Panthers vs. Leafs - Dec. 2nd, 7:30pm - TSN4

[Frank E]

The Leafs were 72% in the dot last night.

 

[cabber24]

Best win of the season? Best win of the season. Leafs got rolled last year against a short handed Panther squad. Took care of business tonight and put up enough of a cushion to stave off the pushin’.

This was the best win of the season and hopefully the start of a new direction for this year's group. Depth scoring has not existed in a long, long time. If we can roll lines, this is in fact the new DNA we've been looking for.

 

[Bender]

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.

The PP is a whole other discussion, but I do think the team is a lot better than what we've seen in the past. Is it really a surprise that the Leafs are looking better with better goaltending and a fully healthy forward group? The biggest thing that gives me pause isn't so much the team - it's that AM34 looks like a beat up old man out there comparatively. We're not going to amount to much if he plays more like an $8M forward instead of $13M+.

 

[herman]

This was the best win of the season and hopefully the start of a new direction for this year's group. Depth scoring has not existed in a long, long time. If we can roll lines, this is in fact the new DNA we've been looking for.

I think Stecher makes a huge difference there. Depth lines need help getting the puck into the OZ to let them go to work. That's the commonality of teams that have good depth scoring: puck moving defense.

 

[Chris]

The PP is a whole other discussion, but I do think the team is a lot better than what we've seen in the past. Is it really a surprise that the Leafs are looking better with better goaltending and a fully healthy forward group? The biggest thing that gives me pause isn't so much the team - it's that AM34 looks like a beat up old man out there comparatively. We're not going to amount to much if he plays more like an $8M forward instead of $13M+.

This is it in a nutshell for me. With AM playing like he has so far, this should be a playoff team and maybe even a win-a-round team, depending on matchup and what the injury situation looks like at the time. If AM can get back closer to what he has been in the past, and we get a healthy Tanev back, (and figure out how to score some PP goals) I do think this team could do damage in the playoffs. Maybe not Cup damage, but if you get a hot goalie who knows.

The Roy/Joshua/McMann line could be what we've all been looking for for years now. Three big guys who can forecheck, hit, play some defense, with decent puck skills (especially Joshua near the net) and one with speed to get in on the forecheck. The big problem is that 2 of them have been wildly inconsistent and prone to disappear for long stretches. McMann should be extra motivated in this UFA year, probably his one chance to earn a decent contract somewhere.

The PP is ridiculous at this point and it's hard to believe they're even practicing it based on what it looks like.

 

[4EVRLEAFAN]

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.

And keep in mind Stolarz had a real bad stretch, if we had the goaltending we're getting now from the beginning there's no doubt we'd be in A/2.

 

[dappleganger]

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

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​

Tavares used to be a net front option for the Leafs. I'm not sure I'm tied to Knies in front of the net on PP - 1 with his 2 PP points so far this year.

I'd have Matthews set up from where he wants to shoot, Tavares in front of the net. Then have Domi and Nylander as two guys who can carry the puck around the zone, let them create some havoc and open up different lanes. Have Rielly or OEL at the blue line, I can't say I really care who.

Edit: Domi's assist/60 on the power play is quite high.