Maple Leafs @ Jets - Oct. 22nd, 7:00pm - CBC, TSN 1050

[lamajama]

Not gonna lie, I felt better have Simmonds and Clifford in the lineup for this game, and lightning struck with a 4th line goal but it also showed that their presence did nothing to stop the Jets.

 

[cujo4ever]

Best game of the season so far. Nice W.

 

[Zee]

We don't mention him but Mete had a tidy game. 15 minutes played didn't notice any bad mistakes out there, exactly what you want from your 3rd pair guy

 

[x.jr.benchwarmer]

Terrific game by the Leafs.  Possibly their best overall team effort so far.  And it really helps when you have Samsonov playing as one of the best goalies in the NHL right now.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/mostlyleafies/status/1583984349095292928

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Is there anything better than beating the Jets?!?!

It?s nice, but there?s like a million things better, what a weird question.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I managed to take this game in live. A couple things I noticed:
-Samsonov played very well. My only observation is that he's a little too aggressive which leads him to have a hard time getting to rebounds.
-Tavares, Nylander and Robertson were the best line on the ice
-The Leafs play in the defensive zone is a dumpster fire. The D are giving away the puck constantly.
-Mete was ok. Definitely did not notice any glaring mistakes.
-Holl is terrible.

 

[cw]

I reviewed the offside on the Winnipeg goal.
I thought it was pretty clear that it was offside.
I do not know why they wouldn't have challenged it.

Saw an article I cannot find a link to now that reviewed the 4th line game stats.
Said they had a lot of good numbers for the game.
I thought they did a decent job.
Clifford tripping call (which seems to happen to anyone) being the only blemish.

 

[bustaheims]

I managed to take this game in live. A couple things I noticed:
-Samsonov played very well. My only observation is that he's a little too aggressive which leads him to have a hard time getting to rebounds.
-Tavares, Nylander and Robertson were the best line on the ice
-The Leafs play in the defensive zone is a dumpster fire. The D are giving away the puck constantly.
-Mete was ok. Definitely did not notice any glaring mistakes.
-Holl is terrible.

I reviewed the offside on the Winnipeg goal.
I thought it was pretty clear that it was offside.
I do not know why they wouldn't have challenged it.

Saw an article I cannot find a link to now that reviewed the 4th line game stats.
Said they had a lot of good numbers for the game.
I thought they did a decent job.
Clifford tripping call (which seems to happen to anyone) being the only blemish.

Simmonds had an entirely unnecessary penalty in the 3rd

 

[herman]

Saw an article I cannot find a link to now that reviewed the 4th line game stats.
Said they had a lot of good numbers for the game.
I thought they did a decent job.
Clifford tripping call (which seems to happen to anyone) being the only blemish.

https://twitter.com/camcharronyvr/status/1584195996573392898

 

[cw]

Saw an article I cannot find a link to now that reviewed the 4th line game stats.
Said they had a lot of good numbers for the game.
I thought they did a decent job.
Clifford tripping call (which seems to happen to anyone) being the only blemish.

https://twitter.com/camcharronyvr/status/1584195996573392898

Thanks for that. It isn't the one I saw but it is an interesting one. He put some effort into it. Raised a number things I had not thought of.

 

[cw]

Simmonds had an entirely unnecessary penalty in the 3rd

I didn't see that. Must have been distracted.

I don't see their addition as "oh, someone hit a Leafs player and therefore, they're a waste of time"
Having guys like that around give other Leafs the confidence to finish their checks or play a little bigger. They know someone has their back that can take care of things.

I also agree with the article Herman posted that if you played them 82 games, teams would bait them into penalties, etc and they probably wouldn't win as many games. To have someone like that around, when fighting is ticking up (slightly ahead of last year), for a game against an opponent like the Jets, isn't a bad thing though.

I also think having players who can be inserted helps keep players on their toes.
Aube-Kubel, Malgin & Engvall are re-evaluating what they have to do to stay in the line up.
They're all playing for their NHL lives or next year's contract, so they're very likely to give it everything they've got.

 

[herman]

I also agree with the article Herman posted that if you played them 82 games, teams would bait them into penalties, etc and they probably wouldn't win as many games. To have someone like that around, when fighting is ticking up (slightly ahead of last year), for a game against an opponent like the Jets, isn't a bad thing though.

I also think having players who can be inserted helps keep players on their toes.
Aube-Kubel, Malgin & Engvall are re-evaluating what they have to do to stay in the line up.
They're all playing for their NHL lives or next year's contract, so they're very likely to give it everything they've got.

I prefer having a rotating cast in the bottom of the lineup (cap doesn't always make this possible), so the team can branch into slightly different playstyles for match ups. The stars are stars because they can do more different things at a high level; mix in a third banana in certain pairings or just scramble it all to get a completely different look.

Like the current iteration of the Tavares line has some nice rush potential and can hold it on the boards a bit, but you could go full grind to crush a third line match up by playing Engvall-Tavares-Jarnkrok, or flip Matthews from a puck-possession cycle line to Robertson-Matthews-Nylander for quick strike rush offense.

 

[cw]

I also agree with the article Herman posted that if you played them 82 games, teams would bait them into penalties, etc and they probably wouldn't win as many games. To have someone like that around, when fighting is ticking up (slightly ahead of last year), for a game against an opponent like the Jets, isn't a bad thing though.

I also think having players who can be inserted helps keep players on their toes.
Aube-Kubel, Malgin & Engvall are re-evaluating what they have to do to stay in the line up.
They're all playing for their NHL lives or next year's contract, so they're very likely to give it everything they've got.

I prefer having a rotating cast in the bottom of the lineup (cap doesn't always make this possible), so the team can branch into slightly different playstyles for match ups. The stars are stars because they can do more different things at a high level; mix in a third banana in certain pairings or just scramble it all to get a completely different look.

Like the current iteration of the Tavares line has some nice rush potential and can hold it on the boards a bit, but you could go full grind to crush a third line match up by playing Engvall-Tavares-Jarnkrok, or flip Matthews from a puck-possession cycle line to Robertson-Matthews-Nylander for quick strike rush offense.

I think it is highly unlikely Clifford-Simmonds remain on the 4th line for a long time.
Their playing days in the NHL are almost over.
They probably gave it their all in Winnipeg.
Like a young, up & coming, scrawny player, it will be difficult for them to do what they did night after night.
I suppose tonight is a reward for their efforts in Winnipeg.

There is a time coming when players start to return from LTIR that at least one of them will likely go back to the Marlies.