They also kind of have to because every D pair plays a different way because there is no semblance of an identity along the D Corp either. You’ve got one really good pair and then another that sucks and can’t get the puck out of their own zone and then you’ve got Pettersson and Guddy who played well for what they are but I’m not really sure that pairing has the identity we’re looking for either.
- j.boyd919

That's fair. It really is a mishmash of players who don't seem to compliment eachother well.

https://www.thepointhocke...he-player-than-the-coach/


Interesting article on the Point about Matthews and his TOI. This website is quickly becoming one of my favorite hockey sites.

That's fair. It really is a mishmash of players who don't seem to compliment eachother well.
- BINGO!

Yeah it was a weird season to watch. That’s for sure. Frustrating at times given the roster and some coaching decisions.

That's fair. It really is a mishmash of players who don't seem to compliment eachother well.
- BINGO!

I really think a factor in this is because they didnt have a lot of time together.

For instance how different is this years Canes team than last year?

I believe familiarity to be a huge factor in a teams cohesiveness. This Pens team had players coming and going during the season on top of injuries, not to mention the new players to start the year.

Rust is basically the new Hagelin

I really think a factor in this is because they didnt have a lot of time together.

For instance how different is this years Canes team than last year?

I believe familiarity to be a huge factor in a teams cohesiveness. This Pens team had players coming and going season on top of injuries, not to mention the new players to start the year.
- MattStrat

In terms of number of players?

There are currently 11 players on the Hurricanes that weren't on the team yesterday.

Vic - it looks like your prayers may be answered: Martin is being interviewed by OTT and possibly Buffalo

In terms of number of players?

There are currently 11 players on the Hurricanes that weren't on the team yesterday.
- BINGO!

I guess you meant last season...thats more than I figured. Are all 11 regulars in the lineup these playoffs? How many of those 11 came in half way or at end of regular season?

I really think a factor in this is because they didnt have a lot of time together.

For instance how different is this years Canes team than last year?

I believe familiarity to be a huge factor in a teams cohesiveness. This Pens team had players coming and going during the season on top of injuries, not to mention the new players to start the year.
- MattStrat

I was just going the write the same thing. Lot's of turnover in the supporting cast combined with some of the core tuning out the coach. I think the JS injury was massive. Basically left them with one PM. Then Letang goes down a game or two after JS returns.

Also, JJ kneecapped them more than I ever expected.

I guess you meant last season...thats more than I figured. Are all 11 regulars in the lineup these playoffs? How many of those 11 came in half way or at end of regular season?
- MattStrat

lol yes, last season...

and one in season trade, one waiver claim, and two mid season call-ups

You said "Yes, but I also think that that Kuznetsov and Holtby are better than Guentzel and Murray, not to take anything away from Guentzel."
- MattStrat

Yes...I think that Kuznetsov AND Holtby are better than Guentzel AND Murray (IMO). I didn't mean to imply that respectively, my bad.

Yes...I think that Kuznetsov AND Holtby are better than Guentzel AND Murray (IMO). I didn't mean to imply that respectively, my bad.
- jmatchett383

Kuz is definitely better than Jake. Holtby? He’s definitely a better regular season goalie, but I’d put them on par as far as playoffs go.

Holtby can be very inconsistent in the playoffs.

Looks like the refs from the vegas/sharks game 7 are banned from the 2nd round.

Kuz is definitely better than Jake. Holtby? He’s definitely a better regular season goalie, but I’d put them on par as far as playoffs go.

Holtby can be very inconsistent in the playoffs.
- Rinosaur

Why do you think that?

Kuz is definitely better than Jake. Holtby? He’s definitely a better regular season goalie, but I’d put them on par as far as playoffs go.

Holtby can be very inconsistent in the playoffs.
- Rinosaur

I agree, Holtby can look like Patrick Roy (see last years game 6/7 versus TBL) or Patrick Lalime (see last night).

I think Kuznetsov is the more dynamic player and is able to gain separation more easily, but Guentzel is probably the better finisher in close.

Yes...I think that Kuznetsov AND Holtby are better than Guentzel AND Murray (IMO). I didn't mean to imply that respectively, my bad.
- jmatchett383

Yeah...Vic opened my eyes and mind to what you possibly meant. All good.

Why do you think that?
- MattStrat

His ability to create and carry the puck.

His ability to create and carry the puck.
- Rinosaur

creates pucks???

creates pucks???


- Fountain-San

LOL

His ability to create and carry the puck.
- Rinosaur

Yeah, he tops him there but Jake is no slouch in these departments either. He's also a C so I give him a nod for that as well.

Like I said before though, the hardest thing to do in the NHL is score goals. Kuz hasnt hit 30 yet.

Yeah, he tops him there but Jake is no slouch in these departments either. He's also a C so I give him a nod for that as well.

Like I said before though, the hardest thing to do in the NHL is score goals. Kuz hasnt hit 30 yet.
- MattStrat

I just hate Kuznetsov's stupid bird celebration thing. I don't mind spontaneous goal celebrations (i.e. fist pumps and such), but I hate pre-planned "celebration moves" in general.

Edit: This does not apply to Jagr's salute.

I just hate Kuznetsov's stupid bird thing. I don't mind spontaneous goal celebrations (i.e. fist pumps and such), but I hate pre-planned "celebration moves" in general.
- jmatchett383

hahah that celebration grates my soul with a rusty nail...

I don't know, I doubt either of those guys made a decision for Team Canada and the Leafs because of fan pressure. I find that to be simply not believable. Their own reps and jobs are on the line too. And both guys are hall of fame multi time champions, I doubt they hired Babs because they had the wrong impression of him, that's a reach.
- Zezel

The reach is calling Babcock a great coach. Like I've said before, he's a good coach, not a bad coach, not a great coach, a good coach. But the league is full of good coaches and that makes Babcock an average coach like all the other good coaches in the league. So please stop acting like we need to genuflect when we are in his presence because of 1 Cup win with a great team and 2 gold medals with teams that were so great that any four legged animal could have coached them to gold.

So if the fans and media didn't overrate them they would have accomplished something in the last 52 years?

The more I think about the lose, the more I blame Babcock for a terrible season. I’ll list out my issues..

1) Special Teams: What was Bab’s thinking playing Hymen vs Bergeron on the PK faceoffs? All season long we were asking why our centermen, our depth, was not getting enough ice time. Did Bab’s even once use any of our top three centers on the PK all season? Nope.. instead he decided that our wingers were ‘good enough’. And that bit us in the ass, hard! Our first round pitted wingers against one of the best faceoffs men in the league and against the 2nd best PP all season. It was a disaster.

Our PP was even worse.. not only was our PP one of the worst in the league, but Bab’s chose to waive his stubbornness in game 7. Anyone that understands a PP knows that one timers are the trick. The trick to a good PP is quick puck movement, get goalies moving around the crease, losing good positioning, then finding the open man and getting quick shots on net while the goalie is moving laterally.. Matthews and Marner should have been playing the opposite wing on the PP all year long!

We often complained about Matthews being predictable. Maybe that’s because he was implanted in the exact same spot on the ice every time by poor systems and strategy? Then, in game 7, when none of our guys have practiced the ‘new look’ PP, Bab’s decides to implement his new, untested plan. Nice...

Not to mention, the Leafs were dead last in the league at drawing penalties this year. Sure other teams would have circled discipline before their games at the beginning of the year. But quickly that stopped when they realized that our PP sucked, so instead they started circling ‘aggression’. I don’t know the stats but I’ll bet any money that the Leafs were one of the most hit teams this season. I can’t help blame Bab’s for that as well. Reason being, I’ve watched John Tortorella turn flower picking teams into hard nosed, puck blocking, hard hitting intense teams. I’ve watched Barry Trotz turn the worst defensive, soft team, into a hard hitting, BEST DEFENSIVE team in the league.

We can blame Dubas all we want for how this team is constructed but in actuality, the only players he’s responsible for are JT (excellent signing), Muzzin (the eye test tells you he was our best defenseman in the playoffs), Ennis (turned out to be an excellent signing), Moore (played amazing), Gauthier (played well), Petan and Sparks (who didn’t play). Looking back, almost everything that Dubas did worked. It was not because we were missing Ferland.. Babcock did NOT get the most out of his players. Which brings me to my next point.

2) Player Performances: We can all agree that there are certain guys on this team who are not what we want. Nylander.. my god do I hate players like that.. soft, skilled guys who don’t work and get overpaid.. in my opinion, it’s the worst kind of player! But did we always feel that way about him? No.. actually, there was a time when I LOVED what Nylander was bringing. There was a time where I thought Nylander was better than Marner.. so what changed? He got paid too much and waited till half way through the season to sign it. Then came back and played like crap.

Now we can argue all day about what he got paid and how, but what I’m more concerned with is how he was used when he returned.. remember, at that time, Kap was killing it! He looked fast and offensive and looked like the second coming of Zach Hymen but with a deadly shot. But that all changed somewhere.. and I remember when it happened.. Nylander signs his deal and what do the Leafs do? Do they get him some practices with the team before getting game action? Nope.. do they give him a conditioning stint with the Marlies to get him in shape? Nope.. do they start him on the forth line, moving him up when he’s earned it and looks ready? Nope.. they sub Kap for Nylander in game one when Nylander has arrived that morning from Sweden. Right back to Matthews wing.. we lose that game, and begin what I consider the collapse of the Leafs 2019.

Immediately Kapanen’s game fell apart. He never got it back. And Nylander looked out of shape, slow, just plain bad! Probably doing some damage to his relationship with the rest of the team and hurting his own confidence, which he has yet to regain. Do I blame Nylander? Certainly.. he should have known that wasting half a season was going to set him back and he should have put a bigger emphasis on team and winning. But Bab’s was the one who put a nail in the coffin by not handling it right. I remember feeling at the time like Bab’s did it on purpose to make a fool out of Nylander. Instead, I think it sent a rift through our team. Players started feeling like it didn’t matter if they outworked other guys. It didn’t matter if they deserved it over others. Why try hard if it’s not acknowledge and rewarded right? I also noticed that was right around the time when Matthews went into a major slump... this is why you don’t mess with a good thing. Matthews and Kapanen never really looked the same after that. And before that move? Ppl were talking about Kapanen surpassing Nylander on the depth scale.. not anymore.. now I wouldn’t care if I saw both traded.

The same can be said for our years of bench rosters. Guys like Lievo and Holl.. sitting there wasting their carriers while guys like Gardiner get every ounce of praise from Babcock. Disgusting!

Not to mention the countless other players who I considered to be underperforming. Kadri, Matthews, Zaitsev, Brown, Johnson, Kapanen, Nylander.. it was a bad year for all of them.

3) Out Coached: This doesn’t take a lot of explanation. Cassidy mixed up his lines several times and got the win in the next game. Bab’s didn’t.. we were predictable as any team I’ve ever witnessed. We were chasing the Bruins even when we had a series lead. Bergeron goes out.. JT goes out..

We didn’t pick on any of their players. We didn’t wear down therir D with hits. We didn’t get anyone of JT, Marner or Matthews on the ice against their third or fourth lines. We started with a plan to follow the Bruins lines and we didn’t deviate once. Even when it was clear that the Bergeron line was still able to score on us. And not once did Bab’s double shift a player or load up a line to score. Matthews only played 18:48 of ice time in game 7.. our leading goal scorer in the series. Instead Babcock decided to give Nylander over 17 TOI and Gardiner over 16 TOI. In game 7...

Now Boston has a very easy route to the cup.. this should have been our year. Babcock is not the best coach in hockey.. I used the eye test! Babcock should be fired!!!!