But the thing was they got slaughtered till Keefe made the changes then we started seeing a momentum shift. And these lines were what we are seeing in practice

Adding Bunting really does not make a huge diff to the structure.

But now we got

Jarnkrok Matthews and Nylander together
Knies JT and Marner together
A 3rd line who in a small sample has dominated (I posted a chart somewhere showing the stats)
Only real issue if the 4th line but outside of Tampa they have looked good

So unless u were gonna go to Knies and say yea kid sorry or throw Bunting on the 4th line (where hes not a fit) there really isnt a spot for him

Only real concern is Gio-Holl

I am just curious, they win Game 5, is he in your lineup for Game 1 in the Conference Semi-Finals

I want him in vs. Boston as u need a rat to deal with rats

Im so nervous for Knies in that kind of series though. As while hes handled Tampa, Boston plays more ratty and im concerned hes gonna get hurt. As everyone on that team trys to cheap shot every know and again.

That is what I don't understand with the "sit crowd". If he is good enough to play, play him.

But I don't think both sides will come to any understanding on this one

EDIT:

If you can't trust Bunting against TBL you think you can trust him against BOS, come on peeps

Dare I say, I'm nervous already?

They are going to be in TOR tomorrow night, aren’t they

If they are fully convinced Bettman is rigging the deck against us but hey watch us defy the odds and win a 3rd time lul

I got a feeling though they gonna be at the NJ vs. NYR as those comments still pissing off Bettman lul

How does a team that won 3 in a row also get slaughtered for 3 games in a row

The Leafs always find a way

I swear....

Gio and Holl will be fine on home ice.

Absolutely

They won 3 games in a row. I don't even know what you are talking about

The last 8 periods of hockey at all situations:

TBL
CF 168 CA 119
SCF 100 SCA 59
HDCF 36 HDCA 28

It is a miracle TOR is 3-1 up. I mean outside of the OT in Game 4, even when Keefe went to a different lines to start the 3rd period, TOR was out chanced (CF 21-27, SCF 9-15).

At the end of the day you need some puck luck (something this team has had zero of) and your star players to rise to the occasion, we are finally getting both.

But you cannot possible watch this series and not think TBL is not dominating (Games 1-3-4).

I think the whole team was garbage in game 1, they were not very good in game 3 and despite the poor start in game 4, the Leafs were the better team for the 3rd and OT. Momentum is a funny thing. And the home team does have an advantage. They won

TOR was opportunistic in the 3rd period of Game 4, they did not dominate. They still struggled with zone entries, especially on the PP.

If not for Keefe getting Matthews Marner Nylander out against TBL 4th line there is no 2nd goal. If not for a ridiculous deflection by Matthews on the 3rd goal in the PP that struggled again at Betty the zone and setting up (also scoring against TBL’s second PK unit). If Marner doesn’t make a great puck battle against two TBL players after Rielly threw him a grande to his feet, there is no 4th goal by Rielly. And the 5th goal was again against TBL’s second PK unit (PEB Killorn) not nearly as fast as Cirelli Hagel, Kerfoot doesn’t score.

Again, not telling you how to fan but TOR is incredibly lucky 🍀 to be up in this Series. But god knows we’ve needed it.

If not for an very quick whistle, Point scores and there is no comeback (Game 3)


If not for an incredible play by Knies, it is 5-1 not 4-1 and I seriously doubt TOR comes back from 4 goals (Game 4)

Have you watched any of the last 3 games? Yes the Leafs won (thankfully), but Tampa has been the superior team. After Keefe swapped the lines in Game 4 to spark the comeback, the Leafs looked great. The issue is that he keeps reverting back to stuff that gets us killed and only does the right thing when we are already down. Cooper is killing him with the line match-ups. Obviously I liked the end result for the last 3 games, but it has taken awhile to get going. When we are going against a team like Tampa, it is extremely important to be sharp straight off of the hop, because it's only a matter of time before Tampa locks it down and doesn't give us the chance to get back into the game.

Feel like it should be noted that the Leafs won the DTWoM in game 4.

Game 3 and 4 were not the same

I'd say Marchand banged the puck but there were no bangs after the whistle. For Point there was.
This was more similar to that goal near the end of first period (which was allowed).

I understand your concerns, you always want to see a clear edge in play. And I am not saying you are wrong in what you are seeing. I get it.

I am also really trying to just enjoy it more if you know what I am saying. I am super guilty of getting way to emotional about this team. So I am trying to not over think it. What I am seeing is a team that has elite talent that will produce. I see a goalie capable of stealing a game or two, which we haven't had in the Matthews era. I also see some puck luck going our way for once. I think on the road vs Tampa, TO had to change their game plan a bit due to matchups and just how the games flowed. It wasn't pretty but they did manage to keep the puck out of their net enough to give them a chance.

I was just saying to my buddy on Sunday, that every cup championship team has a collection of moments like coming back from a big deficit to win a game they looked like they had no business of winning. Goalies have their moments where they stole a couple games. You just can't win without these moments. We have seen way too many teams have those moments against us. Maybe it's our turn.

We are on home ice, that will make a difference and I think we are going to play desperate. This team needs to come out and just stomp them out. Play focused, fast, smart and aggressive. Put Tampa on their heals and just keep pushing until it's over. You can't let any doubt enter the team.

I hear you. Keefe does frustrate me, but they have improved this year and we'll see what happens. It's not been pretty but we are up 3-1. Use our home ice advantage and stomp them like we did in game 2.

I agree.

Absolutely, we all want the same thing here, a Cup. I’ve been waiting for 7 years to have some playoff memories (it’s been only heart break) but now we’ve got two come from behind OT wins. I definitely want more and am hopeful that will happen since we haven’t even seen the best this team can play yet. That’s exciting

Right? I hope that's what they bring for game 5, just full on their best performance so far. Stomp em

GAME DAY BOYS!!!!! LETS GET IT DONE!

GO LEAFS GO!