I apologize for the long hiatus in posts. I decided to have a long christmas vacation with lots of eat, a bit of drink and a superfluous amount of shinny. Oh the life we life, eh?
When I left off, we had just played Buffalo on December 21st, which might have been the most exciting game of the season. Stalberg was called up and played well only to get injured. Then we lost a lot. Then Carolina actually caught up to us in the standings... and here we are.
The Leafs are starting to get hard to watch. Kessel's slump is just painful at this point, and Hagman's harsh decrease in point production is doing so much that his trade value is even dropping. What to do, what to do? I actually heard talk yesterday of taking Kessel off the power play and at this point, I think that might just be a good idea. Although he's a solely offensive-minded player (with no regard for ANY defense), he struggles to break into the shooting lanes. Even with a quick-release as deadly as his, he's not getting the puck through. If he's not getting the goals, it's because they're putting a lot of emphasis on his side of the ice both at full strength or on the PP. Thankfully, on the other side of the ice we have Ian White or Beauchemin (on the PP). Get them the puck.
We've heard it from all the media: the Leafs are being killed/killing themselves by special teams. They start calling into question Ron Wilson's skill as a coach (and penalty kill specialist) or Brian Burke's criteria for a team but this isn't the way to go about Leafs criticism. I do my best to try to avoid this because Wilson has no one to put out there on a penalty kill and Burke has no one to trade other than draft pi- nevermind.
In regards to the power play, my only advice would be to stop putting on full lines. If they seem to have figured out our first line to the extent every team in the league has at this point, switch it up a bit. With Kessel in his normal spot, the high boards on the goaltender's right hand side, the goalie knows where the shot is coming from. There needs to be more movement instead of a stagnant umbrella set up that feeds Kessel for a shot that's going to be blocked. Leafs need to get it down low, pull a defenseman off the slot area, then push it to the point and get a shot off. It sounds easier than it is, but our opposition does it to Luke Schenn every time he's on the ice.
The penalty kill is a whole other story. Let's look at the power play goal last night by Eric Staal. Who was on the ice? Hagman, Mitchell, White and Exelby. We just have a really weak team. Yes, we could put Kulemin out as a big body to block shots but at the end of the day, neither the Leafs first nor second line PK unit is strong enough to compete. I know it's halfway through the season, but what needs to happen isn't an overhaul of the players, but a mastery of a PK system. If the diamond doesn't work, give small box a shot. If that doesn't work, large box and so on. It can't get any worse can it? I dunno, ask LA a decade ago.
Anyway, Go Leafs G.... oh who am I kidding.
Bone
Showing posts with label Hagman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hagman. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Another Win Thanks to Dr. Phil
It's nice to know that there's now some distance between the Leafs and Carolina. Even though it's only 4 points, it's hard being thought on the same field as the Hurricanes minus Staal. That's like the Leafs without Kessel, pretty terrible. Also, their lack of Ward is pretty noticeable as well. Superiority complex aside, let's get down to last night.
It's nice to know who our scorers are since it's the same players every night. Kessel, Hagman, Ponikarovsky and Stajan. It's always these 4, except for the odd time Kulemin or White put one in the net. But that's okay, as long as we're getting the points, I don't mind where the goals are coming from. I'm truly starting to like how the Leafs look on a nightly basis - past the 10 minute mark. It's still frustrating to see the Leafs shots directly at the chest of the goalie, but for the last couple games, they've have been able to capitalize on the goaltenders' mistakes because they're putting pressure on them in close and not just taking shots from the perimeter. There have been bodies in front of the opposing teams' net that have finally been resulting in goals. Except for Blake, he just won't score.
Kessel is kinda good, has anyone else noticed this? The one of two forwards with more than 20 minutes on the ice last night, he can really play until the final buzzer. It was his goal in the first period that got the Leafs fired up and by the end of the period it was very likely that the Leafs were going to win. That's one of the very few aspects of Toronto's game that cannot be contested, they know how to make a comeback. With 4 or 5 this year (that mostly ended up with a loss in OT), the Leafs have enough character to stick in the game until we have absolutely lost for sure. Maybe soon we'll actually fight hard enough to get the first goal of the game on a regular basis - that could be asking for too much.
Few things to notice from last night's victory. First of all, I really like this Hanson guy. Yes he was on for a couple goals, but the speed he can generate even with his size is quite useful. On Hagman's winning goal, it was Hanson who dumped it in, won the footrace, qicked it into the corner for Hagman, and then went to the net after Hagman just in case there was a rebound. I haven't seen him play with the Marlies, but I can see that with the style of play he has, points just follow him around because he puts the other team in awkward situations down low. A couple minutes later, he won another footrace for the puck down low that didn't result in a goal but still shows the kid can play.
Ponikarovski was a +3 last night. With a 4 point night (1G, 3A) - he was always in the right place. He used his size in front to gain a solid position in front of Vokoun and got the puck to ricochet off of him into the net. Not the prettiest goal, but he'll take it. He's not going to reach his 61 point total that he reached last year, but this year his plus/minus is his impressive stat with a +4 on a losing team. I've been quite a critic of the guy this year because he doesn't shoot to score but as long as he can plant himself in front of the net like he did last night, he can score a garbage goal from time to time.
Luke Schenn has probably been one of the biggest disappointments for the Leafs this year. We've had a number of them with Blake, Komisarek for the first bit, Beauchemin for the first bit, Stalberg not panning out yet, etc. but Schenn's bad play is finally starting to be dealt with. His minutes are being kept small so he can get his shit together and play like the Luke Schenn the Leafs know and love. He got an assist last night and only played about 12 minutes and +1. If he continues to improve, hopefully we can rely on him the same way we've been relying on Carl Gunnarsson for the past couple games. Wearing my hockey number of #36, he's been repping it perfectly, allowing Wilson to have confidence in him enough to put him out there in all situations. He's the perfect 23 year old to have on a rebuilding team. In the 7 games he has played this year, he's a +4 and has only played one game with under 20 minutes of ice time.
I think having Gunner up with the big club will force Schenn to play like he has to. Wilson has already guaranteed Gunner's place on the team and so when Komi comes back, there's a good chance that Exelby and Finger will be fighting for Schenn's last spot on the D line.
Anyway, riding a 2 game winning streak, the Leafs have two nights off to rest up, sharpen those skates and perfect that familiar Leafs Strategy - GET IT TO PHIL!
Go Leafs Go
OH, I almost forgot. Have you seen this Stamkos kid? He's making it really hard for the rest of Team Canada hopefuls.
...Yea, these Stamkos posts are going to get preeeeetty frequent. As frequent as his goals! HA.
-Bone
It's nice to know who our scorers are since it's the same players every night. Kessel, Hagman, Ponikarovsky and Stajan. It's always these 4, except for the odd time Kulemin or White put one in the net. But that's okay, as long as we're getting the points, I don't mind where the goals are coming from. I'm truly starting to like how the Leafs look on a nightly basis - past the 10 minute mark. It's still frustrating to see the Leafs shots directly at the chest of the goalie, but for the last couple games, they've have been able to capitalize on the goaltenders' mistakes because they're putting pressure on them in close and not just taking shots from the perimeter. There have been bodies in front of the opposing teams' net that have finally been resulting in goals. Except for Blake, he just won't score.
Kessel is kinda good, has anyone else noticed this? The one of two forwards with more than 20 minutes on the ice last night, he can really play until the final buzzer. It was his goal in the first period that got the Leafs fired up and by the end of the period it was very likely that the Leafs were going to win. That's one of the very few aspects of Toronto's game that cannot be contested, they know how to make a comeback. With 4 or 5 this year (that mostly ended up with a loss in OT), the Leafs have enough character to stick in the game until we have absolutely lost for sure. Maybe soon we'll actually fight hard enough to get the first goal of the game on a regular basis - that could be asking for too much.
Few things to notice from last night's victory. First of all, I really like this Hanson guy. Yes he was on for a couple goals, but the speed he can generate even with his size is quite useful. On Hagman's winning goal, it was Hanson who dumped it in, won the footrace, qicked it into the corner for Hagman, and then went to the net after Hagman just in case there was a rebound. I haven't seen him play with the Marlies, but I can see that with the style of play he has, points just follow him around because he puts the other team in awkward situations down low. A couple minutes later, he won another footrace for the puck down low that didn't result in a goal but still shows the kid can play.
Ponikarovski was a +3 last night. With a 4 point night (1G, 3A) - he was always in the right place. He used his size in front to gain a solid position in front of Vokoun and got the puck to ricochet off of him into the net. Not the prettiest goal, but he'll take it. He's not going to reach his 61 point total that he reached last year, but this year his plus/minus is his impressive stat with a +4 on a losing team. I've been quite a critic of the guy this year because he doesn't shoot to score but as long as he can plant himself in front of the net like he did last night, he can score a garbage goal from time to time.
Luke Schenn has probably been one of the biggest disappointments for the Leafs this year. We've had a number of them with Blake, Komisarek for the first bit, Beauchemin for the first bit, Stalberg not panning out yet, etc. but Schenn's bad play is finally starting to be dealt with. His minutes are being kept small so he can get his shit together and play like the Luke Schenn the Leafs know and love. He got an assist last night and only played about 12 minutes and +1. If he continues to improve, hopefully we can rely on him the same way we've been relying on Carl Gunnarsson for the past couple games. Wearing my hockey number of #36, he's been repping it perfectly, allowing Wilson to have confidence in him enough to put him out there in all situations. He's the perfect 23 year old to have on a rebuilding team. In the 7 games he has played this year, he's a +4 and has only played one game with under 20 minutes of ice time.
I think having Gunner up with the big club will force Schenn to play like he has to. Wilson has already guaranteed Gunner's place on the team and so when Komi comes back, there's a good chance that Exelby and Finger will be fighting for Schenn's last spot on the D line.
Anyway, riding a 2 game winning streak, the Leafs have two nights off to rest up, sharpen those skates and perfect that familiar Leafs Strategy - GET IT TO PHIL!
Go Leafs Go
OH, I almost forgot. Have you seen this Stamkos kid? He's making it really hard for the rest of Team Canada hopefuls.
...Yea, these Stamkos posts are going to get preeeeetty frequent. As frequent as his goals! HA.
-Bone
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I Bleed Blue and (Ian) White - Leafs/Caps Post Game
Sorry for the long hiatus in posts, it's been a long week with a whole lot happening. Plus I was tired of writing "yet another disappointment from our Leafers". Instead, after a crazy game against Ovie and the Capitals I can say "Finally a win for Toskala and the Leafs". What a game it was. Ron Wilson seems to have a new idea for all his disappointing players - put them on the same line. Grabovski and Blake, who have been nothing but mediocre this season were grouped together with Hagman who can dazzle at times but was a healthy scratch approximately a month ago. Grabo and Blake were brought onto the team to be our offensive strength but Blake, a former 40 goal scorer is at 2 goals right now and Grabo is at 4. The speed on this line was able to keep the Caps stuck in their zone for shifts at a time, shifts that Ovechkin was on the ice for and couldn't get close to our goalie.
When Ovechkin did get the puck, White was almost always there to shut him down or save yet another goal by blocking a shot behind Toskala. White is every goalie's best friend - other than the post, which bailed Toskala out late in the 3rd period as well. The difference between the shots that Varlamov and Toskala faced is that still, Leafs shooters are taking shots that mostly are at the crest rather than making him move laterally. Toskala had to throw himself at Ovechkin more than once to cut down the angle on him and shut him down. In the first period, Laich had a shot that, if shot harder would have been in the net because Backstrom passed cross-ice. However, also in the first period Stajan made a cross-crease pass to Kessel who couldn't finish the play and hit the post.
I still can't give the upper hand to the Leafs in this game because of the type of chances that the Caps got compared to the Leafs. When the Leafs play elite teams like the Caps, you can see how real scorers look for openings in the net, but thankfully Toskala had a great performance to shut it down. Ponikarovski, Blake and Grabovski are still shooting at the goaltender and need to make the goalie scramble for the puck.
But I digress, there are certain parts of last game that must also be discussed. For example, Beauchemin getting over 27 minutes of ice-time and Ian White's 26 minutes. This defensive pairing was on for the goal against and it was a mistake on Ian White's pinch and Beauchemin being caught with his pants down around his ankles. I have no idea what Beauchemin was doing, but he had no idea where Ovechkin was when he committed to taking Greene. Too bad the pass was wide open and the Leafs went down 1-0. I guess the argument can be made that when you're on for more than 26 minutes each, you're bound to make one or two mistakes, but that can't happen when Ovechkin is on the ice and ends up getting a wide open shot. He never misses those.
November has unfortunately been a month filled with easier teams to play against standings-wise and we haven't gotten the wins we need. Yes we've beaten the Caps but losing to Minnesota and Carolina is unacceptable. December is quite a frightening month, playing 12 teams that currently have a playoff spot. That includes both Washington and Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and most excitingly because I get to go see the game on December 19th, Phil Kessel's old team the Boston Bruins.
Something that I must leave you with, as I stated in my biases in my first ever post, is the beauty and skill that is Steven Stamkos.
Go Leafs Go.... and Stamkos.
When Ovechkin did get the puck, White was almost always there to shut him down or save yet another goal by blocking a shot behind Toskala. White is every goalie's best friend - other than the post, which bailed Toskala out late in the 3rd period as well. The difference between the shots that Varlamov and Toskala faced is that still, Leafs shooters are taking shots that mostly are at the crest rather than making him move laterally. Toskala had to throw himself at Ovechkin more than once to cut down the angle on him and shut him down. In the first period, Laich had a shot that, if shot harder would have been in the net because Backstrom passed cross-ice. However, also in the first period Stajan made a cross-crease pass to Kessel who couldn't finish the play and hit the post.
I still can't give the upper hand to the Leafs in this game because of the type of chances that the Caps got compared to the Leafs. When the Leafs play elite teams like the Caps, you can see how real scorers look for openings in the net, but thankfully Toskala had a great performance to shut it down. Ponikarovski, Blake and Grabovski are still shooting at the goaltender and need to make the goalie scramble for the puck.
But I digress, there are certain parts of last game that must also be discussed. For example, Beauchemin getting over 27 minutes of ice-time and Ian White's 26 minutes. This defensive pairing was on for the goal against and it was a mistake on Ian White's pinch and Beauchemin being caught with his pants down around his ankles. I have no idea what Beauchemin was doing, but he had no idea where Ovechkin was when he committed to taking Greene. Too bad the pass was wide open and the Leafs went down 1-0. I guess the argument can be made that when you're on for more than 26 minutes each, you're bound to make one or two mistakes, but that can't happen when Ovechkin is on the ice and ends up getting a wide open shot. He never misses those.
November has unfortunately been a month filled with easier teams to play against standings-wise and we haven't gotten the wins we need. Yes we've beaten the Caps but losing to Minnesota and Carolina is unacceptable. December is quite a frightening month, playing 12 teams that currently have a playoff spot. That includes both Washington and Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and most excitingly because I get to go see the game on December 19th, Phil Kessel's old team the Boston Bruins.
Something that I must leave you with, as I stated in my biases in my first ever post, is the beauty and skill that is Steven Stamkos.
Go Leafs Go.... and Stamkos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
