GDT #64: Time to fire up the Maple Leafs Express and run train on the motherfucking haters.

[Preston]

Are they inconsistent relative to the rest of the league though? I mean, the same night we lost to a 42 yr old borrowing someone else's kidney, Tampa gave up 7 to Zona, and Boston (who if we were to poll the league, would probably be considered the most consistent team in the league) gave up 9 to Vancouver.

How are we measuring consistent effort? The whole thing just feels like a bad mutation of the "they can't play defence" argument....like, okay, sometimes they do play good defence, but not all the time!!! It often feels like the Leafs are compared to teams that simply don't exist. Teams that don't give up chances against, and show up to work their nuts off 82 times a season.

Meh, they are a bit more Jekyll and Hyde than most. That's what sets the Boston's and Tampa's apart from the rest of the league (yes I realize they've have bad losses too). The Leafs are a 10-15 team in the NHL based on nerd shit for the past 3 years. I simply expect better because they have proven they can be better (i.e. the playoffs last year.. they were fucking awesome). For me that has to do with consistency, not being a middling team. I don't see them as middling like the nerd stats tend to show.

 

[zeke]

Well my complaint is more due to believing that this team should be a top 3 team in the NHL. Seems like they either look like a top 3 team or the worst team in the NHL. No in between with these fucknuts.

But it's all based on my expectations.

Worst-10 xgf% of the year

BOS: 33.6, 33.8, 35.0, 35.3, 36.4, 37.0, 39.3, 39.3, 39.7, 40.2 (Record: 6-4)
TOR: 33.2, 33.8, 34.2, 35.3, 36.5, 36.9, 38.5, 38.8, 40.0, 41.8 (Record: 0-10)

 

[MindzEye]

Meh, they are a bit more Jekyll and Hyde than most.

How do we actually know this? I mean, isn't it really easy to look "Jekyll and Hyde" when you received .880 goaltending for extended stretches of the season? Because the inference in this all is that our skaters are lazy and often don't give a fuck. How do we know this to be true relative to other teams around the league?

That's what sets the Boston's and Tampa's apart from the rest of the league (yes I realize they've have bad losses too).

I don't know if I'd be holding Tampa up as a paragon of consistency. Didn't they suck dick for the first 30 games of the season and then rip off some insane streak to get back to where they are?

The Leafs are a 10-15 team in the NHL based on nerd shit for the past 3 years.

Which nerd shit?

I simply expect better because they have proven they can be better (i.e. the playoffs last year.. they were fucking awesome).

I expect better too. I just don't think it's fair to compare a legit thoroughbred to a unicorn wearing a jetpack, which is what I see a whole lot.

 

[Volcanologist]

Top-16 teams, with their save percentage rank:

1.BOS #3
2.TBL #9
3.WSH #23
4.STL #13
5.COL #5
6.PIT #12
7.DAL #1
8.PHI #21
9.NYI #4
10.VGK #22
11.VAN #10
12.CAR #15
13.CBJ #6
14.NYR #7
15.EDM #17
16.TOR #26


The worst goaltending of any of the top-16. Only WSH and VGK outrank their sv% by more than the Leafs do.

not seeing much correlation there in that ranking

 

[zeke]

not seeing much correlation there in that ranking

wat

 

[MindzEye]

not seeing much correlation there in that ranking

11 of the top 16 teams have goaltending in the top 16 (12 if the top 17) and you don't see correlation between functioning goaltending and making the playoffs?

 

[BG]

There are currently two teams that have allowed more goals against, Ottawa and Detroit.

 

[MindzEye]

There are currently two teams that have allowed more goals against, Ottawa and Detroit.

Correct.

- There are 5 teams who give up more per game (SJ, NJ, OTT, FLA....hey...wait, DET)
- There are 7 who give up more per game since Keefe took over (NJ, ANA, CHI, FLA....them again!, EDM, OTT, DET)
- There are 21 who according to expected goals against should be giving up more goals than us...and no, I'm not listing them.
- .899 SV% since Keefe took over.

If our goaltending (Freddy) doesn't sort itself, we're in trouble....unless we do the totally fucking obvious thing and start playing Campbell more.

 

[zeke]

There are currently two teams that have allowed more goals against, Ottawa and Detroit.

3 actually - DET, OTT, and FLA. with ottawa receiving much better goaltending, and florida about the same.

but that doesn't take into account games played.

In terms of goals per game, or goals per 60min, the Leafs rank 26th - exactly the same as their 26th ranked goaltending. Which means overall in the year, they've been average defensively (i.e. no difference between GA rank and SV% rank), but have had awful goaltending.