Starting on Time
At last year's Winter Olympics in Korea, both the men's and women's Korean hockey teams had Canadians as their head coaches: Jim Paek (Penguins defenseman during their '91-'92 back-to-back Cup years, born in Seoul, raised in Toronto) for the men's side and Sarah Murray (daughter of former NHL and Team Canada head coach Andy Murray) for the women's team.
I've been covering their teams for a few years (though Murray is no longer coaching the team) and I can't even count the number of times both coaches said the expression, "starting on time."
As in, "Our players didn't start the game on time and we got behind too early in the game and we had to play catch-up for 40 minutes." Something to that extent. You get the idea.
And it's also the term I've heard and read often when it comes to the Leafs lately.
We pounded the Oilers 6-2 on home ice today. If you didn't watch the game and only saw the final score, you would have said, "Wow, what a great win!"
We scored some pretty goals, no more so than this one by Johnsson. This is why Babs should never break up this Johnsson-Matthews-Kapanen line:
Okay, the win itself was great. But for the sixth consecutive game, we gave up the game's first goal.
The first three of those ended as losses. We've won the past three in the come-from-behind fashion against not-so-tough opponents, Montreal, Buffalo and Edmonton.
Against the Habs, we went down 3-0 and then scored six straight. Buffalo went up 1-0 before we got four unanswered goals.
Today, we did two better, scoring six in a row after allowing the first goal of the game.
Now, this is really playing with fire, if you ask me.
The fans know, and obviously the guys in the room know, that this team is capable of staging these comebacks. But I am worried that it may get to the guys' heads a little bit. Can't afford that.
This is clearly not sustainable for a long stretch, and definitely not sustainable through a seven-game series. It's nice to start playing with more urgency after going down by a goal or two, but man, if you're playing in the NHL, do you really need that kind of a wake-up call to get fired up and start playing decent hockey? Can't you do that from the opening face-off? Am I asking too much?
A half-dozen games in a row that we went down early. Not ideal at all.
Can you imagine trailing in the first six games of a best-of-seven playoff series? Well, for one, if you give up the first goal that often, that series probably won't even last six games! Secondly, it's not only playing with fire, it's also tempting Hockey Gods. I just don't think a team will be able to rally that often over such a short period of time against one opponent. By the time two teams have played a couple of games, there probably won't be any secrets any more. Teams will know what to expect from each other.
Trying to erase an early deficit will get increasingly more difficult as the series wears on. The defense will have a better idea of how to handle the comeback bid and will have made necessary adjustments. You can't fool playoff-caliber defenses too many times.
See, I am a spoiled, entitled Leafs fan now. We just won our third straight game and we've scored 17 goals in those three, and I am complaining about the inability to start games on time.
One closing thought: Nothing irks me more than seeing my guys get injured in a meaningless situation. Travis Dermott, who's really come on strong as a top-four defender in his first full NHL season, was checked from behind by Brad Malone in the third when we were up by 5 goals. He's suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out for weeks.
The hit itself didn't seem that hard to me, though it came from behind. It was just the surprise element that caught Dermott off guard as he crashed hard into the boards.
Jake Gardiner is also on a week-to-week basis. Suddenly, the defense looks pretty thin as we enter Justin Holl, Igor Ozhiganov and Martin Marincin into the mix.
Gotta survive those next few weeks and hope Dermott and Gardiner will be healthy for the playoffs.
The thing about hockey is that there's really no "garbage time" when you can bench your top guns for protection. They will still have to put in their shifts because no team can play an entire period with just the third and fourth lines and the third defense pair. In basketball, you bench your starters. In baseball, you lift them for pinch hitters or runners.
In hockey, you still have to play. And it runs the risk of having a frustrated opponent take shots at you or your teammates in vulnerable positions.
I hear grumblings about the Leafs being too soft to retaliate. Not sure what we have to gain from taking shots at Malone in that particular situation, other than maybe taking a roughing penalty or risking a suspension.
Anyway, the score may have been lopsided in our favor, but it was a bittersweet victory for me.
I've been covering their teams for a few years (though Murray is no longer coaching the team) and I can't even count the number of times both coaches said the expression, "starting on time."
As in, "Our players didn't start the game on time and we got behind too early in the game and we had to play catch-up for 40 minutes." Something to that extent. You get the idea.
And it's also the term I've heard and read often when it comes to the Leafs lately.
We pounded the Oilers 6-2 on home ice today. If you didn't watch the game and only saw the final score, you would have said, "Wow, what a great win!"
We scored some pretty goals, no more so than this one by Johnsson. This is why Babs should never break up this Johnsson-Matthews-Kapanen line:
Okay, the win itself was great. But for the sixth consecutive game, we gave up the game's first goal.
The first three of those ended as losses. We've won the past three in the come-from-behind fashion against not-so-tough opponents, Montreal, Buffalo and Edmonton.
Against the Habs, we went down 3-0 and then scored six straight. Buffalo went up 1-0 before we got four unanswered goals.
Today, we did two better, scoring six in a row after allowing the first goal of the game.
Now, this is really playing with fire, if you ask me.
The fans know, and obviously the guys in the room know, that this team is capable of staging these comebacks. But I am worried that it may get to the guys' heads a little bit. Can't afford that.
This is clearly not sustainable for a long stretch, and definitely not sustainable through a seven-game series. It's nice to start playing with more urgency after going down by a goal or two, but man, if you're playing in the NHL, do you really need that kind of a wake-up call to get fired up and start playing decent hockey? Can't you do that from the opening face-off? Am I asking too much?
A half-dozen games in a row that we went down early. Not ideal at all.
Can you imagine trailing in the first six games of a best-of-seven playoff series? Well, for one, if you give up the first goal that often, that series probably won't even last six games! Secondly, it's not only playing with fire, it's also tempting Hockey Gods. I just don't think a team will be able to rally that often over such a short period of time against one opponent. By the time two teams have played a couple of games, there probably won't be any secrets any more. Teams will know what to expect from each other.
Trying to erase an early deficit will get increasingly more difficult as the series wears on. The defense will have a better idea of how to handle the comeback bid and will have made necessary adjustments. You can't fool playoff-caliber defenses too many times.
See, I am a spoiled, entitled Leafs fan now. We just won our third straight game and we've scored 17 goals in those three, and I am complaining about the inability to start games on time.
One closing thought: Nothing irks me more than seeing my guys get injured in a meaningless situation. Travis Dermott, who's really come on strong as a top-four defender in his first full NHL season, was checked from behind by Brad Malone in the third when we were up by 5 goals. He's suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out for weeks.
The hit itself didn't seem that hard to me, though it came from behind. It was just the surprise element that caught Dermott off guard as he crashed hard into the boards.
Jake Gardiner is also on a week-to-week basis. Suddenly, the defense looks pretty thin as we enter Justin Holl, Igor Ozhiganov and Martin Marincin into the mix.
Gotta survive those next few weeks and hope Dermott and Gardiner will be healthy for the playoffs.
The thing about hockey is that there's really no "garbage time" when you can bench your top guns for protection. They will still have to put in their shifts because no team can play an entire period with just the third and fourth lines and the third defense pair. In basketball, you bench your starters. In baseball, you lift them for pinch hitters or runners.
In hockey, you still have to play. And it runs the risk of having a frustrated opponent take shots at you or your teammates in vulnerable positions.
I hear grumblings about the Leafs being too soft to retaliate. Not sure what we have to gain from taking shots at Malone in that particular situation, other than maybe taking a roughing penalty or risking a suspension.
Anyway, the score may have been lopsided in our favor, but it was a bittersweet victory for me.
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