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The Leaf Look

Feb 15, 2015
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https://theleaflook.blogspot.com/

Colorado at Toronto - Dec.4,2019

Frederik Andersen walked into Sheldon Keefe's office Wednesday and said "I want to play again tonight". That could've been a message to his teammates that they need to come out flying now that he's giving them a chance to win, or he just simply wanted to redeem himself with a win. Either way I love the determination. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as planned.

I didn't think Freddy was the issue at all Tuesday night against Philadelphia. The team lost that game because the players in front of him didn't play with the heart that they played with last night against Colorado. Guys were back-checking hard, winning puck battles along the boards, even throwing their weight around which I couldn't believe. Freddy was solid as usual, making great saves on several scoring chances. This is how the Leafs need to play every night going forward. Hell, even Mitch Marner who just came back from a high ankle sprain tried to stop an empty netter slapshot by making a mini-sticks goalie save. It looked clear to me that the boys wanted to win tonight.

"The Spezza play" was very unfortunate. That's the best way to describe it. He actually had a great shift until a shot hit his stick which broke instantaneously. It seems like he skated over to the puck to try and keep it the zone with his skate, unaware that Rielly was behind him and then he just wasn't sure whether he should move out of the way and risk hitting Rielly's stick with his knee, or just stand there and let him take the puck. Tough position to be in. However, you need your best players to go out after that goal with an answer. I thought Keefe should've taken a timeout and let Matthews, Willy and Mitch rest and regroup.

Keefe mixed it up halfway through the first period by putting Rielly and Barrie together and dropping Ceci down to the third pairing with Dermott which seemed to work very well. He then decided to put Marner with Willy and Matthews and it was obvious that also works very well. I thought for sure we were going to see a goal from that line but such is life. Keefe then changed some things around again in the 2nd by reuniting the Hyman-Tavares-Marner line. He also double shifted the Matthews line multiple times and limited the fourth line's playing time significantly. It's clear he is fortunately nothing like Babcock and is willing to try new things during a game. He's letting his players just go out and do what they do best and trying to give them a little push by surrounding the best players with each other. So far, I'm loving the Keefe-era.

Despite playing well, you need to pull out a win. To their credit, they pressured very well the last 3 minutes of the game but I'm not seeing the Leafs best players be stars when they need to be most. I hate to bring up comparisons of other players on other teams in different circumstances but guys like MacKinnon, Malkin, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, Marchand, etc. step up when they need to and execute by scoring goals. If you want to be one of the highest paid forwards in the NHL, you have to play like it. Which brings me to the report cards for last night.


Frederik Andersen - A
Freddy asked the coach to play, wanted to win and played like it. He made some huge saves, prevented several goals from happening, covered up rebounds and gave the team a solid chance to win. It's a shame the guys in front of him couldn't get it done but that was the definition of what you want a starting goaltender performance to look like.

Zach Hyman - A-
Classic Zach Hyman game: worked his balls off, hit people, won every puck battle and had a tuck. The Hyman-Kerfoot-Kapenen line was great, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and creating multiple scoring chances. There was one point near the end of the first period where Hyman won a puck battle by himself along the offensive zone boards against two Avs players. I wish every Leaf played with the heart Hyman has every night.

Kasperi Kapanen - B+
Kappy was throwing his weight around and played great with Hyman and Kerfoot. At one point he finished a check on Calvert who then tried to fight Kappy, which just made Calvert look like an idiot. It was a clean hit. He was back-checking hard and playing both ends of the ice. Obviously not a perfect game from him as he didn't score but I loved his intensity, his work ethic and if he keeps playing like that the goals will come.

Alex Kerfoot - B+
In addition to Kappy, he was flying around and making solid passes in the offensive zone. Like I mentioned earlier, his line created scoring chances and weren't a liability defensively. He made an excellent no-looker pass to Hyman who subsequently deflected it past Grubauer. Plus, he still can't eat solid food.

Travis Dermott - B+
I rarely have anything bad to say about this guy. He never quits and he comes to play every night. He made some great hits, was working his ass off to get to the puck first, keeping the puck in the O-zone and was making beauty passes. He was carrying the puck into the zone from his own end which I saw alot last year but I feel like Babs told him to cut it out. Hopefully with Keefe, he'll remember he needs to do more of it.

Cody Ceci - B
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Cody Ceci actually had a solid hockey game last night. He broke up plays, made tape-to-tape passes(!) and didn't look out of place. I actually marked down a "solid pass to Marner blue line-blue line" on the PK in the 3rd period where he would've normally just dumped it in with a clapper. However, there was one classic Ceci play with about 3:15 left in the first where he hesitated for at least a full 2 seconds on going to get a loose puck with no one around. It almost looked like he was contemplating whether or not he even wanted to be on the ice. Other than that though, he didn't make mistakes and he was just a solid defensive defenceman. Need more games like this from him.

Mitch Marner - B
I thought it was too early for him to come back from a high ankle sprain but he didn't look like he missed any time. Several analysts and/or insiders who have spoken with trainers or doctors have said that once you feel 100% coming off of a high ankle sprain, give it 1-2 more weeks. He was still flying, had some great opportunities and played great with Matthews. I think he needs to shoot more. He doesn't have a bullet like Auston, but when he has the opportunity, instead of trying to deke he needs to just shoot it.

William Nylander - B
Had multiple scoring chances, made great passes and had great puck possession. He looked like one of the better players on the ice but unfortunately couldn't come up with any points.

Justin Holl - B
I thought he did not have a great game Tuesday night but last night he redeemed himself. He broke up plays, one odd man rush in the first where he stopped a pass to the net. In the 2nd, he broke up a play and then in the same shift made a great play to get the puck in the O-zone. Him and Dermott have been the most consistent D-men for the Leafs this season.

Auston Matthews - B-
Matthews always has great numbers but when you watch him play, the numbers don't equate with his performance on the ice. He can be much, much better. Last year, I was expecting something great from him every time he was on the ice. He was a threat. He was flying around the ice, cycling beautifully in the offensive zone, dancing and dangling around guys along the boards and ripping wrist shots in the net from anywhere. I haven't seen that on a consistent basis this year. I rarely see the dangling along the boards anymore, his wrist shots are just going into the stomach or pads of the opposing goalie, the shots don't feel as lethal every time he shoots and I don't see that solid cycling every game. There has been too many games this year where he's had a lack of effort which shows me that the staff made the right decision in naming Tavares captain. However, last night he was actually using his body instead of making stick checks, which the Leafs need to do more of and he was back-checking like he used to. He made some muffin passes - he actually turned the puck over twice in the neutral zone - and like Marner, he needs to shoot more because he does have a bullet. He should be at least an A- every night.

Ilya Mikheyev - B-
Another solid effort from the Soup Man. I thought he especially had a great first period which made me believe he was going to score last night. He made a great pass to Tavares in the 2nd but Grubauer stopped him. He's not a flashy player but he does a great job of using those long legs to beat defenceman on the outside when carrying the puck in. He's a great net-front presence, he's hard to push off the puck and there's rarely a lack of effort from him.

John Tavares - B-
I find Johnny to be kind of invisible in games until he gets a scoring chance. During the Babs days earlier this year, there were a stretch of games where I was convinced he was hurt based on his lack of effort and his poor performance. But last night he seemed to have some jump and since Keefe has been brought into the picture, he doesn't seem injured to me anymore. He had a great chance on that Mikheyev pass but he was just too close to the goalie and didn't have an opportunity for a solid shot. He carried the puck in with great speed in the 3rd period but only got a mediocre shot off. He made a couple muffin passes in the neutral zone, as did Matthews, but he definitely wasn't a liability and his line had some chances to score.

Andreas Johnsson - B-
I thought he was okay until getting hurt by a blocking a shot. He was back-checking hard and trying to get to the puck first. He was using his body to bump some guys off the puck at times but unfortunately had to leave the game after the 2nd.

Morgan Rielly - C+
This was actually one of Mo's better games this season, but whatever is hurting him is clearly still hindering his play. He's not moving like he used to last year and he doesn't have the same speed. Many times last season, we saw him fly down the wing and join the rush or carry it in from his own end and try to set up a play. I rarely see that anymore from him but I saw glimpses of it last night. At one point in the 2nd, he bumped someone off the puck forcing a turnover and then jumped up on the rush. However, the times he tried to join the rush it seemed like he was just a stride or two from keeping up with the forwards. Many times I've seen him carry it to the red line and realize he won't be able to beat the opposing player and shoots it in their zone. He iced a couple passes, he fumbled the puck behind his own net in the 2nd period and in the 3rd period, turning it over both times. He missed a practice last week because his "injury" was bothering him. Despite him playing over 25 minutes last night, I fear that it's something that requires surgery but needs to wait until the off-season and I hope his ice-time doesn't make things worse. Regardless, he's not the same Rielly we know he can be.

Tyson Barrie- C+
I thought this was a solid game from him again and he looks like he has some confidence back. He made an end-to-end rush in the 2nd period but it was broken up once he got into their zone. Still love that he's trying that. He's clearly better off not playing with Muzzin. I thought Barrie was kind of invisible in the first period though which can be good and bad. He iced a pass in the second period but he didn't make any blatant mistakes out there. I thought he was fine on the PP but he needs to use his shot from the point more.

Jason Spezza - C
Ugh, the poor guy. I don't even want to talk about "the play" because it makes me cringe. I feel bad for the guy, he just didn't know where to go. He had a decent game up until that point. He had a great carry-in on the PP in the 3rd but he broke his stick on the shot (foreshadowing?). Also later in the 3rd, he had made a great play behind the net, centering it out front but unfortunately no one was there. I think he's had better games and definitely wants to forget that ending, but I wouldn't mind seeing him play like this or better every night.

Jake Muzzin - D
Pretty bad game overall for Muzzin. There were several times where he couldn't get the puck out of his own end, iced a few passes and with about 15 seconds left in the first period he passed the puck to literally no one, forcing a turnover. At around the 10:30 mark in the 2nd, he has the puck near the face-off dot in his own end and instead of throwing a pass back around his own net to the opposite side boards or flicking it over everyone out of the zone or looking for a cross-ice pass, he skates towards the boards and tries to eat it where the Avs won the puck battle which could've easily formed into a goal. He also took a penalty in the 3rd period. Has had way better games.

************ Engvall - D
Two giveaways in the first period on his first two shifts, didn't really do much offensively or defensively and this line barely played. When watching Marlies games, he always looks like one of the best players on the ice but here, not so much. He had a hot start but I don't seem producing at that pace on the fourth line. He doesn't require waivers so he'll be the first one to be sent down once Moore is back. I'd honestly rather see the Goat instead of the Giraffe in the lineup anyhow. Still nice to have him as a depth option though.

Dmytro Timashov - F
Pretty disastrous game for Timo. I thought he had a really lazy first two shifts of the game and then the fourth line didn't play at all the second half of the first period. Then he takes a dumb, blatant hooking penalty around the 10:00 mark of the second period which lead to a goal and then his line didn't see the ice again until the 4:00 mark where they didn't have a great shift with the puck ending up in their own end on a Freddy frozen puck. Not a good look from someone who's battling for a job on the fourth line right now.
 
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superstar_88

The Chiseler
Jan 4, 2008
5,277
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Good blog. Keep it up.
Next up the defending champs blues.
Some might say their best game of the season was against the blues and that was a loss. Will be interesting to see how a Keefe style team plays against them
 

gcostanza

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2010
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superstar_88

The Chiseler
Jan 4, 2008
5,277
964
113
The other was started by Dart. Who happens to know diddly about hockey by the way. He has full copyright and patent on it. Oagre can chime in on the legalities.
 

glamphotographer

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2011
15,901
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Canada
The other was started by Dart. Who happens to know diddly about hockey by the way. He has full copyright and patent on it. Oagre can chime in on the legalities.
Ahhhh, I see, so this should be the new official terb Leafs thread.

Well then every Leaf played vs the Blues got A- in the 5-2 win.
 

Darts

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2017
23,061
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Ahhhh, I see, so this should be the new official terb Leafs thread.
I think it would be fantastic if the two BFF's start their own Leaf thread. That way they can spend all day telling each other how smart they think they are and how they think everybody loves them.
 

shack

Nitpicker Extraordinaire
Oct 2, 2001
46,705
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Toronto
I never complained about you starting the Leafs thread. I started the Jays thread.

BTW, don't sell yourself short, your list of BFFs admirers is much more than 2.
 

gcostanza

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2010
7,818
527
113
So why start a new thread.
Why not link the blog into the active Leafs thread?
 

wazup

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2010
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If you're going to pump this on here you need to become an advertiser I believe.
 
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