Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Maple Leafs outlook and Ovechkin’s two cents

October 31, 2019, 10:09 AM ET [199 Comments]
Lucas Neilson
Blogger •Atlantic Division Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Just about every Leafs fan can agree that the start of the 2019-20 season hasn’t been spectacular. The fans searching for instant gratification and expect nothing but rosy results will have to park themselves in the peanut gallery and wait for the team to start gelling.

There have been a number of changes on the Leafs roster, which means it will take some patience from us fans and some determination from the Coach. The Leafs have had great success in the past few seasons as they tried to win the October Cup. We’re sitting around .500 right now and we’ve been playing some pretty poor hockey overall. Goaltending has been weak overall, as has the play of the Leafs in their back to back games; and yes, especially Hutchinson who’s been leaking in the blue paint.

The boys have been dealing with an atrocious schedule and a number of injuries. Tavares out is a big deal, he’s not only just been named the Captain of the team but he’s also one of our best players at both ends of the ice.

What better time for Johnny T to step up and talk the boys up, get them fired up and get out there and lead the team to victory. He’s got to set the tone out there with his undying effort, winning battles and scoring on command. We saw the domination factor last season and I’m a firm believer that Hyman back on that line will make the difference. Look for Tavares to be injected into the Leafs lineup soon, and Hyman to follow shortly after. Hyman must be chomping at the bit to get out there and fore check his life away.

Quite annoying that the Leafs just got Travis Dermott back into the lineup and then a knee up and pop, just like that the Leafs have Muzzin nursing a lower body injury. Seems a lot of teams enjoy having skilled dirt bags on the ice trying to hurt people as part of their strategy. I wonder if we see Dubas. Babcock and Shanahan take note? Not much they can do right now with their salary situation being so tight, but perhaps come trade deadline something could happen so keep that in mind if the Leafs continue to get pushed around.

Overall, I’m not exactly pleased with the outcome of the Leafs games so far and I’ve felt like they have shown glimpses of glory but then come out the next period flat as a board. The Leafs need a better team effort at both ends of the ice. There needs to be more focus on the defensive part of their game and when they realize a strong offense leads to a dominant offense the tides will turn and the Leafs will be back in the driver’s seat.

Don’t think for a second the Leafs are not a good team this year. They are, and they are just getting the engine going here, it’s going to be a late start for the Buds, but when they flourish it will be a thing of beauty.

As for Ovechkin…

He wasn’t so far off on his assessment of the Maple Leafs. They do need to play more of a team game and concentrate on all aspects of the game and not just scoring goals. It’s true the Leafs young guns focus a lot of their game on scoring goals and as exciting as that is as a fan. We want more; we want a Stanley Cup winning team and that needs to be done as a team or it will never happen.

Now does anyone really think Ovechkin has changed the way he plays the game?

Maybe a bit, but I don’t think that has anything to do with him and more so to do with his age/body. He’s still a force on the ice and he still buries a fortune of goals. But overall he’s still a selfish player who has no problems sitting on the ice for 2 minutes of the power play, sits and waits half the game in one spot hoping for a one timer feed from Backstrom or Carlson. He’s certainly one of the greatest goal scorers of all time but he’s full of crap saying that he changed his game so that his team could win the Stanley Cup. More like his team played incredible as a whole and he was there to cash in the prize with his banana curved stick and dollar store teeth.

The bottom line is it took Ovechkin 13 years in the NHL and 10 years of playoff hockey before winning the Stanley Cup.

Matthews is entering his fourth season in the National Hockey League and has a lot to learn. Tavares should help guide the young Leafs to become better players and you can expect his determination and hard work will be contagious as the season goes on.

The boys are gearing up for a big game on Saturday. Novemeber brings a new month of hockey and a much more winnable schedule than the insanity we were presented with in October.

The Flyers will host the Maple Leafs and I’m expecting after a few days off the Leafs will come out flying and give us fans a good performance and two points.

Thanks for reading.

Leafs Nation.
Join the Discussion: » 199 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Lucas Neilson
» Bust out your monocle and take a gander of the Atlantic
» Atlantic Division Spotlight: Tampa Bay Lightning
» Slicing the Atlantic Division in Half
» Atlantic Spotlight: Toronto Maple Leafs
» Atlantic Spotlight: Red Wings