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Blackhawks vs. Maple Leafs - Dec. 2nd, 7:30pm - Prime, TSN 1050

azzurri63 said:
You happy with that? No wonder he gets criticized for not scoring enough. Let's drop it back into some skates. Guys a hell of a player but be even better if he didn't have to be so f'n fancy all the time.
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Who cares? He tried to go between his legs, it didn't work. Stop being so critical of every little thing. And HE WAS THE BEST PLAYER ON THE ICE AGAIN.
 
Guilt Trip said:
Who cares? He tried to go between his legs, it didn't work. Stop being so critical of every little thing. And HE WAS THE BEST PLAYER ON THE ICE AGAIN.
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I'm not going to argue that I missed parts of the game but sometimes you have to keep it simple. He tries to be cute way too often.
 
azzurri63 said:
I'm not going to argue that I missed parts of the game but sometimes you have to keep it simple. He tries to be cute way too often.
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You're watching some of the most talented players in Leafs history. You don't have to find a negative all the time. These guys won't play forever so enjoy the ride.
 
Guilt Trip said:
You're watching some of the most talented players in Leafs history. You don't have to find a negative all the time. These guys won't play forever so enjoy the ride.
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Having watched them for as long as I have, I think that is good advice.
 
Bender said:
Only certain fans complain about a 4-1 win with how many guys still out of the lineup? Yeesh. Minten looking like he fits in.
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The wins have been great but you can't tell me you guys have been happy with how they're playing. They've been the second best team last 2 games and have won. That's a sign of a good team but they seem off and the guys out are not superstars. Goaltending has won a share of the points. Just seems like under the new system the offence has disappeared. Something seems off. They are picking up points so that's the main thing. maybe everything will come together and gel on all fronts and hopefully materializes for some playoff success.
 
herman said:
Interesting Matthews FOGO for Minten line
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On the situation that led to Matthews taking the opening faceoff instead of Fraser Minten:

Minten was starting, and then I came out and heard Auston Matthews get announced. I was like, “What?” I called the referee over and told him, “I don’t know… I have Minten down, but I heard Matthews.” He said, “Well, put Matthews out there just to start the game.” And then he changed.

On what led to the starting lineup mixup:

It was on the computer. These computers screw everything up. That’s why I rather write it out on paper (laughs).
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mapleleafshotstove.com

Craig Berube on Fraser Minten's performance in the Leafs' 4-1 win over Chicago: "The line was really good for us, and Minten was very good"

Craig Berube addressed the media after the Maple Leafs’ 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, which improved the team’s record to 15-7-2. On the team’s performance: It was a good first period. I thought we started off the way we wanted to and played our game. In the second period, not so much. We...
mapleleafshotstove.com mapleleafshotstove.com
 
azzurri63 said:
The wins have been great but you can't tell me you guys have been happy with how they're playing. They've been the second best team last 2 games and have won. That's a sign of a good team but they seem off and the guys out are not superstars. Goaltending has won a share of the points. Just seems like under the new system the offence has disappeared. Something seems off. They are picking up points so that's the main thing. maybe everything will come together and gel on all fronts and hopefully materializes for some playoff success.
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I don't mind your criticizing. That's you, and I am always interested to hear your perspective.

But I will say, complaining about the lack of offense seems odd when the Leafs have turned into exactly the kind of team you've wanted for years. Berube has them playing year-round playoff hockey, and Tre toughened them up to make it possible. Hopefully it will pay off post-season.

This comes at a price. A considerable price. The price is that games are now much less fun to watch.

I have said for years that, for me personally, watching entertaining hockey during the regular season is important. I spend way too much time watching these games, and the reason why is that I love watching the skills of 34, 16, 91, and 88. We will never see another collection of Leafs like that in our lifetimes. And it is quite possible that we will never again see the Leafs play hockey as entertaining as they did under Keefe.

North-south Berube may be a better playoff-winning formula than east-west Keefe, but ... how much open ice do you see Matthews getting to work with this season? Setting aside his injury for a minute, does he look like a guy who could score 69 goals? Not to me. They don't seem to able to free him up to work his magic. Tonight's goal was the exception to the rule. This is a direct consequence of the Berube's playstyle.

Mind you, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. The team needed a new direction in order to do better in the spring. I'm just saying there's a price to pay.

Everyone always talks about how exciting playoff hockey is. It isn't. Everything about it, from reffing to coaching, conspires to stifle offense. We are now watching the Leafs play playoff-style night in and night out.

So I suggest that you take GT's advice to heart: even if they aren't as much fun to watch as they used to be, the talent of the Core Four is still something that is evident almost every game. We have only a few more years at best to enjoy it, so don't miss out.
 
Guilt Trip said:
You're watching some of the most talented players in Leafs history. You don't have to find a negative all the time. These guys won't play forever so enjoy the ride.
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This is the most talented Leaf roster I have ever seen and I've been watching since the Sittler Salming days. I even saw Eddie Shack!

Yah.... the architecture is lopsided with all the cap amount put into forward talent, but it's the best draft luck we have ever had and some of these players will break franchise records beyond what they already have broken. We are watching historical play. We are watching talent that the mecca of hockey, Toronto, deserves to see. Enjoy it.

And for the first time during the Matthews era, I feel confident game to game with this team in terms of winning and consistency. It's not just the goaltending. It's the D and the discipline. And this all reflects improvements at the GM level, and the coach. Plus they aren't getting bitch slapped physically like prior seasons. They are one of the heaviest teams in the NHL this season (tied for 3rd).

In prior seasons, this would have been a convo about how they lose to shitty teams. A trap game. In 2024 the convo after games against Chicago and Utah (a/k/a the Coyotes) is about 'even though they won...... they could have played better', and 'they aren't scoring as many goals as we would like.'

Enjoy the ride boys. Because there will be years in the future where our team will be playing like this year's shite Canadiens. Currently, the Leafs are 🔥..... and any connoisseur of this sport should appreciate the refinements this team has made over the past 18 months. It's a thing of beauty.
 
ZBBM said:
I don't mind your criticizing. That's you, and I am always interested to hear your perspective.

But I will say, complaining about the lack of offense seems odd when the Leafs have turned into exactly the kind of team you've wanted for years. Berube has them playing year-round playoff hockey, and Tre toughened them up to make it possible. Hopefully it will pay off post-season.

This comes at a price. A considerable price. The price is that games are now much less fun to watch.

I have said for years that, for me personally, watching entertaining hockey during the regular season is important. I spend way too much time watching these games, and the reason why is that I love watching the skills of 34, 16, 91, and 88. We will never see another collection of Leafs like that in our lifetimes. And it is quite possible that we will never again see the Leafs play hockey as entertaining as they did under Keefe.

North-south Berube may be a better playoff-winning formula than east-west Keefe, but ... how much open ice do you see Matthews getting to work with this season? Setting aside his injury for a minute, does he look like a guy who could score 69 goals? Not to me. They don't seem to able to free him up to work his magic. Tonight's goal was the exception to the rule. This is a direct consequence of the Berube's playstyle.

Mind you, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. The team needed a new direction in order to do better in the spring. I'm just saying there's a price to pay.

Everyone always talks about how exciting playoff hockey is. It isn't. Everything about it, from reffing to coaching, conspires to stifle offense. We are now watching the Leafs play playoff-style night in and night out.

So I suggest that you take GT's advice to heart: even if they aren't as much fun to watch as they used to be, the talent of the Core Four is still something that is evident almost every game. We have only a few more years at best to enjoy it, so don't miss out.
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I wholeheartedly agree with this. Especially as my trade off for watching is usually a good night's sleep.

Look, only one team out of 32 can win the Stanley Cup. Realistically it's less than a third of that number. For the last few years, the Leafs have probably been in that group al be it we know they haven't got close really.

But things like Matthews shot at 70 goals, can Marner break the 100 points, can Nylander pot 50, can the Leafs come back from 4-0 down after 2 periods are the narratives that make the regular season more fun and watchable.

So I get why we're playing the way we are. Maybe it vaults us from that group of the top third who have a chance to win the SC into the top 5 or 6 teams.

But even then we're reliant on luck - on the goalies on our side being hot and not the opposition goalies, on all this forwards remaining healthy, on a random depth defenceman stepping in or someone like Lorentz bagging a hat trick.

So yeah, I'm finding this season to be a bit of a slog to watch.

I like winning, though, so it can paper over the entertainment cracks.

And our goalies are great to watch for the first time in a long time and I love good goalies.
 
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