Tale of Two Teams
Oh man, what a day...
I don't even know where to start or how to start. It's been an emotional day for me as a Toronto sports fan.
Not going to bother breaking down games here. I have so much more to say about how this day played out.
I am not even going to pretend. It was absolutely crushing to watch the Leafs drop another Game 7 to the Bruins, losing 5-1 with a couple of empty-netters adding insult to injury. Being a Leafs fan is an emotionally draining experience. These guys will break your heart.
I asked for and got the morning off from work today. Of course, I didn't tell the boss I had to watch sports. I only cited "personal reasons." Even as the proud multi-tasker that I am, I didn't think I'd be able to watch two elimination games by my two teams and still find time to do proper work. Hey, people have taken time off from work for worse things, right? (Like going to a Cubs game on a Thursday afternoon.)
Anyway, I fully expected the Raptors to have a breezy time knocking out the Magic in 5 games. And I figured hockey was going to be a closer battle. So I paid my full attention to hockey in the first period.
I thought we played a solid first period but still went down by a pair of goals. And those goals weren't even from their top dogs; it was the scrubs who beat Freddie, who once again looked shaky in a Game 7.
And when I stole a glance at the Raptors game later, it was 31-7 in the first quarter!
I mean, you couldn't have scripted a starker contrast between these two games. On one hand, the Leafs, trying to exorcise their playoff demons, found themselves down 2 goals in Boston, the scene of some painful playoff memories of the past, and they were seemingly on their way to another devastating loss. And on the other hand, the Raptors, also trying to put their own history of playoff failures behind them (more on that later), were absolutely destroying the Magic on home court and seemed poised for another dominant and ruthlessly efficient victory.
At that point, I really didn't know how to feel about all this. But ultimately, I think the disappointment and frustration of watching the Leafs go down again in the first round overshadowed the joy of seeing the Raptors cruise into the second round and looking as good as this franchise has ever looked. Not the other way around for me, where the elation of watching the Raptors' series win would have made up for the heartbreak of the Leafs' loss.
As far as the two organizations' playoff histories... The Raptors were essentially starting with a clean slate because this is a vastly different team than the one that got swept by the Cleveland LeBrons last year. New head coach, a bunch of new players, etc, etc. Kyle is the only returning starter from that fateful series from a year ago: no DeMar, no JV, Serge on the bench and OG on the bench (and sidelined for the time being anyway). Kawhi, Danny G and Gasol haven't been a part of those ugly losses of the past and they probably couldn't care less about what happened to the Raptors a year ago when they weren't even around.
So getting through the first round with relative ease, and shaking off the opening game loss in the process, didn't really feel like slaying ghosts of the past. It felt more like something this team, as it's assembled currently, was supposed to do. Just another day at the office. Business as usual.
For the Leafs, well, the core of the team that blew the third period lead in last year's Game 7 to Boston was back. Freddie, Matthews, Marner, Rielly, Gardiner, Brown, Hyman, Marleau, Hainsey, etc. Some of those young guys grew a year old and showed their maturity during the regular season. On top of that, we made a huge splash by signing Tavares in the summer and acquiring a Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Muzzin during the season. The front office wasn't messing around. Those guys believed this could be the year.
And to see much the same guys fall to what was essentially the same Bruins team from a year ago... it's really difficult to put into words how I felt about it as a fan. And once Boston scored early in the third period to go up 3-1, I became pretty numb. I had that thousand-yard stare. By then, I was watching but I wasn't really watching.
As well as we played in the second period, I didn't think we had any chance of rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third. So my attention drifted toward basketball and I just wanted to feel the excitement of a blowout victory in the elimination game at home for the Raptors.
The Raptors didn't just play well against the Magic. The boys in black and red showed the type of killer instinct that was lacking in previous iterations of the Raptors and certainly in the 2018-2019 Leafs. Up 3-1 coming home, the Raptors could have been forgiven for maybe taking something off early and playing loose. Hey, we still got a couple more cracks, you know.
But charging out to a 31-7 lead in the first quarter? Killing whatever little hope that the Magic might have had of winning this game to extend the series? That was some impressive stuff.
The Leafs held a one-game lead in the series three times. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. Had a chance to finish off the Bruins on home ice and blew it. Still had a chance to clinch the series in Boston, where they had won twice earlier in the series, and couldn't do it.
It's easy to second-guess and play arm-chair coach after a playoff series loss. Most of that stuff are just knee-jerk reaction anyway. But I will say this: I think the Leafs will have to at least give some thought to a coaching change.
Babs has now lost in the first round in three straight years. To me, for Babcock to lose to a virtually identical Bruins team despite icing a far superior team on his side is a sign of subpar coaching.
Not saying categorically that he should be let go, just saying the Leafs will have to explore that possibility.
A few reasons for me. One, he's stubborn as hell and he's simply refused to make in-game or in-series adjustments even while his counterpart, Bruce Cassidy, was making moves that paid off. Two, Babcock has this way of subtly or not so subtly throwing his players under the bus and passing the buck to his squad, when, as their head coach, he should be the one to shoulder the blame for losses. And three, it's clear that he isn't getting along with Kyle Dubas and the front office and they don't share the same philosophies.
Dubas is all about speed and skills. In other words, the new NHL. Babcock likes tough guys with a grinding style of play. In other words, the old NHL.
This is what I think: When you're a head coach, your job is to try to bring out the best in the players that you have, and not always complain about the type of players that you don't have. Sure, I guess someone of his stature (a Stanley Cup champion and the highest-paid coach in the league) can make his feelings known about the roster construction, but what kind of message does that send to the dressing room? "Hey, my coach doesn't want me on this team. Why should I play for this guy?"
So the coach may prefer more grit and all that. But the game has changed. That's not the name of the NHL anymore. People say things change in the playoffs and toughness is still at a premium in spring time. But if being tough and rough is so great, why don't teams play that kind of style during the regular season?
Look, Columbus swept Tampa Bay, only the greatest regular season team in NHL history, not because those guys hit everything in sight, but because they outskated the Bolts and they were opportunistic when they had their chances. The Hurricanes have pushed the defending champs Capitals to a Game 7 for much the same reason.
It's not so much about brute strength and raw toughness. It's about putting the skills that you have to good use and having the commitment on both ends. Use your speed on forecheck. Use your passing skills to relieve pressure on your end and make breakouts. If you're skilled and elusive enough, you can avoid body checks and exploit teams that just chase hits.
The Leafs' best game came in Game 1, an incredibly sound game on both ends on the road. If the Leafs had half the killer instinct that Kyle, Kawhi and Co. had, this could have been a short series for the Buds.
Granted, in relative terms, the Bruins were a tougher opponent for the Leafs than the Magic were for the Raptors. But man, the Bruins looked really vulnerable in that Game 1 loss. I remember thinking that I'd be worried about that Boston team if I were their fan. They couldn't skate with us, and their D-corps looked especially slow.
They ended up salvaging the split at home, and we really should have won both on home ice to give ourselves more breathing room. Instead, we got a split ourselves in Toronto, and put ourselves in a position to have to win twice in Boston to win the series.
I went off track while discussing Babcock. The only major adjustment he made came in Game 7, when he flip-flopped Marner and Matthews on the power play unit, putting them on their off-wings to set up for one-timer opportunities.
Babs was also going to use an actual center, like Tavares, to kill penalties, rather than have Hyman getting destroyed in the circles against Bergeron all the time, but we didn't even commit a penalty in this one.
I guess one could say we stayed disciplined. After surrendering five PPGs in five chances, well, this game could have been more lopsided if the Bruins had gone on a couple of power plays.
But then again, maybe we didn't even play hard enough to take a penalty. Ugh...
Maybe I should say more positive things about the Raptors, but I think there are far more and better things to come from this team. There will be plenty of other opportunities to sing their virtues this spring.
Enough with my rant for now. If you'll excuse me, I am going to go drown my sorrows.
I don't even know where to start or how to start. It's been an emotional day for me as a Toronto sports fan.
Not going to bother breaking down games here. I have so much more to say about how this day played out.
I am not even going to pretend. It was absolutely crushing to watch the Leafs drop another Game 7 to the Bruins, losing 5-1 with a couple of empty-netters adding insult to injury. Being a Leafs fan is an emotionally draining experience. These guys will break your heart.
I asked for and got the morning off from work today. Of course, I didn't tell the boss I had to watch sports. I only cited "personal reasons." Even as the proud multi-tasker that I am, I didn't think I'd be able to watch two elimination games by my two teams and still find time to do proper work. Hey, people have taken time off from work for worse things, right? (Like going to a Cubs game on a Thursday afternoon.)
Anyway, I fully expected the Raptors to have a breezy time knocking out the Magic in 5 games. And I figured hockey was going to be a closer battle. So I paid my full attention to hockey in the first period.
I thought we played a solid first period but still went down by a pair of goals. And those goals weren't even from their top dogs; it was the scrubs who beat Freddie, who once again looked shaky in a Game 7.
And when I stole a glance at the Raptors game later, it was 31-7 in the first quarter!
I mean, you couldn't have scripted a starker contrast between these two games. On one hand, the Leafs, trying to exorcise their playoff demons, found themselves down 2 goals in Boston, the scene of some painful playoff memories of the past, and they were seemingly on their way to another devastating loss. And on the other hand, the Raptors, also trying to put their own history of playoff failures behind them (more on that later), were absolutely destroying the Magic on home court and seemed poised for another dominant and ruthlessly efficient victory.
At that point, I really didn't know how to feel about all this. But ultimately, I think the disappointment and frustration of watching the Leafs go down again in the first round overshadowed the joy of seeing the Raptors cruise into the second round and looking as good as this franchise has ever looked. Not the other way around for me, where the elation of watching the Raptors' series win would have made up for the heartbreak of the Leafs' loss.
As far as the two organizations' playoff histories... The Raptors were essentially starting with a clean slate because this is a vastly different team than the one that got swept by the Cleveland LeBrons last year. New head coach, a bunch of new players, etc, etc. Kyle is the only returning starter from that fateful series from a year ago: no DeMar, no JV, Serge on the bench and OG on the bench (and sidelined for the time being anyway). Kawhi, Danny G and Gasol haven't been a part of those ugly losses of the past and they probably couldn't care less about what happened to the Raptors a year ago when they weren't even around.
So getting through the first round with relative ease, and shaking off the opening game loss in the process, didn't really feel like slaying ghosts of the past. It felt more like something this team, as it's assembled currently, was supposed to do. Just another day at the office. Business as usual.
For the Leafs, well, the core of the team that blew the third period lead in last year's Game 7 to Boston was back. Freddie, Matthews, Marner, Rielly, Gardiner, Brown, Hyman, Marleau, Hainsey, etc. Some of those young guys grew a year old and showed their maturity during the regular season. On top of that, we made a huge splash by signing Tavares in the summer and acquiring a Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Muzzin during the season. The front office wasn't messing around. Those guys believed this could be the year.
And to see much the same guys fall to what was essentially the same Bruins team from a year ago... it's really difficult to put into words how I felt about it as a fan. And once Boston scored early in the third period to go up 3-1, I became pretty numb. I had that thousand-yard stare. By then, I was watching but I wasn't really watching.
As well as we played in the second period, I didn't think we had any chance of rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third. So my attention drifted toward basketball and I just wanted to feel the excitement of a blowout victory in the elimination game at home for the Raptors.
The Raptors didn't just play well against the Magic. The boys in black and red showed the type of killer instinct that was lacking in previous iterations of the Raptors and certainly in the 2018-2019 Leafs. Up 3-1 coming home, the Raptors could have been forgiven for maybe taking something off early and playing loose. Hey, we still got a couple more cracks, you know.
But charging out to a 31-7 lead in the first quarter? Killing whatever little hope that the Magic might have had of winning this game to extend the series? That was some impressive stuff.
The Leafs held a one-game lead in the series three times. 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. Had a chance to finish off the Bruins on home ice and blew it. Still had a chance to clinch the series in Boston, where they had won twice earlier in the series, and couldn't do it.
It's easy to second-guess and play arm-chair coach after a playoff series loss. Most of that stuff are just knee-jerk reaction anyway. But I will say this: I think the Leafs will have to at least give some thought to a coaching change.
Babs has now lost in the first round in three straight years. To me, for Babcock to lose to a virtually identical Bruins team despite icing a far superior team on his side is a sign of subpar coaching.
Not saying categorically that he should be let go, just saying the Leafs will have to explore that possibility.
A few reasons for me. One, he's stubborn as hell and he's simply refused to make in-game or in-series adjustments even while his counterpart, Bruce Cassidy, was making moves that paid off. Two, Babcock has this way of subtly or not so subtly throwing his players under the bus and passing the buck to his squad, when, as their head coach, he should be the one to shoulder the blame for losses. And three, it's clear that he isn't getting along with Kyle Dubas and the front office and they don't share the same philosophies.
Dubas is all about speed and skills. In other words, the new NHL. Babcock likes tough guys with a grinding style of play. In other words, the old NHL.
This is what I think: When you're a head coach, your job is to try to bring out the best in the players that you have, and not always complain about the type of players that you don't have. Sure, I guess someone of his stature (a Stanley Cup champion and the highest-paid coach in the league) can make his feelings known about the roster construction, but what kind of message does that send to the dressing room? "Hey, my coach doesn't want me on this team. Why should I play for this guy?"
So the coach may prefer more grit and all that. But the game has changed. That's not the name of the NHL anymore. People say things change in the playoffs and toughness is still at a premium in spring time. But if being tough and rough is so great, why don't teams play that kind of style during the regular season?
Look, Columbus swept Tampa Bay, only the greatest regular season team in NHL history, not because those guys hit everything in sight, but because they outskated the Bolts and they were opportunistic when they had their chances. The Hurricanes have pushed the defending champs Capitals to a Game 7 for much the same reason.
It's not so much about brute strength and raw toughness. It's about putting the skills that you have to good use and having the commitment on both ends. Use your speed on forecheck. Use your passing skills to relieve pressure on your end and make breakouts. If you're skilled and elusive enough, you can avoid body checks and exploit teams that just chase hits.
The Leafs' best game came in Game 1, an incredibly sound game on both ends on the road. If the Leafs had half the killer instinct that Kyle, Kawhi and Co. had, this could have been a short series for the Buds.
Granted, in relative terms, the Bruins were a tougher opponent for the Leafs than the Magic were for the Raptors. But man, the Bruins looked really vulnerable in that Game 1 loss. I remember thinking that I'd be worried about that Boston team if I were their fan. They couldn't skate with us, and their D-corps looked especially slow.
They ended up salvaging the split at home, and we really should have won both on home ice to give ourselves more breathing room. Instead, we got a split ourselves in Toronto, and put ourselves in a position to have to win twice in Boston to win the series.
I went off track while discussing Babcock. The only major adjustment he made came in Game 7, when he flip-flopped Marner and Matthews on the power play unit, putting them on their off-wings to set up for one-timer opportunities.
Babs was also going to use an actual center, like Tavares, to kill penalties, rather than have Hyman getting destroyed in the circles against Bergeron all the time, but we didn't even commit a penalty in this one.
I guess one could say we stayed disciplined. After surrendering five PPGs in five chances, well, this game could have been more lopsided if the Bruins had gone on a couple of power plays.
But then again, maybe we didn't even play hard enough to take a penalty. Ugh...
Maybe I should say more positive things about the Raptors, but I think there are far more and better things to come from this team. There will be plenty of other opportunities to sing their virtues this spring.
Enough with my rant for now. If you'll excuse me, I am going to go drown my sorrows.
Comments
Raptors on the other hand. When u hv Kawhi- have no fear.