Maple Leafs are better, but are they a playoff team?

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Welcome back PG....

 

[Madferret]

Gomez!

 

[13th fan]

I think they are a playoff team but little faith doesn't hurt                                                                       

 

[Bullfrog]

On the plus side 24 es goals, 8 1st goals and no empty netters, not to mention all that good size, checking and defending yadda yadda.

Put Schenn in front of the net, he could be 'wingerish'(mael).

Anywho Clems a fair berry on the cut.

Huh?

 

[AvroArrow]

On the plus side 24 es goals, 8 1st goals and no empty netters, not to mention all that good size, checking and defending yadda yadda.

Put Schenn in front of the net, he could be 'wingerish'(mael).

Anywho Clems a fair berry on the cut.

Huh?

He calls Kulemin Clem.  I don't really know why.

 

[Bullfrog]

That's the part I understood...

 

[Tigger]

On the plus side 24 es goals, 8 1st goals and no empty netters, not to mention all that good size, checking and defending yadda yadda.

Put Schenn in front of the net, he could be 'wingerish'(mael).

Anywho Clems a fair berry on the cut.

Huh?

Nik scores goals as he's approaching the net on the fly or 'cut' away from the boards, not so much standing in front. Berry is a colloquial term ( probably esoteric too ) for 'goal'.

 

[Zee]

I'm going out on a limb and saying playoffs this year.  You heard me, I'm turning into an optimistic disciple of nutman.

In Reimer, I trust.

 

[Bender]

I'm going out on a limb and saying playoffs this year.  You heard me, I'm turning into an optimistic disciple of nutman.

In Reimer, I trust.

I agree with this. I think the team is finally coalescing and they needed some time to get comfortable with each other. I expect a bounceback from Bozie, maybe a dropoff from MacArthur, slight increase from Lupul and Kessel, constant from Connolly. Army's gonna be healthy, Dion's gonna be healthy, Frattin or Kadri earn a spot and the fourth line... who cares. Reimer will drop a bit, Gustavsson will improve to .905-.908. Reimer will be .910-.915.

The back end looks pretty good, but the team as a whole needs to really focus on team defense. They can't take major chances. They need to play a simple defensive game and roll three effective scoring lines.

Barring major injuries, I think the ifs will line up and we'll be in 7th or 8th spot. For some reason I have a good vibe about this team.

 

[slapshot]

If the GAA is 2.60 (Reimer's average last year) or under they are in. If it's over that, probably not. It's a good barometer in most cases.

 

[bustaheims]

If the GAA is 2.50 or under they are in. If it's over that, probably not. It's a good barometer in most cases.

Only 7 teams allowed less than 2.5 goals per game last season and only 12 goalies who started more than 40 games had a GAA of below 2.50 - including 2 from teams that missed the playoffs. Perhaps, you should re-examine your barometer.

 

[Zee]

If the GAA is 2.50 or under they are in. If it's over that, probably not. It's a good barometer in most cases.

Only 7 teams allowed less than 2.5 goals per game last season and only 12 goalies who started more than 40 games had a GAA of below 2.50 - including 2 from teams that missed the playoffs. Perhaps, you should re-examine your barometer.

Only goalie in the Eastern Conference that had a GAA of below 2.50 (with more than 40 games) and missed the playoffs was Brodeur.  The Devils were a mess in the first half of the season, but when they started trapping again they almost made it, actually would have made it if they fired the coach sooner.  That's pretty good company.

 

[bustaheims]

Only goalie in the Eastern Conference that had a GAA of below 2.50 (with more than 40 games) and missed the playoffs was Brodeur.  The Devils were a mess in the first half of the season, but when they started trapping again they almost made it, actually would have made it if they fired the coach sooner.  That's pretty good company.

There were still 6 teams that made the playoffs without a starting goalie with a GAA below 2.50 - that's almost half of the teams in the playoffs. On top of that, 9 teams made the playoffs while allowing more than 2.5 goals per game. I'm not saying it's bad company to keep, just, using it as a barometer doesn't tell you much. Sure, if Reimer's GAA is below 2.50, the Leafs almost certainly make the playoffs, but, if it's not . . . I wouldn't say they "probably" don't, like the post I was commenting on did. There were too high a percentage of teams in the playoffs with a starter with a GAA over 2.50 or that allowed more than 2.5 goals a game to be able to make any sort of conclusion from what having a GAA over 2.50 would mean to the team's playoff hopes.

 

[Zee]

Only goalie in the Eastern Conference that had a GAA of below 2.50 (with more than 40 games) and missed the playoffs was Brodeur.  The Devils were a mess in the first half of the season, but when they started trapping again they almost made it, actually would have made it if they fired the coach sooner.  That's pretty good company.

There were still 6 teams that made the playoffs without a starting goalie with a GAA below 2.50 - that's almost half of the teams in the playoffs. On top of that, 9 teams made the playoffs while allowing more than 2.5 goals per game. I'm not saying it's bad company to keep, just, using it as a barometer doesn't tell you much. Sure, if Reimer's GAA is below 2.50, the Leafs almost certainly make the playoffs, but, if it's not . . . I wouldn't say they "probably" don't, like the post I was commenting on did. There were too high a percentage of teams in the playoffs with a starter with a GAA over 2.50 or that allowed more than 2.5 goals a game to be able to make any sort of conclusion from what having a GAA over 2.50 would mean to the team's playoff hopes.

I think the GAA for the Leafs is an important one to look at given how many goals the team scores.  Taking Montreal for an example, since the Leafs and Habs both scored 2.6 goals per game last season.  The Leafs gave up 2.99 while the Habs gave up 2.51.  Habs made the playoffs, Leafs didn't.  They need to keep their GAA significantly lower than their goals scored (seems obvious enough, score more than you give up).  I think that's why the magical number of 2.50 comes up, if you think the Leafs can score at the same rate as last season of 2.6/game.

 

[Bender]

Only goalie in the Eastern Conference that had a GAA of below 2.50 (with more than 40 games) and missed the playoffs was Brodeur.  The Devils were a mess in the first half of the season, but when they started trapping again they almost made it, actually would have made it if they fired the coach sooner.  That's pretty good company.

There were still 6 teams that made the playoffs without a starting goalie with a GAA below 2.50 - that's almost half of the teams in the playoffs. On top of that, 9 teams made the playoffs while allowing more than 2.5 goals per game. I'm not saying it's bad company to keep, just, using it as a barometer doesn't tell you much. Sure, if Reimer's GAA is below 2.50, the Leafs almost certainly make the playoffs, but, if it's not . . . I wouldn't say they "probably" don't, like the post I was commenting on did. There were too high a percentage of teams in the playoffs with a starter with a GAA over 2.50 or that allowed more than 2.5 goals a game to be able to make any sort of conclusion from what having a GAA over 2.50 would mean to the team's playoff hopes.

I think the GAA for the Leafs is an important one to look at given how many goals the team scores.  Taking Montreal for an example, since the Leafs and Habs both scored 2.6 goals per game last season.  The Leafs gave up 2.99 while the Habs gave up 2.51.  Habs made the playoffs, Leafs didn't.  They need to keep their GAA significantly lower than their goals scored (seems obvious enough, score more than you give up).  I think that's why the magical number of 2.50 comes up, if you think the Leafs can score at the same rate as last season of 2.6/game.

Goals against vs. Goals For I think is generally a better barometer.

 

[princedpw]

I think the GAA for the Leafs is an important one to look at given how many goals the team scores.  Taking Montreal for an example, since the Leafs and Habs both scored 2.6 goals per game last season.  The Leafs gave up 2.99 while the Habs gave up 2.51.  Habs made the playoffs, Leafs didn't.  They need to keep their GAA significantly lower than their goals scored (seems obvious enough, score more than you give up).  I think that's why the magical number of 2.50 comes up, if you think the Leafs can score at the same rate as last season of 2.6/game.

That's probably where the debate comes in.  I highly doubt the leafs will make the playoffs merely by improving their goals against average, because I doubt the team will lower their GAA by the amount required to make that happen.  I think the most likely avenue to success is a combined effort: both improving the offense and improving defense.

 

[bustaheims]

Goals against vs. Goals For I think is generally a better barometer.

I'd say so as well. This past season, no teams that allowed more goals than they scored made the playoffs and only 2 teams that scored more than they allowed missed the playoffs. In 09-10, only 2 teams that allowed more made the playoffs and only 2 teams that scored more missed. Those numbers don't change all that much in any post lockout season - no more than 2 teams with negative goal differentials made the playoffs in any single season and no more than 3 teams with positive goal differentials missed the playoffs. At the end of the day, it looks like the actual rate at which goals are scored and given up is largely inconsequential - as long as the Leafs score more goals than they allow over the course of the season, odds are they'll make the playoffs.

Basically, what it comes down to is, to make the playoffs, there is no magical plateau or anything, just that, to maximize their odds, the team's GAA has to be lower than their GFA.

 

[Zee]

Goals against vs. Goals For I think is generally a better barometer.

I'd say so as well. This past season, no teams that allowed more goals than they scored made the playoffs and only 2 teams that scored more than they allowed missed the playoffs. In 09-10, only 2 teams that allowed more made the playoffs and only 2 teams that scored more missed. Those numbers don't change all that much in any post lockout season - no more than 2 teams with negative goal differentials made the playoffs in any single season and no more than 3 teams with positive goal differentials missed the playoffs. At the end of the day, it looks like the actual rate at which goals are scored and given up is largely inconsequential - as long as the Leafs score more goals than they allow over the course of the season, odds are they'll make the playoffs.

Basically, what it comes down to is, to make the playoffs, there is no magical plateau or anything, just that, to maximize their odds, the team's GAA has to be lower than their GFA.

Let's break it down to even simpler terms.  As long as you win more games then you lose (including OT losses), you're in the playoffs.  Last season only 1 team didn't make it in where they won more games then they lost (Dallas 42W 40L)

 

[bustaheims]

Let's break it down to even simpler terms.  As long as you win more games then you lose (including OT losses), you're in the playoffs.  Last season only 1 team didn't make it in where they won more games then they lost (Dallas 42W 40L)

And you do that by scoring more goals than you allow, at whatever rate that may be.

 

[nutman]

I'm going out on a limb and saying playoffs this year.  You heard me, I'm turning into an optimistic disciple of nutman.

In Reimer, I trust.

Good call, you may just be on to somthing.  this yrs team i think will cruze into the playoffs.