BeLeafer
Well-known member
The Leafs frittered away their advantage on the bubble teams over the past month and are now outside of playoff position. They have not won many games and are coming off their worst stretch of the season.
It is starting to feel way too familiar for us Leafs fans. There are seven players in key roles that have been members of the 18 wheeler club (Rielly, Kadri, JVR, Bozak, Komarov, Polak and Gardiner). Three of these guys – JVR, Bozak and Gardiner – are showing every sign of having been key contributors to past epic collapses. Their play has been nothing short of awful, choking, gutless and mindlessness in various orders of significance. Rielly has also looked wobbly at times but that is likely due to his usage. Polak and Komarov have been barely passable. So, really, out of the Magnificent 7, only Kadri has been playing really well.
That’s a lot of baggage for a bunch of rookies to carry around.
The other big factor in their post-New Year slide has been the goaltending of Andersen. Aside from his last three games, he has been awful in 2017. Any chance at turning things around will require him to continue with his recent strong play.
So, to my mind, the most interesting question in all of this is whether the likes of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Zaitsev, Kadri, Rielly and Brown can lift this team up and carry it into the postseason. Their play is going to be critical. They’ve mostly been playing really well all season with no noticeable tail off as the checking got tighter.
The Leafs have 18 games remaining on the schedule. Fortunately, they are through the worst of their schedule but the rest is not a walk in the park. Here’s the remaining games:
Tue, Mar 7: Detroit
Thu, Mar 9: Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 11: @ Carolina
Tue, Mar 14: @ Florida
Thu, Mar 16: @ Tampa Bay
Sat, Mar 18: Chicago
Mon, Mar 20: Boston
Wed, Mar 22: @ Columbus
Thu, Mar 23: New Jersey
Sat, Mar 25: @ Buffalo
Tue, Mar 28: Florida
Thu, Mar 30: @ Nashville
Sat, Apr 1: @ Detroit
Mon, Apr 3: @ Buffalo
Tue, Apr 4: Washington
Thu, Apr 6: Tampa Bay
Sat, Apr 8: Pittsburgh
Sun, Apr 9: Columbus
Of these 18 games, only 4 are against top teams. Most of the rest are against bubble teams with only the Devils and Sabres are likely lottery teams. In other words, 4 against really good teams, 12 against the desperate and only 2 against what is likely to be weak opposition.
They’ve also got 3 back to backs, which are always tough.
The Leafs will need to get at least 24 of the remaining 36 points that are up for grabs. That’s about a 109 pt pace over the last 18 games. A tall order.
I say they can do it if:
1. Freddy has a good stretch drive (.920+ sv%)
2. Babcock starts to significantly reduce the role/icetime of key 18 wheelers: JVR, Bozak and Gardiner.
3. Kadri, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Zaitsev and Rielly play to a high level (really need these guys at the top of their games).
It's gut check time, let's see what these guys have in them.
It is starting to feel way too familiar for us Leafs fans. There are seven players in key roles that have been members of the 18 wheeler club (Rielly, Kadri, JVR, Bozak, Komarov, Polak and Gardiner). Three of these guys – JVR, Bozak and Gardiner – are showing every sign of having been key contributors to past epic collapses. Their play has been nothing short of awful, choking, gutless and mindlessness in various orders of significance. Rielly has also looked wobbly at times but that is likely due to his usage. Polak and Komarov have been barely passable. So, really, out of the Magnificent 7, only Kadri has been playing really well.
That’s a lot of baggage for a bunch of rookies to carry around.
The other big factor in their post-New Year slide has been the goaltending of Andersen. Aside from his last three games, he has been awful in 2017. Any chance at turning things around will require him to continue with his recent strong play.
So, to my mind, the most interesting question in all of this is whether the likes of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Zaitsev, Kadri, Rielly and Brown can lift this team up and carry it into the postseason. Their play is going to be critical. They’ve mostly been playing really well all season with no noticeable tail off as the checking got tighter.
The Leafs have 18 games remaining on the schedule. Fortunately, they are through the worst of their schedule but the rest is not a walk in the park. Here’s the remaining games:
Tue, Mar 7: Detroit
Thu, Mar 9: Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 11: @ Carolina
Tue, Mar 14: @ Florida
Thu, Mar 16: @ Tampa Bay
Sat, Mar 18: Chicago
Mon, Mar 20: Boston
Wed, Mar 22: @ Columbus
Thu, Mar 23: New Jersey
Sat, Mar 25: @ Buffalo
Tue, Mar 28: Florida
Thu, Mar 30: @ Nashville
Sat, Apr 1: @ Detroit
Mon, Apr 3: @ Buffalo
Tue, Apr 4: Washington
Thu, Apr 6: Tampa Bay
Sat, Apr 8: Pittsburgh
Sun, Apr 9: Columbus
Of these 18 games, only 4 are against top teams. Most of the rest are against bubble teams with only the Devils and Sabres are likely lottery teams. In other words, 4 against really good teams, 12 against the desperate and only 2 against what is likely to be weak opposition.
They’ve also got 3 back to backs, which are always tough.
The Leafs will need to get at least 24 of the remaining 36 points that are up for grabs. That’s about a 109 pt pace over the last 18 games. A tall order.
I say they can do it if:
1. Freddy has a good stretch drive (.920+ sv%)
2. Babcock starts to significantly reduce the role/icetime of key 18 wheelers: JVR, Bozak and Gardiner.
3. Kadri, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Zaitsev and Rielly play to a high level (really need these guys at the top of their games).
It's gut check time, let's see what these guys have in them.