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Leafs @ Wild - Oct. 20th, 8:00pm - TSN4, Fan 590

[tweet]789126757597138945[/tweet]

Lance HornbyVerified account
‏@sunhornby
Leafs will skip skate for a morning meeting. Expected topic: How not to blow a 4-0 lead.
 
mrg16 said:
I think a pairing of Reilly and Zaitsev for the night would be a good fit for both.  Reilly has a great defensive game and can go when required.  Same for Zaitsev.  He is an experienced d-man from the KHL who can also play well in is own end and both can outlet the puck well and show little panic in their own end.  I know that Polak is slow but pairing him with Hunwick as a shut down pair seems more suited and Gardiner needs to up his game and play a little smarter.  Corrado for Carrick to see what happens as well too.  IMO it wasn't the forwards or the goalie that let us down last night.
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I think Babcock wants Reilly and Ziatsev together as well... but Zaitsev is only on game #4 of his NHL career and Babs still doesn't want him facing the oppositions best quite yet.  Hopefully it happens soon though.

I agree the goaltending didn't let us down last night- although, Andersen overplayed the potential shot on the 4th goal, leading to a wide-open net for Laine.  The forwards, I would disagree with you.  They constantly turned the puck over in their own end and didn't have enough jam on the board battles to get it out.
 
TBLeafer said:
[tweet]789126757597138945[/tweet]

Lance HornbyVerified account
‏@sunhornby
Leafs will skip skate for a morning meeting. Expected topic: How not to blow a 4-0 lead.
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It didn't take Lance long to take a jab at the team. His time would be better spent asking Naz what's wrong with Lupul.
 
LuncheonMeat said:
TBLeafer said:
[tweet]789126757597138945[/tweet]

Lance HornbyVerified account
‏@sunhornby
Leafs will skip skate for a morning meeting. Expected topic: How not to blow a 4-0 lead.
Click to expand...

It didn't take Lance long to take a jab at the team. His time would be better spent asking Naz what's wrong with Lupul.
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Meh, blowing a 4-0 lead is pretty easy to take a jab at.  That being said, here's some good perspective from Laich on the matter:

"The last 15 minutes of the game, you push for a goal. It's pretty easy to play. You play care-free, guns-a-blazing, you're trying to score. Flip that: You're up a goal? How do we play? That's something different. ...These guys are going to get used to playing when they're expected to win, when it's tough, Not just chasing a game. Chasing a game is easy. There's no pressure. But playing with a lead, playing structured, playing smart, how everything matters, getting the puck out, not hooking a guy, moving your feet, body position. Everything matters when you're playing with the lead."
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https://www.thestar.com/sports/breakaway_blog/2016/10/maple-leafs-discover-winning-is-harder-than-losing.html
 
It would impress me very much if, after the circumstances of last night's game combined with it being the second night of a road back to back, the team came out and looked good tonight.

I think this situation is very much an early test of their resolve.
 
Leafs only managed one goal in the 2 games against the Wild last season.  Shutout 1-0 in Minny, when Parise fell on Reimer's groin and re-agitated it and Gards with the lone goal at the ACC, losing 2-1.
 
I agree with Carlton that the top line should be, and soon will be, Rielly and Zaitsev.  Marincin isn't a top-pairing guy but he's not the problem on defense.  He can be a 4-5-6 guy on a good team.
 
#Leafs Most Points Since Feb 29, 2016:

William Nylander - 17
Nazem Kadri - 14
Morgan Rielly - 13

? Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 20, 2016
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Feb 29 was Nylander's debut day (along with Hyman, Soshnikov, Kapanen, Carrick on the Leafs, Ben Smith on the Leafs).

Small sample size, but Nylander is also sporting the highest PPG of his draft class at the moment (0.68 over 17 games). Draisaitl (0.58 over 113 games), Larkin (0.55 over 84 games), and Ehlers (0.53 over 76 games) are the next three. He also has the lead in Goals per Game.
 
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