Forsling had a nice game tonight and Murphy really has to work on his puck receiving skills, of all the dmen he consistently has pucks go by him

Big game on Wednesday too. The last time the Leafs and Hawks met it got interesting. Plus, I was teasing some Leafs fans at work about losing to the Canucks this week. Hopefully the Hawks can pull out the W.
- DarthKane

Oh I agree surrounded by Leaf fans around here ,win that one is big .

Oh I agree surrounded by Leaf fans around here ,win that one is big .
- oldduffman

Living in the GTA there is nothing more annoying than Leaf fans who know everything about hockey but who only watch the Maple Leafs. Every autumn they plan a parade route and every spring they are bitterly disappointed than point back to 1993 and say they were robbed by Kerry Fraser. And now they are on the verge of cap hell without having signed their best player yet.

Ya know, lookiing at the schedule there is an 8 game run or so the Hawks could go on before the schedule gets really rough to end the year.

Could get fun again

Is the reason that stat is useless...like him?
- PatShart

That stat is flawed but its not useless.
Its more of an indication of a bad player with the minus side of the stat.

Living in the GTA there is nothing more annoying than Leaf fans who know everything about hockey but who only watch the Maple Leafs. Every autumn they plan a parade route and every spring they are bitterly disappointed than point back to 1993 and say they were robbed by Kerry Fraser. And now they are on the verge of cap hell without having signed their best player yet.
- paulr

Lol.

Looking at the natch ups theybcould be a first round out. That would be fun

Lol.

Looking at the natch ups theybcould be a first round out. That would be fun
- mrpaulish

Strangely the best match up for the Leafs may be against arguably the best team in the league, Tampa. Tampa can't seem to take advantage of the Leaf's Achilles heel by forechecking the weak Leaf defense allowing the Leafs to open the game up. Teams, like the Bruins who forecheck the Leafs don't allow the Leafs to play they game their best at. I expect to see very little defense played on Wednesday.

He knows 100x more about hockey than I could ever hope to learn, but I'm with Al on this one:

@AlCimaglia
1) This new thinking about balancing the lines and not playing Kane and Toews as much should be put back on the shelf for October. Kane isn't going to catch Kucherov unless there is an injury, but he does deserve the chance to come as close as possible & stay ahead of McDavid.

2) It's not like there is anything else to play for and may as well show your best player some respect after a huge year.

Perlini has definitely been more noticeable, goals or no goals. His skating looks better, and he looks so much more engaged on every shift. Whether the light went on in his head, or whether there was an injury that healed, no idea.
- 333inthe3rd

I like Perlini's game right now. As his ice time has increased, you can see that his confidence has as well. His size and speed is a nice fit for this team. I do not want to bash Sikura, but I just do not see him as a solid NHLer as he is at an age where he has to show something and he has not done that for me.

What's with Jamie Benn? He did not seem to be the dominant force out there as he has been in the past. Just a bad night?

Strangely the best match up for the Leafs may be against arguably the best team in the league, Tampa. Tampa can't seem to take advantage of the Leaf's Achilles heel by forechecking the weak Leaf defense allowing the Leafs to open the game up. Teams, like the Bruins who forecheck the Leafs don't allow the Leafs to play they game their best at. I expect to see very little defense played on Wednesday.
- paulr

Tampa 4 - 2 over last 2 seasons vs Leafs.

January game Leafs 4 - 2

TB outshot Leafs 38-31
Freddie Anderson 1st star
Empty net goal

Lightning controlled the game, Anderson stood on his head.

I like Perlini's game right now. As his ice time has increased, you can see that his confidence has as well. His size and speed is a nice fit for this team. I do not want to bash Sikura, but I just do not see him as a solid NHLer as he is at an age where he has to show something and he has not done that for me.

What's with Jamie Benn? He did not seem to be the dominant force out there as he has been in the past. Just a bad night?
- 67hawks

Maybe after the GM and owner filleted him and Seguin to the press, his motivation took a dive.

Hawks winning, not so surprising....

Hawks only allowing ONE goal and winning 2-1.....Jaw-dropping!!!!

Ryan Strome 3 points tonight in NY. Signed next season for $3.1 mil. It would be pretty cool to see a 2nd line of Strome-Strome-Cat next year.

Ryan Strome is an upgrade over every other winger that’s rotated through the vacant top 6 wing spot.
- EnzoD

Not two slow Strome's please.

Tampa 4 - 2 over last 2 seasons vs Leafs.

January game Leafs 4 - 2

TB outshot Leafs 38-31
Freddie Anderson 1st star
Empty net goal

Lightning controlled the game, Anderson stood on his head.
- TrueGrit

My point was and is the Leafs match up better against Tampa than they do against the Bruins. The Bruins forecheck drives the Leafs crazy, Tampa' s game plan allows the Leafs to play their game and that's the only chance the Leafs have of advancing. In October I predicted the Lightening would win it all, I still think they are the team to beat.

Not two slow Strome's please.
- jhawk59

From what I have read, Ryan Strome is not slow, in fact, the contrary is true. He is the smallest of the 3 brothers which is probably why he is faster. Ryan could have been had from the Oilers for cheap, but probably not so today.

News you can use dept

Just noticed theAhl.com.site new feature
It may have been inclusive for a while now and I had rushed past it.

In the boxscore you have three listings which is three different presentations. In the first box score in the goals scored you see whom was plus or minus each goal


.
.

Not two slow Strome's please.
- jhawk59

Agree... Dylan has been a bust, there's no need to compound the problem.

Hawks winning, not so surprising....

Hawks only allowing ONE goal and winning 2-1.....Jaw-dropping!!!!
- hawk35

Hawks controlled the game, were the better team, putting almost 40 shots on net while keeping D-Town to 27. Hawks blocked a ton of shots, Seabrook and Murphy were really good in their own zone I thought.

He knows 100x more about hockey than I could ever hope to learn, but I'm with Al on this one:

@AlCimaglia
1) This new thinking about balancing the lines and not playing Kane and Toews as much should be put back on the shelf for October. Kane isn't going to catch Kucherov unless there is an injury, but he does deserve the chance to come as close as possible & stay ahead of McDavid.

2) It's not like there is anything else to play for and may as well show your best player some respect after a huge year.
- pdx2ord

I agree with Al. It was unlikely Kane was going to continue the otherworldly scoring he was doing for that long stretch but I think it's somewhat of a disservice to him to not put him in the best situation to exceed his personal best. There were several setup passes he made last night where neither Anisimov or Kahun could finish the play. Granted, every shot isn't going to go in but Kane should have gotten more than the one point from Cat's goal. Kucherov and McDavid both had 2 points last night so now McDavid is only 1 point behind Kane and I wouldn't count out Crosby who has been streaking up the scoring chart lately.

My point was and is the Leafs match up better against Tampa than they do against the Bruins. The Bruins forecheck drives the Leafs crazy, Tampa' s game plan allows the Leafs to play their game and that's the only chance the Leafs have of advancing. In October I predicted the Lightening would win it all, I still think they are the team to beat.
- paulr

The Leafs like the 6-4, 5-3 type games so I agree Tampa is a better matchup for them. But in a 7 game series the Lightning eventually would expose that defence which is about 50% AHL quality. And Tampa's goaltender can match Anderson. Neither team can afford a goaltender injury.

Hawks controlled the game, were the better team, putting almost 40 shots on net while keeping D-Town to 27. Hawks blocked a ton of shots, Seabrook and Murphy were really good in their own zone I thought.
- kwolf68

Holding Dallas to 27 was terrific-as was the 6-man defense in general.

But the Hawks’ 39 SOG came on 77 SAT - 28 of which were blocked - as that and the heat chart showed that many were from above the circles (which is where most block shots start out). Keith had 7 SATs - 6 of them blocked.

The Hawks played a nice game - a good win on the road - first win scoring less than 3 since December 21. They controlled the play - but didn’t do much with it.

He knows 100x more about hockey than I could ever hope to learn, but I'm with Al on this one:

@AlCimaglia
1) This new thinking about balancing the lines and not playing Kane and Toews as much should be put back on the shelf for October. Kane isn't going to catch Kucherov unless there is an injury, but he does deserve the chance to come as close as possible & stay ahead of McDavid.

2) It's not like there is anything else to play for and may as well show your best player some respect after a huge year.
- pdx2ord

I seem to disagree.

If Colliton is the communicator people seem to think he is, I would guess that he and Kane have discussed how the coach uses the player - with buy in from Kane - a rink-rat who understands a lot of things about hockey and winning.

14 games left with small chances of playing past April 6. Why not put Kane with various skaters to see who can play with him - who can produce with the best set-up man in the league feeding them perfect passes in perfect positions for them to finish?

Why not try various line combinations now, in real games that mean something?

Kane finishing second or third or fourth in the scoring race isn’t going to do anything to enhance or denigrate his reputation - and the way he’s being used recently may help him win a fourth Cup in the future.

I seem to disagree.

If Colliton is the communicator people seem to think he is, I would guess that he and Kane have discussed how the coach uses the player - with buy in from Kane - a rink-rat who understands a lot of things about hockey and winning.

14 games left with small chances of playing past April 6. Why not put Kane with various skaters to see who can play with him - who can produce with the best set-up man in the league feeding them perfect passes in perfect positions for them to finish?

Why not try various line combinations now, in real games that mean something?

Kane finishing second or third or fourth in the scoring race isn’t going to do anything to enhance or denigrate his reputation - and the way he’s being used recently may help him win a fourth Cup in the future.
- StLBravesFan

I would agree if it were not more than 3/4 of the way though the season and if Kane had not already played with most, if not all, of the forwards on the roster. All the games up to now have been "real" games. JC and Kane should already know who he can and can't play with effectively.

It may do nothing for his reputation, but that's not all that matters. His face doesn't hide his obvious frustration when he sends a perfect set up pass to people like Kahun or Arty only to have them miss a wide open shot. He's spent his career dragging around dead weight and has, as far as we know, not complained about it. He knows that the team's best chance to win is with him on a line with other talented players. Why not do him the solid this one year?

I would agree if it were not more than 3/4 of the way though the season and if Kane had not already played with most, if not all, of the forwards on the roster. All the games up to now have been "real" games. JC and Kane should already know who he can and can't play with effectively.

It may do nothing for his reputation, but that's not all that matters. His face doesn't hide his obvious frustration when he sends a perfect set up pass to people like Kahun or Arty only to have them miss a wide open shot. He's spent his career dragging around dead weight and has, as far as we know, not complained about it. He knows that the team's best chance to win is with him on a line with other talented players. Why not do him the solid this one year?
- pdx2ord

This MAY all be true. It MAY also be untrue. What we THINK Kane might be feeling is likely based on what we think he should feel or what we would feel, since we don't actually know his opinions.

This MAY all be true. It MAY also be untrue. What we THINK Kane might be feeling is likely based on what we think he should feel or what we would feel, since we don't actually know his opinions.
- mohel

Too true