GhostofPotvin29
New member
harps64 said:
I do enjoy some good sarcasm, well played!
Game 25: Leafs @ Bruins - Mar. 7th, 7:00PM - TSN, TSN 1050
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
I do enjoy some good sarcasm, well played!
azzurri63
Active member
sneakyray said:
You never know when everyone is healthy if any chemistry or line combos might affect anything but I like the way the team looks. If any area I think we could improve it's the D and overall team defensive play. Think we will have 3 solid lines that can contribute offensively with Lupul and Frattin back. Defense I think we could improve with Holzer and Kostka back down. Like to see Gardiner and Liles back if not maybe pickup someone in a trade.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
azzurri63 said:
Agreed.
Britishbulldog
Active member
Potvin29 said:
Exactly. I caught that faceoff as well. Good strategy that worked.
Britishbulldog
Active member
I got in to catch the end of the 2nd and all of the 3rd which is rare for me.
My observation was:
Positive side-
- the PK was dominant against the Bruins
- after almost every game last year hearing in the press that the Leafs against the Bruins were like boys against men...tonight no Leaf backed down from any Bruin. Seeing Kadri in the 3rd bumping Lucic was nuts. No fear.
- The Leafs seem to be in better shape this year. McClement, Kulemin and Grabovski seemed to be machines out there.
The negative:
- Phaneuf seems over his head in games like this. None of the dmen seem able to handle the comeback push. Maybe the 3rd pairing was most composed which probably isn't good...
- MacArthur still seems to guess at his plays rather than anticipate the play like Kadri does. Couple of BRUTAL give aways although he seems to be doing better overall.
Lupul and Frattin back in and Reimer in the net and I believe the Leafs could beat the Bruins.
My observation was:
Positive side-
- the PK was dominant against the Bruins
- after almost every game last year hearing in the press that the Leafs against the Bruins were like boys against men...tonight no Leaf backed down from any Bruin. Seeing Kadri in the 3rd bumping Lucic was nuts. No fear.
- The Leafs seem to be in better shape this year. McClement, Kulemin and Grabovski seemed to be machines out there.
The negative:
- Phaneuf seems over his head in games like this. None of the dmen seem able to handle the comeback push. Maybe the 3rd pairing was most composed which probably isn't good...
- MacArthur still seems to guess at his plays rather than anticipate the play like Kadri does. Couple of BRUTAL give aways although he seems to be doing better overall.
Lupul and Frattin back in and Reimer in the net and I believe the Leafs could beat the Bruins.
Heroic Shrimp
New member
sickbeast said:
One of those was an empty netter. I thought he was fine.
x.jr.benchwarmer
New member
The Leafs got beaten by a better team tonight.
But, to me at least, it was non-sensical that Orr was out there in the 3rd period of a close game and then took an idiotic selfish penalty. In fact, he could hae had a 5 minute major as well. (I was watching the Boston feed, and the commentators were remarking how slow and out of position the 4th line was. It seems that everyone can see it, except for Carlyle and Don Cherry).
Kadri was again around the puck, and was a force in the offensive zone. He has been the most consistent offensive player this year for the Leafs, and makes his linemates that much better.
And Phaneuf's penalty was also stupid. In fact, Dion had one of his worst games this year, if that is possible. Every time he had the puck in the Leafs zone, he was so tentative with it, or coughed it up. He is a $6 million plus pylon (but with a lot of grit and has a very inspiring hate stare against opponents). He was on for at least 3 goals against, and was out of position so often. He had way too much ice time, especially with his struggles tonight, IMHO. In fact, Fraser looked solid, once again, and should be playing more, especially in these physical and fast-skating games.
But, to me at least, it was non-sensical that Orr was out there in the 3rd period of a close game and then took an idiotic selfish penalty. In fact, he could hae had a 5 minute major as well. (I was watching the Boston feed, and the commentators were remarking how slow and out of position the 4th line was. It seems that everyone can see it, except for Carlyle and Don Cherry).
Kadri was again around the puck, and was a force in the offensive zone. He has been the most consistent offensive player this year for the Leafs, and makes his linemates that much better.
And Phaneuf's penalty was also stupid. In fact, Dion had one of his worst games this year, if that is possible. Every time he had the puck in the Leafs zone, he was so tentative with it, or coughed it up. He is a $6 million plus pylon (but with a lot of grit and has a very inspiring hate stare against opponents). He was on for at least 3 goals against, and was out of position so often. He had way too much ice time, especially with his struggles tonight, IMHO. In fact, Fraser looked solid, once again, and should be playing more, especially in these physical and fast-skating games.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
Mostar said:
It's a mystery.
Chev-boyar-sky
New member
Potvin29 said:
Ah ok I stand corrected. Phaneuf sucked and it's Carlyle's fault.
Phaneuf, however, with the game on the line booted the puck all over the ice. Losing the puck in the D zone (twice) was tragically comical, but not something I'd like to see from the captain.
I thought he had a horrible game. Actually that's not strong enough. A wretched game. Yeah that's it, Phaneuf had a wretched game!
hockeyfan1
New member
Britishbulldog said:
Most likely.
L K
Active member
Heroic Shrimp said:
It would be nice if he learned to not touch the puck behind the net on every single play. There were a few times last night where his aggressive puck play took possession away from the Leafs and created scrums behind the net because he would come out when the Bruins were right there.
That and his rebound control was something awful last night. He wasn't the reason the Leafs lost but he was kicking some juicy ones out there on the ice.
From the team perspective, the Kessel line just can't handle this kind of game. I don't know if it is because there isn't enough size on it or what, but Kessel avoids the physical contact and it kills a lot of rushes because he will back off on forechecking opportunities to avoid scrums along the boards. It wasn't like any of the other lines were that much better, but when you have Kadri getting into it with Chara a few times, it does kind of show the glaring difference between Kadri's game and Kessel's.
It's not Kessel's fault that he is a soft peripheral scorer (because at his best he is one of the best scorers in the league), but I think the team really needs to stop throwing him out with the most icetime in games like this. He's just not productive.
He has 9 points in 20 games against the Bruins and is a -20.
BlueWhiteBlood
New member
L K said:
Those are all really good points, it's exactly how I see Kessel and that line. Maybe Lupul comes back with a little sandpaper, but other than that, they do need to play Kessel less with games like Boston.
To Kessel's credit, he has been trying to be a bit more physical the past two games, but he's really not suited for it.
GhostofPotvin29
New member
L K said:
I don't think it helps the situation to throw him out there with a 3rd line C every time he's played them. I know there haven't been many options, but I bet you'd see Kessel's game improve against Boston with an actual 1st line C. I mean, even the couple times Kadri came down the ice against Chara, and he's one of the best "dekers" out there, Chara calmly poked the puck away each time. Kessel's not a great 'possession' player, but the lack of a good C for him is most glaring against Boston.
