Maple Leafs 4 v. Avalanche 3: Dream On

by PPP on Mar 25, 2011 2:09 AM EDT in Game Recaps

Corsi and Fenwick | EV Face Offs | H2H Time On Ice

Game Summary | Event Summary | Mile High Hockey Recap

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their winning ways with their third straight win as they picked up a 4-3 decision over the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche basically gave up two months ago so this was once again a game against a plummeting that the Leafs needed to win. This time they started James Reimer and, shock of shocks, they won. Nikolai Kulemin potted two to get to 28 on the year, Tyler Bozak finished a beauty finish, and some kid named Phil Kessel potted the game winning goal on the powerplay. I might be crazy but I think that Kessel kid has potential.

A nice aspect of playing in Colorado is that we are treated to an in-person scouting report from The Goalie Guild:

Overall, despite the uncomfortable first period, Reimer came through with a number of positionally sound and timely saves when the game was on the line. And in my opinion, that is what makes Reimer such a clutch goalie right now. More importantly, after he gave up each of the three goals, he bounced right back with composed saves to keep Toronto in front. Aside from being down 1-0 just 5:55 in the game, they never trailed after Nikolai Kulemin tied the game less than five minutes later.

- Justin Goldman, The Goalie Guild

Gabe Desjardins had a good piece yesterday on the role that 'luck' plays in goal scoring at the micro level. Tonight was a good example as you could easily label all three goals as lucky bounces for the Avalanche. Ultimately, it wasn't enough as the buds pulled to within three points of the Buffalo Sabres for the last playoff spot.

Mike Komisarek Murders Mark Olver

This certainly wasn't a blindside hit no matter how many times Greg Millen suggests that it was. It was definitely a hit to Olver's head but it was not a hit aimed at his head. The MHH recap agrees and the worst I got in reply to my question on Twitter was that it was borderline. I'd agree. What isn't debatable is that he then beat the ever living shit out of that poor chump that tried to avenge Olver.

James Reimer Gave Avs A Curfew, Shuts The Door

Chemmy talked about it in our last podcast but when the Leafs have a lead in the third and Optimus Reim is in net you get the feeling that the buds are going to find a way to win.

Game In Six

Luke Schenn's shift leading up to Tyler Bozak's goal was beautiful to watch. The strength, the confidence, the vision...yeah, this kid is good. Joffrey Lupul's assist on Phil Kessel's winner was the kind of thing we need to see more of from him. He seems to be bedding in well with Kessel but there's still a long way for that line to come before it is as good as the team needs it to be.

James Reimber Humbles You To Death

"How did the game feel?"

"I thought I played great" /BIG SMILE

"Because Ron said he thought you struggled with your rebound control..."

"Well, if he says so then it's so" /BIG SMILE

I know that the way players are in the spotlight does not necessarily reflect who they are as people but I cannot help but love James Reimer and want him to succeed even putting aside that he's a Leaf.

Ron Wilson Speaks To The Media

Isn't it weird what a nice guy Ron Wilson is when the team is winning?

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GO LEAFS GO!!!1

by pho king awesome on Mar 25, 2011 2:11 AM EDT reply actions

James Reimer sounds like Yogi Bear in that interview.

/mancrush

No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.

by article1 on Mar 25, 2011 2:32 AM EDT reply actions

Besides mashing those two chumps, how was Komisarek’s play tonight?

by scrambles the death dealer on Mar 25, 2011 2:41 AM EDT reply actions

Looked solid to me, you could kinda tell the Avs wanted some payback for the hit, but he didn’t get goaded into any penalties, so credit to him. With that said, Wilson didn’t trust him to play the final 10 minutes, so yeah.

by A Lindros Jaw on Mar 25, 2011 3:45 AM EDT up reply actions

11 minutes of ice, least amount all Leafs (except Boyce by 7 seconds)

Ron Wilson “gets it” when it comes to playing his top 4 d heavy minutes and giving the bottom pairing as limited minutes as possible.

You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless. You have to hope even harder, cover your ears, and go 'blah blah blah blah blah!'

by nhlcheapshot on Mar 25, 2011 7:18 AM EDT up reply actions

In limited ice time I saw at least two shifts where they were trapped in their own zone for an extended period. I don’t think he can be trusted on a top four pairing any more.

I've been looking at the sky

by Back In Black on Mar 25, 2011 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

I love it.

even when (admittedly) he’s seen better nights, James Reimer makes it count. Goddamnit, he’s awesome.

Tumblr. Twitter.

by Marc Pilgrim on Mar 25, 2011 3:05 AM EDT reply actions

JAMES REIMBER! He remembers….

AULIE AULIE OXEN FREE!!!1
Follow me I'm Boring!
Devour my Revolution!

by blindfolded tank driver on Mar 25, 2011 6:56 AM EDT reply actions

I know that the way players are in the spotlight does not necessarily reflect who they are as people but I cannot help but love James Reimer and want him to succeed even putting aside that he’s a Leaf.

100% agree.

Isn’t it weird what a nice guy Ron Wilson is when the team is winning?

Not saying he’s perfect or his “system” doesn’t have flaws but I think this is more to do with no one is rallying up the troops to fire Wilson or second guessing him and telling him so in the guise of a “legitimate” question. These are the same that will not praise him for the success the team is having now but if the team was performing poorly, FIRE WILSON!

"There's been four different Cup winners the last four years, and I got one of them (Anaheim) and it was a fighting team. We're playing it that way regardless." - B. Burke, Toronto Maple Leafs GM

by BlueBuds on Mar 25, 2011 7:10 AM EDT reply actions

It is still important to fire whoever is responsible for our special teams.

Even though we went 25% on the PP tonight, it is still woeful, at least one of the powerplays it didn’t look like we could even gain the freaking zone. That’s just not giving us enough opportunity to win games.

You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless. You have to hope even harder, cover your ears, and go 'blah blah blah blah blah!'

by nhlcheapshot on Mar 25, 2011 7:21 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, the incredible play of Reimer doesn’t stop the fact that their are still glaring problems with this team. they just don’t end up in the back of the net as much. most notably:

- poor PK
- godawful PP
- a breakout that is often ineffective (though has improved of late. I’m wondering if the guys are finally ‘getting it’)
- an in ability to generate offense out of players for prolonged periods of time (maybe this is just a personnel issue, but a coach has got to be able to help at some point).

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions

an in ability to generate offense out of players for prolonged periods of time (maybe this is just a personnel issue, but a coach has got to be able to help at some point).

How? Putting aside the stats argument, what else would you suggest? Use the blender more than he already does?

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.

by PPP on Mar 25, 2011 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, I don’t really have a good suggestion here. or any concrete numbers to back me up. i just feel like a good coach can assess a team’s weakness (their own and the opposition’s) and draw up a game plan that can generate scoring chances for your top players.

if the PP was in the top 10 in the league, this argument would be moot, but given that the PP is so terrible, I think it’s indicative of a general inability of the coaching staff to manufacture offense.

lets face it. it took them 2 years to change the worst PK in the league. how much are they adapting their game plan on a week-to-week or game-to-game basis?

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions

The thing I run into every time is that one of the main reasons they didn’t change systems was because it has worked well before. In each of the last two years when they’ve added better defencemen and a better goalie the PK’s improved for long stretches.

given that the PP is so terrible, I think it’s indicative of a general inability of the coaching staff to manufacture offense.

Ultimately, once they give them a game plan it’s out of their hands. If the players can’t do something as simple as stand in front of the net and hit the net what can a coach do?

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.

by PPP on Mar 25, 2011 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Ultimately, once they give them a game plan it’s out of their hands. If the players can’t do something as simple as stand in front of the net and hit the net what can a coach do?

This.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Mar 25, 2011 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions

question his game plan?

by jeffgm on Mar 25, 2011 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Power plays aren’t genius level events.

There are only so many workable strategies. The problem is how you weight the blame – what % is on the coaching staff and what % is on the players?

I have always believed that the split leans pretty heavily towards the players.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Mar 25, 2011 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

even if so, the difference between good vs bad coaching clearly has to have some effect.

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions

it does, but like ‘intangibles’ I doubt we will ever have a measurable value.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Mar 26, 2011 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions

the PK numbers haven’t been THAT good lately. I’m pretty sure they’re still in the lower half of the league.

also, if a guy just decides to stand in front of the net when that WASN’T the game plan, i’m pretty sure the coach would bench him/reprimand him or something. it’s not as though they’re just free to do whatever the hell they want 100% of the time.

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions

big problem is this is an unknown – we don’t know what PK and PP strategy RW and his staff are trying to implement.

We can (and do) speculate all day on this stuff – but ultimately it is unlikely we will never know with whom the blame lies.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Mar 25, 2011 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

well, we do know that under 3 years of RW we’ve had 3 years of bad special teams, with vastly different on-ice personnel.

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions

also 3 years of horrible goaltending

Rule #20

by JaredFromLondon on Mar 25, 2011 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions

WTF

Those mapleleafs.com videos always crash my Flash player, no matter whether I’m using Firefox, IE, or Chrome. WTF….I just upgraded my player too! anyone else have this issue?

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 8:17 AM EDT reply actions

Nope

That stinks though.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Like reading thoughts confined to 140 characters? I'm on Twitter too.

by PPP on Mar 25, 2011 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

i have the same problem, they never work for me and I use chrome. on my crummy laptop at home with IE8 it works just fine…. drives me nuts

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 25, 2011 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Did you try rebooting?

Be a Positive Pete not a Negative Nancy!

by theninjagreg on Mar 25, 2011 10:19 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

only all the time.

Move along. Nothing to see here...

by Van Ryn's Neurologist on Mar 25, 2011 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Well then I’m out of ideas.

Be a Positive Pete not a Negative Nancy!

by theninjagreg on Mar 25, 2011 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

me too

only started after upgrading to windows 7. Google revealed an adobe issue. Hopefully they release an updated version soon.

by crazyliver on Mar 25, 2011 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Every interview with Reimer makes me fall in love with him more. Look at that pout then smile. At this rate, we’re going to need two statues.

by purplish on Mar 25, 2011 11:11 AM EDT reply actions

and he is too humble to look into the camera

by jeffgm on Mar 25, 2011 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions

What the fuck is going on at Behind The Net?

“A D&D Look at the Maple Leafs” on the front page. It’s either a satire or trolling. No stats, no discussion, no analysis. Just trolling by a Rangers fan (unless its meant as satire).

by samspade on Mar 25, 2011 7:33 PM EDT reply actions