This will be brief: after a Leaf win at home against the Flames, does your ‘playoff meter’
hopefulness shift at all, or are you resigned to a less than satisfying
conclusion to the 2013-’14 NHL season?
I raise this in part because I saw a headline before the
Leaf game that suggested the Senators still had wildcard playoff hopes, and
they have 78 points. The Leafs now have
82, so if the Senators are breathing, the Leafs must be, too.
Can one win trigger more of the same? And if other teams falter in the days ahead,
can the Leafs still make a run and sneak into the spring dance?
No analysis today, just those questions to see if the pilot
light is still on in Leafland….
Posts
I'll keep it brief too! Tonight's win doesn't change a thing for me. Like last year's team, we're not ready for prime time. Apparently even Nonis said he knew we'd be bad this year. Extraordinary!
ReplyDeleteI had to smile, though, when I read the Leaf team with the worst losing streak was the '67 Leafs. I thought you'd enjoy that one! I did a mental comparison between that team and the current one. Although we lack the veteran leadership, I guess you could say that anything can happen in the playoffs!
What I really expect, though, is that our guys will be swinging golf clubs as soon as the weather gets halfway decent. And no matter what happens, barring a trip to the final four, I think there'll be a major reassessment of the coaching staff and the players.
Management may well have believed this year's squad was still a ways off from serious contention, I don't know. I think a lot of us, myself included, did expect a step forward from last year's near first round upset of the Bruins. That was a nice start, but I thought the progress would be evident. Until a week or so ago, I still believed that, despite the issues we have talked about all season.
DeleteMaybe it will be a case of one step back and two steps forward next year, Gerund.
Maybe it's the mark of the lifelong fan but, despite everything, I feel we're only two or three players away from being a real contender. And the step backward this year isn't uncommon for a team that exceeded expectations in last year's playoffs. I don't think there's any more effective way to learn what it takes to win than by applying the lessons learned in losing. To quote a certain 60's icon: "There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all."
DeleteHi Michael.
ReplyDeleteNo. My bulb has blown. Knowing the Leafs are heading to Boston, I just hope it isn't embarrassing. Winnipeg -unlikely. I just hope the Leafs win enough to spoil it for Ottawa. C.N.
Understood, Colleen. A game with so few shots and penalties last night seemed to suggest two teams placing out the string.
DeleteFive hours ago they needed to win 6 in a row to have a chance. Looking forward from this moment they need to win 5 in a row to have a chance. The odds have increased.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm fully expecting a scenario like the one in 2006 (?) where they beat Montreal in the final game and just needed a Devils win against the Islanders the following day. Brodeur didn't play, the Devils lost, I spent my afternoon watching a NYI vs NJ game and all these years later I still can't decide which of those three things I find most difficult to believe.
I smiled at that last line, Oliver!
DeleteI'm not gonna lie - there is a glimmer of hope in my heart. I think it is significant that the 'heart and soul guys' managed to get it done tonight - my Kingston boy and the two Mimico guys. They were brought here to lead by example when the going gets tough and they were knocking at the door until the results finally came in tonight.
ReplyDeleteA comparison to the '67 Leafs is very tantalizing. I wasn't there back then but from what I hear (mostly from you Michael) the team was one of those underdog teams devoid of superstars and full of heart-and-soul guys that managed to get it done. This team too, now that the stars are not shining so bright (Kessel and Phaneuf mainly) is finding a way to 'stay in it'. It's reading like a story the dreams are made of... eh?
But back to reality - we would have to beat Boston on Thursday and Ottawa in the last game of the season (both teams that will do their best to finish us and have been very hot lately) and all the ones in between while getting a lot of help from the out-of-town scoreboard just to make it to the playoffs. Once we're there, they say, anything is possible. Well, sure, that may be true, but in reality we're dealing with serious injury problems and, depending on how badly Kessel and Phaneuf are hurt, there's really a very slim chance of us getting anywhere without our top guns contributing.
Anyhow, one thing's for sure - it's nice to be dragged into watching again (I was not glued to the screen over the last few games) and not all hope is lost.
I have no doubt the Buds will play hard until the end. While we can point to various issues, an overall lack of effort is not one of them, I don't think. They worked through the recent skid, just no results to show for it. Good to hear from you, leafdreamer.
DeleteNo, the chances are too slim.
ReplyDeleteThey might even go on a bit of a winning streak, but we have seen this before. They almost play themselves out of a playoff spot, then start winning, but fall a few games short and miss the playoffs.
To quote some lines from an Elton John song:
So keep your auditions for somebody
Who hasn't got so much to lose
'Cause you can tell by the lines I'm reciting
That I've seen that movie too
A familiar movie indeed, DP.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say this leaves me feeling more optimistic. It was a W and a W is a W.... But it was against the 4th worst team in the league, and we by no means looked dominant.
ReplyDelete2/3 of the top line looked 100% checked out (only Kessel looked like he wasn't already thinking about being on the golf course from that line). The second line was pretty quiet as well, and it only seemed our 3rd and 4th lines came to play last night.
I am expecting at best a spirited attempt at the Boston game, but in the end I have a feeling our hopes will be brought back down to earth and it will become apparent this team is headed for warmer climates once the regular season is over.
Adam
Hi Adam- I had the same sense last night. As I mentioned to Colleen above, a game with so few shots by either team and almost no penalties suggests the players aren't feeling enthused.
DeleteThis morning I'm hoping my bulb is only just loose, so I guess I haven't given up completely. I may be biased ( living in the same area as Jay and Leafdreamer) but I hope the Leafs re-sign McClement. The line of Kulemin, Jay and Bodie was very effective last night.
ReplyDeleteThere was very little celebration from team-mates when Clarkson scored a very important goal. Did anyone else notice that? I watched the replay. No eye contact at all. C.N.
It is my most solemn hope that the Leafs not only do not re-sign McClement this offseason, but they get rid of the other no talent, replacement level players this organization is so fond of. No more Bodies, Gleasons, Orrs, McLarens, O'Byrnes, Komisareks. McClement has averaged 15 minutes on ice this season, he has 5 goals. Peter Holland is a better player everywhere on Earth, except for in bizarro land, aka Toronto Maple Leafs. Who knows if he actually got to play on the big club, he might even get better.
DeleteIt is time that the Leafs have a look around at the other teams that are actually, you know, good at hockey, and emulate what they are doing. Young, cheaper, players on entry level contracts, on the third and fourth line. When some of them actually work out, and you know improve their skill set, a team is able to let an over priced veteran go. Hello, Dave Bolland.
Young, talented players, who can do a myriad of hockey related things, are better. No more one dimensional veterans because they are the safer option. End of rant.
"There was very little celebration from team-mates when Clarkson scored a very important goal. Did anyone else notice that? I watched the replay. No eye contact at all."
DeleteThere are rumours that he doesn't fit in the Leaf locker room...slow, out of shape, spends time worrying about other investments.
"It is my most solemn hope that the Leafs not only do not re-sign McClement this offseason..."
I like McClement, but it wouldn't kill me if they didn't re-sign him. Sam Carrick has 24 points and +13 in 54 games for the Marlies. He plays the PK, gets shorthanded goals, and is good on the shootout. He seems like the ideal 4 line center for the future, the question is...when wil they try him out there.
One note, he is mean ( 6.0 feet 207 at age 22 and fights a bunch 8 so far and 104 penalaty minutes) but he isn't a slug...67 points in 68 games in his final OHL season.
Some video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkfKMoUjXlo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gf7XXp1cQw
My initial feeling last night after the victory was decidedly "meh". Quite honestly, they could have dominated, won 7-0 with zero defensive lapses, and I wouldn't be much more excited. To paraphrase some fine regular posters here, my glass is empty, my light bulb is definitely blown out. The Leafs could win their last five remaining games and charge into the playoffs, and it would still be hard to get me excited at this point. I don't believe for a moment they would make the impression in the playoffs they did last year. Trying to find a silver lining, and maybe I'm digging deep here, maybe they needed this reality bite in the *&% this year to realize they simply need to take their commitment to a higher level to compete in the NHL. It's hard to believe I was excited a couple weeks ago, but as I said yesterday, I do believe the talent level on this team exists. The cohesion simply isn't there this year.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that that 'lack of excitement' has hit the team as well, Pete. If they can win some games and other teams lose a few, who knows? But I think you're right, it will take a dramatic turnaround to get Leafworld cranked up again.
DeleteThis will be brief too. no:)
ReplyDeleteWatching the Calgary game they didn't look like a team ready to turn it around so I am not expecting a win against the Bruins. I will still definitely be hoping they can start playing like they did before the Olympics where everything went their way and Bernier was unbeatable.If they can beat the Bruins I guess anything is possible. If they can't beat the Bruins I will be hoping they lose the remainder of their games and maybe pick 7th in the draft instead of 14th. Two years ago they lost the last game of the season against the Habs and they picked Rielly 5th instead of picking 8th.
ReplyDeleteWhile cheering for a high draft pick is not as enjoyable as cheering for a playoff win, it can help build the future. Thanks Alton.
DeleteThe candle is still flickering and perhaps, by some miracle, fragments of wicks and wax can be reformed (one game at a time) while we watch circumstances out of Leaf control and hope that our incremental successes might be enough...
ReplyDeleteHolding on for that 8 games, always hoping for a point here and there, kind of sours the experience going forward. I can only imagine how it feels for the team! The Boston game is huge (as is every subsequent game against less inspiring opponents) and the 'Flame' that was reignited last night, will require diligent care to be seen burning beyond the regular season.
Other teams that are starting to 'come on' from further back still have hope, so why not us (when the alternative is 'disinterest' or growing apathy) - I guess I'm too much of a die hard fan to 'die' too early :)
That's why I asked the question today, InTimeFor62- time is running short, but the Leafs can still make waves...
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