Cleaning Up After Last Night's Mess

[The Insider]

Well, as you can imagine, the day after getting crushed 8-0 at home, all the critics are out now on this Leaf team. I will admit it was tough to watch the Leafs getting beaten in every aspect of the game last night, but like I said yesterday night it was only 1 game out of 82, so we really need to rebound right away. If you heard any of the Leaf interviews following the game, they all pretty much echoed the same concepts:

#1 - From top to bottom the team played terrible, they started out flat and all game could get nothing going offensively.

&

#2 - They want to put the game behind them and quickly rebound against a returning pair of former Leafs and the Florida Panthers.


I was a little shocked to be hearing all this line shake up talk, only to see everyone still with the same group. I think we have no choice but to separate the Allison-O'Neill-Tucker tandem since right now they can't score and can't play any defense. Lindros is playing good except he's stuck with Domi and Kilger who have looked good but only because Lindros is carrying them. I think based on who we have right now here's the lines we should be icing:

Czerkawski - Lindros - O'Neill
Ponikarovsky - Allison - Wellwood
Steen - Stajan - Tucker
Kilger - Wilm - Domi

My reasons are simple, Lindros needs to be given linemates who can set him up and capitalize on chances he gives them and these two are the best we have right now. Allison is a decent passer, but he's a very slow skater and almost seems to be hesitant to go hard into corners and to the net, putting him with Wellwood and Ponikarovski will give him two young linemates who will not only go into corners, but create chances for him. Steen and Stajan are two of our best defensive players, while Tucker is a little weak in that category, so it only makes sense to put a grinder like Tucker out with finesse players to get the kind of help we need at both ends of the rink. And Line 4 is what Line 4 should look like, grinders and tough guys who are basically out there to provide energy and/or a spark to get the top lines going. Now of course all of this changes when Mats, and Nik get back cause they will be automatically put in the lineup, but if we were to put out a forward unit that would be mine.

On defense... screw it, I'm not even going to get into that... I'll save that for another day since that one is just too tiring and too draining to worry about.

[Leafs_Fa_Life]

The lines from today in practice are:

Poni Lindros O'Neill
Tucker Wellwood Domi
Steen Stajan Perrot (in for Allison who was out)
Kilger Wilm Belak

I could live with those lines. Poni and O'Neill is a step up from Kilger and Domi for Lindros. Also, Stajan and Steen give Allison some faster, more creative players to set up, and also two guys who'll get back and play some defense. There's a drop off in the next two lines, but clearly trying to roll 4 lines didn't work so well, so the team will have to be top heavy until Sundin and Antropov come back.

On defense I guess it'll be:

McCabe Kaberle
Klee Berg
Khavanov Kronwall

No Belak instantly improves this group. Berg is still a weak link, but the other 5guys will hopefully get the job done.

[Madferret]

Ouch.
McCabe just wiffed 36 seconds in and Roberts walked in, 1-0 Cats.
Meow

[Madferret]

Well the Leafs won 2-1, I don't know if you could call that a hockey game though.
Boy does Martin ever have the Cats playing typical Martin hockey. Sit back and do absolutely nothing for 55 minutes, then pour it all on in the last 5 when they're losing.
Beating a sub 500 hockey team by a goal is just what Leaf nation needed though, Newfie John should be back from ducking this place anytime now.

- Between that game and the Habs / Rangers game, this night gets my vote for most painfully boring hockey night so far this seasnn...:snore:

[J.R.]

Beating a sub 500 hockey team by a goal is just what Leaf nation needed though, Newfie John should be back from ducking this place anytime now.The Panthers' undisputed best player, Roberto Luongo, wasn't playing. Toronto only scored two goals on Jamie McLennan, who saw his first action of the season tonight. Huh.

[Madferret]

The Panthers' undisputed best player, Roberto Luongo, wasn't playing. Toronto only scored two goals on Jamie McLennan, who saw his first action of the season tonight. Huh.

Van Ryn put the winner in for the Leafs.

[Amoroq]

I see the 2 closet leaf fans have plenty to say ;) As they say a win is a win and they all count towards the end number :thumb:

In my mind I?m goin? to carolina

Can?t you see the sunshine

Can?t you just feel the moonshine :thumb:

[The Insider]

The Panthers' undisputed best player, Roberto Luongo, wasn't playing. Toronto only scored two goals on Jamie McLennan, who saw his first action of the season tonight. Huh.

As was the Leafs undisputed best player Mats Sundin, so basically they cancel each other out and guess what... Leafs won. 1 goal, 2 goals, 7 goals, makes no difference, come April 2 points is 2 points.

Beating a sub 500 hockey team by a goal is just what Leaf nation needed though.

Like I said before, 1 goal, 2 goals, 7 goals, makes no difference, come April 2 points is 2 points, and last time I checked the Panthers were above .500, so this whole you only beat the Panthers is a lot different then what it sounds. And for the record, if this was a game, we were "supposed to win," we won it, wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and it's a decent bounce back game after we clearly came out flat against the Sens and got schooled because of it.

[Madferret]

Like I said before, 1 goal, 2 goals, 7 goals, makes no difference, come April 2 points is 2 points, and last time I checked the Panthers were above .500, so this whole you only beat the Panthers is a lot different then what it sounds. And for the record, if this was a game, we were "supposed to win," we won it, wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and it's a decent bounce back game after we clearly came out flat against the Sens and got schooled because of it.

Mike, I don't know about you but I didn't really notice much of a difference between the two games. If that's the best Toronto can do after getting thumped, I'd be a bit concerned. They could have easily lost last night. They got a very friendly bounce.

[Amoroq]

Mike, I don't know about you but I didn't really notice much of a difference between the two games. If that's the best Toronto can do after getting thumped, I'd be a bit concerned. They could have easily lost last night. They got a very friendly bounce.There should be a stat of puck posession as imo the leafs had more puck control in this game. Except for the last 7 minutes they had control of the puck for most of this game. The problem is they were trying to be too cute with the passing, sure it looked sweet, but they need to get the puck on the net more. It looks like they are trying something different with the play in their own end and its encouraging. I can't count the number of times Eddy made some nice passes. He is comming out to the the puck before it crosses the back line. By doing this he is facing up ice and can see the play. Before he had to turn his back to the play and thats caused more then a few turn overs. I noticed the stretch passing in the 2nd Boston game, went out in the trash in the Ottawa game, but was back last night and has created a lot of open ice for the forwards. Once this team gets this perfected that in itself will become a good defense as it will force teams to sit back in an effort to prevent the down low play where this team always seems to get in trouble. The forwards are going to have to learn to quickly get back in case of an errent pass but its only game 12 and everyone is still learning to play the new game.

[bluemeanie]

Well, it's not the game that I hoped to watch. I would have liked to see them come out a little stronger after that game that we won't mention again. Perhaps Roberts' early goal through them off a bit - but at least Eddie seemed to keep his composure after that. Like every game so far, other then the unmentionable one, there were good things coupled with bad things to take away. Maybe it's the first step in many to get back to the offensive form we were enjoying earlier on, but imo they need a mental shake. Maybe the line change might help, maybe it's the return of Sundin, but something has to happen. The more that I look at the standings the more obvious it is that getting a PO position will be no small task. Until Quinn makes a change on Defence, it will be unlikely to see our forwards start producing at the rate that they need to be. Flu bugs or no flu bugs, the Leafs need to play better then they did last night. We now face Carolina and Tampa to finish the week, two tough games, but ones that we can win - we must win. Hopefully if they find their game in those two matches, we can ride that flow into Sunday's game against Washington for another confidence booster.

[Rusty]

We still suck.

Gonna be a looooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng winter.

Thank god we are moving into a new house and I am starting a new job..........

[Man.Utd]

As was the Leafs undisputed best player Mats Sundin, so basically they cancel each other out and guess what... Leafs won. 1 goal, 2 goals, 7 goals, makes no difference, come April 2 points is 2 points.

No center in the league, let alone mats Sundin, can effect the game like (with Brodeur's reent struggles) the best goalie in the league can. Goalies are different that way. They don't come close to cancelling each other out IMO.

Anyway, take the W and run with it. They all count for 2 points. But based on what I've seen, Toronto is in for it's worst season in quite some time. Then again, you guys have had it pretty good lately.

[bluemeanie]

No center in the league, let alone mats Sundin, can effect the game like (with Brodeur's reent struggles) the best goalie in the league can. Goalies are different that way. They don't come close to cancelling each other out IMO.

As a general rule, yes. But on a game-to-game basis, a skater can easily turn a game around as well. I'd say that even your Alfredsson has won about three games single handedly for you guys this year. (I've watched two of them) Sundin has done the same for us in the past. Good skaters find ways of scoring on good goaltenders.

Anyway, take the W and run with it. They all count for 2 points. But based on what I've seen, Toronto is in for it's worst season in quite some time. Then again, you guys have had it pretty good lately.

Again I agree with you here for the most part, but as an article that I read this morning pointed out, the Leafs are only one point behind where they sat this many games in back in the 03-04 season with almost an identicle goals for and against record. It's still early to tell. Although I don't expect the Leafs to aquire the same 103 points that they did that year, finding a PO position is not out of the question yet. And in the PO's anything can happen. But that could just be the optimist in me talking... or the Scotch from last night.