new coach, nothing against Keefe as I think he has a bright future as a head coach. Not sure who's available and if they would do any better. The Amazon series really didn't add any confidence I have in Keefe, despite all the F bombs, the one on ones he had on the ice with Spezza and Matthews didn't inspire me as an employer talking to an employee.
Just my two cents...
Go Leafs Go
L K
Active member
Practice that doesn't replicate game conditions seems kind of useless. Obviously you don't want guys sacrificing their body and diving to block shots and risking injury during practice but the Leafs seem to really struggle against teams that put pressure on them. Not preparing for that is a bad idea.
As an aside we are facing Pittsburgh version 2.0 tonight. Half the Blackhawks are out on the COVID list so if this isn't anything short of a blowout tonight there are real problems in Denmark.
As an aside we are facing Pittsburgh version 2.0 tonight. Half the Blackhawks are out on the COVID list so if this isn't anything short of a blowout tonight there are real problems in Denmark.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
I'm generally pro coach so this should come as no surprise but the efforts I've seen in the last 2 games does not fall on the coach. If the players, making millions of dollars, can't get interested to play the game, what is the coach to do?
