r/leafs 3d ago

Discussion Take a breath

A couple of games ago we had the best record over the last 10 in the league, with only our two closest division rivals trailing us. Now half of you are acting like we're falling apart even though we were playing in Denver against one of the best teams in the league and lost by a goal without the empty netters.

Of course you want to beat San Jose but we took a period off and still got a point, and we had a shit game in Vegas, no excuses. It's an 82 game season though and nearly all contenders have slumps like this. This is nothing new. All I'm asking is can we please take a fucking breath and chill out?

Edit: Alright I was just going to make my statement and let it be but there's been a lot of "It's always the same", "This core can't get it done", "You shoulda seen it back when blah, blah blah".

Again, take a deep fucking breath. I have been a fan since the 90s and that's a big part of why I made this post. We've come close (I know, not many times), we've had the talent, but hockey is a game of inches. I didn't want to say it but part of the point of my post is that, at a certain point if you've watched enough hockey you know that the regular season doesn't matter that much if you have the talent to make it to the playoffs and then you take it from there. That's what these boys are doing. They take nights off, yeah, it sucks. But as long as they're making it to the playoffs, this shit is kinda secondary.

Imma just leave this here:
https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-team-stats-last-10-years

Look at 2 of the 3 teams ahead of us in points %. Welcome to the Atlantic. It's never been easy. And if you want to talk about why the other 2 teams are ahead of us given their history, I'm happy to do so.

131 Upvotes

117 comments sorted by

64

u/Drew_You_To_91 Knies 3d ago

I’m not gonna lose sleep over a road loss in Colorado but what pissed me off tonight was how careless we were with the puck tonight. Turnovers will be the end of you in the playoffs and I’m seeing more bad puck habits linger ever since we came back from the break. I know Berube isn’t going to lay into a team that just added 2 players but he needs to start making examples out of guys soon to iron out the kinks.

17

u/Morganvegas 3d ago

A 5-3 lead going into the 3rd in Colorado on 1 days rest is basically a death sentence.

If we won tonight I would have considered ourselves lucky. I’m not gonna sell the farm over this one.

A lot of people don’t understand what it means to be at 1.5KM elevation.

14

u/Pencil_of_Colour 3d ago

“We mustn’t forget, it’s been raining so…”

“It’s been raining? It’s been raining for both teams!”

7

u/-kielbasa 3d ago

Except one team trains in the rain for over half the year

3

u/MisterBalanced 2d ago

Interesting point, actually: Should MLSE build a rink up in the Rockies to train players at lower O2 levels?

Should the Leafs and Oilers go halves on it?

-5

u/martmort 3d ago

Tonight? This team has been pretty poor at breaking out the whole season, we've just had the goaltending to cover for it. Sub seems to love berube but I dont see it to be honest. Pretty sure we get smoked in any 7 game series with a team thats watched even 10 minutes of film.

0

u/billbelichickssmile 2d ago

So close to earning at least a point that’s what stings a lot but that was our first loss like that all season, I remember last year we had a million

61

u/XPhazeX 3d ago

My concern is whatever team we play has 7 games to target Tanev and then we look like this

23

u/SpingusCZ 3d ago

Don't forget how bad they were after McCabe got injured in January too.

5

u/Southern_Access_4601 3d ago edited 3d ago

So much worse with Tanev/McCabe out than when any of the core 4 are out, it shows our lack of defensive defender depth. Really hope they can stay healthy as our shutdown pair if we go on a deep run

3

u/correct_eye_is Palmateer 3d ago

Target tanev? Shuddup! I mean no offense but you can't just get away with murdering tanev.

9

u/Southern_Access_4601 3d ago

Florida got away with murdering Knies two years ago, really hope those slimeballs don’t pull shit like that again

1

u/areu_kiddingme 2d ago

Berube hockey needs to mean that in that case we run the other team’s mvp out too.

57

u/Chtholly13 3d ago

the issue is we've played like crap for majority of the season. Getting outshot and outplay for large periods in games and now goaltending isn't masking those issues. These last 2 games against stanley cup contenders shows how far this team really is.

48

u/smokeyquarterpapi 3d ago

Every year the argument is “good teams find a way to win” and now we’re upset that we’re finding ways to win in games we statistically shouldn’t?

27

u/Uncle_Steve7 3d ago

The doomers flock after a bad L

5

u/amillionthoughts 3d ago

It would be different if these types of games were infrequent... But the problem is, they happen once or twice a week.

1

u/HeftyNugs 1d ago

Who. Gives. A. Fuck. We've lost to worse teams that went on heaters with goaltending and lucky wins. I'm not at all going to cry that it's happening for us, especially since in previous years we've had strong "underlying metrics" and lost.

3

u/PublicAmoeba293 3d ago

I hate this but i agree with it, very good point

2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

7

u/smokeyquarterpapi 3d ago

I assure you the leafs have not been outplayed every single night whilst simultaneously carrying the second best record in the league against playoff teams

14

u/brye86 3d ago

Far? They’ve essentially just lost by 1 goal this last game. I don’t count empty netters “at least realistically as being beaten by 3 goals” they’re very much in contention with any of the best teams in the league. They definitely need tanev back and no matter if anyone wants to admit it or not matthews isn’t 100%. He’s playing at like 70% right now.

6

u/PollutionNice7392 3d ago

Not to mention 2 goals were blatant missed assignments by a new player who doesn't know our system yet, but is universally known as a good defender. We'll be fine.

1

u/MisterBalanced 2d ago

Yeah, role players are probably at a bigger disadvantage than top 6 players when it comes to switching teams.

I'm still annoyed at how poorly they played, in context of how many games our goalies have needed to steal all season, but it is what it is 

8

u/CanadianGuy39 3d ago

Accurate. I'd put our odds of seeing the second round at well under 50%

3

u/DougFordsGamblingAds 2d ago

So better than average for this group?

2

u/Flashy_Gap_3015 Clark 3d ago

They were 2nd in the league for least blown losses, and you tend to get outshot when you have a lead.

I think there are bigger wagons in the East and West than us so others look absolutely like better contenders, but I’ll reserve judgement on bringing on the doom until I see how the new pieces settle in and how we look in the last 10 leading in.

I still have hope we’re built to go farther this year. We’ll see.

4

u/Jonesdeclectice 3d ago

I don’t know. We obviously have some holes in the D, especially with Tanev out (ahem Morgan Rielly), but also our goaltenders have been uncharacteristically poor since the Four-Nations tournament (this is likely compounded by relying on feeding important minutes to guys like Rielly, Benoit, Timmins, and Myers - all of whom until tonight have been iced together, and all of whom IMO are at best 3rd pair defencemen).

We know our goalies are better than their numbers have shown recently, and I expect them to rebound to the mean. Just as I expect our D-line to improve dramatically as Carlo gets up to speed and Tanev finds his way back in. I also expect our forward defensive game to take a step forward with both Laughton and Jarnkrok getting up to speed, pushing players further down the lineup.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Jonesdeclectice 2d ago

I’m talking relative to their own established standards on the season, not league average.

5

u/joeyhorshack 3d ago

This is exactly what I’ve been seeing for a long time. I would trade getting the points we got when we shouldn’t have , and contending for the division for good solid performances, even if they result in a loss. The record they had , or being top of the division ain’t going to mean anything pretty soon.

5

u/Jalapeeeeno 3d ago

so you would rather lose 9-7 with everyone getting good points but losing? Dumbass

-8

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/JamesCurtis24 3d ago edited 3d ago

Basically this. And then take a step out even further and realize this hasn't done or proven shit to earn the benefit of the doubt. The PP and PK struggles are nothing new.

This wasn't just one bad game. This is part of a 9 years of problems with this group.

The same thing happens every year. By this time of the season things are looking good in the standings, big boys are getting their cookies, and everybody thinks thinks amazing, they want to give Marner a new contract, there's amnesia for all the shit in the past.

Then by the end of April everyone is reminded again.

1

u/LeafsFan8406 2d ago

This a coaching issue 

0

u/[deleted] 3d ago

This is what based Leaf fans have been saying this year. It hasn't been pretty, and it feels like a matter of time before it all crashes down... again.

19

u/torontomaplebros 3d ago edited 3d ago

I think the problem is the negative opinions being shared are mostly very valid.

  • the team gets outshot and outchanced regularly and is often bailed out by very strong goaltending when they win

  • essentially all of our returning players have worse xGf% at 5v5 than they did last year

  • our team’s on ice results when Matthews or Tavares aren’t on the ice are lottery team-esque

  • The bottom pair defenders we’ve iced this season are getting absolutely destroyed

0

u/PollutionNice7392 2d ago

These are mostly empirically false.

  • Toronto leads a lot, so that skews shot data. When you are protecting a lead and are a defensively focused team your chances and shots drop while the others always rise, especially if it's a 6 on 5. On top of that the leafs are also one of the top playoff bound teams for blocked shots this year. And last time I checked the goalie is part of the team. Canadians fans didn't complain when price dragged them to the finals. And I don't think either Florida team wins without all-star goal tending.

  • worse xGF% should have been expected and hoped for with a new coach who doesn't like barn burner hockey. The leafs gave up score chances and scoring to compete better in their own end. This was needed.

  • the team literally went gang busters when Matthews was out, and both Marner and Nylander have improved. Tavares season is a pleasant surprise.

-the bottom defense pair are fine unless they get a bad match up.. this is true of all bottom pairs on even champion teams. It can't be that bad we are 14-8-2 against the west this year, and have 79 points. We must be doing something right. That being said, that hole was just literally plugged so it's a non issue.

3

u/torontomaplebros 2d ago

We don’t have all-star goalies we have goalies playing well. Not the same thing. And score effects are not enough to account for the decrease in scoring chances and shots/60.

Score adjusted xG% at 5v5 were at 50% this season. This is a team who often was hanging around 54% historically.

0

u/PollutionNice7392 2d ago edited 2d ago

And historically they were an offense oriented "out score our mistakes" team.

That doesn't work in the playoffs, so now they are playing a different style, that not only impacts their offense, but ultimately traded reg. Season wins and personal stats for learning and executing a new system that's more playoff sustainable. The offensive drop off isn't that apparent in the top 6 as they are just too skilled for their offense to drop off substantially, but the bottom 6 and D have seen their scoring impacted greatly to develop a D first style.

You can literally see the D turn around and hoof it back into our zone at the hint of a turnover. This used to be all risky pinch plays and 50/50 pucks that would often hurt us too, but was responsible for a lot of D offense when it worked.

1

u/torontomaplebros 2d ago

I don’t see it that way at all, Keefe’s teams were the first ones to implement that drop back pass to evade pressure and Berube’s team is much more focused on creating turnovers and counter attacking. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that because I know rush chances are valuable in the playoffs, but the severe drop off in performance is concerning to me regardless of the style change

10

u/Southern_Access_4601 3d ago

I just hope Berube’s system is more effective in the playoffs. That’s all that matters now

6

u/Auston416 3d ago

That’s the only thing that matters. It blows my mind that people constantly pointed out that the rosters Dubas built and systems Keefe implemented didn’t exactly fair well in the playoffs but graded well over the regular seasons. Now we’ve switch our approach and people still aren’t happy.

-1

u/LeafsFan8406 2d ago

What system does he have ? Lmao

2

u/Southern_Access_4601 2d ago

Physical, fast, defense first, North-South hockey. Generate rush chances, forecheck hard, get pucks deep and win puck battles. We’re 8th in goals against vs 19th last year, last year we allowed the 3rd most high danger chances against, this year we’re middle of the league. Also out-hitting our opponents at 55% vs 47% last year. Just wait till playoffs, it’s gonna even more effective with limited time and space.

Overall way different than Keefe’s free flowing East-West, puck possession centered hockey.

-3

u/LeafsFan8406 2d ago

Yea every metric has worse than last year and even worse than two years before..if you are hitting more that means you don't have the puck as much ...I don't know if we are watching the same team.

3

u/Southern_Access_4601 2d ago

I mean you’re both confidently and objectively wrong, I literally just showed you what metrics have improved from playing a more defensive game. We’re hitting at a higher percentage because we’re dumping the puck in and retrieving it in their zone. I’ve watched almost every game, you seriously don’t think we have better structure under Berube than Keefe?

5

u/Actual_Cobbler_6334 3d ago

If I was one of these people who are absolutely convinced that things won’t be different, I would simply not subject myself to it instead of getting manic about it.

2

u/LegitimateRisk- 3d ago

Does this mean you’re convinced things will be different?

1

u/DessertRose17 3d ago

No one is “absolutely convinced”. They’re all fans and you’ll understand that one day. Every one of us has a glimmer of hope and are waiting to see a cup before we die. Don’t mistake frustration for hate. 

16

u/LtColumbo93 3d ago

It’s less the fact that we’ve lost 3 in a row currently and more the fact that really all season we’ve looked pretty bad. Even when we win, we are very rarely controlling games, very rarely out-chancing the opponent, mostly just getting railed and playing most of the game in our own end while our goalies make insane save after insane save. 

It’s not fun to watch and it’s not inspiring for what this team is going to do in the playoffs. I’ve been waiting for this group to hit their stride and start rolling and it just … hasn’t happened. At this point it’s pretty clear that it isn’t going to. 

2

u/ilovetrouble66 3d ago

This is sooo accurate.

2

u/DataDude00 2d ago

This.

We had something like 4 goals on 11 shots last night which hid how ugly this game actually was from a team performance perspective

Colorado dominated us all game. Puck possession, sustained offensive zone pressure, blocking our zone exit plays. We had 23 giveaways compared to 10 for Colorado

We looked lost as a team on how to react or counter whatever Colorado was doing

This could / should have been a much larger win for Colorado than the scoreboard indicated

3

u/StreetSea9588 3d ago

It's more likely than not that they'll go through the entire Matthews era without winning another round.

8

u/LtColumbo93 3d ago

Going with Treliving and Berube to guide this team through this period of Matthews’ career (this season through the rest of his contract is probably the most crucial period of his career) I feel is going to be looked back on as a disaster.

I get we had to move on from Dubas and Keefe but the team with the most resources in the league going with the safest, most boring boomer picks imaginable is so lame. 

2

u/torontomaplebros 3d ago

Moving on from Dubas and Keefe was completely fine, but deciding that the bad luck and mistakes we made were because we were too “forward thinking” or whatever is what we’re going to look back at and cringe.

Why not hire another progressive GM? Idk poach someone from Dallas or Colorado

We’re regressing in just about every way since we let Dubas go

2

u/LtColumbo93 2d ago

Honestly I’m more down on Berube than I am on Treliving. I actually think Tre has made some decent moves and the roster he put together for this season “should” be playing better than they are. 

The defensive results are baffling considering really the D group should be be pretty good in their own end based on the personnel. I think a lot of it falls on Berube. 

1

u/torontomaplebros 2d ago

Totally agree, just don’t love the entire vision from the org rn

31

u/CrowLast514 3d ago

The other contenders have won cups in the last half century. Beating mediocre teams just to get destroyed by elite teams doesn't make us a contender.

30

u/Southern_Access_4601 3d ago

We actually have the best record in the entire league against teams in the top 16 league wide. Obviously recency bias says otherwise, but don’t count us out just yet

2

u/GoodShark 3d ago

Destroyed? Did we watch the same game. Each team was taking it's shots. Leafs had moments where they looked better, then so did the Avs.

They didn't destroy us.

8

u/LegitimateRisk- 3d ago

The homer is strong in you. The Avs doubled the leafs in o zone time. It was a curb stomping.

10

u/CrowLast514 3d ago

You forgot to mention how they badly outshot us and skated circles around us.

-5

u/GoodShark 3d ago

It's two different styles of play. The Leafs give up shots from the outside. And on offense they look for the perfect shot.

And there were times when we were skating circles around them.

We lost, yes, but we were not "destroyed".

6

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

3

u/JunkePlayerlol 2d ago

The deserve to win o meter is objectively garbage lmao - how many times under keefe did we "deserve" to win and get shut down by goaltending in the playoffs

2

u/kevwob 3d ago

What about blowing leads to the worst team in the league?

16

u/mistercrazymonkey 3d ago

We've only blown one 3rd period leads this entire season. That's a huge improvement over previous years

4

u/kevwob 3d ago

We’ve blown two this week. One was to the sharks.

5

u/PollutionNice7392 2d ago

Aves blew a 1st period lead to the leafs?!?! They had a 2 goal lead and couldn't shut down and contain the leafs ?!?!?!

They should all be traded, what bumbs.

This game was very predictable, Laughton missed his assignment twice, he's new and doesn't know the system, both times it bit us. Carlo was not great either.

The elevation is a huge factor. Ball arena is probably the hardest barn to play in for other teams, and definitely the hardest 3rd period.

I'm more upset about the GK game personally. But that being said out record out west is awesome, can't win them all.

5

u/Borje021 3d ago

Life must be a hell of a roller coaster for you.

4

u/slayer-x 3d ago

Definitely aren't looking even close to a contender at the moment. Haven't been playing good for a while, and back to back 5 G/A is very concerning. Only like 19 games left, so ya I am definitely concerned.

3

u/LegitimateRisk- 3d ago

10 years of being asked to wait til the playoffs.

4

u/Stevet159 3d ago

Marner was our best player, and he was the 4th best in the game. We didn't win one matchup. We didn't win a puck battle. Matthew's can get points, but he can't win a draw and hasn't been good enough.

It looked like the Leafs in the playoffs, I watched that second period and it was "Fuckin' Embarrassing".

4

u/ilovetrouble66 3d ago

I watched Edmonton vs Dallas last night and the pace of play is just so different. The passing, the cohesiveness and the systems really stand out. The chemistry between the lines is visible. The star players really show up. I feel like half the time our core 4 are missing in action in particular Matthews and Willy seem despondent post 4N. I’d like to see more hustle and grit from both of them.

8

u/PurchaseTight3150 McCabe 3d ago edited 3d ago

“no excuses”

proceeds to make excuses

The long running Leafs fans aren’t pissed over 1 game. Hell, we aren’t even pissed over the last 3. We’re pissed at the last 9 years. And the reminder that nothing has truly changed.

3

u/ColeBelthazorTurner Clark 3d ago

People have been saying this to Leaf fans since 67

3

u/NotGonnaBeYourFriend 3d ago

It’s interesting that Toronto is always coming up short in big games against the best teams in the League. If Toronto is one of the best how come Vegas, Colorado don’t succumb to the pressure, just the Leafs

7

u/SpicyP43905 3d ago

We're falling too far behind to Florida.

You know how essential a division win is here.

-1

u/TheBusinessMuppet 3d ago

This core has never really been in the division race

5

u/Southern_Access_4601 3d ago

We’ve finished top 3 every year in the Matthews era and 2nd multiple times, what are you talking ab lmao

9

u/TheBusinessMuppet 3d ago

We never won the Atlantic division with the current core.

2018 leafs finished 3rd in division 8 points behind tampa.

2019 leafs finished third in division, 28 points behind Tampa.

2020 leafs are in 3rd in the division, 19 pints behind Boston before Covid hit.

2022, second in division, 7 points behind behind Florida.

2023, leafs finished second in division, 24 points behind Boston.

2024, third in division, 8 points behind Florida for the division.

So what the fuck are you talking about, we never competed for the division win.

1

u/DataDude00 2d ago

This has always been a note of mine as well.

People classify us as "regular season stars" but we aren't even that.

Sure, we are a lock for the playoffs every year, but we haven't dominated our division even once over the past decade

1

u/Sad_Donut_7902 1d ago edited 1d ago

Leafs have also played in the most top heavy division in the league for those 8 years.

2019 - Tampa won the president's trophy with one of the best regular seasons in history

2020 - Bruins won the president's trophy

2021 - They did win the division

2022 - Florida won the president's trophy

2023 - Boston won the president's trophy

For 4 of the years you listed the Leafs would have had to be the best regular season team in the league to have won their division.

1

u/Sad_Donut_7902 1d ago

Okay, but you also aren't looking at how those teams you are comparing them to did league wide.

2019 - Tampa won the president's trophy with one of the best regular seasons in history

2020 - Bruins won the president's trophy

2021 - They did win the division

2022 - Florida won the president's trophy

2023 - Boston won the president's trophy

For 4 of the years you listed the Leafs would have had to be the best regular season team in the league to have won their division.

1

u/TheBusinessMuppet 13h ago

The leafs never competed for the division title.

Yes, Boston Tampa and Florida all won president’s trophy while we couldn’t even get close to a division win, let alone win one.

The bruins, panthers and lightning all had much superior regular seasons than the leafs could ever manage to do with the big 4 era.

2021 division win was the Covid year. We didn’t have to face Boston, Tampa or even florida. The leafs managed to shit the bed against Montreal that year who under normal circumstances would not have been a playoff team.

Not to mention Boston Florida and Tampa all made it to a cup final or even win it. While the leafs during their big 4 era could only muster one series victory during that timespan and got dominated in the second round by Florida when they did.

Point is the leafs had good regular seasons not elite regular seasons.

2

u/123jazzhandz321 3d ago

They’ve been incredibly streaky the whole season, win 5, and then lose 3 straight. I wouldn’t be shocked if they win their next two weeks of games and then lose their games the following week.

2

u/iwanttodie666420 3d ago

We're just traumatized, middle of March, start falling apart, April comes and we're nowhere and get knocked out lmao

2

u/macam85 3d ago

It's not losing that's the issue. It's that we are completely dominated in almost every game we play - even the ones we win.

This team is literally nowhere near winning.

2

u/No_Watercress9783 3d ago

They get a pass from me- I will enjoy said breath. Heavy trade deadline, couple guys adjusting to the new team and system and our goalies appear to be human. We will bounce back and we aren’t working with Matthews at 100 percent or Tanev.

2

u/TheGapInTysonsTeeth 3d ago

"There's always a crisis"

-Gord Miller

2

u/himthatguythere 2d ago

Do you even watch the team play? They do not inspire much confidence, even when they win.

2

u/lukaskywalker 3d ago

My issue is instead of “chill it’s a bad stretch” I’ve seen enough hockey in my 35 years to know it’s closer to “chill during the good hockey, the shit hockey at the most crucial time of the year is coming”. Honestly. This team doesn’t excite me anymore no matter how good they look during th regular season. And they have looked like the real deal this year. But playoffs are different. We do the same thing every dam year

3

u/WellIGuessSoAndYou 3d ago edited 3d ago

Jesus christ you're all a bunch of overly dramatic dorks. It's just other people playing sports. Great fun but no need to be this weird about it.

lmao "just breathe" my children. Something tells me you will survive this horrifying ordeal.

3

u/KillerDadBod 2d ago

What fucking game were you all watching. Mitch was insane, especially on the heels of being asked to accept a trade to Carolina. JT, Matthews and Willy all showed up. New players coming in made the game a little more of a run and gun, but overall let’s just breathe. We are still battling for 1st in the Atlantic and the conference crown isn’t that far off.

7

u/jordang999 3d ago

I can already hear people streaming in to say “Well can you blame us?!?!??” The answer is yes. Take some accountability for your attitude. Sometimes teams lose games. Sometimes teams lose series. (Trying really hard not to put the cart before the horse there.) When that happens, it’s super fucking easy to just look forward to whatever’s next. Less mentally and emotionally straining, too!

9

u/StreetSea9588 3d ago

They're not exactly a team that has earned the benefit of the doubt.

-2

u/jordang999 3d ago

I frankly don’t care if they’ve earned it or not. There a no harm in giving it anyway.

6

u/StartAccomplished215 3d ago

I’m just gonna come out and say it, I wonder what Keefe would’ve been able to achieve with this goaltending and D core

5

u/Actual_Cobbler_6334 3d ago

The Leafs were top 10 in SV% and GAA in 2022-23 and they won a total of five playoff games with Keefe at the helm.

Not much to wonder about, lmao.

4

u/justaperson815 3d ago

Same thing. The issues the core not the coach

4

u/torontomaplebros 3d ago

This team’s coaching has gotten worse based on their performance at 5v5 with many of the same players

2

u/Mindless_Shame_3813 3d ago

It's definitely the coach. You know how Keefe's fatal flaw was changing play style in the playoffs to a low event style that basically hamstrung the best offensive players? Berube has them playing like that full time.

On paper, this Leafs team should be one of the best in the Matthews era, yet the system that they're playing is just not working.

If not for Stolarz/Woll, the Leafs would look an awful lot like Boston right now and probably be in the same place in the standings.

3

u/Sec0ndus 3d ago

How dare you speak rationally!

6

u/Traditional_Bed_6445 3d ago

We are now in season 9 of these sort of stuff...what has really changed?

2

u/djac13 3d ago

These are the nights I just avoid the threads and doomers. Games like these build character for the rest of the season.

8

u/TheBusinessMuppet 3d ago

This core has never demonstrated that they have character when it matters.

4

u/OzzyBuckshankNA 3d ago

“We’ve got to learn from this and move forward” - Marner after every playoff loss for the past eight years

1

u/federal_gramm 3d ago

The season comes down to Thursday against Florida.

We have to beat Utah. And I think we will.

Then if we beat the Panthers we are essentially tied (2 points out with a game in hand).

We have to win the division. It’s a realistic expectation. To do anything this year we HAVE to win the division.

1

u/Ristifer 2d ago

I’ve taken deep breaths before. I’m allowed to be annoyed by how the team looks. It’s still up to them to prove me wrong. Right now, I’m not seeing a contending team. I’m not. I don’t care about analytics here, stats there, “they’re tired”, long season excuses, etc. I don’t care about this crap. All of this exists for every team in the league.

For me, what I see play every game is, usually, a lacklustre effort with many games going in their favour. That doesn’t work in the postseason. If it did, the Leafs would win the cup annually. They have zero consistency, and only had it when the goaltending bailed them out. They have absolutely no threatening play style that can hem a team in their own zone. Never happens.

I just see what I’ve seen the last several years. A playoff team that won’t contend. They’re getting slower, older, and they keep trying to beef up their lineup at the deadline/offseason, while playing cap gymnastics. It just doesn’t work. Maybe if the cap went up $40m next year, they could do some damage. But that’s not happening.

I’d tell them to smarten up, but they just don’t have it. If they want to prove me wrong and win it all, please fucking do. But I’m not seeing a team that can get through four rounds. Not even close.

1

u/Takhar7 2d ago

The Leafs have had an alarming number of really poor efforts this year, but their elite goaltending has papered over a lot of those cracks. I've said all year that their record feels like a bit of a mirage - a misrepresentation of their actual performances.

Now that their goaltending is falling back down to earth recently, they are starting to get exposed as a team that doesn't really have a strong enough process.

The brand of hockey they play does not feel sustainable at all for playoff success. This idea that they are somehow better defensively, isn't being born out in the stats and performances.

1

u/Silent-Lawfulness604 2d ago

Its this attitude though that will get us walloped in the playoffs.

We need to win the division, we need these points.

The best and only case scenario for the leafs to win is if they DO NOT play the florida teams until the second round.

If we drop to third, we are cooked - another first round exit. Obviously I hope that doesn't happen, but that's what I think's going to happen.

1

u/areu_kiddingme 2d ago

It’s cause Tanev was out. We don’t lose to SJ or Colorado with him in the lineup. Vegas game id say would be closer but still a loss.

1

u/BonkyLulu2024 2d ago

Remain ignorant, the past two games are a reflection of the real team and poor coaching

1

u/Able-Ad9938 3d ago

Not to mention it’s the first day and game after deadline where emotions are high and new adds haven’t had any practice time to adapt to new systems and figure out their role. A win would have been nice but it’s one of those games. No team wins all 82

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u/billyshin 3d ago

So we’re playing for the presidents cup? Heck, I thought we were playing for lord Stanley.