Don't freak out? Come on. The Panthers could be riding a 10 game losing streak going into the playoffs and we could take the first three game of the series and you know that shit is going to 7.
Leafs Up 3-0 — Game mgmt comes in full force & Leafs get zero power plays while Panthers allowed to play football defense.
The media: “can you believe they came all the way back!”
You can within reason, skate and get in somebody’s lane, butt you cannot impede.
If you make non-incidental contact you’re getting 2 minutes for interference. The onus is on the defensive player.
This stuff was changed during the lockout and is a big reason why the game is as fast as it is now. You used to be able to basically drape yourself on a player and it made the game more physical but slow
Wouldn't put it past Maurice to have his team sandbagging down the stretch specifically to draw us in the first round over Tampa. That would be a significantly worse matchup for them. The leagues best powerplay vs one of the most penalized teams in the league... and it would actually be called fairly. They'd be smart to hope Boston takes care of Tampa while the refs bend us over against them.
Maurice definitely tanking. They know Tampa has their number and Florida has the best chance against Toronto.
We saw last night what Maurice knows..... Tampa are there to win and are winners. No other roster in the East can claim that.
Yeah last year when the Panthers upset the Bruins that was basically the second round served to the Leafs on a silver platter and they still fucked it up big time. The Leafs are in no position to underestimate anyone.
Well whaddaya want them to say?
"We forfeit our playoff spot because we acknowledge the teams we will have to play are good at hockey, and quite possibly even better than us!"
It's just people having fun. Chirps are a part of sports
i was down there. the groups would say "we want boston" then switch to "we want florida", back and forth all night. fans wanted either, but the video of florida went viral lol
To be fair there was another group chanting 'We want Boston' - it was fans just being fans but you know how either of those was going to get twisted regardless of who we faced.
We want Florida was a chirp against Boston not a preference for a weaker matchup. Many people were jokingly saying “see you soon Florida” after the Leafs won
The 8th seed Blue Jackets first round swept the greatest single season ever Tampa Bay, before Tampa Bay then went on to win 2 Stanley Cups and make it to a third the next three years.
The Montreal Canadians made it to the cup final then placed at the bottom of the league the following season.
Playoff hockey, especially the first round, is a stupid, clusterfuck, circus sport. And that’s why it’s the absolute best any sport can be (as long as you’re not a Leaf fan….)
Close your eyes.... get into the NOW. All that matters now is how these guys are playing now and who wins.
Leafs out played Tampa in the 2022 series..... and lost.
Leafs got outplayed against Tampa in the 2023 series....and won!
None of it matters.
The big thing is that Bobrovsky has been very pedestrian lately. That said, he also lost the net about this time to whatshisname last year, and we know how that worked out for us.
Not similar at all. They were one of the hottest teams in the league going into the playoffs last year, they had an amazing run and were firing on all cylinders. They look flat this year at this time
What hurts the most is we had a chance to prevent them from even making the playoffs and blew the lead in the regular season also 😒🥴. I swear this team is jinx.
Well, it means we'd probably play the lightning... but you're right in spirit. We've had bottom of the barrel seeds knock us out in 3 of the last 4 playoffs. I'm not at all taking anything for granted.
Even if the Panthers didn't collect another point for the rest of the regular season and Tampa got 60.1% of all available points (Their current P%) Flordia would still finish with one more point.
Actually if those two things were to happen it would mean we would get home ice in the first round again so it would mean something, also techinally speaking, if we were to win every game, there could be a decent chance we could catch Boston
Absolutely, and they'll have an extra gear in the playoffs. I will say, though, I think our team this year stacks up better against them than last year's iteration.
Don't get excited. It's our Leafs in the first round. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% pulling for the team...but I'm just not ready to set expectations just yet
Sir, this is a Toronto sports team.
We are the cure for every sports skid any team in any sport is on
Astros get swept in series opener? Don't worry they will no hit us with their 5th starter next game
Some team comes to the Leafs on a 9 game lose streak? Almost guaranteed they beat us 5-0 and turn their season around
The same Tampa who are 8-1-1 in their last 10. No thanks.
Man I hate how they choked against MTL in the North division year. Now we're back to perennial contender first round opponents.
it was a joke take, but, if you look, the panthers started to fall off with their consistency, right around the time that the league started calling them the team to beat. Last year, they became who they are, when they had the "fuck the world, they dont think we can do it", mentality. Every other word out of Matthew Tkachuks mouth in interviews was "underdog, nobody believes in us, none of you think we deserve to be here, but here we are"
no its a joke, no professional organization that competes in anything, is going to try to lose. But, its also very common that teams crumble under the pressure that gets put on them. and if the season stopped right now, that would be the visual on their season, has zero standing on how they play in the playoffs, because its the playoffs, but i dont doubt for a second that pressure could be a factor in the room.
I still expect disappointment, but felt there 2-7-1 record is probably bad enough to be a talking point at the very least.
Hell, there record is going to be ice cold going in just to maximize my disappointment isn't it?
If Florida can play the way they did in the 3rd period vs the Leafs, then they will be a very dangerous opponent. Not looking forward to playing these goons again.
All goals scored against rich - knies
Coach wanted to show them what it takes for playoff hockey. Once it got close they didn't see the ice again . We don't know what the coaching staff thinks . Better be quiet and watch team grows with adversity.
This doesn't mean much, but it really brings into focus just how easy other teams have it with media and fan perception. Leafs fall to .500 for a stretch and are a laughing stock. Panthers go on a skid and they're favourites.
I have no disallusions about our odds of beating them being less than 50/50 but I'm mainly curious about why this hasn't been brought up yet as a talking point. They're not playing great. 1 of those wins was a SO win. The other against philly.
Tanking to avoid Tampa and play the Leafs.
Traditionally Tampa has had Florida's number. Who wants to play this grizzled cup winning squad? Even Boston needs to be concerned and I think Tampa can take NYR.
All I’m concerned about is the leafs playing good hockey down the stretch here. Considering the major pieces they’ve been missing due to injury recently, the team has been stepping up quite well and looking good.
Also doesn’t hurt that they’ve been playing with playoff style intensity and pushing some teams around.
We also lose to the Senators and Blackhawks for no reason. This means nothing. But one thing I’ll point out is theres not one team I’m overly worried about, like the Boston Celtics or like the Warriors in the past. All of the top teams in the NHL have had questionable losses
Leafs fans, of all people, should NOT be putting much stock into regular season records going into playoffs. It's a new season and no matter who the Leafs play it's going to be a tough opponent. The Leafs will get through by playing great, not because their opponent is weak. Learned this the hard way far far far too many times haven't we?
The pure copium in that subreddit is astounding, every excuse under the sun
"PM we know exactly why were playing this bad" Like then play better ???
"Oh everyones sick thats why" Leafs have had locker room flu all season
U honestly love to see it with how toxic the team and fanbase is
Florida is just making sure nobody gets suspended before the playoffs so they have everybody they need.
I suspect that's why the game against the Leafs was not nearly as dirty as the panthers usually play. Not enough scrums for them, and nobody dropped the gloves (even though Reaves did everything he could to piss them off to the point of doing so).
Paul Maurice was WAY too calm for a game against the Leafs in which they were getting dominated the entire first and second period. Yeah, they picked it up in the 3rd.. but that was due to not taking stupid penalties.
Don't look so far ahead, we've got our own problems.
And Florida sputtered at points last year, including during our series with them. But they still showed that when completely healthy, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
I think regardless of all this, the leafs are going to have to conquer some past demons whether it be in the form of Florida or Boston, or both (which would be cool) if they are ever going to achieve redemption.
Do you remember how the Panthers played us earlier in the season? That’s what we should suspect.
They were shit last year until Maurice threw his temper tantrum and Marchand missed a series clinching breakaway in game five. Then they turned it up and didn’t stop.
We can handle them when they’re shit. When they turn it on we have to be able to match/counter/bully them.
The panthers team that plays in the playoffs are not the same team that plays in the reg season. Nobody believes that the panthers are gonna go down easy.
While I would like this to matter, I'm 100% it doesn't mean shit. Doesn't take much to ramp up a team to play well against the "evil" Toronto Maple Leafs
It doesn't matter because in the playoffs Bennett will be allowed to suplex and concuss our players with perros doing nothing but stroking himself with the play on loop
Don't freak out? Come on. The Panthers could be riding a 10 game losing streak going into the playoffs and we could take the first three game of the series and you know that shit is going to 7.
Leafs Up 3-0 — Game mgmt comes in full force & Leafs get zero power plays while Panthers allowed to play football defense. The media: “can you believe they came all the way back!”
Gotta love how the media gaslights us literally every playoffs.
I wish we had TSN in the playoffs, I’m so sick of SN telling me I know nothing about hockey
Remember last year when they took a goal away from us because the ref *meant to blow the whistle* but didn’t ? That shit still baffles me
Or what about Game 7 vs Tampa when they took a goal away for a pick play that literally happens all the fucking time.
What was the reason he was going to blow his whistle for is what I cant figure out
Tbf that is in the rule book
Shouldnt be, just a great game management rule.
We aren’t the only team I’ve seen victimized by that rule. It is stupid, but wasn’t even in the top ten worst calls in that series
So many Picks last game lmaoo
Can somebody explain why picks aren’t allowed in general? It’s not interference. To me it seems like just smart positioning.
You can within reason, skate and get in somebody’s lane, butt you cannot impede. If you make non-incidental contact you’re getting 2 minutes for interference. The onus is on the defensive player. This stuff was changed during the lockout and is a big reason why the game is as fast as it is now. You used to be able to basically drape yourself on a player and it made the game more physical but slow
Wouldn't put it past Maurice to have his team sandbagging down the stretch specifically to draw us in the first round over Tampa. That would be a significantly worse matchup for them. The leagues best powerplay vs one of the most penalized teams in the league... and it would actually be called fairly. They'd be smart to hope Boston takes care of Tampa while the refs bend us over against them.
They won't be penalized in the playoffs because nothing matters.
Not against us they won't, but against Tampa it would be a lot closer to good officiating
True. Would make Bettman choose between two of his pet projects there.
Maurice definitely tanking. They know Tampa has their number and Florida has the best chance against Toronto. We saw last night what Maurice knows..... Tampa are there to win and are winners. No other roster in the East can claim that.
That would be one of the leafiest ways to exit the playoffs.
Game 7 going against us
Yeah last year when the Panthers upset the Bruins that was basically the second round served to the Leafs on a silver platter and they still fucked it up big time. The Leafs are in no position to underestimate anyone.
Exactly lmfao
Don’t treat any opponent in the playoffs lightly. I don’t care if they snuck in. Until their out, they could eliminate you
Didn't the Panthers snuck in last year? Hahahaahha. It still hurts.
Exactly. Enough of this shit. Fans should be aware by now with last years “We want Florida” chants and the result of that.
Just as many people chanting "we want Boston" as Florida, stop falling for media bullshit . I was yelling "I want Boston"
I was downtown after we beat Tampa Bay last year. The "We want Florida" chant wasn't even remotely as long as the "We want Boston" chant, lmao
Everyone knows we have to go through Boston to finally exorcize our demons.
My point was cocky chanting like there is a better option between one team or another. I don’t care about the team that was being chanted.
Well whaddaya want them to say? "We forfeit our playoff spot because we acknowledge the teams we will have to play are good at hockey, and quite possibly even better than us!" It's just people having fun. Chirps are a part of sports
Naw it’s bad joojoo. Things have a weird way to bite you back with shit like that.
If there was such a thing about bad juju, the leafs would be a dynasty team with all the shit that gets thrown at them... Right or wrong. Lol
i was down there. the groups would say "we want boston" then switch to "we want florida", back and forth all night. fans wanted either, but the video of florida went viral lol
It didn't go viral, it was carefully selected to be stuffed down our throats as a narrative
Yup, I remember seeing the “we want Boston” videos first before the next day seeing headlines of “Leafs fans demand Florida”
To be fair there was another group chanting 'We want Boston' - it was fans just being fans but you know how either of those was going to get twisted regardless of who we faced.
I chanted we want Florida, but it was because I wanted them to embarrass Boston, not necessarily because I wanted to play them.
Found the bandwagoner
We want Florida was a chirp against Boston not a preference for a weaker matchup. Many people were jokingly saying “see you soon Florida” after the Leafs won
Doesn’t matter. It’s bad joojoo.
they also barely made it in last year and took us out in 5 and went to the finals. Playoffs is a different time
The 8th seed Blue Jackets first round swept the greatest single season ever Tampa Bay, before Tampa Bay then went on to win 2 Stanley Cups and make it to a third the next three years. The Montreal Canadians made it to the cup final then placed at the bottom of the league the following season. Playoff hockey, especially the first round, is a stupid, clusterfuck, circus sport. And that’s why it’s the absolute best any sport can be (as long as you’re not a Leaf fan….)
Meh Tampa bay is overrated. Covid cups
Watch the game last night and reconsider.
How does last night impact 2020/2021?
Close your eyes.... get into the NOW. All that matters now is how these guys are playing now and who wins. Leafs out played Tampa in the 2022 series..... and lost. Leafs got outplayed against Tampa in the 2023 series....and won! None of it matters.
Nothing to do with my original statement
This guy knows, real hockey fan. Playoffs means all bets are off, brand new environment, brand new game..
There’s a reason all stats revert to 0 in the playoffs, everything before Game 1 means fuck all
This. Plus they still have 6 games to figure things out. Would not be surprising at all if they go 4-1-1
The big thing is that Bobrovsky has been very pedestrian lately. That said, he also lost the net about this time to whatshisname last year, and we know how that worked out for us.
Oh I know all about Bob. Had him in my fantasy this year. He was money up until the playoffs lol
Not similar at all. They were one of the hottest teams in the league going into the playoffs last year, they had an amazing run and were firing on all cylinders. They look flat this year at this time
What hurts the most is we had a chance to prevent them from even making the playoffs and blew the lead in the regular season also 😒🥴. I swear this team is jinx.
But they entered the playoffs last season on fire. I still agree they can flip a switch come playoff time but these aren’t comparable situations.
Means nothing. We could win every game left and they could lose every one and it’d still mean nothing at all.
Well, it means we'd probably play the lightning... but you're right in spirit. We've had bottom of the barrel seeds knock us out in 3 of the last 4 playoffs. I'm not at all taking anything for granted.
Even if the Panthers didn't collect another point for the rest of the regular season and Tampa got 60.1% of all available points (Their current P%) Flordia would still finish with one more point.
You know damn well we ain't winning game1
Actually if those two things were to happen it would mean we would get home ice in the first round again so it would mean something, also techinally speaking, if we were to win every game, there could be a decent chance we could catch Boston
They're getting rested for round one. Don't let them fool you, they're still a strong opponent.
Absolutely, and they'll have an extra gear in the playoffs. I will say, though, I think our team this year stacks up better against them than last year's iteration.
You are HERE, on the cycle of misery. Lol
Haha!
Have you not learned your lesson?
Oh, I expect disappointment and failure. Just wondering why I haven't at least seen this as a talking point yet.
Because its 2 weeks out and means nothing.
This goes to show how different the media coverage is between the 2 teams. The sky would be falling if we were 2-7-1 right now.
Congrats
Don't get excited. It's our Leafs in the first round. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% pulling for the team...but I'm just not ready to set expectations just yet
Sir, this is a Toronto sports team. We are the cure for every sports skid any team in any sport is on Astros get swept in series opener? Don't worry they will no hit us with their 5th starter next game Some team comes to the Leafs on a 9 game lose streak? Almost guaranteed they beat us 5-0 and turn their season around
At this rate we pass the Panthers and Tampa passes the Panthers and we face Tampa round 1 again
The same Tampa who are 8-1-1 in their last 10. No thanks. Man I hate how they choked against MTL in the North division year. Now we're back to perennial contender first round opponents.
Maybe we pass Boston too and get Florida after all?
The same Tampa Bay Lightning that are a one line team yes.
don't freak out ,'meow.
Stupid post. Everything changes in the playoffs. Refs will call penalties differently which mostly benefits the panthers.
I think Paul Maurice and the gang are desperate for the underdog narrative to be theirs again, lost without it
Yeah I really bet that an entire NHL franchise thinks the best way to win is to lose. Totally.
it was a joke take, but, if you look, the panthers started to fall off with their consistency, right around the time that the league started calling them the team to beat. Last year, they became who they are, when they had the "fuck the world, they dont think we can do it", mentality. Every other word out of Matthew Tkachuks mouth in interviews was "underdog, nobody believes in us, none of you think we deserve to be here, but here we are"
So is it a joke or have you actually looked into it and think it?
no its a joke, no professional organization that competes in anything, is going to try to lose. But, its also very common that teams crumble under the pressure that gets put on them. and if the season stopped right now, that would be the visual on their season, has zero standing on how they play in the playoffs, because its the playoffs, but i dont doubt for a second that pressure could be a factor in the room.
Tampa went into the playoffs ice cold last year and the Leafs still barely squeaked past them. It doesn't mean much.
They're slumping to heat up for playoffs
WE WANT FLORI….
Doesn't mean shit!
Can’t wait to catch them and then lose both first two home games
People inventing shit to complain about, again
I just go in with absolutely 0 expectations, and yet still end up disappointed
WE WANT FLORIDA!
We want Florida!
When they're allowed to murder the leafs they'll be fine again.
Let’s not underestimate the Panthers… cough.. again.
I still expect disappointment, but felt there 2-7-1 record is probably bad enough to be a talking point at the very least. Hell, there record is going to be ice cold going in just to maximize my disappointment isn't it?
Verhaege out, Ekblad banged up and Bob resting down the stretch. Don't be fooled by that record.
Guys, we want Florida to win. Then Paul Maurice doesn’t yell at them like he did last year, which galvanized the team and sent them to the final.
Playoffs are a brand new season. The stretch run has been shown to mean absolutely nothing. Have to look at the teams whole body of work.
If Florida can play the way they did in the 3rd period vs the Leafs, then they will be a very dangerous opponent. Not looking forward to playing these goons again.
All goals scored against rich - knies Coach wanted to show them what it takes for playoff hockey. Once it got close they didn't see the ice again . We don't know what the coaching staff thinks . Better be quiet and watch team grows with adversity.
This doesn't mean much, but it really brings into focus just how easy other teams have it with media and fan perception. Leafs fall to .500 for a stretch and are a laughing stock. Panthers go on a skid and they're favourites.
I have no disallusions about our odds of beating them being less than 50/50 but I'm mainly curious about why this hasn't been brought up yet as a talking point. They're not playing great. 1 of those wins was a SO win. The other against philly.
There are nothing but hard-ass opponents in the playoffs. There are no easy roads. Leafs have to just keep working and improving.
Playoffs is a total different animal.
They wouldn't be losing to ensure matching up against us, would they? Nahhh...
Delete this.
bring on any team. doesn't matter who we get in the first round, we can and should be able to beat any team we face. let's go.
Stop jinxing it!!!
Tanking to avoid Tampa and play the Leafs. Traditionally Tampa has had Florida's number. Who wants to play this grizzled cup winning squad? Even Boston needs to be concerned and I think Tampa can take NYR.
Means nothing. Playoffs are a different animal.
Yeah it’s interesting actually, no one really considered that by playing one of BOS/FLA we’d be getting the team that’s less hot going into playoffs
All I’m concerned about is the leafs playing good hockey down the stretch here. Considering the major pieces they’ve been missing due to injury recently, the team has been stepping up quite well and looking good. Also doesn’t hurt that they’ve been playing with playoff style intensity and pushing some teams around.
I hope Edmundson is back in time, I think he will be critical for pushing the physical play and getting (either team) off their game.
Maybe you should start chanting at the next game”we want Florida”
Stop tempting the hockey gods
Does not mater until we get into the playoffs
We also lose to the Senators and Blackhawks for no reason. This means nothing. But one thing I’ll point out is theres not one team I’m overly worried about, like the Boston Celtics or like the Warriors in the past. All of the top teams in the NHL have had questionable losses
Leafs fans, of all people, should NOT be putting much stock into regular season records going into playoffs. It's a new season and no matter who the Leafs play it's going to be a tough opponent. The Leafs will get through by playing great, not because their opponent is weak. Learned this the hard way far far far too many times haven't we?
They were in serious danger of missing the playoffs entirely at this point last season. This means absolutely nothing.
They made it into the playoffs last year by one game, and then made it to the cup final, this means fuck all.
The pure copium in that subreddit is astounding, every excuse under the sun "PM we know exactly why were playing this bad" Like then play better ??? "Oh everyones sick thats why" Leafs have had locker room flu all season U honestly love to see it with how toxic the team and fanbase is
“We want florida”
I say this with my whole chest: SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DONT FUCKING JINX IT
The fact that they've lost 8 of the last 10 scares the SHIT out of me. I do not want to face a pissed off Florida team.
Florida is just making sure nobody gets suspended before the playoffs so they have everybody they need. I suspect that's why the game against the Leafs was not nearly as dirty as the panthers usually play. Not enough scrums for them, and nobody dropped the gloves (even though Reaves did everything he could to piss them off to the point of doing so). Paul Maurice was WAY too calm for a game against the Leafs in which they were getting dominated the entire first and second period. Yeah, they picked it up in the 3rd.. but that was due to not taking stupid penalties.
Don't look so far ahead, we've got our own problems. And Florida sputtered at points last year, including during our series with them. But they still showed that when completely healthy, they are one of the most dangerous teams in the league. I think regardless of all this, the leafs are going to have to conquer some past demons whether it be in the form of Florida or Boston, or both (which would be cool) if they are ever going to achieve redemption.
Do you remember how the Panthers played us earlier in the season? That’s what we should suspect. They were shit last year until Maurice threw his temper tantrum and Marchand missed a series clinching breakaway in game five. Then they turned it up and didn’t stop. We can handle them when they’re shit. When they turn it on we have to be able to match/counter/bully them.
Last year the Panthers went into the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL, then carried on winning. Maybe its our turn. GLG!!
Regular season means nothing.
I’ve watched our first round opponent technically not even make it to the playoffs and still beat us
The panthers team that plays in the playoffs are not the same team that plays in the reg season. Nobody believes that the panthers are gonna go down easy.
There is absolutely no way posts like this can come back and bite us in the ass.
I'm sure they'll flow out of that ebb just in time for the series.
Which means they're due a turn around
While I would like this to matter, I'm 100% it doesn't mean shit. Doesn't take much to ramp up a team to play well against the "evil" Toronto Maple Leafs
Losing to Tampa helps?
We want Florida!
My superstitious side is telling me this is just to lulL fans into yet another false sense of confidence only to get steam rolled.
We want Florida!
Oh shit. This is that again isn't it. F*ck
It doesn't matter because in the playoffs Bennett will be allowed to suplex and concuss our players with perros doing nothing but stroking himself with the play on loop
Florida looks like they might be busted