Leafs 2013-14 Regular Season Thread

[whysoserious]

This team will not survive giving up this number of shots, the offense lagging like it has of late and relying on the goaltenders. Something has to give. They're kind of winning with smoke and mirrors. It's good to see but the way they are playing, they could be poised for a long losing streak.

The saving grace of the season has been goaltending and now Bernier had a bad game last week and Reimer hasn't been good tonight. Both games weren't entirely the goalies fault but they can't keep going at it scoring a goal a game either in support of these guys.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Brutal loss last night. Fraser looks out of his element right now.

I found this promising and sad at the same time.

http://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2013/11/25/5141822/evaluating-defensive-performance-among-the-nhls-defencemen

Basically Jake Gardiner is a top 10 defensive defenseman this season according to a few corsi evaluations, but he'll forever be maligned by our own GM who doesn't even look at advance stats. And now that Leiweke blindly re-upped Nonis we're stuck with this age of ignorance. Who doesn't want to use all available information? Leiweke says he wants to engage with the fans, but when he claims he doesn't ever want to look at critical thinking blogs like ppp he's basically writing his own epitaph.

[Ado05]

OT, but RIP TSN.

[whysoserious]

OT, but RIP TSN.

TSN will be perfectly fine. Rogers Sportsnet survived when they lost national coverage and TSN is way better as a network then Sportsnet. They are more polished and have all the ESPN content as well.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Benched Gardiner unfairly and then choked away a 4-1 and a 5-3 lead and didn't get a single shot on net from the 2nd period on. Not a good stretch for the Leafs right now.

[whysoserious]

Benched Gardiner unfairly and then choked away a 4-1 and a 5-3 lead and didn't get a single shot on net from the 2nd period on. Not a good stretch for the Leafs right now.

I'm sorry but it's absolutely unacceptable that you don't get a shot on net in the third period and overtime in such an important game. That was so ridiculousWTF was going on here.

Yes, Pittsburgh turned it on, especially after the powerplay. Yes, the Malkin goal to tie it shouldn't have counted but that doesn't matter.

This team is not good enough defensively to stop pushing forward and sit back. They need to keep countering and it's not like the Pens defence was playing well. They just stopped countering under the pressure and couldn't calm down and control things.

The shots against thing has been a huge problem all year and nothing is improving, but now that the offense is slowing down the Leafs are being exposed. They are just lucky that both Reimer and Bernier have been so good early and the last week both have taken a step back a little. The workload may be catching up to them.

[LLJ]

I wonder if the wheels are starting to come off here. I don't buy that they were just lucky early on, but I do think their style of play can be exposed in a long season.

[whysoserious]

I don't know if it's exposed or moreso with this style, you're prone to really hot streaks and really cold streaks. Other than the Pens game, the offense hasn't been for a while. And minus the Columbus and Pittsburgh games, the goalies for the most part have kept them in the game. So the style is pretty much the same but the offense can't get more than a goal or two, the number of shots they give up and you're going to lose more than win.

[kaulkhara15]

Injuries/suspension has definitely hurt our offense too though, I'd give it more time and wait for Lupul so we have our full top 6

[ATLTimekeeper]

This is the regression most were expecting. Clarkson's poor output isn't helping. He needs to score. I fear Jake Gardiner is getting the Alex Steen treatment here. There's no way he should be in the press box. Fraser has been a disaster since returning from injury, too.

[YogiStewart]

I wonder if the wheels are starting to come off here. I don't buy that they were just lucky early on, but I do think their style of play can be exposed in a long season.

read my earlier posts.
an incredibly easy schedule, plus an Eastern conference that is beyond dreadful. seriously, there are 2 good teams at best. after that, mediocre to crap.
this is not a good Leafs team. the D is as bad as advertised. Reilly's a breath of fresh air, but the rest are stinky gym socks.
forward core is overrated. after the (great) top 3, you have Clarkson? oy vey. not him again.

IF the Leafs can hold up through Dec and Jan, when the schedule gets tough, they'll be fine. and i mean "play 0.500 hockey" which looks like a long shot right about now.
do not be surprised to see them sink to 8th or lower. the only saving grace? the rest of the east sucks. not sure if the Leafs will suck the most.

[Mohanad]

Leafs defensive make-up is designed for offense based on the strengths of its personnel and its the lowest scoring defense in the NHL. Defense is not their forte first and foremost and it leads to lack of team possession, give-aways and breakdowns.

The team has also been butchered with injuries and suspensions (went on a stretch where our starting 3 centers were out) and there's still about 70% of our schedule still left to play. We're still in a playoff spot, tied for 5th in the East. A couple of breaks (horrendous Malkin call, JVR no call call against the Sabers) and we could have been third seed heading into this game. Still disappointed with the lack of urgency, definitely not playing like we're capable of. Don't expect a win tonight either. This stretch has been tough to watch

[zilby]

As Smitch might say, "Mo Shats!"

Seriously, though. Aside from a few games, the goalies have been terrific this year, and the other five guys are letting them down. Stagnant offense leads to having to fight back on defense, which is never good. Kessel and JVR are doing their jobs, whom else? We're not going to win scoring a goal a game. Needs to be more. Same goes for last night. Getting outshot by the team that shoots the least is never a good sign. Better offensive schemes would open a lot of things up for the Leafs.

Heh, almost hard not to say the Raps, speaking of offensive woes...

[YogiStewart]

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/12/02/le ... -road-trip

the contract that keeps on giving.
he's not quite Rudy Gay level, but that Clarkson deal's going from bad to worse if he's getting 3rd line minutes. pure stupidity on Carlyle's side.
this and sitting Gardiner are 2 things i really don't get about Randy.

anyways, the December sched.

TUE, 3 DEC 2013 SHARKS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM SNET-O PREVIEW
THU, 5 DEC 2013 STARS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM LEAFS TV
SAT, 7 DEC 2013 MAPLE LEAFS SENATORS
7:00 PM CBC
SUN, 8 DEC 2013 BRUINS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM RDS2, LEAFS TV
WED, 11 DEC 2013 KINGS MAPLE LEAFS
7:30 PM TSN, RDS2
THU, 12 DEC 2013 MAPLE LEAFS BLUES
8:00 PM LEAFS TV
SAT, 14 DEC 2013 BLACKHAWKS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM CBC
MON, 16 DEC 2013 MAPLE LEAFS PENGUINS
7:00 PM RDS, NHLN-US, SNET-O
TUE, 17 DEC 2013 PANTHERS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM LEAFS TV
THU, 19 DEC 2013 COYOTES MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM TSN
SAT, 21 DEC 2013 RED WINGS MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM CBC, NHLN-US
MON, 23 DEC 2013 MAPLE LEAFS RANGERS
7:00 PM SNET-O
FRI, 27 DEC 2013 SABRES MAPLE LEAFS
7:30 PM TSN
SUN, 29 DEC 2013 HURRICANES MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM LEAFS TV

very realistic that the Leafs can go 5-9.
that assumes they win the 2nd game of both of their back to backs.

the January schedule's not as tough, but it is possible the leafs go 0.500 in Jan.
the Feb schedule's a cakewalk, but, by that point, it may be too late. then again, this is the Eastern conf.

[whysoserious]

It's never too late in the East. That and the goaltending has been awesome minus the last 10-14 days.

They also have had some injuries to the core forward group that set them back a little bit. As long as the goaltending holds up, they should be fine, at least from the perspective of being a playoff team.

But there are deep issues with the blueline that need to be addressed. Gardiner and Reilly really shouldn't sit. I'm not sure how Paul Ranger keeps getting his time despite a bad mistake almost every game.

As for Clarkson, totally agree Yogi. The guy should be playing with Kadri and Lupul (though Lupul and he like the same position on the ice).

Clarkson though will never live up to that contract. It was a horrible investment of money. They should have just hoarded the capspace and waited for a C to come on the market or gone after Seguin in a trade or something. Though Boston likely wasn't trading him to Toronto. But still. I have rarely seen anything positive from Clarkson and little impact on the games he's played.

[Mohanad]

Missing Lupul, Kadri, Bolland, and Franson.

People forget that we have had tons of injuries all year. It should be no surprise we are struggling to win games at the moment

Here's the problem I see with Clarkson and the contract the Leafs gave him.

Beside the obvious that its a lot of money and years, the main problem I see is that his success depends on whether the leafs play a game that allows him to do what hes good at.

True hes a power forward.

But hes not quite as versatile as say Lucic and he certainly doesnt have the level of depth Lucic has in boston with his teammates.

His game basically lives and dies along the boards and in front of the net.

The problem is the leafs rarely control the game in terms of puck posession, tempo, and SOG. So they arent getting the puck in much to allow him to go fight for it and they arent slowing things down enough to let him get to the front of the net.

So he hasnt had as many chances to bang the puck out of the corners and head straight to the net nor just set up in front and let the point men get the puck into his area.

Eventually hes going to score but until they play a game that suits his style more, fans and the media are going to be greatly disappointed in his results (he was over paid to begin with)

The great thing about him is hes one of the few leafs whos willing to pay the price anytime anwhere.

Simply put, as much as I love them, I dont see the leafs paying the price needed to be a great team.

The dont make guys rethink standing in front of their goalie. They dont block shots. They dont hammer guys enough along the boards.

They just dont do whats needed right now to be great. They are good because they have some talent that on certain nights are far and away the best player on the ice.

Clarkson does what Kessel, JVR, Kadri, Raymond, and Bozak cant, wont, and are not paid to do. He goes in to the corners, battles for the puck and heads to the net where he can take even more of a beating.

Bolland does some of that as does Lupul but both are injury prone and cant do it over a full season. Clarkson can and does and over a full season

But until they actually have a gameplan that they stick to that allows them to control major spans of the game, they aren't going to go very far unfortunately

[whysoserious]

How is it that Morgan Reilly and Gardiner keep getting dicked around by Carlyle in and out of the lineup yet Ranger has played every game this year?

[Ado05]

How is it that Morgan Reilly and Gardiner keep getting dicked around by Carlyle in and out of the lineup yet Ranger has played every game this year?

I know. I like Carlyle, but he has made some questionable calls.

Also, I dont know why the Leafs want to keep Rielly. He's not getting many minutes, and I think it would help him to get a big role on team Canada.

[Crowned]

How is it that Morgan Reilly and Gardiner keep getting dicked around by Carlyle in and out of the lineup yet Ranger has played every game this year?

I'd rather have Ranger play than Mark Fraser. Regardless, they've both been useless this year, and we've got 2 young players with the ability to control the flow out of our end sitting in the pressbox, and/or playing limited minutes.

I realize we need more of a defensive back end, but they're both more effective than Mark Fraser. If you're going to have Reilly on the roster, play him.

[whysoserious]

How is it that Morgan Reilly and Gardiner keep getting dicked around by Carlyle in and out of the lineup yet Ranger has played every game this year?

I'd rather have Ranger play than Mark Fraser. Regardless, they've both been useless this year, and we've got 2 young players with the ability to control the flow out of our end sitting in the pressbox, and/or playing limited minutes.

I realize we need more of a defensive back end, but they're both more effective than Mark Fraser. If you're going to have Reilly on the roster, play him.

The difference to me between Fraser and Ranger is that at least Fraser kind of proved himself last year in the eyes of Carlyle. So I can kind of understand why he'd rely on him heavily even if struggling. What I don't get is the love for Ranger because he makes one brutal mistake every game.