Leafs @ Islanders - Dec. 27th, 6:00pm - SN, TSN 1050

[GhostofPotvin29]

What a terrific shift by Gardiner on the power play.  Why doesn't Babcock play him ahead of Phaneuf on the power play?  (And please don't refer to the comparative differences in their shots  ).

I agree.  Maybe, they're just trying to boost Phaneuf's point totals in order to increase his trade value?  ???

My theory is Phaneuf had years of experience on the PP which could be valuable if you're going to be running 4 forwards out there.

 

[Al14]

What a terrific shift by Gardiner on the power play.  Why doesn't Babcock play him ahead of Phaneuf on the power play?  (And please don't refer to the comparative differences in their shots  ).

I agree.  Maybe, they're just trying to boost Phaneuf's point totals in order to increase his trade value?  ???

My theory is Phaneuf had years of experience on the PP which could be valuable if you're going to be running 4 forwards out there.

His years of experience doesn't seem to help much.  :-\

 

[Tigger]

Good to see Bernier get another win, other than the first 5 minutes the Leafs played a solid road game.

 

[bustaheims]

Don't look now but the leafs are...

Still 15th in the conference and 3 points out of last overall -  which is held by... Anaheim!?!

14th in the conference (by way of having played less games than Carolina), 4 points out of last, which is still held by Columbus, but, your point still stands.

And still with the least ROW in the league. They've played more good games than bad of late, sure, but there's still inconsistency to their game, and the talent level of the roster is still poor. Tonight was just their 4th win against an Eastern conference team (in 19 games), and they have ZERO wins against teams in their division (9 games).

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

and they have ZERO wins against teams in their division (9 games).

Just guessing here - most of those games were in October?

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Not sure how quickly waronice.com updates their stats (says 34 games so I think it's up to date), but Leafs are at 50% CF, tied with Philly for 13th in the league.  Score-adjusted drops them to 49.8%, or 16th.

 

[bustaheims]

Just guessing here - most of those games were in October?

5 of them - they went 0-3-2 against Atlantic teams in October, 0-1-3 against them since . . . so, that's been fairly consistent.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Just guessing here - most of those games were in October?

5 of them - they went 0-3-2 against Atlantic teams in October, 0-2-2 against them since . . . so, that's been pretty consistent.

Oh wasn't trying to make a point, just felt like they played a lot of games early in the season within the division.

 

[bustaheims]

Oh wasn't trying to make a point, just felt like they played a lot of games early in the season within the division.

Fair enough. To me, the more telling number is against the East. Those games have been split relatively evenly between the months, and the record is not good. Of their remaining 48 games, 35 are against Eastern teams.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

If they want matthews, they're going to have to consider start moving some bodies well before the deadline. This team just isn't playing like a basement dweller.

I'm sure they're planning to make some trades whenever the opportunity arises, but trade deadline trades (either at or close to the deadline) happen so late in the season for a wide variety of reasons generally determined by the buyers.  The willingness of the Leafs to make trades before then doesn't change any of that unless they're willing to accept poor value returns, and maybe not even then.

Regardless, even if the Leafs manage to hit rock bottom on the season, their odds of drafting #1 would be only 20%.  Under even the most ideal of circumstances, the odds are very high that the Leafs won't be drafting #1.

 

[2badknees]

If they want matthews, they're going to have to consider start moving some bodies well before the deadline. This team just isn't playing like a basement dweller.

I'm sure they're planning to make some trades whenever the opportunity arises, but trade deadline trades (either at or close to the deadline) happen so late in the season for a wide variety of reasons generally determined by the buyers.  The willingness of the Leafs to make trades before then doesn't change any of that unless they're willing to accept poor value returns, and maybe not even then.

Regardless, even if the Leafs manage to hit rock bottom on the season, their odds of drafting #1 would be only 20%.  Under even the most ideal of circumstances, the odds are very high that the Leafs won't be drafting #1.

Twas tongue in cheek. They're 6-3-1 in their last ten, I believe, and have least a couple of games due to abysmal goaltending. Wherever they end up, they end up, but I was expecting a far less competitive team so far this season, despite their overall standing.

 

[Frank E]

Just further clarification...if you finish last overall this season, the highest guaranteed draft position is 4th.  The first three are lottery picks, but the lowest the worst team picks is 4th, if that team doesn't win any of the 3 lottery picks.

So there is still some incentive to finish last, just less.

 

[Kaberle15]

Just further clarification...if you finish last overall this season, the highest guaranteed draft position is 4th.  The first three are lottery picks, but the lowest the worst team picks is 4th, if that team doesn't win any of the 3 lottery picks.

So there is still some incentive to finish last, just less.

Plus, with Edmonton not making the Playoffs, there is no hope for the other teams to finish last, since they will win the lottery again...