number17
Mod Squad
The Forwards
Matthews = A+
He was pointless in the first 2 games of the series but once he adjusted to the playoff he was unstoppable. 4G in last 4 games of the series when the series got tight. He is the real deal.
Nylander, Kadri, Komarov = A
Kadri and Komarov drew the tough duty of defending the Ovie line, which is arguably the best line in the league. They got under their skin, contained them as much as they could, and hit them as much as they could. The way they threw their body around reminded me of Tucker or Peca. Kadri also contributed offensively.
Nylander was the only forward than Matthews who was attacking all the times, was dangerous every shift he was on the ice in the latter half of the series. The physicality of the series never bothered Willy. He can drive offense in NHL playoff.
Kapanen = B+
Kapanen scored the OT goal to win us game #3, and as a 4th liner he exceeded his expectation. What impressed me the most was he had wheels AND size. I was really impressed how he threw his weight around too (I think maybe his dad taught him you'd much rather be the guy throwing the hit than the one receiving it in the playoff lol)
Brown, Boyle = B
Brown was very meh offensively, but he was good defensively, making smart plays despite obviously being out-sized going up against the Backstrom line, and he was also a good and smart PKer
Boyle is the 4th liner and you never expected much from 4th liner to begin with, and they were both good. Boyle contributed offensively early in the series (which is always a bonus) but Boyle made Babs comfortable rolling 4 lines all series long.
Bozak = B-
I was never a Bozak fan but I find myself liking him more after the playoff than before. He contributed less when the series got tighter, but 1 he was very good on FO and 2 he was not as bad in transitional game as I thought he would be. He also helped on PP.
Martin = C
Martin threw his weight around every shift he got, I sitll don't think he's worth $2.25M but he was him, together with Kadri and Komarov, were the guys who hit everything that moved and didn't take unnecessary penalties. In a physical series vs. the Caps he contributed.
Marner, JVR = D
JVR started the series with 2G in 2 games and was a force early on, but when the series got tighter and tighter, he completely disappeared, not just from the scoresheet but he's not even making plays in any of the 3 zones. He shies away from any physical contact as much as possible, and for a 30G/60Pts top 6 forward the bar's gotta be higher, thus he got a fail in this playoff imo.
Marner is kinda the same boat, but at least Marner is a rookie, and he also is by far the most physically handicapped among all leafs rookies at this age. He was completely ineffective in game 6 and I think that gives him a pretty good idea on what he needs to work on in the off-season.
When the series went down to Game 5 + 6, the Leafs really became a 1 line team, where Matthews line was the only line generating offensive threats. Kadri's line had their hands full with the Ovie line, and it was really important the other guys could chip in offensively. Matthews' line drew the toughest defensive matchup from Trotz and still produced. But Bozak's line came up with nothing, and that was a big reason why we lost game 5 and 6 when we only managed 2G in those 2 games. We only allowed 4G in 2 games, so our 'patch-work blueline' and overall defensive system was doing its job (not to mention Andersen) but our secondary offense needed to come through. It didn't, and that was the series.
Did not rate: Soshnikov, Leivo
Matthews = A+
He was pointless in the first 2 games of the series but once he adjusted to the playoff he was unstoppable. 4G in last 4 games of the series when the series got tight. He is the real deal.
Nylander, Kadri, Komarov = A
Kadri and Komarov drew the tough duty of defending the Ovie line, which is arguably the best line in the league. They got under their skin, contained them as much as they could, and hit them as much as they could. The way they threw their body around reminded me of Tucker or Peca. Kadri also contributed offensively.
Nylander was the only forward than Matthews who was attacking all the times, was dangerous every shift he was on the ice in the latter half of the series. The physicality of the series never bothered Willy. He can drive offense in NHL playoff.
Kapanen = B+
Kapanen scored the OT goal to win us game #3, and as a 4th liner he exceeded his expectation. What impressed me the most was he had wheels AND size. I was really impressed how he threw his weight around too (I think maybe his dad taught him you'd much rather be the guy throwing the hit than the one receiving it in the playoff lol)
Brown, Boyle = B
Brown was very meh offensively, but he was good defensively, making smart plays despite obviously being out-sized going up against the Backstrom line, and he was also a good and smart PKer
Boyle is the 4th liner and you never expected much from 4th liner to begin with, and they were both good. Boyle contributed offensively early in the series (which is always a bonus) but Boyle made Babs comfortable rolling 4 lines all series long.
Bozak = B-
I was never a Bozak fan but I find myself liking him more after the playoff than before. He contributed less when the series got tighter, but 1 he was very good on FO and 2 he was not as bad in transitional game as I thought he would be. He also helped on PP.
Martin = C
Martin threw his weight around every shift he got, I sitll don't think he's worth $2.25M but he was him, together with Kadri and Komarov, were the guys who hit everything that moved and didn't take unnecessary penalties. In a physical series vs. the Caps he contributed.
Marner, JVR = D
JVR started the series with 2G in 2 games and was a force early on, but when the series got tighter and tighter, he completely disappeared, not just from the scoresheet but he's not even making plays in any of the 3 zones. He shies away from any physical contact as much as possible, and for a 30G/60Pts top 6 forward the bar's gotta be higher, thus he got a fail in this playoff imo.
Marner is kinda the same boat, but at least Marner is a rookie, and he also is by far the most physically handicapped among all leafs rookies at this age. He was completely ineffective in game 6 and I think that gives him a pretty good idea on what he needs to work on in the off-season.
When the series went down to Game 5 + 6, the Leafs really became a 1 line team, where Matthews line was the only line generating offensive threats. Kadri's line had their hands full with the Ovie line, and it was really important the other guys could chip in offensively. Matthews' line drew the toughest defensive matchup from Trotz and still produced. But Bozak's line came up with nothing, and that was a big reason why we lost game 5 and 6 when we only managed 2G in those 2 games. We only allowed 4G in 2 games, so our 'patch-work blueline' and overall defensive system was doing its job (not to mention Andersen) but our secondary offense needed to come through. It didn't, and that was the series.
Did not rate: Soshnikov, Leivo
