Oh man, I can't believe they messed up so badly in the 3rd! ...but who'd have thought that in the beginning of their season we'd see em make it to game 7 against the number one team.
Leafs playoff game assessments
- Thread starter fmahovalich
- Start date
Boston came in 4th.Oh man, I can't believe they messed up so badly in the 3rd! ...but who'd have thought that in the beginning of their season we'd see em make it to game 7 against the number one team.
A complete and utter third period debacle.
NO EXCUSE.
The reason..of course...is a complete defensive zone breakdown. They failed to chase pucks, failed to fight for pucks, were outworked, cleared extremely poorly, and allowed the Bruins to play the game entirely inside the Leafs blue line.
Given the utter defensive collapse, the Leafs did not deserve the win last night.
Yes it was pathetic. yes I was screaming loudly, and yes I will renew my season tickets. But the better team won last night...and onwards we go.
As they say...IT'S NOT OVER TO ITS OVER....AND IT'S CERTAINLY NOT OVER HALF WAY THROUGH THE THIRD.
I AM NOT SURPRISED FRankly...given my lack of faith in our DEFENCE.
NO EXCUSE.
The reason..of course...is a complete defensive zone breakdown. They failed to chase pucks, failed to fight for pucks, were outworked, cleared extremely poorly, and allowed the Bruins to play the game entirely inside the Leafs blue line.
Given the utter defensive collapse, the Leafs did not deserve the win last night.
Yes it was pathetic. yes I was screaming loudly, and yes I will renew my season tickets. But the better team won last night...and onwards we go.
As they say...IT'S NOT OVER TO ITS OVER....AND IT'S CERTAINLY NOT OVER HALF WAY THROUGH THE THIRD.
I AM NOT SURPRISED FRankly...given my lack of faith in our DEFENCE.
I lost count of the numerous times a Bruin D man would stop the puck along the boards at the Leaf blueline and start an offensive play.Shooting the puck along the boards isn't risky at all.
I meant "a top team" but thanks for the clarification. Regardless, my point still remains, the Leafs did us well. Proud Toronto fan here!!!Boston came in 4th.
Based on your analyses, they should have been knocked out waaay before they had a chance for a game 7 third period meltdown.A complete and utter third period debacle.
I AM NOT SURPRISED FRankly...given my lack of faith in our DEFENCE.
Your analyses were way off and it seems to me you were very, very quiet here while the Leafs were winning. I guess being a critic after a loss is much easier Mr. Mahovlich.
Actually my analysis was SPOT ON, given all the day after analysis that agreed with mine.
An improved Leaf DEFENCE is CLEARLY the summer priority.
An improved Leaf DEFENCE is CLEARLY the summer priority.
I don't know which is more painful: Lost 4 games to 1 (as many experts predicted) or bowed out in Game 7 after leading 4 goals to 1 with 10 minutes to go.
The total collapse in the 3rd period last night almost took place in the 3rd period of Game 5 when the Bruins lopsidedly dominated plays, down 1 goal. Leafs could have easily lost Game 5 and the series then. It survived that period thanks to lucky bounces and Reimer, leading to the heartbreaking disaster last night. On hindsight, I don't know which is less devastating.
One score has been settled in this series, and it is a Toronto victory - the Kessel trade is won by Toronto, once and for all, case closed.
The total collapse in the 3rd period last night almost took place in the 3rd period of Game 5 when the Bruins lopsidedly dominated plays, down 1 goal. Leafs could have easily lost Game 5 and the series then. It survived that period thanks to lucky bounces and Reimer, leading to the heartbreaking disaster last night. On hindsight, I don't know which is less devastating.
One score has been settled in this series, and it is a Toronto victory - the Kessel trade is won by Toronto, once and for all, case closed.
What was your prediction before the series?Actually my analysis was SPOT ON, given all the day after analysis that agreed with mine.
An improved Leaf DEFENCE is CLEARLY the summer priority.
Reimer is the goalie of the present and future:thumb:. He won so many games when the Leafs were outshot (badly outshot in many cases). By the time he retires he will have been the best Leaf goalie since the great Johnny Bower.
He would have to take a pay cut, unless he has a Norris trophy type season. We'll see, many players tend to play well in their contract year.100% agree!
What happens with Dion? UFA after next season, would the Leafs let a captain walk?
I strongly suspect Dion is not in the long term plans. Given that he will NOT be resigned, I suspect he will be traded at the deadline next year.
For no other reason...( yes he is paid too much), but more specifically , the DEFENCE needs a COMPLETE overhaul.
For no other reason...( yes he is paid too much), but more specifically , the DEFENCE needs a COMPLETE overhaul.
You are surprised ?Based on your analyses, they should have been knocked out waaay before they had a chance for a game 7 third period meltdown.
Your analyses were way off and it seems to me you were very, very quiet here while the Leafs were winning. I guess being a critic after a loss is much easier Mr. Mahovlich.
Frank is one of those 'experts' who says something, then disappears when it looks like idiot, but then pops back up when 'the day is saved' to say 'see I told you so'. Just the kind of fans Leafs Nation has absolutely no use for.
Our boys played their hearts out and the only reason we lost was inexperience. It was a sick feeling when Boston scored the winner, it was like one moment you thought you won the lottery and the next you got ran over by a truck. I can imagine the players must feel a lot worse than we fans do.
If you're a real Leaf fan, you should show appreciation rather than pointing fingers at individual players. I know for the first time since the Gilmour days I can say I feel proud to be a Leaf fan again and I just cant wait for next season to start. They got better as the series went along and if we were to start a brand new 7 game series all over again today, I'd bet my house for a Leafs win.
A lot of credit have to go to Burke for having built this young and exciting team. Had he replaced Wilson with Carlyle one year earlier, he might still be the Leaf GM today, and its my guess that the reason he got fired was because of some kind of blow ups he had with upper management when he found out he wasn't going to get the chief CEO job.
If you're a real Leaf fan, you should show appreciation rather than pointing fingers at individual players. I know for the first time since the Gilmour days I can say I feel proud to be a Leaf fan again and I just cant wait for next season to start. They got better as the series went along and if we were to start a brand new 7 game series all over again today, I'd bet my house for a Leafs win.
A lot of credit have to go to Burke for having built this young and exciting team. Had he replaced Wilson with Carlyle one year earlier, he might still be the Leaf GM today, and its my guess that the reason he got fired was because of some kind of blow ups he had with upper management when he found out he wasn't going to get the chief CEO job.
Did you count all the shots that hit iron, or the last game late miss that trickled to the corner post. There were all short of twists and turns that lead to a 7 game over time series loss. Even the supposed Phaneuf flop when he pinched in and missed, except that Kessle turned over the puck and O'Byrne backed in too close to Reimer and Reimer missed it. So it was a the result of a number of problems that caused that one goal.Our boys played their hearts out and the only reason we lost was inexperience. It was a sick feeling when Boston scored the winner, it was like one moment you thought you won the lottery and the next you got ran over by a truck. I can imagine the players must feel a lot worse than we fans do.
If you're a real Leaf fan, you should show appreciation rather than pointing fingers at individual players. I know for the first time since the Gilmour days I can say I feel proud to be a Leaf fan again and I just cant wait for next season to start. They got better as the series went along and if we were to start a brand new 7 game series all over again today, I'd bet my house for a Leafs win.
A lot of credit have to go to Burke for having built this young and exciting team. Had he replaced Wilson with Carlyle one year earlier, he might still be the Leaf GM today, and its my guess that the reason he got fired was because of some kind of blow ups he had with upper management when he found out he wasn't going to get the chief CEO job.
Over any 7 game series there bound to be millions of twists and turns and mistakes. it couldn't have been any closer (they say on radio its like 98.7%) and the two shots that tied the game had to have gone exactly where they went, one cm either left right, up down the result would have been different; but win or lose, all I care as a fan is the players play with heart and effort and the rest is up to management to make whatever changes they see fit to improve the team. How close we came will continue to haunt both fans and players until next season.Did you count all the shots that hit iron, or the last game late miss that trickled to the corner post. There were all short of twists and turns that lead to a 7 game over time series loss. Even the supposed Phaneuf flop when he pinched in and missed, except that Kessle turned over the puck and O'Byrne backed in too close to Reimer and Reimer missed it. So it was a the result of a number of problems that caused that one goal.
well put.Over any 7 game series there bound to be millions of twists and turns and mistakes. it couldn't have been any closer (they say on radio its like 98.7%) and the two shots that tied the game had to have gone exactly where they went, one cm either left right, up down the result would have been different; but win or lose, all I care as a fan is the players play with heart and effort and the rest is up to management to make whatever changes they see fit to improve the team. How close we came will continue to haunt both fans and players until next season.
I am already counting down the days to next season and looking forward to extracting revenge on the Bruins. The Leafs shown that they are no longer scared of the Bruins. They got over that 8-0 thrashing a few years ago now they get over that game 7 collapse.How close we came will continue to haunt both fans and players until next season.
It's all part of the learning process. From the second game on they learned they could compete with the Bruins, but as soon as they went up 4-1 in the 7th game, they seemed stunned by their own success and collectively they went into a deep freeze. Losing so badly in the faceoff circles finally caught up too and it's the only area that we could truly say the Bruins were far superior.I am already counting down the days to next season and looking forward to extracting revenge on the Bruins. The Leafs shown that they are no longer scared of the Bruins. They got over that 8-0 thrashing a few years ago now they get over that game 7 collapse.
Keep in mind that half of the defence core had never really played as NHL regulars for a full season before and Carlyle did a great job in the development of Franson and Gardiner. The Bruins played a high pressure forechecking style and forced the young guys into making few errors, but I see that to be a lesson well learned and it will only benefit them in their development.
