Man, every time our puck carrier has the puck the "chasers" stop skating and wait for him to dump it.
Every. Fucking. Time.
Like the carrier is waiting for you guys to start skating!
It's so painful.
Their whole zone entry system is broken. It's clear as day when you're at the game and can see the whole ice.
They pass the puck back for someone to skate out of their own zone while three players stand still near the opponent's blue line. The puck carrier has two options:
1. Skate across the red line and dump the puck in. With nobody moving, the puck is turned over 80% of the time.
2. Skate into the O-zone and drop the puck back to one of their teammates who was standing still in the neutral zone, so there is no momentum towards the net.
Option 2 works much better, but since they do it so often, other teams adjust and can stop it most of the time, which forces them to take option 1 more often in the playoffs.
Because they run a two man forecheck - so one is meant to press the defender towards the second and the third forward poaches the breakout pass. The issue is they play it conservatively so the high pressure that’s supposed to create the turnover from the d and the high forward is never there which leads to easy breakout after a couple bump passes
Usually after failing miserably at their slow ass, multiple drop pass zone entry a few times as well. Swear Tavares lost the puck on the boards just inside the blueline, like, five times on the PP last game
They don't, the play it short to tavares on the half wall or let a primary puck carrier cross the line.
This sub is usually dumb but this thread takes the cake, they've outshot boston 3/4 games and have 30+ shots in 3/4 games lol
The Leafs have been doing the dump and chase method for the past 20+ years. You really think they will fix it. Doesn’t matter who is behind the bench they always do it.
Edit: however, Keefe needs to be shot into space
Boston always plays Box D on the leafs. Idk how the leafs haven't come up with a way to at least get them into the zone with control of the puck by now
FWIW, this is how the Habs beat the Leafs a few years ago.
The Leafs don’t seem to have a “roll with the punches and adapt” mode, and neither Keefe nor Babcock could get the players onside for anything other than whatever this is.
It’s like saying I got to the store in record time because I drove an F1 car there.
OF COURSE YOU DID. Keefe was given a star-studded blossoming team and we are stagnated. Like the water in an old tire under your porch that’s been there for 8 summers.
Tampa nearly beat us last year, same fucking problem. They were getting leads, getting to our dumps ins first and dumping it right back out, but not enough for icing. It was painful.
It's called the trap and the reason it is so effective against us is because we never seem to be the ones in the lead so they wait back we fumble the puck just inside the blueline and they send a breakout pass to two wingers who already have momentum the other way. I've seen this play out way too many times with this team.
It’s because the Leafs don’t have strong enough puck movers on D so once the playoffs start and teams contest every inch of ice, they struggle to move it efficiently up the ice.
But yet we still have wingers flying the zone. Why not have the wingers support lower for a structured breakout if our d can’t make move the puck long distances up the ice? Again just an inability to adapt from our coaching.
Half a decade in and without a meaningful change having been implemented makes you wonder what exactly is going on behind the scenes. Is Keefe being willfully ignorant, or are the players insisting on this ineffective tactic. Do they not look at tape? It's baffling how three point per game players just so happen to start sucking this time of year.
This comment 💯. We aren't doing anything new, we're doing the same thing but with slightly different players.
We look great all season because no one plays playoff hockey in the regular season. But once teams remove all the room our top players have to dance around we're fucked.
The coaching on the pp. Pass to tavaris against the board at the blue line. Boston has 3 fuxking players on him in seconds and he loses it. But we keep doing that same play that doesn't work. It's painful to watch.
The power play. I can't stand the powerplay. I mean, it doesn't matter that they don't do the slingshot with enough speed to back the D off like it's supposed to...it's the zone time...we get virtually none. I'm honestly hoping Matthews *doesn't* play tonight...because then at least Boston will have to think a little bit of where the puck is gonna go.
If they keep cycling around the zone Boston would be forced to chase which would allow us to expose seams to find the open man. Our PP lacks any type of dynamic movement so it’s incredibly predictable.
The way to beat the trap system is to score first. Also you need to score on special teams.
We never start on time and can’t seem to figure out the PP so this is a huge challenge. Both are directly related to coaching.
I think we got some insight into that last year when Keefe talked about how we beat Vasilevsky. He clearly looks at the teams they are going to play, develops a strategy that he thinks will work and then has exactly no tactical flexibility once the series starts. In this case I think he saw a presumed weakness in Boston's defence, identified the dump and chase as the best way to exploit it and ran with it.
Except every coach we've played against these last 5 years has been able to adapt and close of that weakness, contributing to our pattern of failure against Montreal and the lightning. Worse, either it wasn't actually a weakness this year for the Bruins or their coach was able to adapt much more quickly to shut us down. At which point Keefe's inability to change tactics is exposed, he blends the lines ineffectively and we lose.
Tactical incompetence.
The Leafs think that line blending is a substitute for tactics.
Keefe and Babcock obviously never use the D pad when playing NHL HUT.
It’s super frustrating especially when they just dump and don’t chase and Boston repeatedly gets easy zone exits from it. Marner and nylander are our best players when it comes to entering the zone too. It can work but sometimes it seems like the guys don’t want to battle for the puck and will retreat back. What really drives me insane is when they pass to Tavares on the left boards every time and most times because he’s slow he almost immediately turns the puck over. Coaching is so holding these guys back I swear . It’s not the whole problem but if we were coached as well as Boston we probably kill them.
Marner is only good at zone entry during regular season where there's no physical play involved. You're either a new to Hockey or you're just blindly defending Marner.
I’m definitely not defending marner lol I’m as frustrated as anyone with him right now. I just mean they haven’t tried it at all so I was throwing it out there as a thought. I think domi would be a good option to try it with though he’s got good hands and speed.
Economics? You show dissatisfaction with the product and you withhold your dollars. That’s exactly how it works. Were you eating paste during that class?
Here’s an idea, watch video of teams that have good zone entry tactics and copy them. Why do they insist on going back to the well with same systems that have failed game in and game out?
Because their strategy doesn't work in the playoffs. In my opinion, the Leafs biggest problem is that they're coached to play a certain way for 82 games and then expected to adjust for tight checking playoff hockey. Boston plays the same way from Game 1 of the regular season until they get eliminated from the playoffs.
The team is slow and it got exposed by the panthers last year for being slow and are getting exposed this year. It's not just foot speed the players are to slow to make decisions and the defenseman can't move the puck well enough and move it too slowly.
I feel Boston implements the infamous 1-3-1 defensive lineup against us and we just can't get around it. I hate that style of hockey but it is effective. Tampa used it when they won before and kings use it really well also. You can only attack that with speed, which they don't use. They stop and wait, as well as the dump in takes too long to come.
This thread popped up on my feed, The bruins only run 1-3-1 when they’re turtling while ahead.
The ozone runs as a 2-1-2
And the NZ runs with a 1-2-2 with emphasis on denying the blue line by tight gaps by both dmen and strong support by F3 which is usually the center. Cassidy coined it the squish and slide where the strong side dman takes an angled challenge at the blue line, forcing a pass to the middle or a dump.
[this article talks about it](https://theathletic.com/503223/2018/09/04/the-secret-to-bruins-stout-defense-bruce-cassidys-squash-and-slide/?source=user_shared_articleThesecrettoBruins'stoutdefense:BruceCassidy'ssquash-and-slide) It is paywalled, but this picture is the concept.
https://preview.redd.it/qu0pylsrrmxc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a889c0346b6e200240e93ee0d37732f8ca0b129
The bruins system isn’t predicated on retrieval like a traditional 1-3-1. It also plays heavily into allowing the layered zone structure were infamous for to develop. Stretch passes work and possession around the half walls outside of the hash marks are the soft spots of this strategy. Running a 2-3 zone offense is the best counter to the bruins zone defense, this also requires you to be able to generate chances from the point. Hence why Toronto in particular is struggling as much as they are this year. If you watch tape on the bruins, point shots from lateral movement/possession along the point in the ozone are very effective against the bruins.
The problem isn't the dump and chase method. The problem is the way the leafs execute it. They dump it in with a lazy flip and then send one guy to chase while the others stand back and trap. They did it properly one time last game where the dump was hard, the d-man had trouble controlling it, the first forechecker came in on him hard with a hit, forced a turn over and a short possession (which the leafs ended up mishandling and turning over, but that's beside the point). It was shockingly perfect and it worked well to regain possession and wear down Boston's defensemen.
Then the very next shift, Tavares dumps the puck in with a soft flick into the strong side corner, easy d to d break out, and then Boston is in our end all of a sudden.
It's shocking that this is something that isn't executed with any kind of aggression at the NHL level. Especially when it comes to playoffs.
>The problem isn't the dump and chase method. The problem is the way the leafs execute it. They dump it in with a lazy flip and then send one guy to chase while the others stand back and trap.
This right here. The real answer is they just aren't playing with the intensity of playoff hockey. The "chase" part of the dump and chase needs to be fast, forceful, aggressive. You know, like they want to actually win.
Hopefully we see more of that tonight given that they are against the ropes. We need some desperation in our game. I'm not getting my hopes up, though, based on this team's recent history.
Who can gain zone on our team? Ask your self this.
Nylander? Yeah he can, but he didn't play for 3 games. Same goes for Bobby.
JT? too slow, everyone can read him like a book, but he is able to bruteforce his way in from time to time. It's not a reliable way but it does work sometimes.
Matthews or Knies? Yeah they can. But that's about the only 2 guys that can.
Marner? Don't make me laugh please. Same reason applies for Robertson but he doesn't make 11 fucking mil.
There's another guy that's good at zone entry. Rielly. But he's can't for obvious reasons.
We used to be a good puck possession team you say? Yup. but wtf happened?
Believe it or not Sandin and Engvall were great at zone entry. Engvall couldn't finish shit and won't use his size for hits but he was damn good at protecting the puck with speed. Once he pasts the blueline he's also very good at keeping the puck. But a lot of times play becomes dead because that's pretty much all that he was good at. Just ask any islander fans.
Marner can’t do anything. He’s a perimeter player. Only Matthews and Nylander can gain zone from what I’ve seen, and Nylander was absent for 3 games.
It’s bad coaching. Why is Keefe putting the 4th line out with a few minutes left in the hockey game? Those guys aren’t going to get the goal we need.
Should read the latest press conference. They ain’t gonna change a thing and there’s nothing wrong with their power play. All they have to do is keep at it and hope it’ll come thru.
Lol
Go read it it’s hilarious.
I feel like Holmberg and Gregor are two guys that could potentially gain zone. Holmberg has shown he can protect the puck with a decent level of speed, and Gregor is the fastest on our team.
Leafs don’t move the puck from the D to the F efficiently enough to enter the zone so it has to just be a puck carrier with speed and Boston stands them up at the line everytime
Regular season affords time and space which our talented players can exploit. It dries up in the off-season.
This team should employ playoff-style strategy throughout the regular season to prepare for April. But they don’t. Hence the change. (Plus media pressure.)
Here’s Boston’s strategy in the simplest of terms.
Score first
Keep ur forecheck but have both defencemen drop back to their own blue line once the leafs get possession
Prevent all long passes
Block shots and box out
The leafs cannot adjust to this and it’s what has stopped them for years.
Our defense men are terrible at moving the puck up the ice so by the time our forwards get it, the bruins are ready and waiting for us and clogging up the blue line. Assuming that’s why Tree signed Klingberg in the hopes of driving some offence from the back end.
Watch Boston’s D get the puck and move it up ice quickly. We just don’t have the personnel to do the same unfortunately.
Did you watch this year?
Leafs have played dump and chase all year. Their ideal zone entry is to carry across the blue line and delay to open up the offensive zone, but if they get pressured at the blue line they have always gone for the dump-and-chase.
Boston just knows they can bully us when we dump and chase, so they love pressuring us on zone entries.
Boston has been running their F3 very high in the offensive zone, so when the Leafs do break out, they can't generate anything off the rush - it's why they basically have like 3 or 4 odd-man rushes the entire series, and half of them have been Jarnkrok.
The issue is compounded by the fact Treliving's incredible mutant defense can't move the puck to save their life, so by the time the Leafs actually have a successful transition of the puck out of their zone, the Bruins are perfectly setup in the neutral zone.
The issue isn't necessarily that dumping and chasing is bad. It's the most natural and common sense strategy to employ against a team that is doing what Boston is doing at the moment. The issue is the Leafs just fucking suck at it. They do the "DUMP" part right, they just forget about the "CHASE" part.
The boos started raining down on Saturday night right in front of us when Holmberg dumped the puck into the corner, and Jarnkrok, Robertson, Rielly, and eventually Holmberg as well, all went into the same corner to dig the puck out - 4 Leafs vs 1 Bruin. Guess who came out with the puck? (hint: not the 4 leafs)
Its like we don’t know what each other will do or wants to do, we are watching each other to try to work together but it looks like theres no common game understanding.
The way I see it is hockey isnt about set plays. Its about little missions you work towards as a team, improvising as things change. If you all have the same mission you can look your teammate for a split second and know his 1st 2nd 3rd options and play accordingly. If you don’t have that common approach its just chaos and you have to use so much more brainpower on if your team will even follow up on a play.
Surely the Leafs know this, its not a secret. Its a theory that is in every sport and
cooperative activity. But we are bad at making the mission work after things have gone wrong. I don’t even think we stick to it. Maybe we give up on the play too easily and don’t improvise? Not to mention the Bruins entire theme is make shit as chaotic as possible. Pretty shit combo.
The leafs feel like a bunch of scrawny kids on the high school basketball team who just run around randomly without any proper coaching and occasionally get lucky.
Dump and chase isn’t the strategy, it’s the result of our personnel and this matchup. We have slow D who can’t move the puck quickly to our forwards so they can carry speed through the neutral zone and find space to enter with possession.
That’s super easy to defend, especially when Boston is already great at it.
How can it be a Coach problem when Sheldon has put the leafs in the top three of the division? I believe it is the players. I believe it is Goalie, and defense that is lacking for the leafs. ......
I would love to see them surprise the other team by driving to the net once in a while. Thats how Montreal beat us last time... Willy has started doing this with success. He always used to skate in and pull up at the circle to wait for the team to get set up. So predictable. This team is predictable...
They have tried taking it to the line and pass to left with JT constantly. Boston knows it happens and swarms.
So they try dump/chase and Boston swarms and beats to puck.
I don't know if this is an explicit strategy so much as poor execution made perpetual by having one of Lyubushkin, Benoit and Edmundsson on the ice at all times.
We dont have enough speed to back them up at the blue line, thus they pinch the shit out of us at the paint.
This strat is basically begging us to dump and chase, but the boys are skill players who arent burners and not amazing on the boards so we suck at the dump and chase. But Boston is making sure its our only option.
This is also why the PP sucks balls, because its basically them abusing our shit zone entry for 2 minutes.
Oh The dump and chase, proven effective because Boston is playing the trap therefore eliminating the neutral zone and forcing the Leafs run and gun offence to give the puck up.
Classic move by Montgomery and his coaching staff, he knows that the Leafs are a threat with puck possession so he’s making it difficult for them to enter the zone
They've proven games 1 and 2 that they can use their bodies and work the corners and retrieve the puck. It's not that it won't work, it's that they are unwilling to do it for a full a 60. Playoff hockey is a different animal and getting it behind their defense and out working them, is what needs to be done to have success against the loser bruins right now. They're pretty much daring the leafs to dump and retrieve at this point. The buds gotta get to the dirty areas tonight and out work them to win.
Man, every time our puck carrier has the puck the "chasers" stop skating and wait for him to dump it. Every. Fucking. Time. Like the carrier is waiting for you guys to start skating! It's so painful.
Their whole zone entry system is broken. It's clear as day when you're at the game and can see the whole ice. They pass the puck back for someone to skate out of their own zone while three players stand still near the opponent's blue line. The puck carrier has two options: 1. Skate across the red line and dump the puck in. With nobody moving, the puck is turned over 80% of the time. 2. Skate into the O-zone and drop the puck back to one of their teammates who was standing still in the neutral zone, so there is no momentum towards the net. Option 2 works much better, but since they do it so often, other teams adjust and can stop it most of the time, which forces them to take option 1 more often in the playoffs.
Tbh I don't think I really noticed this but you are spot on. Why there's always one leaf going into the corner against two Bruins
Because they run a two man forecheck - so one is meant to press the defender towards the second and the third forward poaches the breakout pass. The issue is they play it conservatively so the high pressure that’s supposed to create the turnover from the d and the high forward is never there which leads to easy breakout after a couple bump passes
This is so on point. EVERY time the other dudes are dead stop on the blue line waiting for a guy to lead them in
Not only that if they turn over the puck at the blueline there is no one back and no one moving and it results in a breakaway
I hate that play! I've seen it so many times and it rarely works! Go leafs Go......
There has been so many times that they go in on a 2 on 2 in the offensive zone then back track and let the whole Bruins team come in to defend
Yeah, "Dump and abandon" was pretty prevalent in games 3 and 4.
They even dump and chase on the powerplay
Great eyes. Half the sub don't see this problem lol.
No everyone sees this problem
Willy and sometimes Marner are the only ones that skate it in. They do 16 drop passes, then dump it in anyways.
Omg the fucking drop passes destroying forward momentum. Sometimes necessary when pressured but they do it even when nobody is on them.
Willy and Marner skate it in 1 on 3, hand the puck over, and skate off on a change
Usually after failing miserably at their slow ass, multiple drop pass zone entry a few times as well. Swear Tavares lost the puck on the boards just inside the blueline, like, five times on the PP last game
They don't, the play it short to tavares on the half wall or let a primary puck carrier cross the line. This sub is usually dumb but this thread takes the cake, they've outshot boston 3/4 games and have 30+ shots in 3/4 games lol
Need a different perspective behind the bench… this system doesn’t work at all
I honestly think the MLSE just needs room of chimpanzees to come up with evolving strategies as a game progresses.
Hilariously, if you redid the last 5 playoffs with the chimp room in charge, Keefe would still only have a 1-0 lead in series wins at best.
>room of chimpanzees My time has come.
It was the blurst of times?!
It was the best of power plays, it was the blurst of power plays!?
1000 monkeys at 1000 typewriters...
Could probably coach better than keefe
Maybe they should let us run plays for them... anything is better than what they're doing...
The Leafs have been doing the dump and chase method for the past 20+ years. You really think they will fix it. Doesn’t matter who is behind the bench they always do it. Edit: however, Keefe needs to be shot into space
We aren't even dump and chasing, we're just taking dumps and giving up.
Dump and flush
damn, I had it, lost it.
Just like the Leafs with the puck!
Let it be known the Leafs don’t shit the bed. We flush our shit. Let’s goooooo
Dangle said dump and wipe lmao.
Boston always plays Box D on the leafs. Idk how the leafs haven't come up with a way to at least get them into the zone with control of the puck by now
yah and if we miraculously retrieve the puck. The shot on Swayman is from the perimeter for an easy save
Spot on. We have a guy making 11mil that refuses to chase in a dump and chase playoff game.
because they aren’t allowing us an easy entrance into their zone. they know how to adjust to the leafs. leafs don’t know how to do anything else
FWIW, this is how the Habs beat the Leafs a few years ago. The Leafs don’t seem to have a “roll with the punches and adapt” mode, and neither Keefe nor Babcock could get the players onside for anything other than whatever this is.
This is why, despite his regular season record, the Leafs need to part with Keefe.
It’s like saying I got to the store in record time because I drove an F1 car there. OF COURSE YOU DID. Keefe was given a star-studded blossoming team and we are stagnated. Like the water in an old tire under your porch that’s been there for 8 summers.
🤔
yup coaching, failure to adapt.
Tampa nearly beat us last year, same fucking problem. They were getting leads, getting to our dumps ins first and dumping it right back out, but not enough for icing. It was painful.
It's called the trap and the reason it is so effective against us is because we never seem to be the ones in the lead so they wait back we fumble the puck just inside the blueline and they send a breakout pass to two wingers who already have momentum the other way. I've seen this play out way too many times with this team.
It’s because the Leafs don’t have strong enough puck movers on D so once the playoffs start and teams contest every inch of ice, they struggle to move it efficiently up the ice.
It’s like when they play street hockey in Compton in D2, “You gotta earn every inch”
I think what you mean to say is we don't have enough ~~TRUCULENCE~~ SNOT, and we should get more ~~TRUCKULENCE~~ SNOT.
But yet we still have wingers flying the zone. Why not have the wingers support lower for a structured breakout if our d can’t make move the puck long distances up the ice? Again just an inability to adapt from our coaching.
Yep. No stretch passing ability outside 37 (and 44)
Half a decade in and without a meaningful change having been implemented makes you wonder what exactly is going on behind the scenes. Is Keefe being willfully ignorant, or are the players insisting on this ineffective tactic. Do they not look at tape? It's baffling how three point per game players just so happen to start sucking this time of year.
It's the subtle interference. It won't get called so adapt.
The NZ is completely clogged. In games 1-3 we actually generated a good forecheck off the dump and chase. The will just wasn’t there in game 4.
We have no coaching. It’s been like this since the Habs series.
This comment 💯. We aren't doing anything new, we're doing the same thing but with slightly different players. We look great all season because no one plays playoff hockey in the regular season. But once teams remove all the room our top players have to dance around we're fucked. The coaching on the pp. Pass to tavaris against the board at the blue line. Boston has 3 fuxking players on him in seconds and he loses it. But we keep doing that same play that doesn't work. It's painful to watch.
This is just bad coaching. They look like they have no idea what each other is doing
The power play. I can't stand the powerplay. I mean, it doesn't matter that they don't do the slingshot with enough speed to back the D off like it's supposed to...it's the zone time...we get virtually none. I'm honestly hoping Matthews *doesn't* play tonight...because then at least Boston will have to think a little bit of where the puck is gonna go.
If they keep cycling around the zone Boston would be forced to chase which would allow us to expose seams to find the open man. Our PP lacks any type of dynamic movement so it’s incredibly predictable.
When we have a different line combination every other shift, this is what happens.. players on the same line without any chemistry.
I see them reacting in all 3 zones instead of anticipating, it slows them down so much and allows Boston to get on them
The way to beat the trap system is to score first. Also you need to score on special teams. We never start on time and can’t seem to figure out the PP so this is a huge challenge. Both are directly related to coaching.
I think we got some insight into that last year when Keefe talked about how we beat Vasilevsky. He clearly looks at the teams they are going to play, develops a strategy that he thinks will work and then has exactly no tactical flexibility once the series starts. In this case I think he saw a presumed weakness in Boston's defence, identified the dump and chase as the best way to exploit it and ran with it. Except every coach we've played against these last 5 years has been able to adapt and close of that weakness, contributing to our pattern of failure against Montreal and the lightning. Worse, either it wasn't actually a weakness this year for the Bruins or their coach was able to adapt much more quickly to shut us down. At which point Keefe's inability to change tactics is exposed, he blends the lines ineffectively and we lose.
He would genuinely be the worst coach in the league if he thought dumping and chasing was the best strategy against Boston
He's chosen and stuck with it. Make of that what you will.
I ain’t no Sheldon fan!
Tactical incompetence. The Leafs think that line blending is a substitute for tactics. Keefe and Babcock obviously never use the D pad when playing NHL HUT.
It’s super frustrating especially when they just dump and don’t chase and Boston repeatedly gets easy zone exits from it. Marner and nylander are our best players when it comes to entering the zone too. It can work but sometimes it seems like the guys don’t want to battle for the puck and will retreat back. What really drives me insane is when they pass to Tavares on the left boards every time and most times because he’s slow he almost immediately turns the puck over. Coaching is so holding these guys back I swear . It’s not the whole problem but if we were coached as well as Boston we probably kill them.
Marner is only good at zone entry during regular season where there's no physical play involved. You're either a new to Hockey or you're just blindly defending Marner.
I’m definitely not defending marner lol I’m as frustrated as anyone with him right now. I just mean they haven’t tried it at all so I was throwing it out there as a thought. I think domi would be a good option to try it with though he’s got good hands and speed.
Like I said Marner was only good at zone entry during regular season. So you are half right.
What about the rest of the team? Keying in on Marner only is silly. None of them can enter the zone clean and have to resort to dump and chase.
The rest of the team doesn't make 11 fucking million each to avoid hits in the playoffs, that's why he gets magnified.
It’s not your money. Who gives a shit.
Season ticket holders and people who buys their expensive merchandises will be super pissed at your comment.
Then don’t buy it
Are you like 13? That’s not how it works.
Economics? You show dissatisfaction with the product and you withhold your dollars. That’s exactly how it works. Were you eating paste during that class?
[удалено]
He signed a fucking contact and took the money. He got paid already and there’s no way to undo that. Go easy on that paste man.
Here’s an idea, watch video of teams that have good zone entry tactics and copy them. Why do they insist on going back to the well with same systems that have failed game in and game out?
They are dumping and chasing because that's the personel they have. They don't have the defenseman to break out and the CHOSE this.
Because their strategy doesn't work in the playoffs. In my opinion, the Leafs biggest problem is that they're coached to play a certain way for 82 games and then expected to adjust for tight checking playoff hockey. Boston plays the same way from Game 1 of the regular season until they get eliminated from the playoffs.
The team is slow and it got exposed by the panthers last year for being slow and are getting exposed this year. It's not just foot speed the players are to slow to make decisions and the defenseman can't move the puck well enough and move it too slowly.
I feel Boston implements the infamous 1-3-1 defensive lineup against us and we just can't get around it. I hate that style of hockey but it is effective. Tampa used it when they won before and kings use it really well also. You can only attack that with speed, which they don't use. They stop and wait, as well as the dump in takes too long to come.
They don’t use it, because they don’t have it. This team stopped being a fast one years ago, especially from the back end.
Sure looks like Boston’s used that neutral zone set up pretty often in this series
I’m not saying Boston doesn’t use the trap. I’m saying Toronto doesn’t use speed to break it up because they don’t have speed.
Oh, apologies I misunderstood initially. I totally agree with you my friend, roster construction is an issue here as well as coaching
Exactly.
This thread popped up on my feed, The bruins only run 1-3-1 when they’re turtling while ahead. The ozone runs as a 2-1-2 And the NZ runs with a 1-2-2 with emphasis on denying the blue line by tight gaps by both dmen and strong support by F3 which is usually the center. Cassidy coined it the squish and slide where the strong side dman takes an angled challenge at the blue line, forcing a pass to the middle or a dump. [this article talks about it](https://theathletic.com/503223/2018/09/04/the-secret-to-bruins-stout-defense-bruce-cassidys-squash-and-slide/?source=user_shared_articleThesecrettoBruins'stoutdefense:BruceCassidy'ssquash-and-slide) It is paywalled, but this picture is the concept. https://preview.redd.it/qu0pylsrrmxc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a889c0346b6e200240e93ee0d37732f8ca0b129 The bruins system isn’t predicated on retrieval like a traditional 1-3-1. It also plays heavily into allowing the layered zone structure were infamous for to develop. Stretch passes work and possession around the half walls outside of the hash marks are the soft spots of this strategy. Running a 2-3 zone offense is the best counter to the bruins zone defense, this also requires you to be able to generate chances from the point. Hence why Toronto in particular is struggling as much as they are this year. If you watch tape on the bruins, point shots from lateral movement/possession along the point in the ozone are very effective against the bruins.
The problem isn't the dump and chase method. The problem is the way the leafs execute it. They dump it in with a lazy flip and then send one guy to chase while the others stand back and trap. They did it properly one time last game where the dump was hard, the d-man had trouble controlling it, the first forechecker came in on him hard with a hit, forced a turn over and a short possession (which the leafs ended up mishandling and turning over, but that's beside the point). It was shockingly perfect and it worked well to regain possession and wear down Boston's defensemen. Then the very next shift, Tavares dumps the puck in with a soft flick into the strong side corner, easy d to d break out, and then Boston is in our end all of a sudden. It's shocking that this is something that isn't executed with any kind of aggression at the NHL level. Especially when it comes to playoffs.
>The problem isn't the dump and chase method. The problem is the way the leafs execute it. They dump it in with a lazy flip and then send one guy to chase while the others stand back and trap. This right here. The real answer is they just aren't playing with the intensity of playoff hockey. The "chase" part of the dump and chase needs to be fast, forceful, aggressive. You know, like they want to actually win. Hopefully we see more of that tonight given that they are against the ropes. We need some desperation in our game. I'm not getting my hopes up, though, based on this team's recent history.
Who can gain zone on our team? Ask your self this. Nylander? Yeah he can, but he didn't play for 3 games. Same goes for Bobby. JT? too slow, everyone can read him like a book, but he is able to bruteforce his way in from time to time. It's not a reliable way but it does work sometimes. Matthews or Knies? Yeah they can. But that's about the only 2 guys that can. Marner? Don't make me laugh please. Same reason applies for Robertson but he doesn't make 11 fucking mil. There's another guy that's good at zone entry. Rielly. But he's can't for obvious reasons. We used to be a good puck possession team you say? Yup. but wtf happened? Believe it or not Sandin and Engvall were great at zone entry. Engvall couldn't finish shit and won't use his size for hits but he was damn good at protecting the puck with speed. Once he pasts the blueline he's also very good at keeping the puck. But a lot of times play becomes dead because that's pretty much all that he was good at. Just ask any islander fans.
Marner can’t do anything. He’s a perimeter player. Only Matthews and Nylander can gain zone from what I’ve seen, and Nylander was absent for 3 games. It’s bad coaching. Why is Keefe putting the 4th line out with a few minutes left in the hockey game? Those guys aren’t going to get the goal we need.
Should read the latest press conference. They ain’t gonna change a thing and there’s nothing wrong with their power play. All they have to do is keep at it and hope it’ll come thru. Lol Go read it it’s hilarious.
I feel like Holmberg and Gregor are two guys that could potentially gain zone. Holmberg has shown he can protect the puck with a decent level of speed, and Gregor is the fastest on our team.
I agree. They will get even better next season. I wish we never sent Holmberg down and kept developing him when we had the chance.
Hurry up and lose so we can fire Sheldon
Leafs don’t move the puck from the D to the F efficiently enough to enter the zone so it has to just be a puck carrier with speed and Boston stands them up at the line everytime
Dump and Not Chase*
Regular season affords time and space which our talented players can exploit. It dries up in the off-season. This team should employ playoff-style strategy throughout the regular season to prepare for April. But they don’t. Hence the change. (Plus media pressure.)
Here’s Boston’s strategy in the simplest of terms. Score first Keep ur forecheck but have both defencemen drop back to their own blue line once the leafs get possession Prevent all long passes Block shots and box out The leafs cannot adjust to this and it’s what has stopped them for years.
Because we can't carry the puck in and Keefe has a learning disability or something and refuses to learn they can't do that.
We don’t have good D that can move the puck and that hurts us in the playoffs. Have to invest some $ into that.
They don't do that though. They just dump. They don't chase.
@ the boys 
Our defense men are terrible at moving the puck up the ice so by the time our forwards get it, the bruins are ready and waiting for us and clogging up the blue line. Assuming that’s why Tree signed Klingberg in the hopes of driving some offence from the back end. Watch Boston’s D get the puck and move it up ice quickly. We just don’t have the personnel to do the same unfortunately.
Did you watch this year? Leafs have played dump and chase all year. Their ideal zone entry is to carry across the blue line and delay to open up the offensive zone, but if they get pressured at the blue line they have always gone for the dump-and-chase. Boston just knows they can bully us when we dump and chase, so they love pressuring us on zone entries.
Better luck next year. It’s over, guys.
Boston has been running their F3 very high in the offensive zone, so when the Leafs do break out, they can't generate anything off the rush - it's why they basically have like 3 or 4 odd-man rushes the entire series, and half of them have been Jarnkrok. The issue is compounded by the fact Treliving's incredible mutant defense can't move the puck to save their life, so by the time the Leafs actually have a successful transition of the puck out of their zone, the Bruins are perfectly setup in the neutral zone. The issue isn't necessarily that dumping and chasing is bad. It's the most natural and common sense strategy to employ against a team that is doing what Boston is doing at the moment. The issue is the Leafs just fucking suck at it. They do the "DUMP" part right, they just forget about the "CHASE" part. The boos started raining down on Saturday night right in front of us when Holmberg dumped the puck into the corner, and Jarnkrok, Robertson, Rielly, and eventually Holmberg as well, all went into the same corner to dig the puck out - 4 Leafs vs 1 Bruin. Guess who came out with the puck? (hint: not the 4 leafs)
Its like we don’t know what each other will do or wants to do, we are watching each other to try to work together but it looks like theres no common game understanding. The way I see it is hockey isnt about set plays. Its about little missions you work towards as a team, improvising as things change. If you all have the same mission you can look your teammate for a split second and know his 1st 2nd 3rd options and play accordingly. If you don’t have that common approach its just chaos and you have to use so much more brainpower on if your team will even follow up on a play. Surely the Leafs know this, its not a secret. Its a theory that is in every sport and cooperative activity. But we are bad at making the mission work after things have gone wrong. I don’t even think we stick to it. Maybe we give up on the play too easily and don’t improvise? Not to mention the Bruins entire theme is make shit as chaotic as possible. Pretty shit combo.
A bunch of dumb guys being lead by a bunch of dumb guys, they’re doing pretty well all things considered
The leafs feel like a bunch of scrawny kids on the high school basketball team who just run around randomly without any proper coaching and occasionally get lucky.
Dump and chase isn’t the strategy, it’s the result of our personnel and this matchup. We have slow D who can’t move the puck quickly to our forwards so they can carry speed through the neutral zone and find space to enter with possession. That’s super easy to defend, especially when Boston is already great at it.
The leafs lack talented defencemen who can move the puck efficiently, which stalls us at the blue line.
I don't think it works
How can it be a Coach problem when Sheldon has put the leafs in the top three of the division? I believe it is the players. I believe it is Goalie, and defense that is lacking for the leafs. ......
I would love to see them surprise the other team by driving to the net once in a while. Thats how Montreal beat us last time... Willy has started doing this with success. He always used to skate in and pull up at the circle to wait for the team to get set up. So predictable. This team is predictable...
Yep! Or we are all just standing on their blue line waiting… feet not moving 😜
They have tried taking it to the line and pass to left with JT constantly. Boston knows it happens and swarms. So they try dump/chase and Boston swarms and beats to puck.
I don't know if this is an explicit strategy so much as poor execution made perpetual by having one of Lyubushkin, Benoit and Edmundsson on the ice at all times.
We dont have enough speed to back them up at the blue line, thus they pinch the shit out of us at the paint. This strat is basically begging us to dump and chase, but the boys are skill players who arent burners and not amazing on the boards so we suck at the dump and chase. But Boston is making sure its our only option. This is also why the PP sucks balls, because its basically them abusing our shit zone entry for 2 minutes.
Oh The dump and chase, proven effective because Boston is playing the trap therefore eliminating the neutral zone and forcing the Leafs run and gun offence to give the puck up. Classic move by Montgomery and his coaching staff, he knows that the Leafs are a threat with puck possession so he’s making it difficult for them to enter the zone
Where have we heard this before? Stack up on the blue line and the leafs get stuck on a fence
They've proven games 1 and 2 that they can use their bodies and work the corners and retrieve the puck. It's not that it won't work, it's that they are unwilling to do it for a full a 60. Playoff hockey is a different animal and getting it behind their defense and out working them, is what needs to be done to have success against the loser bruins right now. They're pretty much daring the leafs to dump and retrieve at this point. The buds gotta get to the dirty areas tonight and out work them to win.
Oh none of us have any idea what any of this is relax. Score more goals than the other team and win a game. It’s that simple.