Blue Jackets @ Leafs - Mar. 3rd, 7:00pm - SN, SN 590

[azzurri63]

Like Nik just said, they played well enough in the 1st period, and have played well for many stretches this season. It's inconsistency. I don't agree with a lot of Carlyle's decisions, but I don't blame him for individuals having brain farts.  Some of these pop up over and over with the same players (ie Franson) Others are from rookies learning the game. And effort, or lack of it, is squarely on the players shoulders. Period.

But, we're not just talking about individual brain farts. We're talking team-wide issues. There's absolutely no reason all 5 skaters should be within 5 feet of their own net so frequently. There are constant issues with breakouts, zone entries, puck support, etc. None of these have anything to do with effort. As for the stretches of overall good play, they've been short and isolated. Even when the Leafs were winning, they were playing poorly defensively. The fact that the puck was going in for them really helped mask that for a lot of people. Playing well for one period of the game doesn't change a thing. In fact, that it's so easy for other teams to turn the table on the Leafs after a good period on such a regular basis is a coaching issue. The Leafs system is way too easy to take advantage of when the top line isn't producing.

Been harping about this crap for more than just this season. Anyone who thinks this team has moved forward since the Bruin collapse is brain dead. Leafs management hasn't dealt with anything whether it's the players or Carlyle something needed to be done. Their play has been like this for 2 seasons now under Carlyle. Everyone thinks we're going to wake up one day and these guys are going learn how to play defensively.

 

[bustaheims]

I think the thing though is that it's not an either/or thing. There are things I don't like about Carlyle's coaching but just now Millen said, correctly, that the Leafs aren't winning any individual battles and, I mean, there's just nothing that Carlyle can do about that. Like it or not, that's a huge part of why this team stumbles for stretches. The difference between what the Kessel line did in the 1st and since? That's not because they were coached differently or used differently.

Sure, there are other issues outside of Carlyle, but, I also wouldn't be surprised if a number of them improved with a different system or a different coaching staff. Part of the issue with puck battles comes from positioning. If the players are deployed differently, they'll get to more pucks first, which means puck battles become less of an issue (and the team would at least appear to win more of them). It's obviously not going to magically improve everything, but, incremental improvements could go a long way. As for the Kessel line . . . outside of not being able to put the puck in the net, they've been pretty good most of the night and have created almost all of the Leafs scoring chances. I have no issues with them. They can't do it all, though, and they're all too frequently being relied on to do just that.

 

[L K]

Two less than stellar games to start the post-Olympic stretch.  Playing at home and getting outshot 24-12 in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

 

[lamajama]

Clarkson fell. Everybody drink!

You must be joking!  everyone here would be gooned by the 10 min mark of the first period....

 

[ZBBM]

Kind of flukey but I'll take it.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Meanwhile the Jackets roll 4 lines nicely.

 

[lamajama]

Finally

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Alright just play Kessel for the rest of the game and it'll be winnable.

 

[L K]

Big goal.  The Leafs have been sleepwalking since the 1st so they better have something in their legs for the final 4 minutes of the 3rd.

 

[LittleHockeyFan]

yay.

though at this point in the game, it's a bfd?

 

[bustaheims]

You've just isolated their number one problem here. The core of this teams defense is either too inexperienced, or too offensive minded.

Defence is, and always has been, a team thing, not a defenceman thing. The biggest defensive issue with the team is the system they play, not the guys on the blue line who are part of it. Adding a defensive defenceman or a more experienced player or two isn't going to have a material impact on that. They're not going to suddenly start playing a different system than the one their coach has been deploying them in all season.

 

[Britishbulldog]

WHY WASN'T THE KESSEL LINE OUT AFTER THAT GOAL??????

 

[L K]

Phaneuf has been abysmal in this game.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Gotta put Clarkson out after the goal of course.

 

[lamajama]

You've just isolated their number one problem here. The core of this teams defense is either too inexperienced, or too offensive minded.

Defence is, and always has been, a team thing, not a defenceman thing. The biggest defensive issue with the team is the system they play, not the guys on the blue line who are part of it. Adding a defensive defenceman or a more experienced player or two isn't going to have a material impact on that. They're not going to suddenly start playing a different system than the one their coach has been deploying them in all season.

X100. Great comment.

 

[lc9]

Bozak can't finish.

 

[ZBBM]

Good.  We deserved to lose.

 

[lc9]

No patience.  Not one guy understands hesitation, fire right into the shins every time. 

This team is hard to watch.  Clarkson, 7 years.  Brutal Nonis, brutal.

 

[mc]

piss poor effort. complete no show for most of the game.

 

[bustaheims]

Well, at least Reimer was pretty good.