Predators @ Leafs - Nov. 21st, 7:00pm - LeafsTV, SN 590

[L K]

The Leafs defense:

Franson 12 points (0 goals)
Phaneuf 9 points (2 goals)
Rielly 8 points (0 goals)
Ranger 6 points (1 goal)
Gardiner 4 points (0 goals)
Gunnarsson 1 point (0 goals)
Fraser 0 points (0 goals)

There are 28 defensemen with as many goals as the entire Leafs blueline.

 

[lamajama]

name me one team that has come back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period. its impossible. name one. just one.

Twist it a bit more eh? 

 

[mc]

name me one team that has come back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period. its impossible. name one. just one.

Twist it a bit more eh? 

haha

 

[Stickytape]

That was quite a collection of dumb, ugly goals.  I feel for the guys who have to make the highlight reel of that garbage.

Only consolation: Boston also lost.

 

[mr grieves]

• The Leafs defense:
  
  Franson 12 points (0 goals)
  Phaneuf 9 points (2 goals)
  Rielly 8 points (0 goals)
  Ranger 6 points (1 goal)
  Gardiner 4 points (0 goals)
  Gunnarsson 1 point (0 goals)
  Fraser 0 points (0 goals)
  
  There are 28 defensemen with as many goals as the entire Leafs blueline.

  
  Well, isn't this just a product of the Leafs being a rush team? Of course the defense will only have assists if the top 6 forwards are scoring off the rush, no? And what's it matter if the stat line for the defenseman is assists or goals? As long as the team's scoring goals...
  
  Anyhow, I wondered how other teams compared. The Leafs's defensemen goal total is in the basement, yeah. Overall, the production is mediocre, which I wouldn't've guessed going into the season.
  
  1. Phx = 18G, 59P
  2. Chi = 9G, 59P
  3. Stl = 9G, 58P
  4. SJ = 13G, 55P
  5. Ott = 15G, 53P
  6. Cgy = 10G, 48P
  7. Van = 10G, 47P
  8. Cbj = 9G, 45P
  9. Min = 6G, 45P
  10. Mtl = 6G, 45P
  11. Bos = 14G, 43P
  12. Wpj = 11G, 43P
  13. TB = 7G, 42P
  14. Det = 7G, 41P
  15. Lak = 10G, 40P
  16. Tor = 3G, 40P
  17. Ana = 5G, 39P
  18. Col = 6G, 38P
  19. Pitt = 11G, 37P
  20. Wsh = 7G, 37P
  21. Ndj = 8G, 36P
  22. Nsh = 10G, 33P
  23. Car = 10G, 32P
  24. Nyi = 6G, 31P
  25. Dal = 9G, 29P
  26. Edm = 9G, 29P
  27. Fla = 5G, 27P
  28. Phi = 5G, 27P
  29. Buf = 9G, 26P
  30. Nyr = 9G, 25P
  

 

[ZBBM]

Those PHX numbers are crazed.

 

[moon111]

Those PHX numbers are crazed.

Remember when Washington had 80 goals from their top three defensemen?

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Phaneuf has really had a poor year in the offensive zone along the blueline.  He's really slow at moving laterally along the ice to try and keep the puck in the zone.  Very slow.  He actually seems a lot slower than previous years.  I don't know if it is the strain of his defensive minutes or what but there is very little of that that speed that he had even a year ago.

Defensively he continues to get better, but on the other end of things he's definitely lost a lot of his old flare.

Probably because Phaneuf, and the other D, rarely ever start an ES shift in the offensive zone.

 

[Jalili]

Phaneuf has really had a poor year in the offensive zone along the blueline.  He's really slow at moving laterally along the ice to try and keep the puck in the zone.  Very slow.  He actually seems a lot slower than previous years.  I don't know if it is the strain of his defensive minutes or what but there is very little of that that speed that he had even a year ago.

Defensively he continues to get better, but on the other end of things he's definitely lost a lot of his old flare.

Probably because Phaneuf, and the other D, rarely ever start an ES shift in the offensive zone.

That may be a contributor, but the observation of Phaneuf is based more on the eye test than anything else.

Compared to how he played in his early 20s, it seems that he's lost a fair bit of physical talent: skating, slapshot, and bone crunching hits. (The latter I don't fault him for though given the direction the league is headed in).

He's compensated for those losses by being a much smarter, safer defensive player than he was before.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

He hasn't really lost them, he just isn't in the same situations as he was.  When he first came into the league, the league was just coming off a lockout and the first couple years had elevated PP rates.  In 2005-06 Phaneuf was averaging 5:19 on the PP per game.  He scored 20 goals that season and 16 of them were on the PP.  The next season he averaged 5:34 of PP time/game and scored 17 goals, 13 of which were on the PP.  Same thing in 07-8 - 5:00 PP time/game, 17 goals, 10 on the PP.  His goal totals fell the next season despite 5:00 PP time/game, but it's likely that was just variance in his SH% - unlucky if you will.  By 09-10, he was down to almost 2:00 less/game on the PP.  As a result, his shot totals were down as well - 82 game pace of just over 200 rather than the 230-270 totals he was hitting before.

In 10-11 he was on pace for 236 shots and in 11-12 he hit 202 shots.  It's really in the past two seasons Carlyle has given Phaneuf the toughest minutes he's had in the league and his shot totals have taken a hit - last season he was on an 82 game pace of only ~150, and this season his pace so far is for ~120 shots.  Last season he rode a high SH% (just like in other years it's been a bit lower) and was still on an 82 game pace for close to 50 points.

He's just being used as a more complete player now.  I don't think it's a matter of the tools being there anymore - he's not getting the same opportunities and not being used in the same role, so his opportunities for offence will take a resulting hit.

 

[Jalili]

I do think you're correct that the role he's put in will have an effect on his numbers. It's not so much that he doesn't have the tools, but that over the years his age has caught up a bit and he's lost a step here and there.