Still plenty of games left to drop to 1st wild card to play Carolina. Ottawa is the second-hottest team in the NHL. If Andersen is the starting goalie, I like the Leafs chances vs Carolina, the Leafs played well against Andersen.
Leafs '22/'23 Thread
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The Leafs have to play their games sooner or later.
You need to look at what their schedule was in February; it couldn't possibly have been any easier.
After the all-star break ended the Leafs played 8 games in 23 days, while other teams were doing exactly what the Leafs are doing now.
Every team has stretches where they play 3 games in 4 nights... all of them.
TB has lost 4 straight. They are winning that race.
The whole point of the regular season is to get into the playoffs.
Both teams have done that.
Wins and losses now till the playoffs are meaningless.
They are a lock to face each other round 1.
The team is evaluated based on how they do round 1 against TB.
They could win 20 straight and that means nothing if they lose in round 1.
The season TB lost 4 straight to Columbus does anyone even remember or care what TB did in the regular season?
All they remember was TB and their epic failure.
That year TB had 128 pts and a whopping 103 goal differential.
Next closest was Boston with 107 pts. That's a 21 pt gap between 1st and 2nd.
TB was a regular season juggernaut.
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That's what happens in the playoffs, unless you win every series in 4 games. Playoffs are a grind, I'm not convinced with their "unbalanced" team the Leafs can survive such a grind.
I get the feeling that the Lightning are starting to rest their star players.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper benches three top scorers for entire third period as team struggles (msn.com)
If this was an up n coming young team like the Sens, I’d sure like it to face the easiest opponent possible so to give them more confidence, but the leafs are no longer that and winning just one round will be considered as failure imo. If they‘re just good enough to beat the worst team that qualifies for the playoffs, then I’d rather they get knocked out in the first round again, in which case ownership will realize it’s structural flaws and make the proper corrections.
Not winning the cup is a failure, yes. But some Leaf fans are just content with round 1 win.
I'm looking at the standings of the last 10 games played at the pace Buffalo /Ottawa and Tampa are going, Tampa could end up as a wild card, not likely but it could happen.
looked at Tampa's schedule they got 4 games in 7 days for 3 weeks in a row. Plus 3 back to backs.
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There's a difference between content and realistic.
Do you not realize only 1 team out of 32 wins the cup every year.
Should 31 General Managers be fired every year for failure
Once you're in the playoffs you have a shot at the cup.
I wouldn't put Leafs as favourites to win the cup.
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The goal is to win the cup this year. President's Trophy winners have poor track records of winning the cup.
Leafs are not the only team to have a goal of winning the cup this year.
It's not just Boston. I wouldn't put Leafs as favourites outside of Boston.
Not even close.
If I had to put my hard earned money to win the cup here's the list of teams I would put ahead of Leafs:
Dallas, Rangers, Vegas. Colorado, and of course Boston
Here's the list of teams I would put on par:
TB, New Jersey, Carolina, Edmonton
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It comes down to expectations. Not 32 teams are considered cup contenders. On average each season there may be only 6-8 teams that are considered as “cup contenders ” and the Leafs have been fairly or unfairly considered as a cup contender over the last 4 years. Not being able to win even one round certainly qualifies the GM for dismissal.
In almost every sport.
That's why it's so easy to be a critic. They only have a 3% chance of being wrong.
My expections are realistic. Most people only see Toronto. I see other teams. I hear this often. Leafs have a monopoly on high end talent. They have more skill than every other team. Just total nonsense and garbage. It's a salary cap league.
Leafs weakness is they can't close out. They've lost 9 series clinching games and won zero in the past 6 seasons.
So they can get to the well but can't drink from it.
Montreal made the Finals with the 18th best regular season record. Get into the playoffs and you got a shot.
St Louis was in last place in the entire league on Jan 1st the year they won the cup.
In 1993 when Montreal won the cup favourites were being knocked out early.
When LA won the cup in 2012 they were 8th in their Conference.
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Last night was the first time in my life that I saw the Toronto CBC station did not show the Saturday night Leaf game which started at 7 Pm Eastern ( even though it was in Vancouver) .... what up with dat? Edmonton and Winnipeg on Toronto's CBC channel? And CityTV had Ottawa and Columbus. Sportsnet is playing dirty now ! Thank God for streaming.
Watched Tampa shit the bed vs the Canes. Don't feel so bad after a Leafs loss. But I think Tampa will snap out it in time for the Leafs.
What“realistic expectations “ are totally subjective. The point of contention here is will or should Dubas be fired if the Leafs don’t have good run in the playoffs this year. Again what constitutes a success or failure is subject to personal opinionts. Perhaps with your realistic expectations you think he should stay on even if they get bounced in the first round again ?
I think the fact that his expiring contract hasn’t been renewed is an indication that he will be fired if that happens, how many rounds they have to win to save his job only the board members know.
