Lightning @ Leafs - Oct. 25th, 7:30pm - SN1, TSN 1050

[disco]

5-3 and that powerplay they were getting close! Made a game of it, I came alive with the crowd  It's fun to have players again, really only one tank/pain year of unwatchable hockey.

You can see the skill/game-breaker players now, Auston, Willie and Mitch inserted this year above our most skilled last year (Naz, JVR). This being about year 2.5 of a SCORCHED EARTH rebuild, man the future is bright. Had extra picks last year, have extra this year and more again next year I believe. If we can hit a stud defenceman and a franchise goalie with one of them, we'll eventually become something like the Hawks hopefully, contending for a long string of years. The core will be homegrown and ours for a decade.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Pretty freaking awesome seeing Matthews leading the league in points and goals right now! Nylander isn't doing too shabby either!  8)

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Pretty freaking awesome seeing Matthews leading the league in points and goals right now! Nylander isn't doing too shabby either!  8)

Nylander 19 pts in last 18 NHL games.

Special, special player.

 

[Bullfrog]

Polak demonstrating more of that solid, keep the offensive player between you and your goaltender.

Hobbled by a nice block moments before.  But hey, it's open season on him, right?  That was on Hunwick anyway.

I'll grant you the fact that he was hurt by a shot, but that goal was on Polak. Watch the replay where he inexplicably skates forward almost as high up as the forwards. He completely goes to cover the wrong player. It was a terrible defensive play by Polak.

 

[Bender]

Matthews, Nylander 1-2 in scoring. It's a good day.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

They're still at a point where process > results.  I still think they're doing a lot of things right, and certainly much better than last season, but the play in their own end is still a mess.

 

[bustaheims]

They're still at a point where process > results.  I still think they're doing a lot of things right, and certainly much better than last season, but the play in their own end is still a mess.

Agreed. You can see the potential for this to be a very good team once they've matured as players.

 

[L K]

The nicest thing about Matthews is that it isn't just a 1-2 game stretch that put him up there.

Game 1 - 4 points
Game 2 - 0 points
Game 3 - 1 point
Game 4 - 1 point
Game 5 - 2 points
Game 6 - 2 points

That consistency is beautiful.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

The nicest thing about Matthews is that it isn't just a 1-2 game stretch that put him up there.

Game 1 - 4 points
Game 2 - 0 points
Game 3 - 1 point
Game 4 - 1 point
Game 5 - 2 points
Game 6 - 2 points

That consistency is beautiful.

Ditto for Nylander. Points in every game except the Boston one (which oddly enough was the only game they won).

 

[herman]

They're still at a point where process > results.  I still think they're doing a lot of things right, and certainly much better than last season, but the play in their own end is still a mess.

Agreed. You can see the potential for this to be a very good team once they've matured as players.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBqU4q6ONwM[/youtube]

Babcock says as much with his words and demeanor after a 7-3 drubbing. The focus is on each player doing his best and playing the system properly. The end result will take care of itself.

The focus this year is on the process of getting the puck (defense), transitioning through the NZ with possession, and generating a crap ton of good chances (offense).

Whether the opposing goalie stands on his head or we ring it off the post a dozen times is immaterial to the fact that routinely generating scoring opportunities over the long haul leads to scoring goals. Scoring goals leads to wins, and consistent winning lead to championships.

Our defensive coverage needs refinement and communication. I think our goalies have only given up 3-5 squeakers. Other than that, we are generating chances at a consistent and blistering pace. We're never really out of a game; even down 5-1 it took a late double minor and a steady dose of Hunwick and Polak to put us out of our misery.

 

[bustaheims]

The focus this year is on the process of getting the puck (defense), transitioning through the NZ with possession, and generating a crap ton of good chances (offense).

Whether the opposing goalie stands on his head or we ring it off the post a dozen times is immaterial to the fact that routinely generating scoring opportunities over the long haul leads to scoring goals. Scoring goals leads to wins, and consistent winning lead to championships.

Yup. I have no illusions of it happening this season - learning how to transition your skill set effective at the NHL level takes time, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Their record this season is still not likely to be good, but, as you say, they're not going to be out of many games.

 

[Kin]

"This team has a lot of talent but probably isn't ready to put it together right away" should not have been a contentious comment on the boards this summer.

 

[ZBBM]

even down 5-1 it took a late double minor and a steady dose of Hunwick and Polak to put us out of our misery.

Tell me, why do you think Babcock keeps playing them?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Mark Masters ‏@markhmasters  12 minutes ago
Leafs D at practice:

Rielly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Carrick
Hunwick-Marincin
Corrado-Polak

Hey, looks like Polak's on the outs again.

 

[ZBBM]

And Hunwick is on the ins.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

For whatever it's worth, I'd rather see Polak in the line-up over Hunwick in those pairings above. For 3 reasons. 1) Hunwick's already given me 6 games worth of evidence to tell me he doesn't deserve to be in the line-up. 2) It would at least balance out the lefties and righties. And 3) a properly used Polak is more likely to get something at the deadline than a properly used Hunwick. But at some point Corrado would need to be given a chance to supplant him.

 

[herman]

Tell me, why do you think Babcock keeps playing them?

Matt Hunwick is the Zach Hyman of the D corps and wears an A to boot. Polak only drew in because Marincin went down. Babcock looks like he is giving his vets chances to play through their issues, especially where we are thinnest in depth.

Babcock has already called out his vets earlier this year, noting that the issues are largely not because of the youth and inexperience.

I don't agree with playing Hunwick or Polak at all (just like I don't really agree with having Martin on the roster), but in a growth season, they're here to space out the rookiness. Easy scratches later when the rest of the youth are seasoned, and we add some fresher legs in Corrado and Griffith (and Kapanen and Leipsic and Soshnikov).

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Tell me, why do you think Babcock keeps playing them?

Matt Hunwick is the Zach Hyman of the D corps and wears an A to boot. Polak only drew in because Marincin went down. Babcock looks like he is giving his vets chances to play through their issues, especially where we are thinnest in depth.

Babcock has already called out his vets earlier this year, noting that the issues are largely not because of the youth and inexperience.

I don't agree with playing Hunwick or Polak at all (just like I don't really agree with having Martin on the roster), but in a growth season, they're here to space out the rookiness. Easy scratches later when the rest of the youth are seasoned, and we add some fresher legs in Corrado and Griffith (and Kapanen and Leipsic and Soshnikov).

That's really harsh on Hyman, he is a great bottom six player who is being played too high in the lineup by his coach.

Hunwick isn't an NHL'er at this point.

 

[herman]

That's really harsh on Hyman, he is a great bottom six player who is being played too high in the lineup by his coach.

Hunwick isn't an NHL'er at this point.

Okay, that's fair. I was angling for the irrational love that Babcock has for them, but more proper comparison might be Byron Froese.

 

[rdowdall]

That's really harsh on Hyman, he is a great bottom six player who is being played too high in the lineup by his coach.

Hunwick isn't an NHL'er at this point.

Okay, that's fair. I was angling for the irrational love that Babcock has for them, but more proper comparison might be Byron Froese.

I agree with the irrational love part.  There has to be somehting that happens behind the scenes that us normies don't see, because I can't figure out what the difference is losing 7-3 to one of the best teams in the League with Roman Polak and Hunwick on defence versus losing 7-3 to one of the best teams in the league with Rinat Valiev and Victor Loov on defence.