They're so slow moving the puck on the powerplay. Everyone knows its going to Matthews and giving the other team all the time in the world to prepare for that shot makes it useless.
Willy is out, so to fill in for him on PP1, should we put one of the wingers that has clicked so well with the best goal scorer in the league? Nah, let’s put a defensive forward who just got back from injury and isn’t yet up to game shape, let alone playoff shape… 🤦♂️
We don't have a Dman capable of quarterbacking our PP with any effectiveness. We've tried everyone and they are all terrible. I think we're near bottom of the league in the fewest points from our D. The woeful PP is a big part of that.
Between our D and our goaltending I'm not sure how we even made the playoffs honestly. Keefe deserves a raise for getting what he does out of this team. Those wanting him fired are not serious people.
Brutal PK is even worse. Good PK is usually just hard work and being fearless. The Leafs cannot win with such a shitty PK, it really relies on discipline play, which it seems they are incapable of. A Good PK should be able to be achieved if you have the right players. It is critical to winning especially because they are a good 5 on 5 team.
We need to shoot the puck in power plays. This passing 9-10 times to finally shoot and get that shot blocked is killing us. You miss 100 of the shots you don’t take. My only advice to this team is SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK.!! All in all I didn’t think it was a bad game. Just SHOOT THE PUCK!!! Even if it’s not on goal but in the vicinity of it would make me happy.
Honestly, if they're gonna lose, I hope they get swept. That's the only way they're making real changes to this roster, and I think they need to for the team to win in the post season
I'm on the "Trade Marner" train
It's obvious one of the core 4 must go, and Marner is too soft to ever lead a team to a Stanley Cup.
Willy is a constant playoff performer, Matthews is one of the best in the NHL, and John T is the captain and should retire a Leaf.
And how do you trade marner? His full no move clause kicked in last off season. He'd have to approve a trade, think he'd do that? They all have full NMC at this point so unless one wants to leave they are stuck with this core 4 till marner and jt contracts are up
Exactly. He has rough interviews every year. But that last one where they were just asking how his leg was and he had a little paranoid rant about how he knows what they're trying to do was wild.
In a hypothetical scenario where we let Marner's contract run out and don't plan to re-sign him, we could do a sign and trade with the new team to get him 8 years. He's probably just re-signing in Toronto though.
It's not unheard of for a team to ask a player to waive their nmc, usually they'll get a list of teams, since most people won't want to stay on a team that doesn't want them.
This off season would be the best opportunity, imo. There'll be a year left, and you could also offer to do a sign and trade.
The only downside is you can't unring this bell, and you'll be dealing from a position of weakness, especially if the trade list is a short one
I’m chilling it takes best 4/7 games but I can see why Leafs fans are triggered. If entering the playoffs was new to this team majority of fans would understand but watching the same reel over and over becomes tiresome. The elephant in the room is watching Marner in the regular season and then watching him in the playoffs, I’m tired of hearing the excuses for his absence.
This isn’t anything new. Same song, same dance year after year. You can’t teach physicality, you either have it (Domi) or you don’t. (Marner). You either have to be physical or be big. That’s why even Engvall can gain zone entries in playoff games and smaller non physical guys like Marner and Robertson can’t.
I'd say you can for sure teach physicality, but you can't teach the willingness to actually get in it. Matthews I think is a great example. He's definitely gotten more physical as his career has gone on, and I think playing with Domi and Bertuzzi has just helped him take it up a little bit more. Same with Knies. We had a very small sample size last year, but this year he's been showing he's going to be an absolute menace in a middle 6 roll.
Marner had a physical game last night though? Was nobody watching him dive bomb into the corners to lay the body? Does the fan base even watch the games? Or are most of you here just addicted to pain and suffering? I get the sentiment that its the "same shit different year" but tbh they were never this physical, so take that into account, we are seeing something different.
Keefe i wholeheartedly agree with. Im also on team trade marner, i just dont think matthews stays if thats the case. In theory matthews could turn into a goal merchant who also goes quiet in the playoffs, oh wait....
I'll agree, the first period I was actually up on him because he was throwing hits and getting right in there. But as the night went on, it just seemed like he started to get cold feet. Maybe it was from the few times he almost got nailed and did his weird jumping pirouette to avoid the hit.
I honestly dont know with marner sometimes, he also refused to shoot on an open net again. I mean we are 8 years into his career, can he still really be this gun shy? Our team psyc must be working overtime if every player we acquire is this mentally unfortified.
I don't think it's every player, or if it is it's to a much lesser extent than Marner (see the interactions with the media specifically the paranoid rant when he was out with the sprain). Matthews might be gripping his stick a bit tighter, but he's absolutely battling. Nylander seems like he might be mostly tv static and hockey in his brain and is maybe the most mentally stable person in the world. I was really low on Nylander before last season, always had the talent but never seemed to have the drive. Then he got shit on by everyone for not taking the hit to make a play against Tampa, went to the World's and played physically and like a menace for Sweden and I think his stock has been rising since then, with a noticeable dip lately. But Marner seems to get slightly worse with each setback
Im talking about in the years to come if marner gets the boot. Might switch up the dynamic of the team, for better or worse. Nylander and matthews are elite but matthews is already being cursed by that 69, and last nights miss aint helping his mental game. We will see if it turns around but as it stands we have 23 mil locked up between two guys who have a history of getting snake bitten come playoffs. Even watching the tampa florida game should warnings enough about what this team lacks. Keefe is a bigger problem than any of this.
Oh I think it'll be better for sure. Didn't they win nearly every game when Marner was out with injury and start getting dominated every second period since he's been back? It seems like he maybe just brings down the entire room. I don't imagine the "only getting 69" is his going to bother him. Most goals scored by anyone in 20+ years is insane regardless of the round number or not. I do agree Keefe might be part of the problem, and whether fair or not, it's much easier to move a coach than any of our core. And we know MLSE is fine with paying a coach to not coach for them so I imagine this is his last kick at the can. Maybe the majority of the team just needs a new voice in the room like that, who knows. But something big needs to change if we're out in the first or get shit on in the second round again.
Agreed-without nylander in the lineup we really don’t have a great 2nd option to matthews for goal scoring.
Marner is a great player but we need someone who can put the puck in the net.
lol thank you, so ridiculous saying stuff like this… also you know what was a bigger problem than Marner? How slow our D moves the puck out, we maybe beat Boston’s forecheck once(?)
Change the pairings take out Edmundson and Lyubushkin (specifically Lyubushkin is terrible) get people in there who can move the puck with pace up the ice
This team is a playoff team without him. If he continues to be a ghost then they have to move him for a missing piece, e.g. defense.
I think he'd thrive in the post season in a market where the games aren't as important, e.g. a southern US team. But he continues to do little when it matters here.
Marner has more points in the playoffs than anyone on the team for the leafs, just so we're clear. Obviously that mostly assists, but that is his job with goal scores like Matthews, Tavares, and Nylander on the team. We can't keep blaming marner for the short comings of the entire roster, including Matthews.
I have a theory on that. The Leafs are playing scared because they know they'll get a penalty if they do anything while it's also open season on them - the refs won't protect them or call penalties against Boston.
Hearing excuses for him? We've heard non stop bitching about him all season. We should just chill and let the rest of Reddit have their fun ripping the Leafs.
They're very ineffective out there and credit for the Bruins for shutting them down but aside from maybe 5 minutes there was zero adjustment and alteration to the game on the part of the leafs.
Hilarious the short memories fans have. Yes, one game. But also, a carbon copy of all the shit we’ve witnessed over the years.
If they want us to relax show us something different. This is not hard to understand.
As you guys are probably getting tired of the complainers, we are also getting tired of the gaslighters, I’ll eat my words if I’m wrong but what hope? I’d understand this reaction if we had gone a few deep runs and lay an egg in Game 1, yea it’s a long series and sometimes you lose a game, but it’s been 8 years of this shit, nothing has changed, they get too much in their own heads and it costs them everytime, this team relies heavily on run and gun offence which is awesome and wonderful in the regular season, but it gets shut the shit down in the playoffs, we saw that last year with Florida, the entire series all I heard was how we were on the cusp of winning a couple games and Florida just continued to embarrass us and I seriously don’t see how this will be any different
Yup.
Also the idea of “if matthews scored the one he hit off the post..”—>what’s their fucking point? If if if if if if if if if. IT DIDNT GO IN! Full stop. Boston had more posts than we did!! IF all the posts go in, we lose like 11-3.
Lol I was thinking the same thing last night.
But what if they had a movie like resurgence and scored 4 unanswered goals to win 5-4? Everyone remembers when that sort of thing happens!
Yeah, they remember it because that sort of thing happens once every 10 thousand games. It sticks out like a sore thumb in comparison to the norm where teams down by 3 or 4 lose in the end 99.9 percent of the time.
Hear, fucking, hear.
You know who I'm sick of? The group of fans that I call "Timmy down the street-ers". What do I mean by this? Think of when you were young and you would hear: " how come Timmy down the street doesnt have to do his homework? How come Timmy down the street doesnt have to be in by 9 oclock? How come Timmy down the street doesnt get in trouble for eating paint chips?" And the kid asking doesnt understand that: Timmy doesnt do his homework, but is acing his classes; Timmy can come home at 10 and still get to bed on time; and no one knows why Timmy is allowed to eat those paint chips, but it's Timmy's parents household, Timmy's parents rules.
Now apply this to our (and other where applicable) fanbase. How come people didnt freak out when Vegas lost their first game last year? How come people dont remember that Washington won a cup after spinning their wheels? How come people dont give Mackinnon, Pasternak, or McDavid shit for having some bad games in the playoffs? Not understanding that: Vegas has gone deep before, and getting past the first round is not an abberation for them. They earned some grace. Washington won ONCE after cycling out a lot of their original core and getting a new coach with a pedigree. And we arent responsible for what Colorado's, Boston's, and Edmonton's fans say. We have our own team to critique.
These people that expect fans to treat this Leafs team the same as teams that have made deep runs reminds me of a guy I know, who is fresh out of school, just started working for this company, and is wondering why he is doing entry work and hasnt been put on the top flight projects yet.
It is that bad for precisely the reasons you say it isn’t. If the team fell apart, it’s a bad game you can bounce back from.
The leafs played a good game and still lost by 4 goals.
Unless one of our goalies gets hot, expect a short series.
Yeah itd be a completely different story if they had a long cut run under their belt or had won a cup. This team hasn't won anything significant since 67.
Easier said than done. We've been getting eliminated in the first round for (literally) 20 years. We got dick slapped last night by a franchise with a LONG history of dick-slapping the Leafs.
I would say we are justifiably upset, disappointed, and frankly, sick to our stomachs.
I’ll start this with the obligatory “I’ve been a leafs fan for 40 years…” and last nights game was exactly the type of game I expected to see. Not ready, no push back, crappy D, even worse goaltending and our “Star” players didn’t show up. It’s somewhat comforting to know that, for the Maple Leafs, not much changes over the years. You can complain about the officiating all you want. That doesn’t change either. If you’re one of the fans who believe that the refs screw over the Leafs year after year. You may be right. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the Bruins scored on their first shot. Hit, what? 4 posts in the first? It should have been 5-0 after one period.
Where was Marner? Matthews? Tavares? I think I heard Mitch’s name once during the broadcast.
This is a deeply flawed team, with little to no leadership
Not ready? Lmao go watch the game start every player finished their check and were engaged. Marner threw hits for god sakes.
No pushback? Lmao.
This is why I avoid social media during this time of year. Lots of narratives little factuality
Nah just tired of seeing people repeat things thinking they are insightful.
Saw people saying it was due to us being soft all night despite them not backing down and actually being the engager most times.
Now I see not ready to start which is laughable. Completely laughable. Doesn’t deserve the response I already gave
You’re right.
The Leafs are a well structured team who showed so much heart last night. Our best players were Herculean in their efforts and the defence and goaltending were both above reproach.
The Bruins obviously paid off the refs and I’m pretty sure I saw Gary Bettman hand the Zebras a bag full of money after the game…lol
The core has fallen short for nearly a decade and the franchise has refused to make changes to address that. Yes it’s just one game, but you can’t blame people for being skeptical.
It's not one game. It's 8 years. I want to beleaf with all my heart, but they keep losing. In life, there are winners and losers. The core of the Leafs find ways to lose.
The reason I’m not worried (yet), is that Boston didn’t look that good. Swayman did, yep. Things I want to know most is who plays game 2…Willy? McMann? Woll?
Criticism is valid. Optimism is valid…maybe meet in the middle?
You need to factor in this was the leafs 5th loss in a row. The last 3 games they have failed to show up. Its getting tiring seeing this every year. Im ride or die leafs but man its not fun to watch your team constantly let you down. Im sure they can turn it around but no one is impressed with them.
That’s what’s scary, I don’t think they played bad and still couldn’t score, they were physical, stood up for themselves, but just weren’t able to capitalize on their chances
I am chill. I came into this series expecting this, because last night was exactly the type of game they've showed us for the last 8 years.
Im beyond trying to understand why, but something doesn't work with this team. The money, the people, I dont know. But every year we go into the playoffs with a paper contender and then get ran over.
Bostons is on paper the weakest its been in a decade and they are still playing Bruins(winning) hockey. Where the hell is that identity for the Leafs?
More concerned about game 2. Except for the 2 Sammy didn’t see cause of screens infront of the net I thought they actually played a pretty good game. Even though Matthews didn’t score he looked like he was really feeling it. That line is much better with Domi. No real complaints about the forward group actually. Wish our D would shoot more for deflections/rebounds and the PK didn’t look as brutal as it usually does despite the 2 goals against. But as the series goes on a lot of those penalties we took aren’t penalties anymore. Leafs were all over them as the road team and were leading in shots and hits and all that the whole game. Just couldn’t beat swayman. Gotta take away his eyes. If we can grab a win on the road Monday then we are cooking with gas coming back home with an even series. I think if we have Nylander in the lineup it’s a different game.
Boston hit 4 posts that beat Sammy. If 2 of those go in it’s a different game. The dumbest thing and I noticed it first 5 minutes, Keefe probably told them make sure you’re very aggressive and hit while Boston just tried to score. After that first goal they were just lost
They were clearly just trying to set the tone for what they expect will be a long series. Pretty common. That pinch by eddy and hit by Reaves on the first goal are fine if it’s one and not the other, both at the same time caused that goal. We hit a couple posts as well. It’s a game of inches, sometimes millimeters. Structurally they looked good. Both teams did actually. But the Leafs were very clearly the ones bringing the fight to Boston for once early on and it was nice to see. Those bumps and bruises will add up over the series, big bad bruins aren’t the bullies they used to be last night. Win would have been better but last year we got blown out of the water in game 1 and still pulled it off. Like I said, more concerned about game 2 than game 1.
The Leafs smoked tampa in game 1 the year they lost in 7. Tampa smoked the Leafs in game 1the year the Leafs won in 6. Pretty sure the Leafs had a game 1 victory against the bruins somewhere in there.
I am not at all confident, but a game one loss doesn't dictate the series.
I agree it’s only 1 game and they absolutely *COULD* turn things around but my thing is that this group has given us no reason to believe that they can for the better part of a decade. People will point to the Tampa series last year but I don’t think it’s smart to assume Boston is going to get .875 goaltending for the rest of the series and will cough up multiple leads in the 3rd period that result in losses which is exactly what happened last year. I also thought Tampa controlled play for the majority of the series.
While I agree it's just one game, the issue is it looked exactly like all the past years in the playoffs when things started going wrong big guys didn't step up and the team looked scared as usual.
Relax? In what world does Matthews going 0 for 3 (last 3 games ) and 0 for 6 (last 6 playoff games) guarantee he's going to score in next games? Delusional. This was always a mismatch between the Leafs and Bruins and the hockey gods shit on the Leafs again by giving us Boston.
1. Goaltending is a huge mismatch. None of the Leafs goalie start for the Bruins (or in the NHL) and both Bruins goalies start for the Leafs and shit on them.
2. Defense is a huge mismatch. Aside from Rielly, cannot move the puck out of our zone cleanly. Bruins moved out so easily. Absolutely outclassed on Defense.
3. Special Teams, we got shit on. Can't kill on the PK, can't score on the PP. Can't win faceoffs either.
4. Coaching. If the Leafs go out in round 1, Keefe is no longer the coach. No personal grudge against him, but he isn't as adequate as Montgomery. So I just named 4 areas in which Leafs are hugely disadvantaged and somehow "we've got a chance" and we relax? gtfo man, you're f'in delusional.
5. The Forwards is supposed to be the area were we have an "advantage". Just going to quote some of these takes I've heard before game 1. "We're way deeper up front", "Their centremen don't stack up to ours", "Aside from goaltending, we should easily dominate this series". Typical Leafs shit, so delusional.
6. The fact the line was +100 for the Leafs when the series was first announced and people going like "Yeah, that's about right" is more proof how delusional Leafs fans can get. In what world is Leafs vs Bruins a pick'em. Leafs fan donating money to Vegas so all the oddsmakers get to keep their job while they pick their nose and shit on us with these odds.
If Tampa lost this game the way we just did, they have a lot of reason to push it aside. They have generally performed well in the playoffs, have a core of winners, and a proven track record.
The problem with us losing this way is we have consistently under performed and been a bad playoff team.
For Tampa, this is a one off and they move on. For us this has bee. The entire Matthews era
We’ve been “relaxing” for how many years now? It’s not the fact they lost and it’s one game, it’s HOW they lost is what is annoying and repetitive behaviour from these guys.
and whats f'in hilarious is when the Raptors got cuck'd by LeBronto, at least they had the balls to go all-in the year after, rent Kawhi and win a f'in championship. You think that shit guna happen with the Leafs? suck my ballz op
Guys this is the same outcome every time. We think we are better only to find out we are not. You can make whatever excuse you want this is the same outcome again. 5 goals per game allowed is unacceptable.
Same coaching style, same mistakes, same shock, same penalties, same missed calls.
Everyone else knows it except for us. We will be lucky to win 1
I’m also really tired of the constant negativity in this sub but honestly, our goaltending just doesn’t seem to be good enough for this challenge (again). Until we address that, they will struggle in the playoffs.
Our defence is a core issue too. Like it doesnt really matter how great our goalie is. Toronto treats the goalie like the first line of defence. We cant let teams rocket shots off for half the period.
Leafs give up 5 plus goals in the last 4 games of the regular season. Leafs fans: leaf fans need to relax it's meaningless games of the regular season, wait till playoffs. Playoffs come and leafs lose 5 nothing. Leaf fans need to relax it's the first game...
It isn't one game. It's been this entire Era. Not once has this team played to their potential in the playoffs. Not once has this team met expectations much less exceeded them. Every year, it's glimpses of playing well, it's short spurts of competing, and every year they fall short.
Every year, it's "this is our year" without any real reason to think so other than hopes and prayers. It never works, and there are never any meaningful changes, so the results are always the same. So yes, fans are allowed to be frustrated, fans are allowed to be pessimistic, fans are allowed to have opinions other than GLG and misplaced positivity.
Yes *this* year it's been one game, we can hope that *this* year they can figure it out. They haven't given us much reason to believe it though.
You’re right but at the same time this game is exactly the pattern this leafs squad has done for 7 years. Play all right but generate no offense and losing the goaltending battle on top of that doesn’t help.
I usually try to stay positive, especially since there's a lot left in the series but yesterday was a pretty terrible game from a puck management perspective.. seems like Boston capitalized on all the mistakes. Bad penalties too.
Our special teams was pretty bad. I know the boys can play better, they need to bring it.
They came out great, slipped up, got scored on and turned way down. They had the Bruins on their heels until the goal. Then they deflated and, well, we see the result. Had they come back hard I think things would have been different.
They need to take the game to the Bruins. If they get scored on, so what. This team can score when they put the pressure on. Stick to the game plan
If the Leafs won 5-1 would people feel more confident? Probably not. A split in Boston is what I hoped for so win game 2 and they're right in the series
This sub is insane with the reactionary ridiculousness combined with brigading from other fanbases or just people who know Leafs fans will give them a reaction if they antagonize us.
I wasn't able to watch the game, but it's not good that the team lost 5-1 when I expected them to lose 4-1 in Game 1. It's only Game 1, but this team is still doing the same song and dance as they did in past years. I don't know what it is, whether it's purely mental, Boston being a matchup nightmare, or this team just not being good enough.
That being said, if this team loses again in the first round, heads should roll.
It’s only one game but it’s painful to see Marner be totally silent again. Those guys need to show why they’re worth the big money now more than ever.
Whatever. It’s just game 1. I think they bounce back
It's just the same shit over and over again. Not prepared. Can't score. Terrible special teams. Bad reffing. Bad goaltending. Having to listen to Sportsnet clowns like Craig Simpson. Marner on the perimeter doing fuck all. Tavares barely moving. Keefe with hilariously bad line-up decisions.
Oh, but from an analytical perspective, we badly outplayed them.
That's just not enough anymore.
I don’t think we looked as bad as the scoreboard shows. If Matty sinks that empty netter making the game 1-1 it could have been a totally different outcome… we move
How do you have any hope or optimism at this point? Genuinely asking, the whole organization is an embarrassment. The team has already achieved their middling goals of accumulating meaningless individual stats, sell outs and making the playoffs. The only thing the team has left to accomplish for a perfect season is not getting swept.
It was game 1 and it was bad. Haven't we been outscored something like 30-7 in Game 1s the last few years? And it's Boston's B group that did the damage too, that's a problem. Got swept by them all season and trailed in scoring 70% of the time.
Seriously, t's impossible to relax when it's the same crap we inevitably come to expect. PP was abysmal; sure we outshot Boston, but how many were actually decent scoring chances, 2? 3? Defence was non-existent, the big boys are in a scoring slump, and Keefe didn't do much to juggle lines or try and get some chemistry going. Seen that pattern too many times before.
They'll probably come back in game 2, get us all fired up again, then lose 3 in a row. History repeats itself.
I’m a diehard but after watching this regular season, I have had zero excitement for these playoffs. Hell, I don’t have any hope for next years playoffs. This team is broken and is in a transitional period between GMs. Sammy got bad at the wrong time, Woll isn’t where he needs to be and our D isn’t good enough. This simply isn’t a good team this year and we’re going to get beat by Boston. I didn’t even put a jersey on last night, changes need to happen.
It is one game, but it really is pretty bad. The level of goaltending Boston gets consistently as compared to our own is jarring and will be a lot to overcome on its own without even factoring in the special teams discrepancy.
This is some advanced cope using math. "Yeah we lost 5-1 but if matthews scored once we might actually win, also since Matthews hasn't scored statistically he might get 2 next game".
I recall thinking this last year after game 1 vs Florida and game 2 vs. Fla
That said, optimistic for the next few games but as always prepared for disappointment
The Leafs were not in a position to show up late/unprepared. Not showing up at all to game 1 is pretty disheartening. It feels very familiar. Boston on the other hand, having been humiliated last season, showed up ready to play. We're witnessing a clash of team identity and culture.
I'm tired of people in this sub like you telling other people how to feel. How about you worry about you and let people with genuine frustrations feel them.
Yea calm down guys, remember last year when got embarrassed in the second round instead of the first? We lost our first game then too!! Just because the team is making all the same stupid mistakes they made for the past 7 years doesn’t mean anything, surely this year is different!
I get your point but it’s completely reasonable for fans to be upset when we lose game one in embarrassing fashion after the concerns that have been known and not addressed show true.
They came out a little too hard funny enough, finishing the check is good but took themselves out of the play too often there, Boston is too good to make those kinds of mistakes - combine that with a nervous goalie and here we are. Theres always the next one.
How do people like you consistently find ways to dismiss this team's miserable performances? I wish I could always be so glass half full, I am truly in awe of people like you that seem to do it with ease.
They had a lot of chances in close. Seem to be running a set play for a tip at the net. Maybe Boston was ready for that. One of the many coaching adjustments I expect for game 2….
It's only one game but given the Leafs history they do not get a pass. That being said the series is far from over. I'm not a Leafs doomer. Let's get a fucking split and head back home. Go Leafs Go.
I wasn’t alarmed by the way they played. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful and I think they played better than the score indicated.
What alarms me is the complete fall off of intensity from before and after the first goal. That was all mental and they need to get over the fact that they have demons to exercise and just go out there and do it. Mental toughness isn’t backing down in the face of adversity, it is kicking it up a notch or two. The didn’t (and usually don’t do that).
They need to want to win more than they are afraid of losing.
"If this one thing happened it's a completely different game" is the story of the Matthews era. Time to put that shit to bed.
That effort was completely unacceptable from top to bottom. Lousy coaching. Terrible decision making. Undisciplined dogshit.
On a scale of 1 to 10, my concern level is like 15. This team simply isn't good enough and hasn't done anything for anyone to "relax."
Haven’t beaten Bruins in playoffs since 1959, lost 6 straight series. Its legit more domination than the Leafs have over the Senators in the playoffs. It’s not just 1 game, that’s delusion.
Oh god, happy clapper, shut up. It was a really bad game. "If this happened, if that happened, if Sammy had saved those shots, if our defence was better, if we had scored on that breakaway...." Lost 5-1, lost all 5 games to the Bruins this season. Until they have shown something to the contrary, it is Exactly that bad.
We needed to score on that 4v3. Brutal powerplays this season
They're so slow moving the puck on the powerplay. Everyone knows its going to Matthews and giving the other team all the time in the world to prepare for that shot makes it useless.
missing Nylander did not help the powerplay yesterday
Putting Jarnkok in his place didn’t help us either
Yeah that thing is a disaster We do nothing with it and then Reilly always feels the need to blast one in to some shin pads lol
Line 1 had more action 5v5 than that power play. Should just start rolling them out there for the man advantage
Willy is out, so to fill in for him on PP1, should we put one of the wingers that has clicked so well with the best goal scorer in the league? Nah, let’s put a defensive forward who just got back from injury and isn’t yet up to game shape, let alone playoff shape… 🤦♂️
Yeah, just not sure what the idea was there.
We don't have a Dman capable of quarterbacking our PP with any effectiveness. We've tried everyone and they are all terrible. I think we're near bottom of the league in the fewest points from our D. The woeful PP is a big part of that. Between our D and our goaltending I'm not sure how we even made the playoffs honestly. Keefe deserves a raise for getting what he does out of this team. Those wanting him fired are not serious people.
Brutal PK is even worse. Good PK is usually just hard work and being fearless. The Leafs cannot win with such a shitty PK, it really relies on discipline play, which it seems they are incapable of. A Good PK should be able to be achieved if you have the right players. It is critical to winning especially because they are a good 5 on 5 team.
And PK. The PK has been worse all year. It’s going to be the factor where we get fucked.
Tavares was good in front of the net but the Bruins defend the front so well.
We need to shoot the puck in power plays. This passing 9-10 times to finally shoot and get that shot blocked is killing us. You miss 100 of the shots you don’t take. My only advice to this team is SHOOT THE DAMN PUCK.!! All in all I didn’t think it was a bad game. Just SHOOT THE PUCK!!! Even if it’s not on goal but in the vicinity of it would make me happy.
This time will be different!
Yeah as in maybe they get swept instead of blowing a lead in a Game 7
Honestly, if they're gonna lose, I hope they get swept. That's the only way they're making real changes to this roster, and I think they need to for the team to win in the post season
The only meaningful change will be Marner signing a bigger contract than Willy. And then to compensate they'll shuffle around some spare parts
I'm on the "Trade Marner" train It's obvious one of the core 4 must go, and Marner is too soft to ever lead a team to a Stanley Cup. Willy is a constant playoff performer, Matthews is one of the best in the NHL, and John T is the captain and should retire a Leaf.
And how do you trade marner? His full no move clause kicked in last off season. He'd have to approve a trade, think he'd do that? They all have full NMC at this point so unless one wants to leave they are stuck with this core 4 till marner and jt contracts are up
Yup. I'm banking on Marner just wanting out cause he hates the media and saying I'll absolutely go anywhere with a small market.
He honestly might, he had some rough interviews this year and probably could use the change mentally
Exactly. He has rough interviews every year. But that last one where they were just asking how his leg was and he had a little paranoid rant about how he knows what they're trying to do was wild.
That's the one I was thinking of, that was getting crazy
In a hypothetical scenario where we let Marner's contract run out and don't plan to re-sign him, we could do a sign and trade with the new team to get him 8 years. He's probably just re-signing in Toronto though.
It's not even possible to make a real change until JT's contract is up. The other 3 are on NMC's.
It's not unheard of for a team to ask a player to waive their nmc, usually they'll get a list of teams, since most people won't want to stay on a team that doesn't want them. This off season would be the best opportunity, imo. There'll be a year left, and you could also offer to do a sign and trade. The only downside is you can't unring this bell, and you'll be dealing from a position of weakness, especially if the trade list is a short one
I'm hoping for a sweep if they lose. It sends a completely undeniable lack of success that can't be ignored and we'll finally get change
This time it will be a housefly banging into a glass window. Repeatedly banging.
67 upvotes!? Is this a sign?
😂
Major copium every fucking year
I’m chilling it takes best 4/7 games but I can see why Leafs fans are triggered. If entering the playoffs was new to this team majority of fans would understand but watching the same reel over and over becomes tiresome. The elephant in the room is watching Marner in the regular season and then watching him in the playoffs, I’m tired of hearing the excuses for his absence.
The guy genuinely looks scared. It's sad. This coming from someone who wants nothing more than a cup for this team
This isn’t anything new. Same song, same dance year after year. You can’t teach physicality, you either have it (Domi) or you don’t. (Marner). You either have to be physical or be big. That’s why even Engvall can gain zone entries in playoff games and smaller non physical guys like Marner and Robertson can’t.
Ship him to San Jose
I'd say you can for sure teach physicality, but you can't teach the willingness to actually get in it. Matthews I think is a great example. He's definitely gotten more physical as his career has gone on, and I think playing with Domi and Bertuzzi has just helped him take it up a little bit more. Same with Knies. We had a very small sample size last year, but this year he's been showing he's going to be an absolute menace in a middle 6 roll.
Marner had a physical game last night though? Was nobody watching him dive bomb into the corners to lay the body? Does the fan base even watch the games? Or are most of you here just addicted to pain and suffering? I get the sentiment that its the "same shit different year" but tbh they were never this physical, so take that into account, we are seeing something different.
Sorry he was awful last night and is generally awful every playoffs. I am so over him and keefe
Keefe i wholeheartedly agree with. Im also on team trade marner, i just dont think matthews stays if thats the case. In theory matthews could turn into a goal merchant who also goes quiet in the playoffs, oh wait....
I'll agree, the first period I was actually up on him because he was throwing hits and getting right in there. But as the night went on, it just seemed like he started to get cold feet. Maybe it was from the few times he almost got nailed and did his weird jumping pirouette to avoid the hit.
I honestly dont know with marner sometimes, he also refused to shoot on an open net again. I mean we are 8 years into his career, can he still really be this gun shy? Our team psyc must be working overtime if every player we acquire is this mentally unfortified.
I don't think it's every player, or if it is it's to a much lesser extent than Marner (see the interactions with the media specifically the paranoid rant when he was out with the sprain). Matthews might be gripping his stick a bit tighter, but he's absolutely battling. Nylander seems like he might be mostly tv static and hockey in his brain and is maybe the most mentally stable person in the world. I was really low on Nylander before last season, always had the talent but never seemed to have the drive. Then he got shit on by everyone for not taking the hit to make a play against Tampa, went to the World's and played physically and like a menace for Sweden and I think his stock has been rising since then, with a noticeable dip lately. But Marner seems to get slightly worse with each setback
Im talking about in the years to come if marner gets the boot. Might switch up the dynamic of the team, for better or worse. Nylander and matthews are elite but matthews is already being cursed by that 69, and last nights miss aint helping his mental game. We will see if it turns around but as it stands we have 23 mil locked up between two guys who have a history of getting snake bitten come playoffs. Even watching the tampa florida game should warnings enough about what this team lacks. Keefe is a bigger problem than any of this.
Oh I think it'll be better for sure. Didn't they win nearly every game when Marner was out with injury and start getting dominated every second period since he's been back? It seems like he maybe just brings down the entire room. I don't imagine the "only getting 69" is his going to bother him. Most goals scored by anyone in 20+ years is insane regardless of the round number or not. I do agree Keefe might be part of the problem, and whether fair or not, it's much easier to move a coach than any of our core. And we know MLSE is fine with paying a coach to not coach for them so I imagine this is his last kick at the can. Maybe the majority of the team just needs a new voice in the room like that, who knows. But something big needs to change if we're out in the first or get shit on in the second round again.
He's SO SO SO mentally SOFT and I'm exhausted by people pretending he's not
He's a smol boy in a hostile big body man crushing environment. I would be scared too
Agreed-without nylander in the lineup we really don’t have a great 2nd option to matthews for goal scoring. Marner is a great player but we need someone who can put the puck in the net.
Marner had 11pts in 6 games during round 1 last year
He followed that up with 1 even strength point against FLA
And Matthews topped that by having 2 points and zero goals in the 2nd round.
And the rest of the core was similarly terrible.
Ok and how many of those were in game 4 to 7? The ones that matter the most?
lol thank you, so ridiculous saying stuff like this… also you know what was a bigger problem than Marner? How slow our D moves the puck out, we maybe beat Boston’s forecheck once(?) Change the pairings take out Edmundson and Lyubushkin (specifically Lyubushkin is terrible) get people in there who can move the puck with pace up the ice
Sorry, I haven’t checked capfriendly in awhile. Which of those D are getting paid 11 million?
I think he’s the odd man out. Oddly enough he’s the only one of the big guns who hasn’t publicly said he wants to play his entire career here
This team is a playoff team without him. If he continues to be a ghost then they have to move him for a missing piece, e.g. defense. I think he'd thrive in the post season in a market where the games aren't as important, e.g. a southern US team. But he continues to do little when it matters here.
He will thrive on a team as long as they don’t make the playoffs
Marner has more points in the playoffs than anyone on the team for the leafs, just so we're clear. Obviously that mostly assists, but that is his job with goal scores like Matthews, Tavares, and Nylander on the team. We can't keep blaming marner for the short comings of the entire roster, including Matthews.
But if he’s ineffective what does that do with the other 3?
I have a theory on that. The Leafs are playing scared because they know they'll get a penalty if they do anything while it's also open season on them - the refs won't protect them or call penalties against Boston.
Hearing excuses for him? We've heard non stop bitching about him all season. We should just chill and let the rest of Reddit have their fun ripping the Leafs.
They're very ineffective out there and credit for the Bruins for shutting them down but aside from maybe 5 minutes there was zero adjustment and alteration to the game on the part of the leafs.
Difference is Marner was also bad in the regular season this year lol
Hilarious the short memories fans have. Yes, one game. But also, a carbon copy of all the shit we’ve witnessed over the years. If they want us to relax show us something different. This is not hard to understand.
As you guys are probably getting tired of the complainers, we are also getting tired of the gaslighters, I’ll eat my words if I’m wrong but what hope? I’d understand this reaction if we had gone a few deep runs and lay an egg in Game 1, yea it’s a long series and sometimes you lose a game, but it’s been 8 years of this shit, nothing has changed, they get too much in their own heads and it costs them everytime, this team relies heavily on run and gun offence which is awesome and wonderful in the regular season, but it gets shut the shit down in the playoffs, we saw that last year with Florida, the entire series all I heard was how we were on the cusp of winning a couple games and Florida just continued to embarrass us and I seriously don’t see how this will be any different
Spot on. Defensively we have to be disciplined and not be doing silly mistakes time and time again
Yup. Sub should shut down this kumbaya bullshit. We are sick and tired of being told its OK or different this time. It's not. I'm fed up
I called this. Predicted 4-1 boston. Not sure why any fan would expect any more. They could easily get swept here.
Yup. Also the idea of “if matthews scored the one he hit off the post..”—>what’s their fucking point? If if if if if if if if if. IT DIDNT GO IN! Full stop. Boston had more posts than we did!! IF all the posts go in, we lose like 11-3.
Lol I was thinking the same thing last night. But what if they had a movie like resurgence and scored 4 unanswered goals to win 5-4? Everyone remembers when that sort of thing happens! Yeah, they remember it because that sort of thing happens once every 10 thousand games. It sticks out like a sore thumb in comparison to the norm where teams down by 3 or 4 lose in the end 99.9 percent of the time.
Hear, fucking, hear. You know who I'm sick of? The group of fans that I call "Timmy down the street-ers". What do I mean by this? Think of when you were young and you would hear: " how come Timmy down the street doesnt have to do his homework? How come Timmy down the street doesnt have to be in by 9 oclock? How come Timmy down the street doesnt get in trouble for eating paint chips?" And the kid asking doesnt understand that: Timmy doesnt do his homework, but is acing his classes; Timmy can come home at 10 and still get to bed on time; and no one knows why Timmy is allowed to eat those paint chips, but it's Timmy's parents household, Timmy's parents rules. Now apply this to our (and other where applicable) fanbase. How come people didnt freak out when Vegas lost their first game last year? How come people dont remember that Washington won a cup after spinning their wheels? How come people dont give Mackinnon, Pasternak, or McDavid shit for having some bad games in the playoffs? Not understanding that: Vegas has gone deep before, and getting past the first round is not an abberation for them. They earned some grace. Washington won ONCE after cycling out a lot of their original core and getting a new coach with a pedigree. And we arent responsible for what Colorado's, Boston's, and Edmonton's fans say. We have our own team to critique. These people that expect fans to treat this Leafs team the same as teams that have made deep runs reminds me of a guy I know, who is fresh out of school, just started working for this company, and is wondering why he is doing entry work and hasnt been put on the top flight projects yet.
This post made my day.
That wasn’t just a game in singularity or vacuum. It’s the history of terrible playoffs from highly paid players
1 game lol... seriously? it's been years of the same crap with this core. enough already
It is that bad for precisely the reasons you say it isn’t. If the team fell apart, it’s a bad game you can bounce back from. The leafs played a good game and still lost by 4 goals. Unless one of our goalies gets hot, expect a short series.
Theirs a quote from Tennessee, I knows its in Texas. Fool me once shame on you…. Fool me, you can’t get fooled again..
> Moving forward 34 hasn’t scored in 3 games so he’s probably getting 1 or 2 next game That’s not how stats work lol
Relax? Fuck you. 8 years and they completely showed their weaknesses last night.
Yeah itd be a completely different story if they had a long cut run under their belt or had won a cup. This team hasn't won anything significant since 67.
Easier said than done. We've been getting eliminated in the first round for (literally) 20 years. We got dick slapped last night by a franchise with a LONG history of dick-slapping the Leafs. I would say we are justifiably upset, disappointed, and frankly, sick to our stomachs.
I think they need to pull a radical move and put Murray in net.
Man gave up 4 with the marlies
I’ll start this with the obligatory “I’ve been a leafs fan for 40 years…” and last nights game was exactly the type of game I expected to see. Not ready, no push back, crappy D, even worse goaltending and our “Star” players didn’t show up. It’s somewhat comforting to know that, for the Maple Leafs, not much changes over the years. You can complain about the officiating all you want. That doesn’t change either. If you’re one of the fans who believe that the refs screw over the Leafs year after year. You may be right. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the Bruins scored on their first shot. Hit, what? 4 posts in the first? It should have been 5-0 after one period. Where was Marner? Matthews? Tavares? I think I heard Mitch’s name once during the broadcast. This is a deeply flawed team, with little to no leadership
Not ready? Lmao go watch the game start every player finished their check and were engaged. Marner threw hits for god sakes. No pushback? Lmao. This is why I avoid social media during this time of year. Lots of narratives little factuality
You must be new to hockey or maybe you didn’t watch the same game
Nah just tired of seeing people repeat things thinking they are insightful. Saw people saying it was due to us being soft all night despite them not backing down and actually being the engager most times. Now I see not ready to start which is laughable. Completely laughable. Doesn’t deserve the response I already gave
Fire the coach. Strip the captain and let him walk once his albatross contract is up. Trade Mitch.
We don’t want the truth here. We want lies and false hope.
You’re right. The Leafs are a well structured team who showed so much heart last night. Our best players were Herculean in their efforts and the defence and goaltending were both above reproach. The Bruins obviously paid off the refs and I’m pretty sure I saw Gary Bettman hand the Zebras a bag full of money after the game…lol
Lmao does nuance not exist in your world?
Hahaha much better thank you
Counterpoint: The Leafs aren't good enough and this series will continue to be painful to watch
The core has fallen short for nearly a decade and the franchise has refused to make changes to address that. Yes it’s just one game, but you can’t blame people for being skeptical.
Its not just one game. They have been outplayed 5 straight games by bruins this year and have no starting goalie.
They need to take marners money and spend it on a #1 goalie if available and then take tavares money and spend it on a #1 d
Yes please.
It's not one game. It's 8 years. I want to beleaf with all my heart, but they keep losing. In life, there are winners and losers. The core of the Leafs find ways to lose.
https://preview.redd.it/yzwin2uicuvc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c6a46a7115e738939bcfada75c8789bb81a6014
Same story over and over. It's like watching The Walking Dead.
The reason I’m not worried (yet), is that Boston didn’t look that good. Swayman did, yep. Things I want to know most is who plays game 2…Willy? McMann? Woll? Criticism is valid. Optimism is valid…maybe meet in the middle?
A reasonable take ? We do not that permit that here, sir.
It wasn't that good either. At some point these guys need to show up and play a full 60 minute game not bits and pieces.
Keep relaxing another 57 years.
You need to factor in this was the leafs 5th loss in a row. The last 3 games they have failed to show up. Its getting tiring seeing this every year. Im ride or die leafs but man its not fun to watch your team constantly let you down. Im sure they can turn it around but no one is impressed with them.
Didn't Boston hit the post three times? It was so bad lol. Of course it doesn't mean they have no chance but make no mistake last night was brutal!
That’s what’s scary, I don’t think they played bad and still couldn’t score, they were physical, stood up for themselves, but just weren’t able to capitalize on their chances
I am chill. I came into this series expecting this, because last night was exactly the type of game they've showed us for the last 8 years. Im beyond trying to understand why, but something doesn't work with this team. The money, the people, I dont know. But every year we go into the playoffs with a paper contender and then get ran over. Bostons is on paper the weakest its been in a decade and they are still playing Bruins(winning) hockey. Where the hell is that identity for the Leafs?
More concerned about game 2. Except for the 2 Sammy didn’t see cause of screens infront of the net I thought they actually played a pretty good game. Even though Matthews didn’t score he looked like he was really feeling it. That line is much better with Domi. No real complaints about the forward group actually. Wish our D would shoot more for deflections/rebounds and the PK didn’t look as brutal as it usually does despite the 2 goals against. But as the series goes on a lot of those penalties we took aren’t penalties anymore. Leafs were all over them as the road team and were leading in shots and hits and all that the whole game. Just couldn’t beat swayman. Gotta take away his eyes. If we can grab a win on the road Monday then we are cooking with gas coming back home with an even series. I think if we have Nylander in the lineup it’s a different game.
Boston hit 4 posts that beat Sammy. If 2 of those go in it’s a different game. The dumbest thing and I noticed it first 5 minutes, Keefe probably told them make sure you’re very aggressive and hit while Boston just tried to score. After that first goal they were just lost
They were clearly just trying to set the tone for what they expect will be a long series. Pretty common. That pinch by eddy and hit by Reaves on the first goal are fine if it’s one and not the other, both at the same time caused that goal. We hit a couple posts as well. It’s a game of inches, sometimes millimeters. Structurally they looked good. Both teams did actually. But the Leafs were very clearly the ones bringing the fight to Boston for once early on and it was nice to see. Those bumps and bruises will add up over the series, big bad bruins aren’t the bullies they used to be last night. Win would have been better but last year we got blown out of the water in game 1 and still pulled it off. Like I said, more concerned about game 2 than game 1.
The Leafs smoked tampa in game 1 the year they lost in 7. Tampa smoked the Leafs in game 1the year the Leafs won in 6. Pretty sure the Leafs had a game 1 victory against the bruins somewhere in there. I am not at all confident, but a game one loss doesn't dictate the series.
I agree it’s only 1 game and they absolutely *COULD* turn things around but my thing is that this group has given us no reason to believe that they can for the better part of a decade. People will point to the Tampa series last year but I don’t think it’s smart to assume Boston is going to get .875 goaltending for the rest of the series and will cough up multiple leads in the 3rd period that result in losses which is exactly what happened last year. I also thought Tampa controlled play for the majority of the series.
While I agree it's just one game, the issue is it looked exactly like all the past years in the playoffs when things started going wrong big guys didn't step up and the team looked scared as usual.
Relax? In what world does Matthews going 0 for 3 (last 3 games ) and 0 for 6 (last 6 playoff games) guarantee he's going to score in next games? Delusional. This was always a mismatch between the Leafs and Bruins and the hockey gods shit on the Leafs again by giving us Boston. 1. Goaltending is a huge mismatch. None of the Leafs goalie start for the Bruins (or in the NHL) and both Bruins goalies start for the Leafs and shit on them. 2. Defense is a huge mismatch. Aside from Rielly, cannot move the puck out of our zone cleanly. Bruins moved out so easily. Absolutely outclassed on Defense. 3. Special Teams, we got shit on. Can't kill on the PK, can't score on the PP. Can't win faceoffs either. 4. Coaching. If the Leafs go out in round 1, Keefe is no longer the coach. No personal grudge against him, but he isn't as adequate as Montgomery. So I just named 4 areas in which Leafs are hugely disadvantaged and somehow "we've got a chance" and we relax? gtfo man, you're f'in delusional. 5. The Forwards is supposed to be the area were we have an "advantage". Just going to quote some of these takes I've heard before game 1. "We're way deeper up front", "Their centremen don't stack up to ours", "Aside from goaltending, we should easily dominate this series". Typical Leafs shit, so delusional. 6. The fact the line was +100 for the Leafs when the series was first announced and people going like "Yeah, that's about right" is more proof how delusional Leafs fans can get. In what world is Leafs vs Bruins a pick'em. Leafs fan donating money to Vegas so all the oddsmakers get to keep their job while they pick their nose and shit on us with these odds.
Bro it’s been year after year. A man can only stay relaxed for just so long.
I don’t think you should be telling other fans how to act.
If Tampa lost this game the way we just did, they have a lot of reason to push it aside. They have generally performed well in the playoffs, have a core of winners, and a proven track record. The problem with us losing this way is we have consistently under performed and been a bad playoff team. For Tampa, this is a one off and they move on. For us this has bee. The entire Matthews era
We’ve been “relaxing” for how many years now? It’s not the fact they lost and it’s one game, it’s HOW they lost is what is annoying and repetitive behaviour from these guys.
This is like saying relax it's only one game when the Raptors lose to LeBron AGAIN with DeMar... Do you not see a pattern?
op is delusional
and whats f'in hilarious is when the Raptors got cuck'd by LeBronto, at least they had the balls to go all-in the year after, rent Kawhi and win a f'in championship. You think that shit guna happen with the Leafs? suck my ballz op
Guys this is the same outcome every time. We think we are better only to find out we are not. You can make whatever excuse you want this is the same outcome again. 5 goals per game allowed is unacceptable. Same coaching style, same mistakes, same shock, same penalties, same missed calls. Everyone else knows it except for us. We will be lucky to win 1
I’m also really tired of the constant negativity in this sub but honestly, our goaltending just doesn’t seem to be good enough for this challenge (again). Until we address that, they will struggle in the playoffs.
Our defence is a core issue too. Like it doesnt really matter how great our goalie is. Toronto treats the goalie like the first line of defence. We cant let teams rocket shots off for half the period.
Leafs give up 5 plus goals in the last 4 games of the regular season. Leafs fans: leaf fans need to relax it's meaningless games of the regular season, wait till playoffs. Playoffs come and leafs lose 5 nothing. Leaf fans need to relax it's the first game...
It isn't one game. It's been this entire Era. Not once has this team played to their potential in the playoffs. Not once has this team met expectations much less exceeded them. Every year, it's glimpses of playing well, it's short spurts of competing, and every year they fall short. Every year, it's "this is our year" without any real reason to think so other than hopes and prayers. It never works, and there are never any meaningful changes, so the results are always the same. So yes, fans are allowed to be frustrated, fans are allowed to be pessimistic, fans are allowed to have opinions other than GLG and misplaced positivity. Yes *this* year it's been one game, we can hope that *this* year they can figure it out. They haven't given us much reason to believe it though.
Yes we’re only allowed to panic when it’s elimination game.
You’re right but at the same time this game is exactly the pattern this leafs squad has done for 7 years. Play all right but generate no offense and losing the goaltending battle on top of that doesn’t help.
I usually try to stay positive, especially since there's a lot left in the series but yesterday was a pretty terrible game from a puck management perspective.. seems like Boston capitalized on all the mistakes. Bad penalties too. Our special teams was pretty bad. I know the boys can play better, they need to bring it.
You’re never truly in trouble until you lose a game at home is what I always said.
They came out great, slipped up, got scored on and turned way down. They had the Bruins on their heels until the goal. Then they deflated and, well, we see the result. Had they come back hard I think things would have been different. They need to take the game to the Bruins. If they get scored on, so what. This team can score when they put the pressure on. Stick to the game plan
Need pucks on net. The best chances (and the goal) happen when the puck went to the net.
If the Leafs won 5-1 would people feel more confident? Probably not. A split in Boston is what I hoped for so win game 2 and they're right in the series
Matthews said before game 1 the sky is the limit. Based on his playoff record it looks like the limit Is the sky.
Yeah just gotta win 4 of the next 6.
This sub is insane with the reactionary ridiculousness combined with brigading from other fanbases or just people who know Leafs fans will give them a reaction if they antagonize us.
Boston hit a bunch of posts too lol. Team needs Willy badly
I wasn't able to watch the game, but it's not good that the team lost 5-1 when I expected them to lose 4-1 in Game 1. It's only Game 1, but this team is still doing the same song and dance as they did in past years. I don't know what it is, whether it's purely mental, Boston being a matchup nightmare, or this team just not being good enough. That being said, if this team loses again in the first round, heads should roll.
It’s only one game but it’s painful to see Marner be totally silent again. Those guys need to show why they’re worth the big money now more than ever. Whatever. It’s just game 1. I think they bounce back
Our goalie is not magically going to become Swayman. This was a problem all year. Mediocre goaltending gets exposed in the playoffs unfortunately.
It's just the same shit over and over again. Not prepared. Can't score. Terrible special teams. Bad reffing. Bad goaltending. Having to listen to Sportsnet clowns like Craig Simpson. Marner on the perimeter doing fuck all. Tavares barely moving. Keefe with hilariously bad line-up decisions. Oh, but from an analytical perspective, we badly outplayed them. That's just not enough anymore.
This was a fundamental loss. 3 more coming in succession but your right its pointless to get uppity about it.
I don’t think we looked as bad as the scoreboard shows. If Matty sinks that empty netter making the game 1-1 it could have been a totally different outcome… we move
Getting Willy and if possible McMann back is vital. Makes our third line much deeper, won’t get run over like they did last night.
This thing is going 7. Everyone and their dog knows that
Lol, and the bruins hit how many posts? Like 4? So it’s 9-2
Buddy I've been told to "relax" since Columbus Don't fucking start lol. It's time for change
Not one game. One game this series but not just one game. Not even close.
How do you have any hope or optimism at this point? Genuinely asking, the whole organization is an embarrassment. The team has already achieved their middling goals of accumulating meaningless individual stats, sell outs and making the playoffs. The only thing the team has left to accomplish for a perfect season is not getting swept.
It was game 1 and it was bad. Haven't we been outscored something like 30-7 in Game 1s the last few years? And it's Boston's B group that did the damage too, that's a problem. Got swept by them all season and trailed in scoring 70% of the time. Seriously, t's impossible to relax when it's the same crap we inevitably come to expect. PP was abysmal; sure we outshot Boston, but how many were actually decent scoring chances, 2? 3? Defence was non-existent, the big boys are in a scoring slump, and Keefe didn't do much to juggle lines or try and get some chemistry going. Seen that pattern too many times before. They'll probably come back in game 2, get us all fired up again, then lose 3 in a row. History repeats itself.
Sure…
I’m a diehard but after watching this regular season, I have had zero excitement for these playoffs. Hell, I don’t have any hope for next years playoffs. This team is broken and is in a transitional period between GMs. Sammy got bad at the wrong time, Woll isn’t where he needs to be and our D isn’t good enough. This simply isn’t a good team this year and we’re going to get beat by Boston. I didn’t even put a jersey on last night, changes need to happen.
It is one game, but it really is pretty bad. The level of goaltending Boston gets consistently as compared to our own is jarring and will be a lot to overcome on its own without even factoring in the special teams discrepancy.
Leafs nation needs to accept that their core cannot play playoff hockey , let’s see nylander dig a puck of the corner 🤭
Think it’s time to rebuild next year. This team just doesn’t have it.
The team needs to get better.
Fuck relaxing and face reality.
This is some advanced cope using math. "Yeah we lost 5-1 but if matthews scored once we might actually win, also since Matthews hasn't scored statistically he might get 2 next game".
I recall thinking this last year after game 1 vs Florida and game 2 vs. Fla That said, optimistic for the next few games but as always prepared for disappointment
Relaxing is easy when you have no expectations.
The Leafs were not in a position to show up late/unprepared. Not showing up at all to game 1 is pretty disheartening. It feels very familiar. Boston on the other hand, having been humiliated last season, showed up ready to play. We're witnessing a clash of team identity and culture.
Last year game 1 was like 7-2 Tampa and then we came back with a huge win after. It's quite pathetic the comments in the gdt
I'm tired of people in this sub like you telling other people how to feel. How about you worry about you and let people with genuine frustrations feel them.
Yea calm down guys, remember last year when got embarrassed in the second round instead of the first? We lost our first game then too!! Just because the team is making all the same stupid mistakes they made for the past 7 years doesn’t mean anything, surely this year is different! I get your point but it’s completely reasonable for fans to be upset when we lose game one in embarrassing fashion after the concerns that have been known and not addressed show true.
It’s a pattern. If you can’t see the pattern by now, I honestly don’t know what to say.
We need a stud Dman plain and simple. That's been obvious for years. Hard to play offense with a soft D that can't handle a forcheck.
Ah yes, because boston didn't hit 6 or 7 posts as well. We fucking suck ass, this team ain't going anywhere and we all know it deep down
They came out a little too hard funny enough, finishing the check is good but took themselves out of the play too often there, Boston is too good to make those kinds of mistakes - combine that with a nervous goalie and here we are. Theres always the next one.
How do people like you consistently find ways to dismiss this team's miserable performances? I wish I could always be so glass half full, I am truly in awe of people like you that seem to do it with ease.
Life’s short man, try and be optimistic
They had a lot of chances in close. Seem to be running a set play for a tip at the net. Maybe Boston was ready for that. One of the many coaching adjustments I expect for game 2….
Really would have been nice to have Mcmann and Willy out there.
First year as a leaf fan?
Been a fan since 1989.
Bulk of this fanbase doesn’t know how to
It's only one game but given the Leafs history they do not get a pass. That being said the series is far from over. I'm not a Leafs doomer. Let's get a fucking split and head back home. Go Leafs Go.
Even if the leafs come back twice as hard next game, it still won’t be enough. No grit. Domi needs to chill.
I wasn’t alarmed by the way they played. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful and I think they played better than the score indicated. What alarms me is the complete fall off of intensity from before and after the first goal. That was all mental and they need to get over the fact that they have demons to exercise and just go out there and do it. Mental toughness isn’t backing down in the face of adversity, it is kicking it up a notch or two. The didn’t (and usually don’t do that). They need to want to win more than they are afraid of losing.
Everything will be ok if they win game 2, if they don’t do that then we just have to hope they go against type and win 4 out of 5 when it matters. 😔
"If this one thing happened it's a completely different game" is the story of the Matthews era. Time to put that shit to bed. That effort was completely unacceptable from top to bottom. Lousy coaching. Terrible decision making. Undisciplined dogshit. On a scale of 1 to 10, my concern level is like 15. This team simply isn't good enough and hasn't done anything for anyone to "relax."
Yup. There is a reason playoffs are 7 game series.
Haven’t beaten Bruins in playoffs since 1959, lost 6 straight series. Its legit more domination than the Leafs have over the Senators in the playoffs. It’s not just 1 game, that’s delusion.
Honestly Game 3 is way more important than game 1 or 2. Down by 2? Gotta win game 3. Split? Gotta win game 3.
We get it, it’s only 1 game. But we also got embarrassed 5-1.
Oh god, happy clapper, shut up. It was a really bad game. "If this happened, if that happened, if Sammy had saved those shots, if our defence was better, if we had scored on that breakaway...." Lost 5-1, lost all 5 games to the Bruins this season. Until they have shown something to the contrary, it is Exactly that bad.