Sunday, October 20, 2013

Game 9 - Chicago 3, Leafs 1 - Defending champs teach Leafs a lesson

A familiar story to his post, as Toronto got badly beaten in Chicago. Getting outchanced for the third consecutive game, this time the Leafs weren't even enough in the game to benefit from some luck and weak goaltending, as in the Minnesota game, or to be felled by a weird game winner, as against Carolina. In fact, watching the game, it seems strange that the Leafs were as close as 3-1; Chicago did have a goal called back, but it felt as if they were much more secure than a two-goal margin.

The Leafs were on the back foot from the start, badly outchanced in the first, and generating only a single even strength chance. The second saw them get a goal, as well as generate a couple of chances, but they allowed even more, including three goals, with Mike Kostka's first NHL marker among them. The third was the team's best period, as they did manage a little fight early in the frame, but that's not saying much. The last ten minutes saw Chicago outchance the Leafs 6-1, and the game petered out for Toronto without much serious threat of posing a comeback.

Toronto had fewer chances in the Minnesota game, but had a better margin, as this was their worst game of the season. The 19 chances against at even strength were the highest of the season, as were the 25 overall.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status Overall ES
Team Toronto Chicago Toronto Chicago
1 2 8 1 4
2 3 10 2 8
3 4 7 3 7
Total 9 25 6 19

Follow below the fold for details.




This was my list of scoring chances from the game. If you see any problems or omissions (here or anywhere else), please go ahead and leave a comment.

Club St P Time Note Toronto Chicago
CHI ES 1 19:06 Saad from loose puck 63 81 19 3 36 45 19 81 20 2 7 50
CHI ES 1 17:57 Hjalmarsson from Kruger 43 40 12 15 51 45 16 65 29 4 8 50
TOR PP 1 17:25 Van Riemsdyk from Franson 42 81 21 3 4 45 16 26 4 27 50 -
CHI SH 1 14:16 Toews wide from Kane 11 21 3 4 45 - 19 65 10 88 2 50
CHI SH 1 14:07 Keith wide from Kane 11 21 3 4 45 - 19 65 10 88 2 50
CHI ES 1 08:33 Hossa from Toews 42 81 21 3 4 45 19 81 20 4 27 50
TOR ES 1 04:35 Van Riemsdyk from loose puck 42 81 21 15 51 45 19 81 29 2 4 50
CHI ES 1 03:55 Kostka from Kruger 43 40 12 15 51 45 16 65 52 6 8 50
CHI SH 1 02:08 Kostka wide from Kane 63 21 3 36 45 - 19 65 10 88 6 50
CHI SH 1 01:58 Toews from rebound of Kane shot 63 21 3 36 45 - 19 65 10 88 6 50
CHI ES 2 18:25 Sharp from Kane 63 19 32 4 44 45 26 10 88 2 7 50
CHI ES 2 14:28 GOAL! Bickell from rebound 42 81 21 15 51 45 16 65 29 4 27 50
CHI ES 2 14:00 Kane from Sharp 43 40 12 4 44 45 26 10 88 2 7 50
TOR PP 2 12:57 GOAL! Kadri from Lupul 43 19 12 3 4 45 16 26 4 27 50 -
TOR ES 2 12:20 Lupul from Bolland 63 19 32 36 44 45 19 81 20 2 7 50
CHI ES 2 09:32 GOAL! Kostka from Pirri 11 28 46 15 36 45 37 42 52 6 8 50
CHI ES 2 05:09 Kostka from Hossa 43 40 12 3 36 45 19 81 20 6 8 50
CHI SH 2 04:42 Kane from Sharp 11 21 4 36 45 - 19 65 10 88 2 50
CHI SH 2 03:11 GOAL! Pirri from Saad 63 12 15 51 45 - 37 81 20 7 8 50
TOR ES 2 02:15 Kessel from Gunnarsson 42 81 3 15 45 - 19 20 4 27 50 -
CHI ES 2 01:19 Kane from Seabrook 63 12 15 51 45 - 65 88 2 7 50 -
CHI ES 2 00:59 Keith from Shaw 63 12 15 51 45 - 65 88 2 7 50 -
CHI ES 2 00:25 Hossa from Toews 43 19 21 3 44 45 19 10 81 4 27 50
CHI ES 3 18:31 Nordstrom wide from loose puck 43 19 12 15 51 45 16 42 29 6 8 50
TOR PP 3 17:58 Lupul deflects Phaneuf shot 43 19 12 3 4 45 16 26 4 27 50 -
TOR ES 3 14:07 Kadri from loose puck 11 43 32 15 51 45 16 42 52 6 8 50
TOR ES 3 12:23 Raymond from Franson 63 19 12 4 44 45 37 65 29 2 7 50
CHI ES 3 09:01 Toews wide from Sharp 63 19 32 44 51 45 19 10 88 6 8 50
CHI ES 3 08:43 Kane from Sharp 11 63 32 44 51 45 19 10 88 6 8 50
CHI ES 3 07:11 Toews from Saad 42 81 12 3 36 45 19 81 20 4 27 50
CHI ES 3 06:14 Pirri from givewaay 63 19 28 15 36 45 37 42 52 2 7 50
CHI ES 3 05:50 Kane wide from Handzus 63 19 28 4 44 45 26 10 88 2 7 50
CHI ES 3 05:25 Sharp from Kane 63 19 28 4 44 45 19 10 88 2 7 50
TOR ES 3 03:41 Raymond from rebound of Ranger shot 43 19 12 15 51 45 16 65 29 2 7 50

The Extra Skater game profile.

Beaten on Corsi again, the Leafs were down 40-67 overall and 28-50 5-on-5.

Some notes: 
1st - 17:57 - Nice timing by Hjalmarsson to jump into the play. Both Raymond and Kadri are in close attention to Kruger, who manages to get a pass through to the defenseman, who can walk into the slot.

1st - 17:25 - One of only two Leaf chances I have for the period, it isn't even a great one, as Van Riemsdyk tries his trademark through the legs shot from the side of the net on the power play.
1st - 14:16 - Toews fluffs on a one-timer wide on the powrplay, after a very nice pass from Kane finds him alone in the slot.
1st - 4:35 - The only ES chance from the Leafs in the period, as again JVR uses his quick hands, taking a puck out front and putting it on Crawford.

2nd - 18:25 - Kane goes wide, watched by Rielly, but Sharp is left alone by Leivo in front, allowing Sharp a chance to hammer a shot on net.
2nd - 14:28 - Bickell has his initial shot stopped on a 3-on-3 rush, but Bernier gives up a big rebound into the slot, and in trying to clear it, manages to push the puck out past Bozak, who had left Bickell to try and recover the puck. Bozak's then caught behind Gardiner in front of the net, leaving Bickell a lot of time alone to go around Bernier and finish. A nice patient play by Bickell.
2nd - 14:00 - An easy even-man rush, but Rielly really blows his assignment, leaving Kane alone and failing to interecept the pass across. Kane can't get alot on it, but he's not a guy you can leave that open.

2nd - 12:57 - A Leafs powerplay goal at a critical time. Oduya has the puck hop over his stick, allowing Lupul to get there instead. Lupul throws it in front to Kadri, who manages to get enough of it to tie the game.
2nd - 9:32 - Kostka, who went all season last year without scoring, gets his first NHL goal against his former team. Again, the Leafs are caught by a defenseman coming up, with both defenders watching Bollig in front of the net, and Broll's attempt to block the shot not working. Bernier gets a piece, but not enough to keep it out.

2nd - 3:11 - Saad finds Pirri with a good pass on the powerplay, as the Leafs get outmanned down low by Chicago's additional manpower.
2nd - 2:11 - Very impressive save from Crawford, as Kessel sifts into the slot and releases a quick shot that I think is headed to the top corner before Crawford deflects it with his stick. It might have been going wide, but still a good effort from the goalie.
2nd - 1:19 - Kane shows off his speed, blowing pass Gardiner on a 4-on-4, after getting a good long pass from Seabrook. Bernier does well to stop him.

3rd - 9:01  - McClement skates past the puck against the Toews line, and almost pays for it, as Sharp picks it up and feed Toews, who shoots high and wide from the slot.
3rd - 6:14 - Not totally sold on this as a chance, not sure Pirri had much to do with it, as Ranger's clearance attempt almost goes into the Leaf net off the Chicago forward. It's counted as a shot, so I'll count it as a chance.
3rd - 3:41 - Toronto's last chance of the game, Crawford knocks down Ranger's shot, but the rebound goes right to Raymond. Crawford makes the stop on a fairly weak, and pretty much hits Raymond in the face with his blocker for added measure.

The scoring chance numbers for the Leaf players:

Player F A D TOI ESF ESA ESD EVTOI PPF PPA PPD SHF SHA SHD
Phaneuf 4 9 -5 22:28 1 5 -4 15:18 3 0 3 0 4 -4
Franson 4 8 -4 22:12 1 5 -4 14:56 3 0 3 0 3 -3
Mcclement 1 5 -4 10:15 1 2 -1 07:30 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Raymond 4 9 -5 18:36 2 8 -6 14:34 2 0 2 0 1 -1
Ranger 4 9 -5 18:23 4 8 -4 16:31 0 0 0 0 1 -1
Lupul 5 8 -3 19:41 3 8 -5 16:12 2 0 2 0 0 0
Van Riemsdyk 2 8 -6 20:39 1 3 -2 14:14 1 0 1 0 5 -5
Orr 0 4 -4 06:00 0 4 -4 05:51 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leivo 2 3 -1 09:18 2 3 -1 09:07 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gunnarsson 1 8 -7 16:31 1 5 -4 13:56 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Bodie 0 4 -4 06:23 0 4 -4 06:23 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bozak 3 3 0 22:46 2 3 -1 16:20 1 0 1 0 0 0
Kadri 4 6 -2 17:32 2 6 -4 13:42 2 0 2 0 0 0
Rielly 2 7 -5 20:19 2 7 -5 17:11 0 0 0 0 0 0
Broll 0 1 -1 04:13 0 1 -1 04:04 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gardiner 3 9 -6 19:56 3 8 -5 16:22 0 0 0 0 1 -1
Bolland 2 12 -10 16:05 2 9 -7 14:09 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Kessel 3 4 -1 22:23 2 4 -2 18:03 1 0 1 0 0 0
Bernier 9 25 -16 58:26 6 19 -13 45:33 3 0 3 0 6 -6

The top line were offensively pretty quiet, but didn't have that bad a game, as they weren't all that vulnerable defensively for a change. Bozak's -1 is tied for the team's best, and in 16 minutes it's actually pretty impressive, given how poor the team played as a whole.

Dave Bolland had the worst game of his Leaf career, getting badly shown up in his return to Chicago. His -7 diff, and being on for nine chances against, are both the worst on the team. He did poorly against the Toews line, but had negative split against pretty much all the lines he played against. Mason Raymond had another poor game as well, on for 8 chances, as was Joffrey Lupul.

After Ranger started with some good games, he's had a tough time recently, on for another boatload of chances. Of course, no one on the defense looks even decent by these chances. Gardiner and Rielly are dismal -5's, worse even than Ranger, and Phaneuf and Gunnarsson were worse than their usual too, as they were -4's along with Franson. I remain convinced that Morgan Rielly should not stay the full season with the Leafs. He's got a lot of talent, for sure, but his defensive game needs work, and the pressure cooker of Toronto is not a place to get that work, especially if things take a turn for the worse.

The Blackhawks:
 
Player F A D TOI ESF ESA ESD EVTOI PPF PPA PPD SHF SHA SHD
Keith 11 4 7 23:55 8 4 4 19:05 3 0 3 0 0 0
Hjalmarsson 5 5 0 21:02 5 2 3 16:17 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Kostka 8 1 7 13:45 6 1 5 11:35 2 0 2 0 0 0
Seabrook 9 3 6 23:17 8 3 5 19:33 1 0 1 0 0 0
Leddy 8 1 7 14:11 7 1 6 11:46 1 0 1 0 0 0
Sharp 12 0 12 18:16 7 0 7 14:50 5 0 5 0 0 0
Kruger 4 5 -1 14:32 4 2 2 09:45 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Toews 13 3 10 23:08 8 3 5 17:30 5 0 5 0 0 0
Saad 5 2 3 17:46 4 2 2 14:54 1 0 1 0 0 0
Handzus 3 3 0 14:01 3 0 3 10:45 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Oduya 4 4 0 21:01 4 1 3 16:16 0 0 0 0 3 -3
Bickell 3 3 0 10:47 3 3 0 10:47 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pirri 3 1 2 09:37 2 1 1 07:53 1 0 1 0 0 0
Nordstrom 3 1 2 07:42 3 1 2 06:21 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bollig 3 1 2 05:27 3 1 2 05:27 0 0 0 0 0 0
Shaw 10 2 8 14:39 5 2 3 11:26 5 0 5 0 0 0
Hossa 6 2 4 18:46 5 2 3 14:20 1 0 1 0 0 0
Kane 13 0 13 17:42 8 0 8 14:24 5 0 5 0 0 0
Crawford 25 9 16 59:55 19 6 13 47:02 6 0 6 0 3 -3

Patrick Kane was a spectacular 8-0 at even strength, and 13-0 overall, the best performance this season by a player against the Leafs. Sharp was also excellent, at 7-0, while Toews also was on for 8 chances, but only three against. Kostka's +5 against his former team will surely make him very happy, while Nick Leddy also showed well, with a +6. 

Bickell, despite his goal, was probably the worst of the Hawks, as he was the only player who was not positive at even strength.

Players with nice chance numbers:
Toronto - .... Maybe Tyler Bozak?
Chicago - Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Nick Leddy

Players with poor chance numbers:
Toronto - Mason Raymond, Dave Bolland, Morgan Rielly
Chicago - Bryan Bickell

No comments:

Post a Comment