Game 55 - Pure Anarchy

WELL! What a game we had last night. A high scoring, adrenaline packed, anxiety inducing 7-4 win against a some what defensively sound Ducks team. Just as we all predicted! Yeah.. no. This game had everything you could have ever hoped for, and some things you never want to hope for (or see) again. The top line from both teams showed up to play, defensive systems were thrown out the window, the fans were wild, the announcers were digging it. It was a chippy, fast paced game that the fans love, and coaches hate. Weirdly enough, Babcock didn’t seem too upset during the post-game presser. He praised quite a few players, and didn’t really say much negative about anyone it seemed. He may have actually just sat this one out, and hoped for the best result, really. Those games happen; Babcock has seen his fair share, so why not just watch the fun? This game, as mentioned before, had a lot happening, so I’m going to break down my main points of focus during the game.

1. Pray For Freddy:

Man, we had enough of this last year when Freddy went down. We didn’t want to see it again. Leafs’ Nation held their collective breath as Corey Perry skated through the crease, and watched as Andersen went down clutching his head. I am in no way blaming Perry. As a human-being first, and hockey player second, there’s absolutely zero reason to believe that Perry would do something as low, and malicious as trying to kick someone in the face/neck region. That being said, in that moment of time, if I could have jumped through my TV screen and strangled him, I would have without hesitation. Andersen is out rock, our MVP, and we need him going forward. Luckily we have a backup who is showing he’s capable of clutch performances, and two of the best goalies in the AHL in Sparks & Pickard. One who may be one of the bets goalies on earth not in the NHL (Sparks), as Jeff Veillette would say. Still though, the fact remains, this team will go as far as Freddy can take them. If we want any shot at a deeper playoff run, all our prayers and positive thoughts need to be sent to Freddy ASAP.

2. McElhinney Looks Locked In:

I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t want McBackup back as a Leaf this year. He has shut me up more often than not so far. His 6-4 record is very respectable for a guy who usually only plays on the 2^nd half of back-to-backs. The kicker for me this year is his save percentage, which, after last night, sits at .932% on the season. That’s remarkable for a guy whose career percentage is .907%. Even more impressive is, if you filter results for at least 10 games played, he sits 4^th behind Carter Hutton (.947), Darcy Kuemper (.943) & Marc-Andre Fleury (.939). 10 games in a small sample size, but still, for a goalie like McElhinney, you have to be impressed by those numbers. It will be interesting to see what happens if Freddy is hurt for an extender period of time. Do they role will McElhinney and see what happens there, or do they call up one of the aforementioned goalies from the AHL and have a 1A/1B situation? Only time will tell, but we have to give credit where it’s due. McElhinney deserves every bit of praise he’s received this year.

3. Speed Kills:

This game highlighted one major thing for me, and that is, when the Leafs are on, they can absolutely FLY. Ray Farraro of TSN said he could hear Babcock preaching “speed, speed, speed” before the game on the bench. Not hard to tell why. The periods of time when this team gets their legs moving, not many teams can stop them. They showed it quite a few times against the Ducks. Nylander flew around the ice almost all game, and the defenders didn’t really know how to handle him. Mitch didn’t have his best game, but you could tell he game the opposition fits when he got going. Matthews and Hyman were relentless on the forecheck, and it was all capped off by Kapanen flying up the wing, stopping on a dime, and feeding Matthews for maybe the easiest assist of his life (and his first in the NHL). The times when they skate, they look like the best team on earth. The times when they are flat/tired/lazy, they get dummied. We’ve seen full games of this now, and we want to see more. The Leafs should want to do it more, because if/when they do, they can beat any team in the NHL.

4. Who Cares About Defence, Offense is Fun!:

Run-and-gun. The style of play that coaches hate, but fans love. Last night felt like a game straight of the 80s. 11 goals, 88 shots on goal, 148 attempted chances, and lots of action. Fans on twitter and facebook were having heart attacks, but enjoying every minute of it. Games like this should be why the NHL should do everything in it’s power to try and increase goal scoring. Sure it’ll suck for the goalies, but for pure entertainment for the fans, the skill of the players should be as noticeable as it was last night. I’m not saying shrink the pads, or make the net bigger, but the goalie interference reviews should be long gone, and offside challenges should only be allowed if it leads to an immediate goal. Not this go back challenge an offside 45 seconds ago that had no impact on the goal at hand, but I digress. It was fun. We should want more goals. Structured games are also well and good, but c’mon. If Babcock can reel them in defensively while allowing them to be a quick-strike, counter punching offensive juggernaut, this team could be headed towards Dynasty. There. I said it, and I’m not taking it back.

I could write about a few more, but I’m fairly busy today, and taking the time out to write this piece has set me back a few minutes, which is ok, but I can’t take anymore time! So! Leafs are set to take on Nashville tomorrow night. The Leafs have won 5 of their last 6 games, and look to continue that trend.

Keep an eye out for roster moves because if Freddy is out, they will have to call up a goalie. Also keep an eye out for potential trades as the Leafs are becoming healthy again, and are having are maxed out with 50 contracts. With Josh Leivo looking to get more games in, and Nikita Soshnikov likely also feeling the same way while finishing up his conditioning stint with the Marlies, they both could be moved fairly quickly with the trade deadline looming. Trade deadline time is always fun, and with Leafs sitting with 31 wins, and 67 points, the Leafs are in a position to buy, which makes it even better. A smart trade or two could push this team into a deep player off run, though I have a feeling the Leafs stand pat, and let their own pieces develop to push them deep in the playoffs, but for now we have to play the waiting game for now!

I'm going to try and be more active this month as the views on the site have been higher than I expected, even with the lack of content lately. So thanks for that!

Until next time, Leafs’ Nation! Enjoy your day.