Wild @ Leafs - Nov. 12th, 7:00pm - SN

[Guilt Trip]

Nylander leads NHL forwards this season in even strength goals against. If he's not in the mood to backcheck or make an effort, as we have seen with some periodic regularity over the years, they get lit up.

In his defence this season, when he and McKenna are on the same line, you may/probably have the two worst Leafs forwards defensively together. That helped push him to the top of the list. When you have a 100 foot winger, you need to have him playing with a 200 foot center and a 200 foot winger. Someone on the line has to be interested in making the consistent effort to play defence. That is not Nylander and as a string of Leafs coaches have found out, you can't teach an old dog new trick

Problem is, no one has the balls to sit his ass. No matter who he plays with he's the defensive liability. Defence is effort and 88 doesn't give a shit about it 95% of the time. He's not a team player. World class talent and by all accounts a great person for sure, but a terrible teammate. The effort on D would piss a lot of guys off and you can't have that.

88 5v5 goals against with different C's...
Tavares...10
Matthews...5
Paul...5

 

[dappleganger]

The problem is that the decision to trade those picks was made in a season where they thought they would be contenders for a couple of seasons. They underestimated the impact of Marner, and here we are. The picks are gone. They have to make smart decisions from here on out. I don't think the decisions they have made are stupid per se. Bobrovsky was a gamble. It hasn't paid off. The injuries are a piling up. Hillier so far does not inspire me as a coach.

Bobrovsky wasn't just a gamble, it was a long shot. The odds of getting a positive return on investment of 3-years/$7m for Bob was so infinitesimally small it wasn't worth the risk.

 

[dappleganger]

The problem is that the decision to trade those picks was made in a season where they thought they would be contenders for a couple of seasons. They underestimated the impact of Marner, and here we are. The picks are gone. They have to make smart decisions from here on out. I don't think the decisions they have made are stupid per se. Bobrovsky was a gamble. It hasn't paid off. The injuries are a piling up. Hillier so far does not inspire me as a coach.

I missed the third

https://twitter.com/x/status/2121083489370153247

Nylander obviously getting roasted for this, but they switched to a man-to-man system and that's definitely something that can happen on a cross-over drop (a highly effective play for a reason). I think it would be good for the player who sees it coming to bark on-ice orders (something Stolarz does well) to coordinate these things.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2121071280321667288

I did not expect Willy to show up that high on this (Matthews shifts towards the end?); probably explains why they shifted Cowan off.

Anyway, I think the lines benefited from Cole McWard vs busted Tanev

I actually think that was on OEL and not Willy. I think Willy was right in going to cover the man in the middle up high leaving OEL to cover in front of the net.


Also, who is this Cole McWard guy and why is he the best defenseman on the Leafs?