Playoff Game 1: Leafs @ Bruins (7PM CBC)

[KobeDwightPau]

Anyone who watches hockey knows that was just dumb luck. There are always those few crazy comeback games every year. This one just happened to be in a game 7. First time ever...yes, ever...a 3 goal comeback in a game 7. Even scoring two goals by pulling the goalie...just hardly ever happens.

In fact, it has only ever happened 8.7% of the time, coming back from down 3-1.

Pure. Bad. Luck.

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First time ever for the leafs? I find it hard to believe no other team ever did this.

[KobeDwightPau]

Too many lost faceoffs ( especially the one after the 4-3 goal at centre ice gave the bruins the puck) and |Reimer has a bad glove hand and way too many rebounds...need a centre (Bozak) who can win draws and a better goalie.
Reimer played as well as he can but his rebound control is awful...can't win in playoffs with that...

It wasn't reimers fault that the defense can't clear a puck.

[KobeDwightPau]

This series win could've opened it up for the leafs. How well they would do against the rangers we will never know.

[Turbo_Zone]

[darth_federer]

Nobody expected this series to even last 7. The fact that the Leafs were up 3 with 11 minutes left is a testament to how well they played. I dont see how as a Leafs fan you cannot be encouraged about the progress this year. The Leafs have some legit pieces with Morgan Reilly still to come. Great season and I look forward to a push for a top 4 spot next year.

[J-Roc]

Anyone who watches hockey knows that was just dumb luck. There are always those few crazy comeback games every year. This one just happened to be in a game 7. First time ever...yes, ever...a 3 goal comeback in a game 7. Even scoring two goals by pulling the goalie...just hardly ever happens.

In fact, it has only ever happened 8.7% of the time, coming back from down 3-1.

Pure. Bad. Luck.

Sent using the RealGM mobile app.

First time ever for the leafs? I find it hard to believe no other team ever did this.

First. Time. Ever. Yes, no team has ever blown a 3 goal lead in the third period of a game 7.

People can say all they want the Leafs were standing around, or not playing to win, etc, etc. But the fact is the Leafs still had chances to win. From Frattin all the way to Lupul in OT. If those go in, does that mean the Leafs played harder? Likewise Peverly could have ended the game in regulation time. Bottom line is certain things just don't ever happen, and when they do there's so much bad luck involved.

Moving forward, Reimer played great but we all know his weaknesses, including rebound control. It would be a bold move for the Leafs to make a move for goaltending, understanding how important goaltending is if they're ready to compete now.

[YogiStewart]

Nobody expected this series to even last 7. The fact that the Leafs were up 3 with 11 minutes left is a testament to how well they played. I dont see how as a Leafs fan you cannot be encouraged about the progress this year. The Leafs have some legit pieces with Morgan Reilly still to come. Great season and I look forward to a push for a top 4 spot next year.

my take's totally different.

i predicted that the Leafs and Habs would be fighting for the basement in the East. whoopsies. was off by a bit.
i also thought that, if this was a full season, the Leafs would have finished out of the playoffs. their playoff play may make me change my assessment...but i think it also is a comment towards Boston's play as well. remember that the Bruins were down 3 defensemen (or was it 4?).

The Leafs deserved to win last night's game and they deserved to win game 6. but they didn't. Grabovsky played out of his skull and made his $5 mil/year contract look worth it.

still not convinced that the Leafs have the pieces to be a beast in the East. Lupul came back down to earth in the playoffs. JvR is too inconsistent. and you still have Kuleimen and Grabo well overpayed. they'll lose MacArthur this summer (not a bad thing, but who will replace him?) and may lose Bozak. while Reiley may make the team (not sure who he replaces. Liles?), they still need some depth up front. and Reimer still, in my mind, has done little to prove he's the real deal. he still drops a lot and those juicy rebounds...yikes.

So, if i was a Leafs' fan, i'd look at everything in perspective. they overaccomplished this season, have a great head coach and definitely have a strong forward core with Kessel, JvR, Lupul and Kadri. they should make the playoffs next year and possibly a few seasons to come. but it's nights like last night that I'm happy I'm not a die-hard Leafs fan. told my wife that if i were, i would feel so incredibly sick. watching it as a non-vested fan, the ending was almost laughable. that's how ridiculous it was.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Just get better guys to clear the rebounds and roll with Reimer's numbers. He got nitpicked by the biased anti-Leaf HNIC crew all year, but he put up good stats under fire.

[YogiStewart]

Just get better guys to clear the rebounds and roll with Reimer's numbers. He got nitpicked by the biased anti-Leaf HNIC crew all year, but he put up good stats under fire.

Don Cherry's wearing a blue and white wig and referring to the Leafs as "we" and "us".
Glenn Healy is far from anti-Leafs.
not sure why Jim Hughson gets labeled as being anti-Leafs.

any critique I have of Reimer is from my own observations.
i thought the leafs were nuts to extend him 2 years ago. he had big holes in his game.
thought that vs Rask, it was clear that Rask is a much better goalie than Reimer. Just smarter, more athletic.
Reimer will be steady but he'll never be flashy. Maybe that's part of the problem. Belfour v2.0, hopefully.

[rdtx2005]

just don't want a reactionary trade for Luongo..

another goalie that disappears..

[vini_vidi_vici]

Man after a nights sleep, what kileed the Leafs late was missing Bozak. I hate to say it, considering hes FA but unless they replace him with a great FO guy, its going to be tough. They had a ridiculous record when leading after 2, and that was because McClement/Bozie took all defensive zone FOs.

It didnt affect the game adversely, but that second period was some of the worst officiating I have ever seen. The Bruins gooned them, and they did nothing.

Injuries isnt an excuse, Phaneuf looked terrible, post slap shot off the knee, Gunnars hip was acting up enough to have Holzer recalled. Thats not to mention the hole in Frasors skull. It was a tough loss, and its sad the reaction on the Raptors board. Thankfully this is abit more civil.

This team going forward has alot to be excited about. I dont agree moving for a goalie, Reims should grow with the core, obv unless its for Anderson/Bobrovsky/etc.. not Luongo/Thomas/etc.. Who id like to see moved is Phaneuf, for all the $$$ locked up id love to have a better top min D. This isnt so much an indictment on him or his game, just that I think we need more a physical, net clearer logging all the ice time.

re: rebounds. How many did Tuukka give up? rebounds are going to happen its about controlling them into the corners which Reims was somewhat successful at. I thought Reims played well, even those last few mins, but they hemmed the Leafs in and two screened shots later..... /rant

Edit: I disagree Yogi, Tuukka Save% .923, Reims .923 the Leafs were outshot by 35 in the series and Tuukka has a better defense.

[LLJ]

just don't want a reactionary trade for Luongo..

another goalie that disappears..

Yeah, Luongo's not the answer. He's done IMO.

Anyway, I agree with those who think those last 3 minutes were all on Reimer. You can blame the D, or the team playing not to lose in the final few minutes, or the difficulty of stopping those goals, but a 2 goal lead is more than enough insurance for most goaltenders. The last 3 minutes is all about your goaltender. You can try to protect him as much as you can, but the simple fact is goalies will see a lot of shots from the opposing team if they are down 1 or 2 goals. They simply have to be ready for it. And while Reimer faced some reasonably difficult shots, they were still stoppable. Most teams expect that their goalie should be able to hold onto that kind of lead for you. Yes, Reimer won game 5 and 6 for us, but he shat the bed in closing time.

[LLJ]

Toronto is cursed...

I want to say I can't believe this happened and then I remembered... Toronto. Toronto. Toronto.

Yeah, it almost like sporting gods said "Wait a minute, Toronto doesn't win games like this. Back to the embarrassment room for you!"

Watched the game from start to finish. It was like playing nhl 13, but even in NHL 13 i couldn't score 3 goals in that span

gtfo leafs

I've always said that if you can't emulate something even in a video game, then that something is definitely not a good look for your team. This is up there with the McGrady's 13 points in 35 seconds game, or Kobe's 81 point game. Stuff that's difficult to do even in a video game.

[Mehar]

I still am in utter shock of what happened. It is like a Nightmare. To lead a game 4-1 with around 10 minutes left, there is no excuse why you could not win the game. Unbelievable Collapse. Fitting it had to happen to this team that has been breaking hearts since 1967. Time heals all wounds, but this wound from last night will take extra time to heal.

[Ado05]

This loss was heart breaking. Its gonna take me a looooooooooooooooong time to get over it. Especially since I think we couldve taken the Rangers and I even think we could take the Pens.

[LLJ]

People wonder why Toronto sports fans are so cynical, insecure and smarmy about themselves. This loss totally encapsulates why. The sad thing is that I bet a lot of fans actually weren't TOTALLY surprised by the collapse.

The only thing that could have been worse is if this Game 7 was at the ACC instead. But that's what next year is for. We'll have a fantastic regular season, people will get excited, and we'll lose in the first round in Game 7 at home after giving up a 6 goal lead.

I mean, I'm only a casual follower of the Leafs, but it's games like last nights that make me really pissed about the losing culture of Toronto's professional sports teams. You know that somehow, some way, they will always find new and creative and record breaking ways to lose. Every time I've thought about it today, my blood begings to boil.

[J-Roc]

LOL, Bobcat loves this. Saying it was a collapse of biblical proportions. There are stories in the bible more believable that what happened last night.

Guys, wth is this talk of reasons why the team lost?? There was no magic to it. It wasn't any one player like Bozak. It wasn't about Reimer.

11min to go, and Horton scored. It was a decent goal, setup by a Lucic rush. If they didn't score on that chance, there were so many others they might have scored on. But it was 4 - 2.

From there, the Leafs made it fine to the point in the game where the Bruins desperately pull the goal with a min and a half to go. When you reach that point, it becomes a bit of a scramble. The Leafs are a great penalty killing team, but they play it different in those circumstances. In the last minute and a half, it's nothing to do with experience or with coaching, or goaltending... It's just a point shot and a rebound.

Funny enough, the night before, Grabo got in trouble for taking a shot at the empty net and getting called for icing. Last night, they played it safe and just dumped it down. Maybe if one of them (Kulemin?) took a wild shot at the net...he'd score. But no, fluke point shot and a goal. Then the next fluke point shot, and the one D, our captain, who's not inexperienced, just leaves big Chara screening the goalie. Frankly, that was just one of many boneheaded Dion Phaneuf moves. He eats up ice time, he makes the odd good play, but he's known for giving so much bad for all his good. And he chose that time for another boneheaded move.

But even I don't blame Phaneuf for the collapse. He is who he is. We don't get to game 7 without him.

And oh, btw, Lupul with a deadly chance in OT. And I remember thinking how Lupul this season always had like a golden stick. He was one of those guys where if he gets a good shot at the net, it's going in. But not when it mattered.

It was just bad luck.

As for next season, Reimer is still a major question mark. He's a goalie who gives up rebounds and you can never count on a goalie like that. I hate to say, but if Vancouver can be fleeced for Luongo (if they have to dump salary), Leafs should consider it. Give them a solid goalie, and then go into next season with guys like Gardiner and Frattin and Colborne....maybe you have enough to carry a full 82 game season and the playoffs.

But I do believe if we enter another season with Reimer as #1, we'll be lucky to make the playoffs.

[Crowned]

I know it's the easy thing to do and blame the goaltending, but there's no way we're competitive without Reimer this series. Putting his rebound troubles aside, he was incredible, especially for a young goaltender with limited regular season, and no playoff experience.

Those wanting a new goaltender next year, please come up with a list of attainable starting goaltenders that won't cost the farm, which could've played better than Reimer. Not going to happen.

[720]

Proud of the team, it was heartbreaking, but i didn't even expect them to be so dominant (until 12 min left in the 3rd).

Lets just hope they use the experience and rage and harness it for next year.

[J-Roc]

Those wanting a new goaltender next year, please come up with a list of attainable starting goaltenders that won't cost the farm, which could've played better than Reimer. Not going to happen.

You're absolutely right that no other goalie could have played as well as Reimer in those 7 games. And he had a bit of a run in the regular season. But it was sprinkled with getting replaced by Ben Scrivens. That's the issue, the regular season. This team needs to move past being worried about the goaltending. They can't be worried about rebound control, or the adventures of playing the puck.

You always hear we shouldn't get too excited about small sample sizes. Well, this Reimer playoff was great, but we can't use it to think he's turned the corner as a goalie. He was making the same mistakes in this run as he usually does.