James Tanner: Caps Win: Push the Maple Leafs to the Brink (Thanks to Inept T.O PP)

Pretty entertaining hockey, the right team won

http://www.russianmachine...orning-after/#more-127016

Excellent pk by Capitals and awful pp by Leafs.

Excellent pk by Capitals and awful pp by Leafs.
- Leafsandbolts

Yeah the Washington PK has been excellent. That being said, even the best PP lets the other teams PK win the battle 80% of the time.

I'm obviously biased as a fan, but let's pump the brakes a little on the comparison to the 2012 Kings. That team lost 2 games total in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, whereas Toronto has lost 3 (very close) games in the first round. Toronto has definitely been better than a lot of people expected and they deserve credit for that, but let's wait and see how the first round plays out before anointing them.

I think it's fair to say that the Leafs are one of the most ridiculous 8th seeds in NHL history.

What does that make the Preds?

What does that make the Preds?
- Blue Clam

This somehow didn't even cross my mind.

What does that make the Preds?
- Blue Clam

Compare the to rosters, the Leafs are significantly better than Nashville. No offense, but at least two players - Nylander and Matthews - are better than anyone on the Preds.

The Leafs have a much, much better forward group. IN fact, a Nash / Toronto matchup would be similar to a Caps Toronto matchup because both teams have amazing defenses and are similarly built.

Compare the to rosters, the Leafs are significantly better than Nashville. No offense, but at least two players - Nylander and Matthews - are better than anyone on the Preds.

The Leafs have a much, much better forward group. IN fact, a Nash / Toronto matchup would be similar to a Caps Toronto matchup because both teams have amazing defenses and are similarly built.
- james_tanner1

Matthews is better than anyone on the Preds, but Nylander is not better than Forsberg, Subban, or Josi. In any case, I don't want to go down a rabbit hole of a player-by-player comparison, but I agree that Toronto's forward group is better than Nashville's.

As for defense, Rielly/Gardner/Zaitsev/Hunwick--even giving appropriate credit to the top 2 of those--is not in the same class as Josi/Subban/Ellis/Ekholm, which is arguably the best top 4 D in the league.

And since you like to talk about CF%, Nashville was 6th this season and Toronto was 13th.

The Leafs barely squeaked into playoffs and now even if they dont win a single series they are one of the top 3 teams next year? Im sure Columbus, Montreal and the Rags all would like to argue that that is not the case. This is still a a very pro Toronto feeling blog, you know the Caps fans probably despise the Leafs right now right? Especially with things like Kadri's entry for best dive ever in the history of falling down last night. I find it hard to believe Ek won't let a fourth guy write about the Leafs, maybe you should take him out to dinner and make a pitch because technically you have been writing leaf blogs all along anyways?

Leafs PP needs to spread Caps out and get it to the net/down low ASAP. If not, they are going nowhere. Special teams are proving to be the difference IMO.

Compare the to rosters, the Leafs are significantly better than Nashville. No offense, but at least two players - Nylander and Matthews - are better than anyone on the Preds.

The Leafs have a much, much better forward group. IN fact, a Nash / Toronto matchup would be similar to a Caps Toronto matchup because both teams have amazing defenses and are similarly built.
- james_tanner1

The Leafs are by no means better than Nashville, let alone "significantly better". I don't have the time to get into it though, go ahead and assume there's no validity to what I say.

The Leafs deserve credit for what they've been able to do, just not quite so much.

The Leafs barely squeaked into playoffs and now even if they dont win a single series they are one of the top 3 teams next year? Im sure Columbus, Montreal and the Rags all would like to argue that that is not the case. This is still a a very pro Toronto feeling blog, you know the Caps fans probably despise the Leafs right now right? Especially with things like Kadri's entry for best dive ever in the history of falling down last night. I find it hard to believe Ek won't let a fourth guy write about the Leafs, maybe you should take him out to dinner and make a pitch because technically you have been writing leaf blogs all along anyways?
- Dcoms

You better watch the dive again...pretty good 2 hander in the back of the leg.

But we know...you wouldn't have even flinched.....right?

You know the Caps fans probably despise the Leafs right now right? Especially with things like Kadri's entry for best dive ever in the history of falling down last night.

Are you referring to the borderline clipping hip check as diving? Or when he drew the penalty.

If you're referring to when he went down on the ice holding his leg, you need to watch the replay again.

Ovechkin tapped him on the arm, and Kadri grabbed his leg and went down, which really does look like a dive. But pay closer attention to Niskanin (who got the penalty). He's at the bottom of the frame and two hand chops Kadri in the leg. Coincidentally, right where he grabbed when he went down.

I'm tempted to throw Ovechkin as diving back the other way. There's no way he is in that much pain on the ice that he can't get up, can't walk down the hallway, can't skate on his own power, only to come back 20min later and proceed with charging Toronto D again. He had at least two checks in that game that could have been charging penalties.

Or how about the spear to the ribs? No one talking about that either?

Compare the to rosters, the Leafs are significantly better than Nashville. No offense, but at least two players - Nylander and Matthews - are better than anyone on the Preds.

The Leafs have a much, much better forward group. IN fact, a Nash / Toronto matchup would be similar to a Caps Toronto matchup because both teams have amazing defenses and are similarly built.
- james_tanner1

while we are talking about tor vs nash.... when tor last played them. nash looked like a beer league team. tor dismantled them.

You better watch the dive again...pretty good 2 hander in the back of the leg.

But we know...you wouldn't have even flinched.....right?

- Garnie

You sound so bitter.

The Maple Leafs are still a long ways away from being legitimate contenders. The full season of experience plus a closely contested playoff series (thanks in large part to the superior Caps sleepwalking through most of it) for youngsters like Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Hyman, Brown just to mention a few will help in the long run but this club will never win anything with the current defensive core. With exception to Jake Gardiner, and the injury to Polak, the remaining blue line is full of guys who have absolutely no clue back there and how to handle pressure. It did take Gardiner 4 full seasons to finally figure out how to be an impactful defenseman in the NHL, but Rielly is absolutely clueless, as well as Nikita Zaitsev and don't even get me started on how bad and ineffective Martin Marincin is, a guy who besides a few soft goals and bad plays from Freddy Andersen in goal, has cost the Leafs any real hopes of upsetting Washington.

If Toronto doesn't bolster its blue line over the offseason through a signing or some trades, then the Leafs will never take that big step forward. Rumors of handing Zaitsev a contract extension scares me. Rielly is only good at leading the rush and having some offensive skills, but defensively he is plain weak and ineffective. I also doubt how Connor Carrick remains an NHL defenseman as well. Trading a guy like James van Reimsdyk hopefully will help bring in someone experienced and who knows what they are doing on the defensive side of things. Even Matt Hunwick, who have considered the Leafs' most reliable defenseman was awful in game 5 and almost cost the game with a weak play in the final minute of play, not to mention another similar miscommunication with Zaitsev and Andersen moments later with under 30 seconds to go in regulation.That same type of miscommunication led to Williams' game winning goal.

It baffles me that Mike Babcock and the front office actually think they can beat anyone in a best of seven series with guys who may not even be good enough to be AHL defenders on the roster.

You sound so bitter.
- Gomey

Come on man, you need to come up with your own material

The Maple Leafs are still a long ways away from being legitimate contenders. The full season of experience plus a closely contested playoff series (thanks in large part to the superior Caps sleepwalking through most of it) for youngsters like Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Hyman, Brown just to mention a few will help in the long run but this club will never win anything with the current defensive core. With exception to Jake Gardiner, and the injury to Polak, the remaining blue line is full of guys who have absolutely no clue back there and how to handle pressure. It did take Gardiner 4 full seasons to finally figure out how to be an impactful defenseman in the NHL, but Rielly is absolutely clueless, as well as Nikita Zaitsev and don't even get me started on how bad and ineffective Martin Marincin is, a guy who besides a few soft goals and bad plays from Freddy Andersen in goal, has cost the Leafs any real hopes of upsetting Washington.

If Toronto doesn't bolster its blue line over the offseason through a signing or some trades, then the Leafs will never take that big step forward. Rumors of handing Zaitsev a contract extension scares me. Rielly is only good at leading the rush and having some offensive skills, but defensively he is plain weak and ineffective. I also doubt how Connor Carrick remains an NHL defenseman as well. Trading a guy like James van Reimsdyk hopefully will help bring in someone experienced and who knows what they are doing on the defensive side of things. Even Matt Hunwick, who have considered the Leafs' most reliable defenseman was awful in game 5 and almost cost the game with a weak play in the final minute of play, not to mention another similar miscommunication with Zaitsev and Andersen moments later with under 30 seconds to go in regulation.That same type of miscommunication led to Williams' game winning goal.

It baffles me that Mike Babcock and the front office actually think they can beat anyone in a best of seven series with guys who may not even be good enough to be AHL defenders on the roster.
- royalgardens

Hunwick is our #6 not sure where you get he's our most reliable, Z and Rielly and Gard's are all 2nd pairing type D so hopefully we can find at least 1 top pairing right handed D plus replacing Hunwick should make us a lot better next year.
Go Leafs Go

Compare the to rosters, the Leafs are significantly better than Nashville. No offense, but at least two players - Nylander and Matthews - are better than anyone on the Preds.

The Leafs have a much, much better forward group. IN fact, a Nash / Toronto matchup would be similar to a Caps Toronto matchup because both teams have amazing defenses and are similarly built.
- james_tanner1

Forsberg, johansson, josi, subban > nylander


Nylander might top that list as a pure shooter though. But the rest of the game, I can't agree

The Leafs barely squeaked into playoffs and now even if they dont win a single series they are one of the top 3 teams next year? Im sure Columbus, Montreal and the Rags all would like to argue that that is not the case. This is still a a very pro Toronto feeling blog, you know the Caps fans probably despise the Leafs right now right? Especially with things like Kadri's entry for best dive ever in the history of falling down last night. I find it hard to believe Ek won't let a fourth guy write about the Leafs, maybe you should take him out to dinner and make a pitch because technically you have been writing leaf blogs all along anyways?
- Dcoms

You should go watch the Kadri play again.

Last night my friends and were laughing at how bad it was. Then I saw the play this morning while someone pointed out the Niskanen slash. Once you know it is there, it is pretty clear that Kadri got a 2-hander across the back of the knee and wasn't actually over-reacting at all.

Forsberg, johansson, josi, subban > nylander


Nylander might top that list as a pure shooter though. But the rest of the game, I can't agree
- HB77

Foreseberg, maybe, but honestly, I doubt it. Nylander is a possession machine, he does things with at high speed and with such fluidity he's one of the best players I've ever seen. Matthews takes all the headlines, but people who've watched the Leafs all year know that Nylander is almost as good. If AM is a 10, Nylander is a 9.99.

The Leafs barely squeaked into playoffs and now even if they dont win a single series they are one of the top 3 teams next year? Im sure Columbus, Montreal and the Rags all would like to argue that that is not the case. This is still a a very pro Toronto feeling blog, you know the Caps fans probably despise the Leafs right now right? Especially with things like Kadri's entry for best dive ever in the history of falling down last night. I find it hard to believe Ek won't let a fourth guy write about the Leafs, maybe you should take him out to dinner and make a pitch because technically you have been writing leaf blogs all along anyways?

I don't agree with a lot of your assessment, but as a Leaf's fan, I get tired of Kadri's display of embellishments!