Wings @ Leafs - Jan. 1st, 3:00pm - SN, Fan 590

[Kin]

Obviously, I'm just speculating, but I wonder if a big part of the reason why it wasn't interference was because Andersen went down on his own, and put Vanek into a position where he was interfering, rather than the other way around. At least, that's how it appeared to play out to me.

Maybe. I'm not even prepared to say it was the wrong call(I think we all know Refs let a ton of stuff go in the last minute if it's a one goal game) I just generally don't have a sense of the rule right now.

 

[louisstamos]

You guys remember when the Leafs won the lottery, and some fans were like "trade it to Arizona for Max Domi?"

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Jack Eichel had 24 goals in 81 games as a rookie last season.

 

[ZBBM]

Jack Eichel had 24 goals in 81 games as a rookie last season.

And he was generational.

Well, maybe demigenerational.

 

[Bill_Berg]

Obviously, I'm just speculating, but I wonder if a big part of the reason why it wasn't interference was because Andersen went down on his own, and put Vanek into a position where he was interfering, rather than the other way around. At least, that's how it appeared to play out to me.

Maybe. I'm not even prepared to say it was the wrong call(I think we all know Refs let a ton of stuff go in the last minute if it's a one goal game) I just generally don't have a sense of the rule right now.

Anderson seemed to go too far to the left, taking himself out of the play. I wonder if they felt he wouldn't have been able to make the save even if he was unimpeded.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Matthews is on pace for 45 goals this season. Since the lockout only Ovechkin scored more in his rookie year with 52.

 

[McGarnagle]

Gardiner with just a fantastic game too. 2 assists. Was huge on the Brown goal.

Gardiner also with a pretty big lead in CF% today at 67.57.

Brought to you by the 'Vote Gardiner in MOTM' committee.

Komorov led the entire forwards with 21 mins, had a team-leading 8 hits, played a great positional game, started the scoring, and wasn't part of that 2 goal meltdown that I could tell, anyway.

Also, if there was a swamp, I'm pretty sure he'd drain it. Vote Komorov!

 

[Tigger]

Sweet result.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Komorov led the entire forwards with 21 mins, had a team-leading 8 hits, played a great positional game, started the scoring, and wasn't part of that 2 goal meltdown that I could tell, anyway.

Also, if there was a swamp, I'm pretty sure he'd drain it. Vote Komorov!

4th worst CF% among forwards at 44.74. Aside from his goal I honestly didn't notice him much.

 

[Kin]

Anderson seemed to go too far to the left, taking himself out of the play. I wonder if they felt he wouldn't have been able to make the save even if he was unimpeded.

That's what I mean about wanting an official explanation. Personally that one doesn't really jive with what I saw. He had gone to the left, sure, but it's not like Mantha put it into the right side of the net. He put it right in the middle. Andersen definitely could have gotten within reaching distance of the goal even if it wouldn't have necessarily been an easy save.

 

[McGarnagle]

Komorov led the entire forwards with 21 mins, had a team-leading 8 hits, played a great positional game, started the scoring, and wasn't part of that 2 goal meltdown that I could tell, anyway.

Also, if there was a swamp, I'm pretty sure he'd drain it. Vote Komorov!

4th worst CF% among forwards at 44.74. Aside from his goal I honestly didn't notice him much.

Does CF% really mean all that much in a single game sample?

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Komorov led the entire forwards with 21 mins, had a team-leading 8 hits, played a great positional game, started the scoring, and wasn't part of that 2 goal meltdown that I could tell, anyway.

Also, if there was a swamp, I'm pretty sure he'd drain it. Vote Komorov!

4th worst CF% among forwards at 44.74. Aside from his goal I honestly didn't notice him much.

I think that's why looking at those numbers on an individual game basis is a little misleading. After the Martin fight, Komarov really helped sustain the forward momentum by being really physical, it fed the energy of the team I thought.

 

[Kin]

Does CF% really mean all that much in a single game sample?

Nothing really is all that definitive in a single game sample. Even goals can go off your butt.

I will say though that we know the old complaint about hits being used as a "good" statistic and I think it has some validity here. I definitely thought Nylander was the star of that line.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Does CF% really mean all that much in a single game sample?

It's more descriptive than it is predictive. I think it still shows how a player played in a single game, but it says nothing of how a player will perform in future games.

 

[Bill_Berg]

Anderson seemed to go too far to the left, taking himself out of the play. I wonder if they felt he wouldn't have been able to make the save even if he was unimpeded.

That's what I mean about wanting an official explanation. Personally that one doesn't really jive with what I saw. He had gone to the left, sure, but it's not like Mantha put it into the right side of the net. He put it right in the middle. Andersen definitely could have gotten within reaching distance of the goal even if it wouldn't have necessarily been an easy save.

Ya I don't disagree that an explanation would be good. Just can't think of much else they could have seen, and I though that Anderson had moved too far left in general, further than he probably intended anyway. I admit I'm grasping at straws to understand how it wasn't interference.

 

[herman]

I noticed both Komarov and Gardiner.

Komarov had some nice open ice hits to knock pucks loose and keep plays alive (especially in the early third). His goal was a very shrewd and opportunistic move to sneak into a strong net front position. He disappeared towards the end however.

Gardiner had a ridiculous number of quick stick checks to defuse rushes and either turned them up ice with short passes or gained the offensive zone himself skating through traffic. His pinches and passes were directly responsible for chances and a couple of goals.

 

[herman]

And for those that think Nylander is bad at defense, he had plenty of Gardiner-esque moments as well with strong stick lifts in his own and neutral zones with sneaky advantageous positioning that quickly turned into chances going the other way.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

You know what, maybe I'm discounting Komarov's performance a little bit in jest, but I still don't see how it tops Gardiner. 22+ minutes of dominant possession time. A pair of very key assists, including on the game winner in overtime. Heck I'd even throw in that his pass on the Komarov goal was probably more impressive than the goal itself. Was also a key component on the Brown goal where he didn't record an assist.

He was a lot closer to overtaking Matthews for the MOTM than he was to not getting a HM from me.

 

[Highlander]

Ya Nylander looked good as well. didnt mention that in MoM comments

 

[Kin]

And for those that think Nylander is bad at defense, he had plenty of Gardiner-esque moments as well with strong stick lifts in his own and neutral zones with sneaky advantageous positioning that quickly turned into chances going the other way.

Other people have said it better and more forcefully than I will but some of the criticism of Nylander this year is, quite frankly, bananas.

How he went from being someone we were all really excited about as a future top 6 center to being, in some people's views, someone who can't manage the position is really dumb. He's 20. If Babcock himself said he didn't think Nylander could do it long term I'd think he'd cracked.