I would even doubt the higher ceiling. Reilly is a very solid 2-3 d-man in my opinion. His points this year are not far off Pietrangelo - who is in the Norris conversation. A better compable for McAvoy at this stage is Gardiner who I would probably trade for McAvoy.
- winsix

Sure I would.
But there arent many I wouldnt trade Gardiner for.

Sure I would.
But there arent many I wouldnt trade Gardiner for.
- Fakepartofme

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)

I agree the Kadri penalty was merited and a selfish stupid penalty. I also think the non-call in OT when Matthews was on a virtual break-away and was tripped/kicked/slashed to the ice was unforgivable. I was a disgraceful non-call that did cost the Leafs a point IMO. Other than that the game was a dazzling display of excellent goaltending, Andersen and Luongo were both fabulous, especially Lou. The Leafs first 10 minutes or so were poor, Leafs are a superior team without question, except for some bad bounces (Florida goal 3 or 4 posts) and not drawing penalties the Leafs were pretty good last night. Florida has a couple of outstanding players, Barkov and Pukestad. Other than that they are a trap team, rely on hooking/slashing/holding/crosschecking - had the Leafs and Babcock forced the issue by moving their feet a bit more, perhaps they would have drawn more penalties.
- winsix

Agreed with the bolded. Whether it cost them a point, we'll never know. No guarantee matthews scores on the penalty shot.
Luongo stole the game, andersen was great as well.
It would be nice if one of Rielly's shots actually hit the net as well.

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)
- MaximusAurelius

At times last season he played great no doubt and had some good games this year.
But he has no hockey smarts.
Personally Im just sick of him.

Agreed with the bolded. Whether it cost them a point, we'll never know. No guarantee matthews scores on the penalty shot.
Luongo stole the game, andersen was great as well.
It would be nice if one of Rielly's shots actually hit the net as well.
- Fakepartofme

I agree with you, it may have been a penalty and in overtime, a power play for the Leafs while as you say is not a guarantee - is pretty dominant.

I agree with you, it may have been a penalty and in overtime, a power play for the Leafs while as you say is not a guarantee - is pretty dominant.
- winsix

True as well.

Agreed with the bolded. Whether it cost them a point, we'll never know. No guarantee matthews scores on the penalty shot.
Luongo stole the game, andersen was great as well.
It would be nice if one of Rielly's shots actually hit the net as well.
- Fakepartofme

Don't think it would have been a penalty shot, but a 2 minute penalty sure would have upped the Leafs chances for a win.
Then again, if just one of those cross checks on Kadri were called I believe the game would have been over.

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)
- MaximusAurelius

Gardiner has some offensive skill and seems to panic and cough up the puck. He is a decent, 4-5 guy, but certainly not a top pairing guy IMO. He was never the Leafs best d-man even if he outscored Rielly last year.

I agree with you, it may have been a penalty and in overtime, a power play for the Leafs while as you say is not a guarantee - is pretty dominant.
- winsix

Like I was saying last night, this is one of those irritating NHL rules.

Goalie gets knocked over, team scores. No goal for goalie interference but no penalty. WHY?

Player gets tripped on a breakaway, but defender got the puck first. No penalty shot but also no penalty. WHY? Does that mean every time you poke check a player you can trip them on the play as well??

Gardiner has some offensive skill and seems to panic and cough up the puck. He is a decent, 4-5 guy, but certainly not a top pairing guy IMO. He was never the Leafs best d-man even if he outscored Rielly last year.
- winsix

I don't understand his favorite move this season. "Oh here comes a player on the forecheck. Better spin towards the boards and play the puck with my feet and one hand on my stick!"

I agree the Kadri penalty was merited and a selfish stupid penalty. I also think the non-call in OT when Matthews was on a virtual break-away and was tripped/kicked/slashed to the ice was unforgivable. I was a disgraceful non-call that did cost the Leafs a point IMO. Other than that the game was a dazzling display of excellent goaltending, Andersen and Luongo were both fabulous, especially Lou. The Leafs first 10 minutes or so were poor, Leafs are a superior team without question, except for some bad bounces (Florida goal 3 or 4 posts) and not drawing penalties the Leafs were pretty good last night. Florida has a couple of outstanding players, Barkov and Pukestad. Other than that they are a trap team, rely on hooking/slashing/holding/crosschecking - had the Leafs and Babcock forced the issue by moving their feet a bit more, perhaps they would have drawn more penalties.
- winsix

The way Babcock rolled the lines in the 3rd was pretty impressive. Maybe if he does that earlier, he'll get the team into the game right off the bat.

I agree but at the same time end of the game in a shootout Babcock has to go with the top talent. You do not sit Kadri, JVR, and Nylander and run Blowzak out there. WTH was he thinking?

End of the day Kadri scored and played hard, and is an emotional guy, he just has to know and remember to pick his spots better. Take the guy's number and nail him or fight him next game. At the very least make sure you take the guy with you for offsetting penalties there.
- Roadrunner75

I can't believe they put The bozek out on the shootout...what were they thinking??

Kadri had just received two crosschecks to the back, and at least one of those should have been called...should have controlled his temper, but that's pretty hard to do when some tool is hitting you like that.

Agreed with the bolded. Whether it cost them a point, we'll never know. No guarantee matthews scores on the penalty shot.
Luongo stole the game, andersen was great as well.
It would be nice if one of Rielly's shots actually hit the net as well.
- Fakepartofme

If it was a penalty shot, then I'd take it. I thought he got the puck first, but even the commentators said he got the legs...oh well.

If it resulted in a PP, then I'd rather them play 3 on 3. Leafs 3 on 3 is way too much fun to watch, a 4 on 3 would just result in them chasing the puck down the ice over and over again.

I can't believe they put The bozek out on the shootout...what were they thinking??

Kadri had just received two crosschecks to the back, and at least one of those should have been called...should have controlled his temper, but that's pretty hard to do when some tool is hitting you like that.
- mgriffen

Bozak is one of the better skills competition players on the team, career numbers wise at least

Bozak is one of the better skills competition players on the team
- TheMussel

I would put Nylander out before him

I can't believe they put The bozek out on the shootout...what were they thinking??

Kadri had just received two crosschecks to the back, and at least one of those should have been called...should have controlled his temper, but that's pretty hard to do when some tool is hitting you like that.
- mgriffen

Because they practice the shootout, and Bozak performs well.

Pretty simple.

Don't think it would have been a penalty shot, but a 2 minute penalty sure would have upped the Leafs chances for a win.
Then again, if just one of those cross checks on Kadri were called I believe the game would have been over.
- bobbyisno1

Yeah

From the Star:

Kadri wasn’t immediately given any additional discipline for the incident, on top of the two minute cross-checking penalty he was initially sent to the box for.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the NHL would be investigating the incident. It wouldn’t be Kadri’s first time in the league’s disciplinary cross-hairs.

https://www.thestar.com/s...-stick-hits-official.html

Are you franking kidding me? Any idiot watching the video can see that it is 100% accidental.

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)
- MaximusAurelius

Only 1 person has ever said that, and he is a certified moron.

WTF are you talking about?

I fully understand and saw what happened, and what Kadri did was nothing short or idiotic and selfish. Kadri has a history of losing his cool and taking dumb ass penalties at bad times and yesterday was no exception. There's a time and a place for everything and taking a ridiculous penalty while we're on the PP with 1:30 to go to finish regulation time and possibly the first :30 into OT is DEFINITELY not the time.

Sorry dude, there's absolutely no defending Kadri in this as he may have cost us the game. The bottom line is that the team and winning always comes first and Kadri needs to do a better job recognizing that in certain situations.

Hopefully this opens Babs' eyes a little and Matthews is put out there the next time instead.
- As_I_See_It

Agreed that Kadri needs to control himself and let the referees do their jobs. If they miss the call then you shouldn't be taking it upon yourself to administer vigilante justice.

Having said that:

1. The guy went down from that cross-check like he was shot. Which is bs that too often gets rewarded.

2. The referees have got to do a better job of calling penalties when they happen and regardless of: a) the time of the game -or- b) whether a team is already short-handed or not.

How many times do we see a player take a retaliatory penalty while the instigator gets squat? It's a (frank)ing joke and the refs clearly do it arbitrarily to "balance" the game. A penalty is a penalty is a penalty is a penalty.

There's 4 officials on the ice and they should confer when plays like this happen. If a linesman sees a blatant foul he should tell one of the refs and the call should be bloody well made.

But yes, once again, Kadri is a complete tool for taking a penalty in that situation. It'll be interesting to see if Kadri takes any retaliatory penalties going forward -- I'm sure Babs was NOT pleased.

Agreed with the bolded. Whether it cost them a point, we'll never know. No guarantee matthews scores on the penalty shot.
Luongo stole the game, andersen was great as well.
It would be nice if one of Rielly's shots actually hit the net as well.
- Fakepartofme

Take a look at the video here:

https://www.thestar.com/s...-stick-hits-official.html

And that's after the first cross check on Kadri. Franking disgrace of a double non-call by the refs.

Leafs should have had a 5 on 3.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still furious at Kadri for taking a selfish penalty.

But the first cross check on him should have been called. The second one? Franking criminal it wasn't called.

From the Star:

Kadri wasn’t immediately given any additional discipline for the incident, on top of the two minute cross-checking penalty he was initially sent to the box for.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the NHL would be investigating the incident. It wouldn’t be Kadri’s first time in the league’s disciplinary cross-hairs.

https://www.thestar.com/s...-stick-hits-official.html

Are you franking kidding me? Any idiot watching the video can see that it is 100% accidental.
- Atomic Wedgie

It's the Leafs, he'll get suspended for abuse of an official.

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)
- MaximusAurelius

I think that was Tanner ..

I think that was Tanner ..
- zazzle

League's best*

what happened to all the guys that were saying 'Gardiner best Leafs d-man'??
(not saying you were part of that group btw)
- MaximusAurelius

he was their best dman last year but this year he kinda sucks

are we supposed to still think he's their best dman when he stops playing like it?