Quoting: Ryminister_27
Lol. It's been 2 games when they haven't played any real games in like 4-5 months. It's like exhibition games out there, they're still feeling themselves out. It takes time.
Everyone's quick to chirp Marner, but where's all the hate for Matthews? All the money and he hasn't scored. Hasn't been winning face offs. Sure he has a lot of shots, but no goals. That's a 0% shooting rate, but it's the same thing you ripped Marner for but didn't on Matthews. You expect Marner to shoot 25%? The average shooting percentage is around 12.5%, so if you're expecting him to double that then maybe you just need to lower your expectations. That's an unreal percentage.
Bottom line, yes they haven't been good enough. & yes they need to pick things up quicker than normal with a shortened season. But you've also gotta remember that things like this they can usually get worked out in the preseason exhibition games before the season starts, something they didn't get this year. It makes a huge deal.
Has not scored directly because of marner and Thornton. Again... if you are going to make Matthews the Hyman of the top line and marner the sniper this season will not go well.
This is not a “slow start” I have been weary of this since I heard Marner’s comments in the offseason about being more of a shooter (this is 100% his dad)
He has been lazy and frustrating to watch but I could put that aside, I know that will change and he will most likely come out hard tonight.
If Keefe leaves Thornton and marner on that line and has not sat them down to squash this animosity which already cost the leafs 2 points and will cost us another 2 points tonight the season may be lost in the first week. The difference between 1st and 5th in this division will be less than 10 points. How many points will Keefe flush down the ****ter to start the season?
You can think of the leafs as 1-2-0 right now on their way to 1-4-0 compared to a regular schedule. There is no room this season to blow the first 5 games. Or any 5 game stretch for that matter.
It will be easy to see what our season will look like in this game tonight. Do they adjust quickly and fix issues or do they keep trying more of the same and expect different results. This is two bad games in a row. With an obvious issue on your top line.
As always I am confident that they will make the right decisions. The team will pull together and be put in a position to succeed. I believe Keefe will ensure this.
In summary... I want to see action/steps taken. That will shape our season, not just tonight, but throughout.