Justin Bourne, Nick Kypreos and Sam McKee discuss if Michael Bunting should slot back in to the Leafs lineup after the end of his three game suspension.
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49 Comments
You bring him back and play him on the 3rd or 4th line. Leafs are used to shuffling. What a lot of people that are posting "it ain't broke dont fix it" act as it the Leafs dominated in Tampa. They got really lucky two games in a row, and fortunate from dumb penalties by Tampa late in games. They got out played most of the two games. They are not steam rolling Tampa.
Ice your best team and constantly adjust. You don't think Tampa will adjust to the things the Leafs did right last few games? Every previous winning game isn't a template for the success of the next game. It ain't broken don't fix it doesn't apply to strategizing at the highest professional hockey league in the world.
My concern is that Marner, Matthews, O'rielly and Nylander have 31 points in 4 games. On average that's 1.94 points per game, which is higher than Gretzky in the playoffs. The moment they regress someone else will need to score… either that or Samsonov is going to need to face less high danger scoring chances.
I hope he’s in. Means more power plays for the lightning.
Best show on the radio!!
Need Wayne Simmonds!
A definite no ! Hard No , Can't be trusted ! Just when they started to gain momentum, he took a selfish penalty that cost them the team any chance of getting back in the game.
No changes, every time they insert a player, it hurt the team .
Def not especially if he is gonna take someone important spot like knies
NO!!! that is all
Tbh I think they should leave everything be. You just barely stole 2 insane games on the road without him. If it aint broke dont fix it
I don't think the Leafs should break up a line-up that's won 3 games in a row against a team that's been to the cup final 3 times in a row winning 2 of them…
Now consider who you're talking about putting in… HELL NO. Let him sit at least until we take our next loss, then, maybe, you plug him in.
That way he'll hopefully smarten up if and when he gets back in the line-up. I honestly don't know who you take out – I keep hearing Lafferty – NO – He's playing good.
No.
I don’t think bunting should play he is the reason why we lost and this game is to important
No
Toronto was able to win without Bunting.. its time to talk about Toronto getting past Boston
short answer: Too risky, Longer answer, 3 straight wins without the liability.
Tampa Bay wants him in the lineup because they know how easy it is to get under his skin. He will put TB on the power play at a crucial time…he can’t play for that reason alone.
Who ever keeps taking penalty's needs to have limited ice time
Roll the same lineup till you lose a game.
Bunting gets back in next round or this round if it goes to gm7. He won't be in gm5
Don’t change what is working
I think Bunting should play. He gives the Leafs more depth scoring and additional grit. Of course there's a risk he'll take more bad penalties but he's been a contributing member to this team and you don't cast him away after one stupid play. Another risk is breaking up the current chemistry of this team that was severely outplayed for over 60% of the past two games but played well enough in the final periods to overcome insurmountable odds to win both times. The luxury the Leafs have is that Bunting doesn't have to play. But he should.
Definitely not. Knies was put in to replace bunting ⚖️. Knies is a huuuge upgrade on bunting.
Tampa will target him forsure not worth the drama in a close out game with Knies as his fill-inn
I wonder how much Bunting gets FA…
Imo he's in good spot prior to getting chance only for cap reasons play with Matthew's,Tavares,Marner, he wasn't in NHL or bubble player Airizona,only reason got chanve Toronto is he is ex Soo greyhound.
Why would you put him back in? Refs don’t trust him. Why risk it when you’ve been winning without him.
Did he just say the 4th lines been good? Is he on drugs?
Definitely put Bunting in. No question. The Leafs have been lucky the last 2 games. I say get everyone fired up, because the Leafs need a fire under their butts for game 5 for the entire 60 mins. Sit Jarnrock or Lafferty.
Imagine, Bunting coming back in, he starts taking bad penalties, Tampa starts winning
I don't think that removing Järnkrok is a wise decision, besides that, staying out of the box is key against Tampa. Not Bunting's biggest strength.
Don't take knies out
He's better than several players. He needs to play.
I say put him in. It's probably something Cooper won't expect. I disagree with everyone saying "don't fix it if it ain't broken" because it IS broken. Game 4 started working out once Matthews and Marner were split up. But we were still slow and lacking grit. Ever since the 1st period of game 3 until OT in game 5. I highly doubt Bunting is going to do anything stupid again. He will virtually end his career if he does. We need him to be a pest though. On top of that, you know some of those Tampa players will be out for him. At the very least they make stupid mistakes, but even better is he might draw some penalties.
Jarnrok – Matthews – Nylander
Knies – Tavares – Marner
Bunting – ROR – Acciari
AReese – Kampf – Kerfoot
I forgot who posted this suggested lineup but I like it.
No
He’s done , son.
DONE.
I was actually glad that Bunting got suspended to help him find focus. He has been trying to be the tough guy on the Matthews line this year instead of focusing on being a scoring and goal setup machine like he was last year. I would consider pulling out jarnkrok to give calle a rest. Lafferty and aston reese are playing well defensively
Kerfoot out, Bunting in… I’m sorry there’s been to many plays where Kerfoot is on the ice and we are under pressure getting hammered, also he cheats on defence
Bunting will cause something to happen to screw things up , just like Kadri did don't take the chance this is a good lesson for him to listen to people
No. Don’t mess with a streak
These guys are nuts. This team has been absolutely DOMINATED 5 of the last 6 periods and they want to hold back their 1st LW?? Wow
Leafs need Bunting because the refs will penalize him every chance they get. Tampa will have one power play after another.
Yes and no. He’s better then the majority of the players on the leafs but he’s a big baby who takes too many penalties
He will also have trepidation about stuffing things up… leave him out … reset vs Boston
Clearly bring Bunting back. How is this even up for debate, these guys are just showing how clueless they are.
No he takes too many penalties- just like Kadri.
Don't fix what ain't broken? I'm sorry I'm a leafs fan and yes we'll take those wins but anyone who thinks the leafs have played even good are nuts. Yes stealing games happens but cant rely on that night after night especially playing the way they have. That's why these wins feel good bc of how bad Toronto actually has played. Get back to solid hockey, the zone play is night and day vs Tampa as they bring it in and set up like they're on a power play yet the leafs take eight minutes to get in successfully. Can't play like this each night, as I said yes we'll take them but no way anyone can act like Toronto has been even good let alone dominate. C'mon buds, hammer em out in Toronto and enjoy the clinch honorably with the home fan base. Take it to them this next game. GLG
These guys are showing how clueless they are. Toronto got absolutely dominated both games in Tampa and had two miracle OT wins. We need all the help we can get, Tampa isn’t going to roll over and play nice in an elimination game. We need our best team and that includes Bunting.
…away too long…chemistry…a Tampa Bay magnet…?
Yes Bunting should get a second chance
Love Knies. Have from day 1. Bunts while entertaining should not be in this series. Tampa will build off his inclusion. Jason love your perspective.
Justin is clearly wrong. Bunting is a liability and don't mess with a winning roster.
It's like if your regular starter stunk up the first game, then your backup wins you the next 3, do you pull your backup just because the starter says to your "I'm ready"?