I always thought the goal in professional sports was to try and win, so now some fans watch and cheer "their" team to lose, that is just awesome, yeah pathetic.
- LeafMan

When children whine and pout, its hard to talk sense into them.

Pathetic is a good choice of words.

28 games so far... 5 goals

Phil needs more talent to play with, teams just have to shut him down, he is getting chances yes..some unlucky ones, but a lot of hail mary shots also.

If we werent getting the secondary scoring from Frattin/JVR/Kadri it would be ugly
- senstroll

yeah damn kessel and his 2 point night last night

brutal

there's more to the game than scoring, and he is at least trying to do what he can even tho the pucks arent going in for him

(frank) i cant wait til he scores so everyone can finally get off that wagon

When children whine and pout, its hard to talk sense into them.

Pathetic is a good choice of words.
- systemtool

I'm glad that Kadri, Frattin and Komarov are doing well, here is a thought, I would throw this line out there on the PP, they seems to control the puck pretty well, Komarov is always buzzing around the net, he digs pucks out of the corner for the other two.

Lou's coaching moment #31

I'm glad that Kadri, Frattin and Komarov are doing well, here is a thought, I would throw this line out there on the PP, they seems to control the puck pretty well, Komarov is always buzzing around the net, he digs pucks out of the corner for the other two.

Lou's coaching moment #31
- LeafMan

I completely agree. I would also get McClement the hell off the second line and Steckel out of the line up.

yeah damn kessel and his 2 point night last night

brutal

there's more to the game than scoring, and he is at least trying to do what he can even tho the pucks arent going in for him

(frank) i cant wait til he scores so everyone can finally get off that wagon
- Dozzer

Thoughts on Ovechkin?

I always thought the goal in professional sports was to try and win, so now some fans watch and cheer "their" team to lose, that is just awesome, yeah pathetic.
- LeafMan

I watch the games and want the leafs to win. So I dont cheer for them to lose, what I want the management to do is admit this team is not going to win anything, we are going on 5 years of mediocre play, the same mistakes over and over on the ice. the coaching has changed now, but the results look the same.

i want them to Ice a team that competes hard, but just doesnt have the talent to win, and we have plenty of picks in the bank to get the talent we need, we dont have it. Our prospects are thin, average etc..

its great you think its pathetic, I think the blind following is myself.

thats a little unfair to reimer who has been playing very well.
- Dozzer

Besides one game, so has Scrivens.
But it doesn't change the fact that they are back up goalies.

he has been used too much also.. nice to see last night that carlyle backed his minutes off.

and low and behold, he didnt look exhausted at the end of the game.. who would of thought?
- Dozzer

RC admitted a few games back he was using him too much.
He needs to be around the 23 - 25 minute mark

I'm glad that Kadri, Frattin and Komarov are doing well, here is a thought, I would throw this line out there on the PP, they seems to control the puck pretty well, Komarov is always buzzing around the net, he digs pucks out of the corner for the other two.

Lou's coaching moment #31
- LeafMan

they have to do something about their special teams.. 27th on both PP and PK is absolutely horrid

Thoughts on Ovechkin?
- Pecafan Fan

Somebody hurt him...WHO HURT YOU OV...WHO?

What once was a dazzling happy youngster, is now a sad old man.

Thoughts on Ovechkin?
- Pecafan Fan

he's forgotten his game

he needs to stop being so fancy and play the power game that has given him success in the past.

I always thought the goal in professional sports was to try and win, so now some fans watch and cheer "their" team to lose, that is just awesome, yeah pathetic.
- LeafMan

The cries of tank nation.

It is sad.

The more I watch, the more I am not so sure I want to trade Kessel unless there is an equal talent coming back.

Despite the scoring slump he is one guy who consistently seems to bust his ass out there. We all know about what his game lacks. The fact is though he is a pretty important piece for a contending team and he is still quite young. He could be good for the Leafs when/ifthey become contenders.

What I see a lot of this year is Kessel pretty much on his own on a rush. I don't se much help from his linemates most of the time.
- Aetherial

Thank you.

Everyone is panicking and trying to dump this guy off... what are you possibly going to get for him that is going to improve the team. He is one of the pure talents that we have...

Hes not the building block we need to build a team around, but if we ever do find that guy... people are gonna be dying for a guy like kessel to compliment him.

I completely agree. I would also get McClement the hell off the second line and Steckel out of the line up.
- systemtool

I would rather see a young guy like Broll or Ross come up and take Steckel's spot. 3rd/4th line duty is pretty much where we project these guys to end up anyway, so why not get their energy in the game. The can both skate and hit way better than Steckel, so who cares if they can't win faceoffs, Steckel can't anymore either. And FFS, the hands of granite Steckel has...

Besides one game, so has Scrivens.
But it doesn't change the fact that they are back up goalies.
- Fakepartofme

so even tho they play well.. keep the leafs in the game.. have starter stats and have a team whose top players arent producing as expected or are hurt in the playoff picture but they dont get credit?

no one is calling them all stars.. but they are playing well enough to be justified starters.. reimer moreso than scrivens.. ben looks a little wild yet

yeah damn kessel and his 2 point night last night

brutal

there's more to the game than scoring, and he is at least trying to do what he can even tho the pucks arent going in for him

(frank) i cant wait til he scores so everyone can finally get off that wagon
- Dozzer

thanks for this useless info.

All I keep hearing is Kessel is an Elite goal scorer etc... 30 goals this, top 6 scorer. (everyone elses words not mine)
Fact is he is a goal scorer, thats what is expected of him. he has assists, but should have a few goals with those at least.

I am just pointing out that he has not done well at all since Carlyle took over.. is it the coach? or is it the players he has to play with?

he's forgotten his game

he needs to stop being so fancy and play the power game that has given him success in the past.
- Dozzer

Ok.

Ovechkin: forgotten his game
Kessel: just a slump


Good. Good.

they have to do something about their special teams.. 27th on both PP and PK is absolutely horrid
- Dozzer

First thing I would do is get Phaneuf off of the penalty kill, he over plays and the Leafs get burned on his side of the ice, insert Komi back into the lineup and play him on the PK instead of Dion.

Step two, the Leaf forwards still have too much of a gap between them and the blueline, they take angles to the point instead of a direct line to the shooter. Pressure the points more. I still think this is a left over habit for some from Wilson.

RC admitted a few games back he was using him too much.
He needs to be around the 23 - 25 minute mark
- Fakepartofme

and thats where i thought he was last night.. but it turns out he was up around the 28 and half minute mark.. how the hell did he accomplish that? i remember the play by play guys saying he was only at 17min with 6min left in regulation

they must of been off.

yeah damn kessel and his 2 point night last night

brutal

there's more to the game than scoring, and he is at least trying to do what he can even tho the pucks arent going in for him

(frank) i cant wait til he scores so everyone can finally get off that wagon
- Dozzer

I'm not worried about Kessel, he's gone longer without scoring and still finished the season with 32 goals, so Im not worried at...not sure why people are whining.....but the reality is...yes there is more to the game than scoring, but to play devils advocate....Kessel was brought in to score.
But I am glad to see him backchecking.

thanks for this useless info.

All I keep hearing is Kessel is an Elite goal scorer etc... 30 goals this, top 6 scorer. (everyone elses words not mine)
Fact is he is a goal scorer, thats what is expected of him. he has assists, but should have a few goals with those at least.

I am just pointing out that he has not done well at all since Carlyle took over.. is it the coach? or is it the players he has to play with?
- senstroll

Both. This is the same coach who thinks Kostka is a 25 min/game defenseman, and Phaneuf a 27 min per dman. It took him 4+ games of sweet (frank) all on our PP to realize that Kostka and Phaneuf (on his wrong shooting side to boot) was a bad combination on the first PP unit.

Ok.

Ovechkin: forgotten his game
Kessel: just a slump


Good. Good.
- Pecafan Fan

you obviously didnt see my posts about kessel yesterday

same thing.. he isnt taking it to the inside where he is most dangerous

i dont really want to re-hash it tho since i got chewed apart by the faithful yesterday. guess nobody liked that i likened kessel in a slump to jason blake.

so the same goes for ovie.. he starts playing his brand that made him so successful in the first place he'll bust out of that slump in no time.

thanks for this useless info.

All I keep hearing is Kessel is an Elite goal scorer etc... 30 goals this, top 6 scorer. (everyone elses words not mine)
Fact is he is a goal scorer, thats what is expected of him. he has assists, but should have a few goals with those at least.

I am just pointing out that he has not done well at all since Carlyle took over.. is it the coach? or is it the players he has to play with?
- senstroll

He hasn't done well but when the season is over and the dust settles he will lead the team in scoring.

You can book it now.

I'm not worried about Kessel, he's gone longer without scoring and still finished the season with 32 goals, so Im not worried at...not sure why people are whining.....but the reality is...yes there is more to the game than scoring, but to play devils advocate....Kessel was brought in to score.
But I am glad to see him backchecking.
- Fakepartofme

yes agreed. i like the fact that he is working out there still.. a slump is no excuse to half ass it.

for a guy who isnt producing he still has managed 6 points in 10 games.. it maybe not be kessel-esque, but its not as horrible as everyone makes it out to be either.

so even tho they play well.. keep the leafs in the game.. have starter stats and have a team whose top players arent producing as expected or are hurt in the playoff picture but they dont get credit?

no one is calling them all stars.. but they are playing well enough to be justified starters.. reimer moreso than scrivens.. ben looks a little wild yet
- Dozzer

I would give Reimer the edge over Scrivens for sure this season, in the past I wasn't feeling that way.
Reimer may turn out to be an average NHL starter, no doubt about it. But we cant win with an average NHL starter...the leafs need a top 10 goalie who can win them games on his own.
Right now Reimer doesn't bring that...he has kept them in games, for sure.....but he hasn't been able to win them games. And thats what the leafs need.
Not to say that he wont....but right hes not at that level.
Time may tell a different story.