Canadiens @ Leafs - May 27th, 7:00pm - CBC, TSN 1050
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
Andy007
Active member
Obviously it was a slow start, which was exacerbated by two absolute fluke goals, so coming back and tying the game and pretty much dismantling the Habs for the last half (sans OT) was good to see, at least. Price made a number of point-blank saves and stymied numerous odd-man chances. Frustrating, and also frustrating not to finish Montreal off, but a fully healthy Canadiens squad isn't a terrible team.
For Game 6 I would like to see the Leafs energized and dominant in period 1. They've been pretty slow to get going this series and they shouldn't let Montreal gain momentum at home. I'd also like to see Thornton scratched but that's probably not going to happen, neither is taking him off the PP (or at least PP1!), which is a total head-scratcher to me. Marner and Matthews need to get going; the latter has been playing well and getting chances but the former is really scuffling offensively and is constantly thwarting prime chances and PP cycling (though his defensive play/PK has been excellent).
Leafs HAVE to finish this is six. They have to, don't they???
For Game 6 I would like to see the Leafs energized and dominant in period 1. They've been pretty slow to get going this series and they shouldn't let Montreal gain momentum at home. I'd also like to see Thornton scratched but that's probably not going to happen, neither is taking him off the PP (or at least PP1!), which is a total head-scratcher to me. Marner and Matthews need to get going; the latter has been playing well and getting chances but the former is really scuffling offensively and is constantly thwarting prime chances and PP cycling (though his defensive play/PK has been excellent).
Leafs HAVE to finish this is six. They have to, don't they???
herman
Well-known member
The loss on an avoidable mistake sucked. Nothing wrong with the pinch by Bogo, good for Galchenyuk supporting the play, but much less good making a blind bump to the middle (even though it is a semi-set play too). A quick shoulder check on retrieval would've shown there was a lower risk option of chipping it deep again to start up the cycle. That said, left shot at the right wall for a player with limited agility is going to have a hard time either way to make something click without a lot of luck.
Clawing back to tie the game in the third was good to see (hello Muzzin with the Nylander group).
Seeing the fanbase echoing my talking points from last year (more Nylander/PP1 Willy, pls stop trying to do too much Marner) is validating but also sad that the issue has only become exacerbated under the playoff microscope and is somewhat unfairly maligning Marner's many contributions.
Clawing back to tie the game in the third was good to see (hello Muzzin with the Nylander group).
Seeing the fanbase echoing my talking points from last year (more Nylander/PP1 Willy, pls stop trying to do too much Marner) is validating but also sad that the issue has only become exacerbated under the playoff microscope and is somewhat unfairly maligning Marner's many contributions.
Andy said:
I'm better today, although I think I bet my wife all the money in our savings account last night that bad things were going to happen in my immediate reaction to the loss. That may be a future problem that I have to deal with.
The bolded part is what I take issue with. Most people didn't give the Habs a snowballs chance in hell of winning this series, so they weren't saying what you are saying there Andy. If the Canadiens pull it off and come back from 3-1, which is really hard for a team to do when they are considered good, what does that say about the Leafs? Where do they go from there?
Guilt Trip
Active member
I agree. Campbell has played very well but has let in some very "savable" goals. I think 4 of the 8 have been weak. The 2nd and 3rd goals last night can't go in even though the Leafs broke down. The good thing though is that they haven't needed him to bail them out much unlike Price has had to.OldTimeHockey said:
Guilt Trip
Active member
Funny thing is Thornton has been on the ice for 2 of the 3 PP goals, scored 1 of them. My issue isn't having Thornton on PP1, it's having him and Hyman there. One of them needs to go and Willy needs to be there. I like Hyman and all but he's not playing well and is killing the Matthews line.Andy said:
bustaheims
Active member
Andy said:
Sure, but there are very few truly terrible teams in the NHL. The Habs - even at full strength - are not a good team. In the standard divisional alignment, they're almost certainly not a playoff team. Probably not even that close to being one, quite frankly.
4EVRLEAFAN
Member
I tend to agree, 2nd and 3rd goals should not have gone in, also here's an interesting take on the 2 on 0, should Campbell have knocked the net off? Take the penalty shot as now you're ready for it , much better odds of making the save...hmm.Guilt Trip said:
louisstamos
Active member
4EVRLEAFAN said:
They actually made a rule about that in 2019, after David Leggio did it a couple of times in the minors. If you knock the net off intentionally on a breakaway or 2-on-0, it's an automatic goal.
4EVRLEAFAN
Member
louisstamos said:
I had no idea they made that rule, thanks.
dappleganger
Active member
bustaheims said:
They're probably 12th.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
Guilt Trip said:
When/if Foligno comes back, I'd throw him back on the ice with Marner and Matthews. I'd leave Nylander on his own with Kerfoot and Galcenyuk. I'd bump Hyman down to the third line(where he's at his best).
Andy007
Active member
Dappleganger said:
This year Montreal (5 on 5) had a 54.4 CF%, 65.1 xGF, 52.2 XGA and a 58.7 SCF%. Their analytic stats are well above league average. High danger shots for, against, etc; all are very good. They are not a 12th place Conference team. Combine very average goaltending (.901 Price save %) with an extended absence to Gallagher and you get what looks like average to below average overall stats. A healthy Canadiens team with playoff Carey Price is not exactly a pushover.
Frank E said:
He skated on his own yesterday.
Andy said:
There's truth to both sides of this argument. At the end of the day Montreal finished the season with a .527 points percentage, that translates to 86 points over an 82 game season. That's well, well below the usual cut off point for the playoffs and in a regular divisional format they definitely finish behind at least Tampa, Toronto, Florida, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, Carolina, and New York. It's pretty much undeniable that they only made the playoffs this year because of how the divisions were formatted.
But yes on the flip side their record was probably worse than their actual fully healthy (Price, Weber, Gallagher)/fully motivated (Price) line-up suggests.
OldTimeHockey
Active member
herman said:
I love how deliberate Tavares' moves are. If you could duplicate that dedication to your entire team.....look out.
Guilt Trip
Active member
X2..Andy said: