Revenge!
The Leafs had another dominant offensive game today, destroying the hapless Panthers 6-1 on home ice. We got our revenge after losing to these guys 4-3 in OT last weekend.
But I want to go off on something else here first.
One of the unique challenges of being a fan of Toronto teams on the other side of the world is waking up in time for the games in the morning. It's not something those in the same time zone ever have to deal with. When the Jays played in the postseason in 2015 and 2016, we got some afternoon games, at something like 1, 3 or 4 p.m. That's 2, 4 or 5 a.m. over here.
On weekdays during school, I get up a little past 6 a.m. to help get our first one ready for school. I fix breakfast and make sure he's got everything he needs for school.
On my off days, or on working days when I have the morning off, I usually go back to sleep after the kid heads out and try to catch an hour or so of shut-eye. I am a night owl of sort. After putting the kids to bed, I spend a lot of time reading up on sports, listening to podcasts, exercising, etc, etc. I don't recall the last time I went to bed before midnight.
I spend most of the evenings with my family. But when I do go out for a little diversion, I try to make the most of that opportunity. Last night (Thursday) was one such opportunity.
Had the year-end dinner with my colleagues. And a little after 9 p.m., met with a friend for some beers and NBA talk, both real-life stuff and fantasy hoops. I got home a little past midnight.
All told, I consumed some alcohol. I wasn't drunk or anything. But when I woke up this morning, 6:10 a.m. ish, I was still a bit, shall I say, woozy.
Now, it hasn't just been when I went out for some adult beverages that I had trouble waking up early. During October and early parts of November, I was busy covering the Korean baseball league's postseason. You know how baseball games can drag on forever. And for us scribes, the real work starts after the 27th out. I almost never got home before midnight on those nights.
Fortunately, I didn't have to work the next morning after game nights. But I still had to get up at the same time in the morning to hold up my end of the bargain, as far as helping the kid get ready for school. Then I'd go back to sleep. And I must admit I have missed starts of Leafs or Raptors games on some of those occasions because I was just dead tired. And this was before the daylight savings time ended, so a 7 p.m. Leafs game, for instance, started at 8 a.m. here, not 9 a.m.
Today marks the start of the month-long winter break for our first one. "Woozy" as I was, I sucked it up like a man for one last time and pulled myself up at the usual early hour. I did my things and went back to sleep, and set my alarm at 8:20 a.m., 40 minutes before the Leafs' puck drop vs. the Panthers.
I made it to my computer by 8:40. Didn't miss the anthem. So proud.
But for some reason, right after the game, my body broke down. I was knocked out for a couple of hours. So here comes my belated takes.
Cycling + Possession
To get some gaudy numbers out of the way: Matthews had 2 goals and 2 assists. Tavares scored twice, too. Rielly had 4 assists and became the first D-man to reach 40 points this season. Marner had 1-2 (three-game goal-scoring streak!) and Naz had 1-1 and has picked up 7 points in his last 5 games.
Our much-maligned power play went a 0-for-17 drought by going 3-for-3.
Hyman was out with an ankle injury suffered vs. NJD the other day. Brown moved up to take his spot nexts to JT. Marleau played LW next to Matthews, moving Johnsson down to Kadri's line. Gaut returned to the fourth line with Lindholm and Ennis.
On the blueline, Ozhiganov was out with an illness and Marincin made a start.
This was a prototypical Mike Babcock-style game. We dominated the puck possession and spent a great deal of time in the O-zone. All four lines did a great job of cycling the puck and keeping the Panthers on their heels. During the first period, there was a stretch of almost 2 minutes when we kept the puck in the offensive zone and had those guys on the ropes. Didn't get a goal, but when you add up those shifts/stretches, it can have a devastating effect on a thin team like the Panthers.
Beyond the first line of Huberdeau-Barkov-Hoffman, they just don't have the forward depth to hang with us. I can't believe we lost to these guys just a few days ago.
The shots were even at 26 but that seems a bit misleading to me. Maybe the other guys put a few on Freddie toward the end when the game was out of reach.
Speaking of whom, it would have been nice to get him that shutout in a lopsided game like this. Allowing that PPG in the third was the only blemish of this win.
Matthews and Marner did a cameo turn in the "Nutcracker" ballet performance as Cannon Dolls, and the two connected for the first of the game. Marner had his mouthpiece sticking out, a la Steph Curry, as he made the perfect pass through the seam to set up Matthews. Was a pretty play and all, but geez, how do you even leave this guy so wide open? And not just any player, but someone who's now scored 19 goals in 21 games?
Watch for yourself:
I liked the second goal better. Watch Kapanen drop one off nicely for Rielly, who fires a pass across for a one-timer. My kind of goal right here:
Naz had a goal called back because his skate made contact with Luongo's glove in the crease (at first, I thought it was because of some kicking motion, but Sportsnet's Greg Millen offered a clear explanation after speaking to NHL's Mike Murphy) but got a clean one on a 2-on-1 break after taking Brown's pass.
JT, who was buzzing around the net all game, had a pair in the third. My favorite moment of the game was this. On the power play, Mitch tried to set up either Tavares or Matthews for a hat trick, but his cross-ice pass went in off the body of D-man Weegar.
To fans in the stands, maybe it looked like Tavares, who was at the top of the crease, had tucked it in. So those who thought Tavares had a hat trick threw their headgear on to the ice.
You know, some of those hats looked pretty nice. I bet those people would like 'em back.
Watch this reaction by Mitch and Naz bumping into him. Classic:
Mitch isn't even celebrating. He's like, "Oh man, what have I done? I didn't mean to score that one!"
I love looking out for small things like this.
More Line Juggling
With a couple of guys on the mend, Babs had no other choice but to juggle his lines.
I wrote about how Babs oftens mixes up his forwards to stack his top six when we're down by a goal or two in the third. Today, it was a bit different. Up 5-1 with about 8 minutes left in the game, coach moved Nylander to Matthews' line, hoping to get the RW back on track.
But nothing came out of it. We've scored 13 goals in the last 2 games and he hasn't joined the party. Those easy wins are just the type of games where it would have been nice to see him get a goal with the outcome all but decided. You know, just get an easy one in the third when the other guys aren't necessarily trying that hard to stop you. Get some confidence back.
And how about Tyler Ennis today? He looked awesome again today, cutting through the defense with some nifty moves, getting to loose pucks and generally making life miserable for the other guys in 10 or so minutes of fourth-line shift. He is turning out to be one of the best under-the-radar signings for this season.
While Hyman is out, I would even experiment with Ennis as LW on the Tavares line and keep Brown on the fourth line. Ennis brings more offensive skills and also plays with the kind of edge that Babs wants out of that first line LW spot. I like our depth and all, but moving Ennis to the top line would add even more punch to the top six.
That move would give us 9 forwards on the top 3 lines who can score on any given shift, plus 3 grinders who can wear down the opponents with the cycling/possession game.
On defense, Marincin had 4 shots on goal and had an assist. It was easy to see this guy was trying so hard to make an impression on Babs. He fired one-timers from all over the place and blocked a couple of shots, too.
Rielly got his 4 points, but Dermott also had a strong defensive game. He really impressed me when he was called up last spring, and looks like he can really step up to be in the top-four if Gardiner walks in free agency. Nothing fancy, not overly physical, but he moves the puck well and can hold his own in the corners.
Two more home games up next, Rangers and then Wings. Then it'll be a Christmas break before traveling to Ohio to play CBJ.
Let the good times roll!
But I want to go off on something else here first.
 |
| It's an old logo, but still looks good to me. |
One of the unique challenges of being a fan of Toronto teams on the other side of the world is waking up in time for the games in the morning. It's not something those in the same time zone ever have to deal with. When the Jays played in the postseason in 2015 and 2016, we got some afternoon games, at something like 1, 3 or 4 p.m. That's 2, 4 or 5 a.m. over here.
On weekdays during school, I get up a little past 6 a.m. to help get our first one ready for school. I fix breakfast and make sure he's got everything he needs for school.
On my off days, or on working days when I have the morning off, I usually go back to sleep after the kid heads out and try to catch an hour or so of shut-eye. I am a night owl of sort. After putting the kids to bed, I spend a lot of time reading up on sports, listening to podcasts, exercising, etc, etc. I don't recall the last time I went to bed before midnight.
I spend most of the evenings with my family. But when I do go out for a little diversion, I try to make the most of that opportunity. Last night (Thursday) was one such opportunity.
Had the year-end dinner with my colleagues. And a little after 9 p.m., met with a friend for some beers and NBA talk, both real-life stuff and fantasy hoops. I got home a little past midnight.
All told, I consumed some alcohol. I wasn't drunk or anything. But when I woke up this morning, 6:10 a.m. ish, I was still a bit, shall I say, woozy.
Now, it hasn't just been when I went out for some adult beverages that I had trouble waking up early. During October and early parts of November, I was busy covering the Korean baseball league's postseason. You know how baseball games can drag on forever. And for us scribes, the real work starts after the 27th out. I almost never got home before midnight on those nights.
Fortunately, I didn't have to work the next morning after game nights. But I still had to get up at the same time in the morning to hold up my end of the bargain, as far as helping the kid get ready for school. Then I'd go back to sleep. And I must admit I have missed starts of Leafs or Raptors games on some of those occasions because I was just dead tired. And this was before the daylight savings time ended, so a 7 p.m. Leafs game, for instance, started at 8 a.m. here, not 9 a.m.
Today marks the start of the month-long winter break for our first one. "Woozy" as I was, I sucked it up like a man for one last time and pulled myself up at the usual early hour. I did my things and went back to sleep, and set my alarm at 8:20 a.m., 40 minutes before the Leafs' puck drop vs. the Panthers.
I made it to my computer by 8:40. Didn't miss the anthem. So proud.
But for some reason, right after the game, my body broke down. I was knocked out for a couple of hours. So here comes my belated takes.
Cycling + Possession
To get some gaudy numbers out of the way: Matthews had 2 goals and 2 assists. Tavares scored twice, too. Rielly had 4 assists and became the first D-man to reach 40 points this season. Marner had 1-2 (three-game goal-scoring streak!) and Naz had 1-1 and has picked up 7 points in his last 5 games.
Our much-maligned power play went a 0-for-17 drought by going 3-for-3.
Hyman was out with an ankle injury suffered vs. NJD the other day. Brown moved up to take his spot nexts to JT. Marleau played LW next to Matthews, moving Johnsson down to Kadri's line. Gaut returned to the fourth line with Lindholm and Ennis.
On the blueline, Ozhiganov was out with an illness and Marincin made a start.
This was a prototypical Mike Babcock-style game. We dominated the puck possession and spent a great deal of time in the O-zone. All four lines did a great job of cycling the puck and keeping the Panthers on their heels. During the first period, there was a stretch of almost 2 minutes when we kept the puck in the offensive zone and had those guys on the ropes. Didn't get a goal, but when you add up those shifts/stretches, it can have a devastating effect on a thin team like the Panthers.
Beyond the first line of Huberdeau-Barkov-Hoffman, they just don't have the forward depth to hang with us. I can't believe we lost to these guys just a few days ago.
The shots were even at 26 but that seems a bit misleading to me. Maybe the other guys put a few on Freddie toward the end when the game was out of reach.
Speaking of whom, it would have been nice to get him that shutout in a lopsided game like this. Allowing that PPG in the third was the only blemish of this win.
Matthews and Marner did a cameo turn in the "Nutcracker" ballet performance as Cannon Dolls, and the two connected for the first of the game. Marner had his mouthpiece sticking out, a la Steph Curry, as he made the perfect pass through the seam to set up Matthews. Was a pretty play and all, but geez, how do you even leave this guy so wide open? And not just any player, but someone who's now scored 19 goals in 21 games?
Watch for yourself:
I liked the second goal better. Watch Kapanen drop one off nicely for Rielly, who fires a pass across for a one-timer. My kind of goal right here:
Naz had a goal called back because his skate made contact with Luongo's glove in the crease (at first, I thought it was because of some kicking motion, but Sportsnet's Greg Millen offered a clear explanation after speaking to NHL's Mike Murphy) but got a clean one on a 2-on-1 break after taking Brown's pass.
JT, who was buzzing around the net all game, had a pair in the third. My favorite moment of the game was this. On the power play, Mitch tried to set up either Tavares or Matthews for a hat trick, but his cross-ice pass went in off the body of D-man Weegar.
To fans in the stands, maybe it looked like Tavares, who was at the top of the crease, had tucked it in. So those who thought Tavares had a hat trick threw their headgear on to the ice.
You know, some of those hats looked pretty nice. I bet those people would like 'em back.
Watch this reaction by Mitch and Naz bumping into him. Classic:
Mitch isn't even celebrating. He's like, "Oh man, what have I done? I didn't mean to score that one!"
I love looking out for small things like this.
More Line Juggling
With a couple of guys on the mend, Babs had no other choice but to juggle his lines.
I wrote about how Babs oftens mixes up his forwards to stack his top six when we're down by a goal or two in the third. Today, it was a bit different. Up 5-1 with about 8 minutes left in the game, coach moved Nylander to Matthews' line, hoping to get the RW back on track.
But nothing came out of it. We've scored 13 goals in the last 2 games and he hasn't joined the party. Those easy wins are just the type of games where it would have been nice to see him get a goal with the outcome all but decided. You know, just get an easy one in the third when the other guys aren't necessarily trying that hard to stop you. Get some confidence back.
And how about Tyler Ennis today? He looked awesome again today, cutting through the defense with some nifty moves, getting to loose pucks and generally making life miserable for the other guys in 10 or so minutes of fourth-line shift. He is turning out to be one of the best under-the-radar signings for this season.
While Hyman is out, I would even experiment with Ennis as LW on the Tavares line and keep Brown on the fourth line. Ennis brings more offensive skills and also plays with the kind of edge that Babs wants out of that first line LW spot. I like our depth and all, but moving Ennis to the top line would add even more punch to the top six.
That move would give us 9 forwards on the top 3 lines who can score on any given shift, plus 3 grinders who can wear down the opponents with the cycling/possession game.
On defense, Marincin had 4 shots on goal and had an assist. It was easy to see this guy was trying so hard to make an impression on Babs. He fired one-timers from all over the place and blocked a couple of shots, too.
Rielly got his 4 points, but Dermott also had a strong defensive game. He really impressed me when he was called up last spring, and looks like he can really step up to be in the top-four if Gardiner walks in free agency. Nothing fancy, not overly physical, but he moves the puck well and can hold his own in the corners.
Two more home games up next, Rangers and then Wings. Then it'll be a Christmas break before traveling to Ohio to play CBJ.
Let the good times roll!
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