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2nd Rnd '25 Playoffs: Leafs vs Panthers - Flo-Rida them onto the ECF - LFG!

MindzEye said:
I don't think Keefe let anyone "off the hook". he was pretty uptight about publicly holding guys accountable (especially Willy) and that was part of the problem with him in Toronto. No chill.

The general expectation when Berube was hired was that he was going to come in and be some fire and brimstone tough guy and "straighten out" the team. Sounds like he's done the opposite. Came in and treated everyone like grown men and professionals.
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Tldr

Keefe:
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Berube:

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There's been 3 PP goals this series - all 3 were quick perimeter wristers by Jones, Barkov, and Rielly.

The Panthers have a great PK but we've been getting ours - we've just shied away from our best shooting opportunites imo and tried to pass them into better ones.


The panthers' great PK completely shut down Tampa's PP - held them to an amazing 3.11xgf/60 and 2.61gf/60. Those aren't even good 5v5 numbers let alone 5v4 numbers.

The panthers haven't been able to do that to the leafs so far - the Leafs are still posting a very good 8.80xgf/60 but since they're not taking their best opportunities they're stuck at a lowly 3.51gf/60 and that's only because the 2nd unit decided to keep it simple.

And even that 8.80xgf/60 underrates what the top unit is actualy doing - Tavares 11.02, Matthews 10.94, Marner 10.39, Knies 9.26, Nylander 9.03 - but those numbers don't mean anything when you're passing your way out of your best chances.
 
Kritter said:
The one thing i am not worried about in the least with this team, is Berube. He has won me the fuck over.
Keefe was such a whiny twat. Berube is a 'not going to take shit from anyone' coach.
I think the guys are following his demeanor.. I think Keefe let them off the hook with tons of shit. I think there is an extremely elevated level of respect for the coach, and his system now, that they didn't have with Keefe.
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I compared him with Quinn from the start. Berube is just legitimately confident and unruffled, and that's not something you can fake. Keefe might get there someday but he was as nervous as the players were here, and it showed. Babs was a fraud with deep insecurity issues.

I've always said that for me the two most important things by far for a coach are 1. play the right players and 2. give the players confidence and belief. Tactics are just tactics and anyone can learn and teach any tactic, and lots of different tactics can be successful......as long as you're playing your best players and those players believe in what you're doing.

I think this is kinda what bugged me most about the leafs playing goons and shit guys on their bottom lines in previous years - for me that reveals a lack of confidence by the coach. that he needs some kind of old-school security blanket to make himself feel better. Meanwhile we get guys who were nothing but goons as players, like Quinn and Berube, and they don't hesitate to play skill guys at the bottom of the lineup.

I'm still pinching myself that David Kampf is just completely out of the picture, even against a team like florida. What an amazing self own our insane use of that guy has been the past few years. Last year we were still playing Ryan Fucking Reaves for the majority of playoff games. Insanity.
 
Feyd said:
Granted Keefe's NHL career as a player was very short, but wasn't he nothing but a goon?
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Not at all - he was a small little skill guy.

Dominant junior scorer and decent ahl scorer but just not skilled enough to make it as an nhler. Classic tweener type.
 
I wonder if this is the "kiss of death" lol

NHL Power Rankings: Everything is changing — including at the top.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs, up 2-0 on Florida​

Last week: 5
Sean: 1
Dom: 1

Why this time is different: The blue line is big and good

It’s important to have size among your defensemen. It’s more important to have good players. Too often in the recent past, Toronto added the former at the expense of the latter. Last season was particularly glaring; Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson didn’t bring much to the lineup outside of being tall, and Toronto didn’t realize that until it was too late.

This time, the big fellas are Brandon Carlo (6-foot-5) and Simon Benoit (6-foot-3), and both have carried their weight. Carlo, crucially, works as a partner for Morgan Rielly, and Benoit scored an overtime winner against Ottawa. Coach Craig Berube deserves credit for playing him more down the stretch and preparing him for the postseason. Don’t forget about summer additions Chris Tanev (6-foot-3) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (6-foot-2) either.
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2) Edmonton
3) Dallas
4) Carolina
5) Florida
6) Washington
7) Winterpeg
8) Vegas
 
LeafGm said:
He’ll probably healthy-scratch Evan Rodrigues, who sucks anyway, while claiming it’s because he’s injured from the vicious hit from behind he took.

That way, he’ll shamelessly play the victim in a series where one of their stars got off scott-free for taking our starting goalie out of the series with a deliberate head-shot.
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It's a funny thing getting so much credit for the depth of your 3rd line when you need Evan Rodrigues on your 2nd line to make it happen.
 
zeke said:
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Everyone talking about how Matthews is invisible this series should be talking about how the great Barkov is even more invisible.
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i have wholeheartedly appreciated Auston's game these playoffs.. stats don't show that if you don't allow a goal due to your defensive play, that's the same as scoring a goal. probably too simple of an explanation but in a roundabout way its right
 
zeke said:
It's a funny thing getting so much credit for the depth of your 3rd line when you need Evan Rodrigues on your 2nd line to make it happen.
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or Samoskevich. he was up there a bunch in the season, and swapped places with Rodrigues in game 4.

from healthy scratch to 2nd line winger
 
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