Where are we in terms of winning a Cup?

[Guilt Trip]

Were one Beast and one Wall (sorry Woll) away from solving our goaltending

Maybe. Or maybe not. Hildeby is 22 and has played 16 AHL games. Woll can't stay healthy. At this point though, I think they have to give Hildeby a shot. The status quo cannot continue.

And Jones isn't the answer. I'm reluctant to bring Hildeby up but there isn't much choice right now. Maybe they bring Peteuzzelli up and run with Jones and hope he can give us some solid goaltending.

Petruzelli with the .879 save% in the AHL...I'd rather give Hildeby a few games first but it is risky.

Thats why I run with Jones and leave Hildeby alone unless Jones craps the bed.

 

[ZBBM]

There are no good answers.  And Woll, even when healthy, is a long way from a solid bet, yet.

 

[TheMightyOdin]

There?s no guarantee we even make the playoffs yet.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

There?s no guarantee we even make the playoffs yet.

It's not a guarantee sure but Toronto is sitting pretty comfortable in the Atlantic division. The Leafs are on pace for 100 points while Tampa and Detroit are both at just 86. That's a pretty sizable gap between the 3rd and 4th/5th place teams almost half way through the season. If Toronto finished with just 96 points, which I don't think is likely but still, Tampa would need to play the rest of the season at a .651 points percentage to catch them.

edit: as an aside looking at the standings the real battle is in the Metro. It's crazy to see New Jersey still sitting outside of a playoff spot. The Islanders, Flyers, and Capitals are all holding down playoff spots but I could see any of them dropping out in favour of the Devils and even the now-surging Penguins.

 

[cw]

Because they have a few teams between them and 9th, they currently have some cushion. Not lots of points but some - several teams would have to pass them.

If Jones, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Rielly or Tavares - a significant player goes on LTIR, there's a good chance that cushion is gone because it is not a big cushion. I realize they've played well without Matthews before but I wouldn't want to bet on that continuing - particularly this year, where they have relied more on his offense to keep games close. They have not scored many more goals than they have allowed.

If last night's game was a response by a team that feels badly and some responsibility for what happened to Samsonov, that could be a good thing if they stick with it. They have no chance of accomplishing anything special playing defensively the way they were before last night.

The fact that we're even having a conversation like this ought to give some indication of how much more they have to accomplish in order to have a good chance at winning a Cup.