Post Game Thread: Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs – 18 Apr 2023

40 comments

1. I don’t even know anymore

2. There are two roads from here:

   1. Toronto gets pissed off and uses this bullshit joke of a game as fuel to the fire
   2. They roll over and die

   This thing is gonna go 7, isn’t it?

3. Painful being a fan of this franchise

4. Everyone is going to bitch and moan about the refs, sure go ahead but the reality is we lose this game because of stupidity.

   ZAR throws pizza 2 minutes in and Sammy couldn’t make a big save. Sammy just gets worst and worst as the game goes on, not even given us a shot to comeback.

   Just as we’re back in the game, crowd is absolutely buzzing with no Headman, Bunting decides to take ridiculous penalty when he knows the refs hate him. He than has the balls to say he didn’t hit Cernak in the head as the ref is rewatching the replay. Really bad look for Bunting

   I still don’t think you give up on Sammy. He was the guy all year long can’t give up on him cause he was brutal for 40 minutes for the guy with like 10 NHL games. Now if he sucks next game that’s a different story.

   You take out one of ZAR or Bunting (if he isn’t suspended which I think he will be) for Knives. We run it back and we come back and tie this series. This team is still very good, I’m not given up on these guys quite yet.

   I think Knives is are own PK Subban, I think he will just be wonderful. I don’t think we should be having buyer remorse he didn’t play today, glad he wasn’t apart of this shitshow.

   I still have the passion, and I know when we play are best we are the better team. There’s still lots of time left.
   Go Leafs Go

5. For the sake of your mental health, do what I will do. Wipe this game, and accept this series was never gonna be easy. The amount of games we have to win hasn’t changed, they gotta get to 4 wins, we gotta get to 4 wins. Penalties and nerves defined this game.

   We have a great team, ya’ll fucking know it. The boys have proven they can consistently bounce back from losses over the course of this season, so Thursday will be the biggest test in that aspect, and basically in the whole fucking core’s era. Let’s take it one game at a time, no matter how difficult or tiring that statement is. I don’t care how much we have tried and failed to instill positivity in this sub, I’m still gonna

   Bunting really fucked up tho

6. This is the worst – Michael Scott

7. Nylander looked amazing, on to Game 2

8. Well, at least it’s over

9. Trying not to be overly critical because I don’t want to be that guy, but it’s really hard not to feel like we just completely turtled for the last 20 minutes and just wanted to go home. Full credit to Tampa for making us go 200ft every time and killing the game, but a team with killer instinct and desire would take the 20 minutes they had to work with and make it hard on their opponent; no matter the score. Considering Tampa was already down 2 D-men, we had an opportunity to put some miles on the legs of who they had left and make it harder on them the rest of the series. I don’t mind that we lost as much as we just let Tampa walk out as winners after 40 minutes without having to work for the last 20.

10. Still only counts as one.

11. disgusting game tonight. this team was a complete failure and the refs can go fuck themselves

12. Soooooo sick of this shit

13. I can’t believe I was so excited to watch this. It’s game one but I feel so dejected already.

14. Silver lining: Bunting being suspended will force Keefes hand to play Jarnkrok with Matthews and Marner.

    Absolute clown shit by Bunting.

15. Soooo Lily in for game 2? And definitely knies if bunting is suspended right

16. Absolute worst effort I’ve even seen from this group in the playoffs. Absolutely embarrassing thats how they come out game 1 at home. Brutal giveaways, 0 intensity, no confidence with the puck and no urge to battle for it back. Tampa walked all over them and there was no fight at all

17. I’m so sick of Bunting. He hurts the team.

18. Holl on the ice for 6 goals against lololol

19. Everything in this game was bad. Even if the refs weren’t shit, they still would have lost because the 5 on 5 play from the lightning was so much better.

20. Why doesn’t Keefe stick with lines? Like absolutely zero consistency. How do you build chemistry?

21. Awful reffing aside…. That first was atrocious. Cooper had his guys ready to go and Keefe didn’t. We have to stop making excuses for him. He has to find a way to get his guys going for a full 60.

22. Michael Bunting is a fucking idiot and killed the momentum for us. No excuses

23. This team is so toothless. A tired, old, injured Tampa and they don’t take advantage. Can someone remind the core that they still haven’t won a playoff series yet? They should be hungry, ruthless and desperate from the first minute. Next game they better play like it’s the Stanley cup final!

24. Well at least the re-sign Bunting vs O’Reilly question is settled

25. I think that was a kick in the ass Keefe needs. If he cant turn it around and put the right players in, he doesn’t deaerve to coach again. Tampa is beatable.

    Would love to have someone call the refs out.

26. The third period was embarrassing. They stopped hitting, they stopped taking dangerous shots. In a seven-game series you have to do things that make the other team feel it. Not dirty things but things that make them think twice in the next game.

    It should have been a shooting gallery from the point and see how many shots they felt like blocking.

27. Michael Bunting, thank you for your services and good luck with your future endeavours.

28. Bad vibes right from the second shift when Keefe brings Matthew’s line back to the bench and puts out Kampf leading to the goal. On the second shift of the game for fucksakes

29. I’m still a firm believer that Keefe is way too much of a galaxy brain coach that plays matchups way too fucking hard. Pulling off Matthews and Marner 80 seconds into the game to get the “ideal matchup” when they were fresh directly lead to the first goal. Stop playing down to the other team. Make them play to our level.

    If we get bounced again in the first round, I’m completely on team Fire Keefe.

30. Ugly, terrible, sloppy start.

    I thought we had all the momentum and looked good coming off that Nylander goal, then the Kampf penalty and ensuing PP goal killed some momentum. The whole rest of the second (Bunting penalty, PP goal, failed challenge, other PP goal) really killed the game. No notes on the third, it didn’t matter.

    Takeaways: Sammy didn’t look good at all, but he’s bounced back all season and I’d at least give him game 2. I know Marner had 3 points, but he and Matthews really need to be a lot better. They were *fine*, they need to be great. I thought Nylander looked excellent, ROR was quite good as well, but that’s about it up front. McCabe had some fun edge, Rielly was fine as well. I don’t really love that Kerfoot – Acciari – Jarnkrok line, they’re all fine players individually but the line just feels very blah to me. And Bunting, I don’t even know what to say – that was so, so dumb. I know we were losing 4-2 at the time, but that penalty put the nail in the coffin. Bunting is a solid support player but he’s not even close to good enough to continually be centring himself in these situations.

    Not sure if I make any changes on the blue line, but obviously changes are coming up front with Bunting likely getting suspended. I guess probably Jarnkrok up to 1LW and Knies coming in. I’d like to keep Nylander and O’Reilly together if possible, but not sure who plays elsewhere.

    Thursday is a new game, I don’t expect things to carry over from today. We’ve bounced back from bad games all season, time to do it again.

31. Most embarrassing playoff game in the last few seasons, easily. We got back into it when it was 3-2 and immediately conceded 4 goals. Nylander and O’Reilly’s effort all for nothing. What a waste of a game. They gotta clean it up for game 2.

    Regarding Bunting, if he isn’t fucking suspended, I don’t care. Bench him, he’s a liability. I don’t think the hit to the head was intentional, but come on man, you can’t do that. Put Jarnkrok on the top line where he’s been on fire, put Knies on the third line. The top line was INVISIBLE tonight, so putting Jarnkrok there hopefully shakes it up a bit. It sucks that the rookie’s gotta go in against Tampa in the playoffs but Bunting has given us no choice.

32. I blame four people for this game: Sheldon Keefe, Ilya Samsonov, Michael Bunting and Wes McCauley.

    I have no idea what Keefe was thinking with the line combinations. We’ve already established that Matthews-Marner-Bunting is not as effective as it was last year, so why’re we stacking them now? Just go with Jarnkrok-Matthews-Marner or Bunting-Matthews-Nylander. Why the fuck did Justin Holl start Game 1? He’s a literal fucking log of a defenseman who is not mobile.

    Sammy the less said the better, he was an absolute sieve throughout the entire game.

    Bunting’s stupid-ass hit pretty much swung the momentum in Tampa’s favour, and it never swung our way for the rest of the game.

    Wes McCauley can get fucked, he’s such a shit ref it’s not even funny. He’s absolute trash.

33. I’m so sick of Keefe trying to play 4D chess. Put Marner back with JT and Willy with Matthews. It’s worked all year.

34. Horrific goaltending

    Terrible discipline

    Bad penalty killing

    Good physicality by McCabe and Acciari

    Brutal giveaways by Gio

    Holl playing top pair minutes

35. Turning point was the penalty call on Kampf, MCCabe was getting mugged after the hit on Eyssimont, play should have been stopped, instead they allow the play to continue and call a bad penalty . They score and go up 4-2, major momentum swing after the Leafs came within 1.

36. Holl on the ice for SIX GOALS AGAINST tonight but ya sure everyone uses him as the “scapegoat” totally undeserved hate and deserves to play over lilly. for sure

37. I don’t post much, but I’m 57 years old and was born and raised a Leafs fan. I think it needs to be said that this is, by far and away, the worst phone-it-in playoff game performance in the past 40 years. Breaks my heart. AM34? One Hart. Zero Heart.

38. 1. Get Holl off the top pair pls I beg of you

    2. I don’t believe bunting meant to get the Tampa player in the head but it was a situation where he knew he was there and did the ol I didn’t see him trick, also the player was hunched over as he was hit so bunting probably wasn’t expecting that. Definitely a penalty but 5 I dunno, either way it turned the game in a bad way and he needs to stop doing that stuff.

    3. Utterly unacceptable reffing for both sides. Phantom calls like the perry high stick were Pathetic.

    4. Liked the physical play of the bottom six and McCabe, Mathews even had a few good hits.

    5. Sammy has to be better as much as I love him. You can’t blame all of them on him but that point backhand cannot go in. Not sure who you start for game 2.

    6. Piss poor start on home ice cannot happen again. How aren’t you ready for game 1?!

    7. Not bad games for the big 4 but they definitely need to be a gear higher.

    8. Lack of pushback in the third was hard to watch.

39. Refs: shit

    Samsonov: shit

    Bunting: stupid

    Every skater but Nylander: asleep

40. Keefe has failed this team as a coach. Management has failed Keefe by not allowing him to be more vocal about players performances and punishing players for poor play.

    This has resulted in “I can play like shit, not lose ice time and still make bank” type of culture and mentality. No emotion from anyone, it’s sad.

    I’m sorry to say but we need a management reset. We need management that will hold players accountable and allow the coaching staff to do the same.

    Hate me all you want this is the truth.

    Edit: a typo