Panthers vs. Leafs - Dec. 2nd, 7:30pm - TSN4
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
Stecher with another point...gotta be worth a HM for sure.
ZBBM
Well-known member
My MotM.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
Not for me...Woll easily again...simply outstanding.
You know, Stecher+McCabe at the blueline, Rielly+OEL on the flanks, and Benoit net front might actually outperform the current PP1
OldTimeHockey
Well-known member
Baby steps. First step should be to pass the Habs. That's a freaking embarrassment.
OldTimeHockey
Well-known member
I like how he shoots from just below the dot instead of cutting to the net. Dude, you're a monster...cut to the net. Worst that happens is you draw a penalty.
Bill_Berg
Well-known member
Three points out of second in the division, ignoring tie breakers.
herman
Well-known member
I feared for Bob's life a little when he put the shoulder down, but then I remembered that Benoit is not mean (enough).
Would've liked an earlier shot so Bob couldn't square up and cut off the rebound angle from the slot (shoot slightly off ice for the far pad to bounce towards winger support).
L K
Well-known member
This season is such a weird one that I really don't know how to evaluate anything at this point. 3 points off of the A2/A3 playoff spots and 4 points back of the WC1/WC2 spots. The league is so bunched up right now that a 5 game winning streak could have the Leafs in a playoff spot by the end of next week. They could just as easily get blown out by Carolina on Thursday and we can all go back to rooting for a tear down.
I still think this isn't a great team. I still think they are going to run into problems if/when Tanev/Carlo come back if Benoit stays in the lineup over Stetcher (or inevitably Stetcher falls back to Earth). This team needs more mobility on the blue line to keep the pace of play up with the team. It's great that Berube let the training wheels off the team a bit but coaches are stubborn and I'm not convinced that we don't see him try and force his way of doing things back into the team.
The stupidity of the PP is just baffling at this point. There is no reason to go 5 forwards on PP1. Matthews defers way too much on the PP and honestly, while I really like a lot of things that Cowan does, I think he holds the puck into trouble spots and tries to force things that work in Junior hockey but lead to turnovers and deflections far too much. I have absolutely no idea why Robertson isn't on one of the PP units.
I still think this isn't a great team. I still think they are going to run into problems if/when Tanev/Carlo come back if Benoit stays in the lineup over Stetcher (or inevitably Stetcher falls back to Earth). This team needs more mobility on the blue line to keep the pace of play up with the team. It's great that Berube let the training wheels off the team a bit but coaches are stubborn and I'm not convinced that we don't see him try and force his way of doing things back into the team.
The stupidity of the PP is just baffling at this point. There is no reason to go 5 forwards on PP1. Matthews defers way too much on the PP and honestly, while I really like a lot of things that Cowan does, I think he holds the puck into trouble spots and tries to force things that work in Junior hockey but lead to turnovers and deflections far too much. I have absolutely no idea why Robertson isn't on one of the PP units.
herman
Well-known member
PPs need a QB, a Net Front, two Half Wall guys who can pass and shoot well, and a Bumper who is heavy on his stick and hockey smart about lifting sticks to open seams and crashing the net on time. Two of them need to be entry skaters (usually the wall guys), and ideally you have two credible Face Off takers (one on each hand), and at least 2 Shooters and 2 Fetchers, an one Playmaker.
System-wise, I'd like to see the PP attack in motion more (e.g. Matthews coming downhill on the catch and release); if Matthews wants to be a turret instead, he will need to add way more passing threat to his game (a la Kucherov, Kane) to open up his shot. It's tougher without an RH bumper option with Matthews on the low right half wall. Kucherov had Point and previously Stamkos as options, which is why the set up play normally runs through the left wall with Nylander but he has a tougher short side shot to make if he is too low in the zone (blocker/stick bulk, without the bucket bank shot a leftie would have).
QBs: OEL is really the only one with the brains and tools and skillset, but he is not fast any more. A right handed, younger OEL would fix so much it's not funny. Rielly has experience, but we have also experience Rielly there long enough.
Net Front: Knies, Joshua, Tavares, Roy, McMann
Half Walls: Nylander, Matthews, Domi, Cowan, Maccelli, Robertson
Bumpers: Tavares, Roy (I miss Kadri here), McMann
System-wise, I'd like to see the PP attack in motion more (e.g. Matthews coming downhill on the catch and release); if Matthews wants to be a turret instead, he will need to add way more passing threat to his game (a la Kucherov, Kane) to open up his shot. It's tougher without an RH bumper option with Matthews on the low right half wall. Kucherov had Point and previously Stamkos as options, which is why the set up play normally runs through the left wall with Nylander but he has a tougher short side shot to make if he is too low in the zone (blocker/stick bulk, without the bucket bank shot a leftie would have).
QBs: OEL is really the only one with the brains and tools and skillset, but he is not fast any more. A right handed, younger OEL would fix so much it's not funny. Rielly has experience, but we have also experience Rielly there long enough.
Net Front: Knies, Joshua, Tavares, Roy, McMann
Half Walls: Nylander, Matthews, Domi, Cowan, Maccelli, Robertson
Bumpers: Tavares, Roy (I miss Kadri here), McMann
| Player | Face Off | Entry | Playmaker | Shooter | Fetcher |
| Matthews | X | X | x | X | x |
| Nylander | x | X | X | X | x |
| Tavares | X | x | X | X | |
| Knies | x | X | X | ||
| Domi | x | X | X | x | |
| Robertson | x | x | X | x | |
| McMann | x | X | X | ||
| Cowan | X | X | x | ||
| Roy | x | x | X | ||
| Maccelli | X | ||||
| Joshua | X | ||||
| Rielly | x | x | |||
| Ekman-Larsson | x | X | x |
OldTimeHockey
Well-known member
That is 100% the play I'm thinking of.
#1. Your shot is nowhere near good enough
#2. Your shot is nowhere near good enough