Game 26 - Leafs Win! Leafs Win! 4-2

Steve says:
Sundin with a sweet backhander...how that went in, I'll never know...and Toskala playing a great game especially near the end with a HUGE blocker save!
On the 2nd goal by Notlanta (ha !), Enstrom just walks in from the right point while Stajan is caught watching the puck instead of taking his man out....I hope someone points this out to him because that is how we are letting in most of our goals. Our defensive mode is supposed to take out the man...but we often get caught watching the puck or following the man in to the corner...must be more careful to watch for open players.

It was a great game for the players last night...but there is a problem that the win creates....it allows the OTPP to stay the course just that much longer with JFJ....and if the Leafs manage a win on Saturday, then who knows how much longer JFJ can stretch that into him keeping his job.

I went and reviewed JFJ's actual record of trades etc. and it was pretty depressing. Most of the people we traded our future away for are no longer playing hockey and/or only played 15 or so games for us...woo hoo (/sarcasm) .

I hear reports out of Florida and McLean with regards to management changes...I wonder if that will turn into anything ...do we want it to?

ps. Ottawa lost it's 5th in a row.... :-)

as bad as it is...

Steve says:

As bad as it all is...if you look at the standings, you will see that if the Sens and Detroit lose 5 games at some point and the Leafs win 5 games, we would be right back near the top...
so a couple lucky bounces, a few strong defensive games, and all this mess could turn around quickly...

from Practise

Steve says:

Even though there is a shitstorm around them...the boys in blue and white still need to keep on keepin on...
so...here are some quick note from practise today...

- Tucker not at practise after taking a slapshot to the foot
- Tlusty / Blake / Wellwood practising on a line together

Game 25 - Habs win in s/o 4-3

Steve says:

Captain clutch gives the Leafs (and PM and JFJ) hope with 17 seconds left thanks to some real hard work by Jason Blake....but the PM fucks it all up by putting Tucker in the shootout!

I really feel bad for Jason Blake...the poor guy cant buy a goal....he is working so hard and in the last few games I have seen at least a dozen shots that would have gone in had Jason not been jinxed by some weird voodoo.

And as for Vesa toskala...poor guy again...our D just keeps leaving him out to dry. I wouldn't say even one of those goals was his fault. He didn't let in one bad goal with the possible exception being the only that got jammed under his pad..but can you say "goaltender interference"?

The Hab player was all over him and jabbing Toskala with his stick...at what point does it become interference/slashing/spearing ?

It will be interesting to see if the OTPP finally steps in and does something about this train wreck. Sundin and Toskala deserve better.

ps. I think the zamboni driver was drunk.

vs the Habs - a preview

Steve says:

- Price in nets for the Habs
- Lafleur called the whole team a bunch of 4th liners
- Toskala starting for us
- Poni may not play, and if that is the case there is a possibility that Mark Bell could go onto the 1st line

WTF?! Mark Bell on the 1st line...

What the hell is PM thinking....with his job essentially on the line tonight ..he is gonna try Mark Bell on line 1?

Taking a stand

Steve says:

That's It!
PM is a middle man
JFJ, middle man
even Peddie is a middle man...
time to cut the bull
who do we go after to instigate change with the Leafs?
The OTPP

This is from the OTPP website press release from Feb. 11th 2003

Robert Bertram, Executive Vice President, Investments with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, said, “We believe in the solid future of MLSE and its passionate commitment to developing championship teams. Winning is good business.”TD Capital’s John MacIntyre, echoed these sentiments saying, “We are pleased to be part of a team committed to winning - on the ice, on the court and as a sports and entertainment business.”

These people need to be reminded of what we as fans expect!

click here to contact the OTPP and let them know how you feel!

Watch the game on Tuesday...take note of every advertiser on every commercial. Tell them that you will not buy there product any longer until change is made with the Leafs.

Write to the station you watch Leafs games on and tell them you will no longer watch the Leafs until change is made. ( http://www.cbc.ca/contact/ )

Cancel your Leafs TV and let them know that they can have your money again, when the Leafs make change.
(http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=tv_order)
(yes Chris I know ...I still have not got my sorry ass down to Toronto to pay up on our bet...I suck...)

and of course,Write a letter to the MLSE and the ACC to tell them that you will not be there to buy the watered down beer and overpriced hot dogs until the Leafs make change (http://www.theaircanadacentre.com/contact/)

I know people will still go to games and I know people will still but merch..I am talking about a real easy thing to do to apply even just a bit of pressure...to remind them all that "winning is good business"

Game 24- Holy frik another loss!

Steve says:

COME ON!!!! To the yotes!?! to the fuckin YOTES!!!!
who the hell decided to put Raycroft in nets????
Toskala is 6-2 vs. the yotes and you dumb shits decide Raycroft should start?!?!?

I must admit that I was watching the Sens game (hoping for the loss...yesss!) while listening to the Leafs game (stupid NHL and it's viewing zones) and one thing I will say that really pisses me off.
When Gerber got pulled by Ottawa, he was mad. He stayed in his net the whole time Emery was preparing...making a very uncomfortable scene on the ice. He just stayed there and Emery had to pretend like he was adjusting his gloves....for like 5 minutes, he would not move....and when he finally did give in, he slammed his stick on the bench...yelled "fuck fuck fuck" so loud that the people behind the bench looked shocked. Then he had a scowl on his face the rest of the game.
Now compare this to Raycrofts reaction. As soon as he got the signal, he power skated off the ice, was gloveless and wearing his little baseball cap before Toskala was even in the blue ice!
Raycroft stopped one short of leaning back and taking a nap for frik's sake!

Game 23 - Dallas wins

Steve says:

I am not even going to put up the core...it doesn't matter...a loss is a loss...although I will say that a loss to a team that I really thought we could beat stings a bit more. I'm not sure the boys should have been watching the NFL game before their game...maybe instead they could...oooh, I don't know...let me see....they could maybe

PRACTISE!!!!!!!

CHANGE! FINALLY!

Steve says:

Well after the latest Leaf loss, it looks as though we are finally seeing some change towards making this club better...as reported by the Globe and Mail...

While the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching staff and players are excited about their trip to Dallas and Phoenix for the U.S. Thanksgiving Day weekend (they have a luxury box rented for the Dallas Cowboys-New York Jets game on Thursday), there wasn’t a holiday spirit around the executive offices at the Air Canada Centre on Monday afternoon.Word spread quickly around Leafland around 3:30 p.m. that long-time executive assistant Ann Clark was fired by her boss, general manager John Ferguson Jr. Most of us reporters know Ann because when she was brought into the fold a decade ago by Ken Dryden, it was her we had to call to set up interviews with Dryden, Mike Smith, Pat Quinn or Ferguson. She always exuded class, was pleasant to chat with, professional, courteous and incredibly competent.It’s never a good development to lose your job with Christmas just around the corner, and the news was like a George Foreman body blow, especially since the reason she was given for her dismissal was the old “we want to go in a different direction.”We can only hope that the next direction Ann takes will be a pleasant one.

WTF!!!!

That's the big move? Fire the secretary? What the hell is going on at the ACC offices? Did she not make the coffee strong enough? Did she forget to water the plants? Are her dictation skills slipping? (btw...if you Google in the images for "secretary", you get a lot of pictures of women doing very non-secretarial work...NSFW!)

Why the hell is the management focused on the performance of an assistant (who actually sounds like she knows what she is doing) rather than what the heck is going on at ice level???

Game 22 - Boston wins 4-2

Steve says:

Wow...I wish I was a tire salesman in Toronto with a dealership near the ACC. With the # of blown tires in the third period that the Leafs have had this year, I'd be rich by now...and there are stil 60 games to go!
I thought they were doing good until the mid 2nd period. Thats when things started to fall apart and we couldn't get back to the original Defensive game plan.

Tukka Rask really came back to bite us in the ass tonight. Nice trade Ferguson.

Game 21 - The Battle Of Ontario - Leafs win 3-0 !

Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto wins 3-0

POST # 100

Sundin?...where did it all go?

Steve says:
ooooooooooooSNAP! what a game! The forwards came back to help the D. The D was almost always in position...only 1 major breakdown (the 3-1) but Toskala...WOW TOSKALA...bailed us out.

And at the end of the game, as if the win wasn't sweet enough, Toskala stonewalls Alfie the Clown. Alfie looked like he might either cry or take a cheapshot at somebody.


And of course when the game was over the Sens, being the sore losers they are (emphasis on loser) take a cheap shot at Sundin and punch him in the back of the head knocking his helmet off...

But we showed great composure all through the game...great patience on the Tlusty goal (nice work for a wannabe porn star). Sundin with the Sonic Boom slapper through the 5-hole.


The win was sweet. Having my brother in law over for the game and throwing it in his Sens loving face was sweet. Walking down the halls of work today with everyone giving me dirty looks in my blue and white was sweet. The change room being quiet at my sons hockey practise the next day as we donned our Leaf practise jerseys was the sweetest of all.


Great job...now..can they do it again?

Chris:

I was watching this game with about a half dozen Leafs fans (and a couple Sens lovers)

What I found really telling was that even when the Leafs were slowly starting to build their lead in the third and despite some really solid play at both ends of the ice, everyone in the room was waiting for the Leafs to tank.

"Oh they're up 3-nil, but the Sens'll come back soon and take it all away"

You'll never find a bunch of people rooting harder for the Leafs to win and more convinced that they won't.

What does that say about our team this year? What does that say about our chances?

Game 20

Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston wins 5 - 2

Chris:

"Gee Chris. Why aren't you writing about the recent loss of the Leafs?"

"Well, Phantom Reader" I'm not writing about the Leafs because I have absolutely nothing to say that I haven't already mentioned in the last 19 some odd posts."

"Oh?"

"Allow me to break it down for you. Raycroft was in net (cue furious head nodding). The defence was at its best, which is to say it had more holes in it than a colander and frankly the whole team was skating around the ice like a bunch of multi-millionares who were just there to earn there paycheques. So good on you Toronto. You've managed to live up the expectations of all your fans. Which isn't saying much these days."

a little ditty

Steve says:

At least we get a tune out of it...
http://www.q107.com/home/FunStuff/JohnDerringerBlog/tabid/235/id/5639/Default.aspx

Fine for Fighting

Chris:

Here's the fallout regarding the Tucker/Avery scrap.

Rangers: $25,000 fine
Avery: $2,500 fine

Leafs: $10,000 fine
Tucker: $1,000 fine

So both squads got dinged. But I think, by the size of the fines, you can see where the league has decided to lay the blame.

Steve says:

oh yeah....Tucker is Blake's hero huh...
check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da0exRn-xcw

Slow News Day

Chris:

Here's what I'm gonna say about Jiri Tlusty. Allowing a bunch of "risque" pictures to make there way out into the real world is stupid NOT criminal.

Let's make sure we all keep this in perspective here. Hockey players, especially young ones, will always do stupid things. Ever played in a tournament a couple kilometres from home, hanging out with a bunch of bored buddies? I guarantee you'll get up to all sorts of stupid pranks.

This is pretty tame and the only person who's hurt by it is Tlusty and, by association only, the Leafs.

Let's be grateful that he's not doing some of the stuff some recent NHLers have done.

a) Tried to kill his agent.

b) Manslaughter on the ice

c) Betting on games.

d) Getting in drunken bar brawls

e) Messing around in his marriage.

Suddenly this looks like a simple case of boys will be boys. It must be a slow news days if legitimate organizations have to paste this all over their front page.

I'm looking at you Toronto Sun.

Steve says:

I dont see what the issue is here..so a kid took pics of his willy wonka and probably sent them to his then-gf...who cares...get over your fear of nudity North America...

The only thing sad about this is that the Toronto Sun said that Tlusty was the centre of the Hockey World's attention...IMO ..hardly...seems to me the whole Hockey Hall of Fame thing is a tad bit bigger news..

in a word...meh

shocking!

Game 19

Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal win 3-2 (OT)

Steve says:

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

We played so well last night. Really patient passing and play making. If it wasn't for Price being so damn good last night, that game would have been a blowout.

And then McCabe happened.

How does this guy look at himself in a Leaf jersey? Who does that? In pee wee hockey they are taught to never put the puck to the middle. He could have done any number of things...thrown it in the right corner...skate in and take a shot....pass into the left corner where Sundin was WIDE open...but McCabe chose to do the one play a defence man knows to NEVER do...throw it across the middle...

Maybe he just figured he could save us all some time and elected to jump right to the Shootout portion of the evening.

Next time, don't do us any favours McCabe....

As an aside, Blake looked great and was actually passing for a change...Raycroft was pretty solid..made some decent saves including a toe save that I, along with every other viewer, thought would go in.

That's 2 points for McCabe against us...and counting...

Chris:

What can I say?

Steve has pretty much taken the words out of my mouth. Every bone headed play McCabe makes further reduces the likelihood that we'll ever be able to trade him for more than a package of airline peanuts and stale flop sweat. We're already bearing the weight of his over priced contract and I can't see that changing any time soon.

Steve:

The only positive as of late is that we have played a lot better since the spanking we rec'd by Ottawa...so..maybe we just bench McCabe and get some wins for a change...you know, McCabe might be ok with playing in the minors...I'm sure he can't be enjoying being the scapegoat.

Trash Talk

Chris:
Apparently the whole tete a tete between Avery and Tucker the other night was because Avery had some choice words about Blake's cancer.

Genuine class.

I can see this popping up again the next time these two clubs meet.

Tucker shows Avery what happens when you talk shit to Toronto!

Steve says:

I bet Avery and Tucker get verbal warnings and that's it. Avery's agent tried to cover it up by saying that Avery made remarks about Tucker and his game...but if you saw it happen, it's pretty obvious he was talking to Blake first, and Blake was standing up to him. When Avery puts his glove on Blake, that's when Tucker stepped in and it got messy...

I like what Tucker did. You don't touch another player during the warm up and if the allegations against Avery are true (which we all know they are..let's be real here) then Avery should get a lot more than a verbal warning...but Betteman is a wuss...and that's as far as this will go...

NEXT!

Kubina out

Steve says:

Will we ever have a full lineup?
Kubina has re-injured his MCL...he'll be out for weeks...argh...

Game 18

New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs
Rangers win 3-2 (s.o.)

Steve says:

Leafs lost a close one...in a shootout...
I have never been a fan of the shootout...I know it adds tension and excitement, but the problem I have with it is that it takes away the "team" aspect of the sport.
All through minor hockey we preach "team team team" but then in the NHL, we say Team, until it comes to winning the game.
I dun..old fashioned? maybe...

Anyway, I am impressed that we came back from being down 2 @ home to tie it up...it showed good disciplined play on the part of the Leafs (except Tucker who fell for Avery's little game within the game).

Toskala played well..too bad about the loss...his record does not do his performance justice.

Chris:

A mixed bag of tidings in this game. I'm loving that Toskala is the go-to guy in net now. He's far from perfect but he's got a quick little glove hand that's tough to beat.

More than once in this game Toskala kept the Leafs in it, especially in the third period and OT when the Leafs were taking penalties at extremely inoppurtune moments. Although a shout out is definetly in order for the PK unit. There were a couple of set up passes that skittered arcross the front of the crease, but overall they did a great job, challenging the puckhandler and willing to lay their bodies on the line to stop the shot.

Something that I'm noticing more and more about the Leaf's game is their stick work in the neutral zone. Top notch boys. They're making sharp, crisp passes in the neutral zone and really doing a fantastic job of carrying the puck up the ice. This is head and shoulders above last year's dump and chase mentality. Dump and chase can work, but to often you're just throwing the puck away.

A loss, but a loss with potential.

Game 17 vs Buffalo Leafs win 3-0

Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres
Toronto wins 3-0

Steve says:

Hey Buffalo...who's yer daddy?!!!

suh-weeeet game! I can't believe I am saying this but the Leafs played a near flawless defensive game!..and a lot of it had to do with McCabe...Holy frik! Even Raycroft played a great game. Nice save at very key times...something you cant usually say when describing Raycrofts play.

Maybe Tucker and McCabe saw something from up in the press box for the last little while and passed it on to the rest of the guys....oh wait ...I know what it is...

They probably said "Hey Leafs...play some frikking basic defense and we can win some games"

I loved how the 3rd checker on the forecheck stayed in the high slot all game long taking away the passing lanes, creating turnovers and...the thing I was most excited about...there were always... ALWAYS 2 defence back.

I dont care if the trap is boring hockey..

IMO, until we start piling up some wins...play that trap...

nice work...hope we can keep it up against the Rangers.

The art of the backhanded compliment

Steve says:

from mapleleafs.com

Although it may not help them become better defensively, the Leafs will be happy to get rugged forward Darcy Tucker and defenseman Bryan McCabe back on Friday.

I think it is sad that getting a veteran defence man back from injury isn't expected to help us defensively...!

someone should really proofread these things before they post them...

Chris:

Wow, with a rousing endorsement like that, who WOULDN'T want to trade for McCabe.

Act now and you can get a goalie who doesn't actually stop goals (Raycroft) and a forward who hates to shoot the puck.

small revenge and full health...almost

Steve says:

Even though it doesn't help the Leaf cause any, it was nice to see the Sens get their asses handed to them by the last placed team in the North East Division, The Washington Capitals.
Ovechkin was just awesome and the Sens played like the lazy spoiled team that I like to believe they are. Finally a team was able to recognize the main Sens play of the trailing winger...someone finally caught on. I have been preaching defense against that play for a year now and finally some coach said to his wingers, "watch for that trailing winger on the Sens" and lo and behold it worked...

Tonight we have everyone back except Carlo...Paul Maurice seems to think that reuniting his PP (formerly listed in the top 5 last year before injuries) will help his team. What he doesn't seem to fully accept is that it is his defence that is letting him down...he says they are practising for full team defence...

hopefully we see that tonight...

Go Leafs!

Chris Neil is a goof..and Alfie is a clown

Game 16

Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators
Ottawa wins 5 - 1

Steve says:
I arrived ridiculously early to the rink in an attempt to avoid rush hour traffic. I still cant figure out why the Sens rink is out in the middle of nowhere...but that's another issue..
I brought my lovely wife with me who is also a Leaf fan, although I noticed some signs of her cracking under all the Sens propaganda while we were there...we'll have to work on that...

I wanted to grab some dinner, but both of the restaurants in the building served everything with meat...and I do mean everything...even the salad has chicken!...whats a vegetarian to do?...

Then the Leaf fans started arriving in groups...so many in fact that I am pretty sure we outnumbered the Sens fans in the seats. The atmosphere was pretty exciting. They put on a big show about the "Battle" of Ontario and all that...Leaf fans were very vocal upon welcoming the team during the warmup.

Then the game started and I knew something was amiss on the first play in the Sens zone...WE WERE PINCHING OUR D!!!!
"Oh no" I thought. Don't leave Toskala out to dry...yet that is precisely what they did. The Sens recognized what we were doing and made us pay every time.

Bell's first shift was awesome...he was leaving his feet on every check...just pummeling the Sens...and he kept it up on the few shifts that he got...Wellwood had some nice hands, but didn't pass the puck very well...

I don't need to go into details about the game on the ice...I'm sure you will see many replays all over TV...but what was going on in the stands was great...even when down 3-0, Leafers were still every bit as vocal as before...The heckling, the chants...all so loud and really spirited...hell, even after the game there was a Leaf fan who had a poster of Alfreddson made up to look like a clown stood on top on the stairs at the exits and got a chant going...

All that energy even after an ass whooping reminded me why I love this team so much...we just keep beleafing that one day we will rise to glory, we will take down the giants of the game and stand victorious....and it will be sweet..

Go Leafs Go!

here are some pics.

On the way to the rink, a storm was brewing...

The Leafs were outskated at every turn (please note the trailing Sens winger at the bottom of the picture...!)

Sens fans chanted "RaaaayCroooft" when Toskala got pulled

At this point the game was tied...the opening faceoff!

They looked good at warmup...lol


Chris:

Ouch. They make it really hard to be a fan some days don’t they.

The Leafs rode into Ottawa last night, up against the best team in hockey right now. And the end result was a shellacking that’s become more and more familiar over the past couple of years.

It used to be that we could count on the Sens inexperience and nerves to have them drop a game (or two) whenever they came to town. These days Ottawa reserves their choking for the playoffs.

So what killed us last night? Same old story, the odd man rush. After Toskala’s stellar performance in net a couple days ago I think all of Leaf Nation could see that we’d finally settled on a starting puckstopper. Unfortunately, Toskala may not want the job. I mean would YOU want to be the guy responsible for being the last line of defense after your shoddy D has once again dropped the ball. I sure as hell wouldn’t.

Where is the defense? What is being done? If the fans can see the problems with such crystal clarity why can’t the front office? You know, if I came into the office on a daily basis and regularly failed to perform the basic tenets of my job they’d sling my arse out onto the street and rightly so. I realize that professional sports is not a desk job, but the principles remain the same.

Last night marked the return of Kyle Wellwood as well as the first appearance from Mark Bell in a Leaf Jersey. Both got solid amounts of ice time and neither one made much of a impact on the game.

The single goal scored by the Leafs? A powerplay zinger by Antropov.

Game 15

Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens
Toronto wins 3-2

Steve says:

Way to go boys...win or lose, that was an exciting game to watch! But Wins are best...:-) Friggin Toskala stood on his head ! Of course that means our D wasn't doing it's job to it's fullest potential, but all's well that ends well (insert nervous laugh here).

Kilger gets a nicely timed goal which proves that putting the puck on net is NEVER a bad play...NEVER EVER.

Sundin has had a couple of goals recently that have proved that also...

I am only a few hours away from the Leafs/Sens game on Tuesday and I hope we can forecheck hard, and not get sucked into our corners because that leaves the high slot open which is where the Sens #1 line gets 90% of their goals. They do the same play over and over again, and the best way to defend against it is to take away the passing lane...and send a heavy in to check the Ottawa player in the corner...pressure.

We cant keep up with speed or skill, so we need to use muscle plays and force our way to the net..jam in some shots...no pretty passes because Phillips and Volchenkov are too good at reading plays and intercepting which often creat 2-1 or 3-2 which will be morder for us.

and of course, stay out of the box...

Go Leafs Go! bitch slap those Sens!

Game 14

Toronto Maple Leafs at New Jersey Devils
New Jersey wins 3 - 2

Steve says:

ok.. a little late so the sting of the loss has worn of (such is the life of a Leaf fan)...i do recall not being happy with the number of penalties we took...but still liking what I saw from Toskala...

great pic

Steve says:

i cant begin to describe how not happy I am with that game...so instead, here's a funny picture..

Trade Talks at last

Steve says:

Finally there are some real trade talks happening...rumours still...but these seem to have some weight to them rather than the usual fluff that floats around the NHL....

from a rumour site...

"A possible trade between the Leafs and either the Coyotes, Ducks, or Avs. . . this deal is a big one and there are very some big names involved going both ways...I also am told that it could happen as soon as today or could be a "weekend blockbuster." This from various sources throughout the NHL. I have been completely swamped by this one since around 10 pm last night. "

So we shall see...some of the names kicked around have been McCabe (of course), Kaberle (noooo!), Doan (yesss!), Getzlaf (hell yess!), and a myriad of others...in various quantities and assorted picks...

Hopefully something good will come of this...maybe we can get Phoenix's 1st round pick somehow....maybe a 1st round in 2 years so we can get Tavares the legal way...

Chris:

God no. Please. Not the Coyotes.

Their taint of failure is worse than ours.

Game 13

Washington at Toronto
Final Score: Washington wins 7 - 1

Ovechkin goes for a skate in Toronto
Steve says:

Holy hell! what is with this team and falling to shite at home?

I cant believe that Washington chased Toskala from the net!

That defense was painful to watch...again we followed the puck like it was a magnet and left the high slot open...

Our guys forgot who they should be covering...often that guy left open was Ovechkin! Who the hell leaves Ovechkin open?

Get it together boys..we know you can't win all of the games...but you should have won last nights game...
damn!
ps. I am 1 week away from the Sens/Leafs game in Ottawa that I have tickets for!

Chris says:

Seriously. Stop it.

Just stop it. Do the Leafs have a multiple personality this year or what? Or maybe the faint praise from Leaf Nation after two wins in a row combined to give them a false sense of security.

What a crap game.

On one hand I'm glad, because I have Ovechkin in my hockey pool and I pulled down a couple good points last night.

But mostly I'm disgusted. The Leafs are going to lose games like any other hockey team. But what the hell is the story with all these blowouts? Did they learn nothing from the lessons of the last two games? Was it some sort of elaborate tease?

Come one guys, get it together. You've got some of the most generous fans in the world and they'll forgive a lot. But one thing they won't let you get away with is playing hockey without a decent grasp of it's basical fundamentals.

Do better.

Games 12

Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers
Final Score: 4 -1 Leafs

Chris:

There we go! That’s more like it!

We’ve won two games in a row. No matter how tenuous the claim that’s officially a strike.

I think you may see Toskala moving ever so sloooowly into the starter’s position now, if by now you mean finally. He’s had two solid starts in net now, the momentum is with him and there’s also going to be the psychological aspect. The team is starting to feel like they can win in front of Toskala and that’s huge. Like anyone else, when the team mentality is sucking (see recent uninspiring start to season) they’re going to over think the situation, play conservative hockey and generally beat themselves. When they think they can win, they’re going to play good aggressive hockey and make things happen on the ice.

Aside from a slow start on Saturday it wasn’t a particularly noteworthy game. Yes we managed to protect our two goal lead in the third period, which has been a problem as of late. But with that exception it wasn’t spectacular hockey. Rather, it was the kind of game we need to win on a nightly basis. One we where show up, get ourselves on the board and then protect the lead through smart hockey and capable defense.

In net, see above, Toskala was more than capable, shutting down the Rangers and even managing to fan the Rangers when they had a two man advantage. Goal scorers for the evening were Kubina, Antropov, Pohl and Kilger with the empty netter.

Steve says:

I thought that we finally played some good positional defensive hockey which has been missing since...well...since as long as I can recall....years even...
A win against the Rangers, one of if not THE lowest scoring team, is not super spectacular, but a winis a win and since it is 2 in a row, I'll take it and love it!

From left field...

Chris says:

In case you’re dead…ooor have been living in some sort of cave, on Mars perhaps, you’ve missed the Leafs “Big Play” yesterday.

The Leafs are chasing John Tavares and trying to get him to sign up with their Marlies farm club.

The 17 year old “phenom” is a mere five days to young to qualify for the 2008 draft. So the Leafs are offering him a chance to opt out of that draft and play for the Marlies instead.

It’s hardly written in stone, the AHL has the same age requirements as the NHL and Tavares doesn’t seem to have a burning desire to get out of his commitment with Oshawa Generals. So it would take some rule bending and a little more incentive for him to sign on.

But even though it’s a slight possibility. It’s a possibility nonetheless.

Honestly, it’s nice to see the Leafs and JFJ think outside the box and try something like this. It may not work, they may fall flat on their faces, but just the fact that they’re out there knocking on doors and trying to create some opportunities shows that maybe they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make themselves a better team.

Good for you. What took you so long?

Game 11

Steve says:

...And help they did! Nice job by Tlusty to get his first 2 goals :40 apart in his first NHL game...keep it up!

BUT the most important factor of last nights game is that our D stayed at home...no pinching except when totally safe to do so...we dropped our shots against from the average 45/50 per game down to 25! Toskala can handle that every night...

As for the whole JT thing, (in case you don't know, JFJ has made an offer to John Tavares from the Oshawa Generals to come and play for the Marlies) I don't know if JFJ can make it work...but it is an act of desperation....and sometimes desperation results in miracles.

Chris says:

Wow.

Some good news out of Leafdom for a change.

Now that’s the game we’ve been waiting to see.

At only 19 years of age Jiri Tlusty broke into the NHL in a big way last night, scoring twice, a mere 35 seconds apart, to lead our boys in a romp over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What’s that Sidney Crosby? Suck it?

I think maybe he will.

Vulgarity aside it was a hell of a game last night. The third period, traditionally a dying ground for this Leafs this season, became a scoring exhibition of sorts. Besides Tlusty’s pair, the Leafs other scorers for the evening were Steen, Devereaux and Kaberle.

Maurice needed to shake things up. We’re scoring lots of goals but our defense has been letting games that we have in the bag slip away from us. When you’re struggling as badly as we are right now, there are worse strategies then calling up a couple of hungry young players to take a crack at the big time. Well, for one game at least, the gamble has paid off.

This is as it should be. No one’s place in the roster is secure. You need to earn, every night, the right to step onto that ice.

Much like last year we seem to have been bitten by the injury bug again, besides Wellwood and Colaiacovo recent additions to the list include McCabe and Tucker. Speaking of which, whatever happened to Wellwood and Colaiacovo? The last time I heard both players were on the mend and mere days away from being back in the lineup. Yet so far we’ve seen nothing. What gives? News on this subject from the front office has dried up and I haven’t the foggiest idea of what their status is.

Leafs say "help us" to Tlusty and Kronwall

Steve says:

I like bringing Kronwall up cuz we need some actual desire on our blueline and Kronwall will bring that cuz he wants to play in the big leagues...

The marlies are undefeated in regulation (4-0-1) and a large part of that is...(deep breath) defence!

Yes Leaf Nation...you can breathe a little easier because the future of our D actually has some bright spots.

One of the most promising stats that our mini-Leafs have in their favour is that when they are leading after the 2nd period, they are 4-0-0!

there is hope...

The O is doing their job....

Steve says:

In case any of you don't think the Leafs have enough offense to win take a look at this...(it also highlights the fact that it is our D that is letting us down)

Chris says:

Antropov? Can you believe it?

What I like best about the whole Antropov scenario is how reasonable his price tag is. Under 2 mill a season.

True Passion

Steve says:
I just saw again last night why I am a Leaf fan... and no...I don't mean the game. In my son's locker room, as you can imagine, there are more Sens fans than Leaf fans (being in Ottawa and all). But there are 2 guys who cheer on the blue and white.
At the beginning of the season, only Nick was brave enough to wear the Leaf jersey...then another kid did a week ago, then yesterday there were 3 of us...even though we are getting our asses handed to us by backup goalies, the Leaf passion was becoming stronger within the locker room...I heard other kids say that they didn't really think the Leafs should be doing as badly as they have been, and that they think the Leafs will turn it around before this season is done. Then on the shooting drills, the kids wearing Leafs jerseys scored the most goals. On the Defensive drills, the Leaf kids were poke checking and clearing the zones like pros.
Maybe there is something to cheering for the underdog. Seeing a team that is awful turn things around and beat some much "better" teams is way more rewarding than jumping on the bandwagon of whatever team is hot right now. That's what bugs me about Sens fans. Once the Send start sucking in about 2 years due to injuries and whatnot, you will see the Sens fans jumping ship faster than you can say "Iceberg".
But Leaf Nation will still be intact and we will still be bleeding blue and white...one Leaf kid at a time!

Game 10

Chris says:

So the Leafers lost a game to the powerhouse Atlanta Thrashers.

I’m sorry, I couldn’t say that with a straight face either.

Well, somebody has to lose to the last place team, it might as well be us. The good news here is all in the stats, three assists by Blake, a goal and two assists by Sundin and some solid goal tending by Toskala. We also managed to slink away with a single point, thanks to Poni’s third period heroics.

But this stuff is merely the icing on the cake. Leaf fans hunger for a real meal. To see their squad go out there and dominate instead of half-assedly relying on the big guns. Nobody makes the playoffs by hoarding single points from OT losses.

Unfortunately the cushy home stand is over now. We’ve got a six game road sched coming up. Maybe a little adversity will toughen this team up. Maybe what we need is the laughter and jeers from other fans as their teams sharpen their sticks for an easy W. Maybe we need to stop telling everyone we can play good hockey and start actually doing it.

Maybe.

Call Up

Chris says:

The Leafs have called up Anton Stralman to start in tonights game vs. Atlanta. With a blue line plagued with holes this is the Leaf version of throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks.

While we're not exactly injury free right now, we are going into a game where the opposing team is suffering a couple key injuries to their own line up.

This is put up or shut up time.

Steve says:

ANOTHER brutal loss...man this is getting rough. I think for the next game we should put Sundin and Blake along the penguins blue line, and then everyone else hang back in our zone to help on D...
just brutal...how do you lose against the worst team in the league, when they don't even have a coach....wasn't this the team that just a few weeks ago gave the Eastern Conference champs a run for their money?
WTF?!

Injury Report

Chris says:

I'll take a knee to the groin for a thousand please Alex.

Tucker is out indefinetly from undefined ligament damage in his right knee. So that doesn't tell you much, but really it's all you need to know. Ligament damage is never good and it almost always means a long time on the bench.

This is not good news. Tucker may not post the highest numbers but he provides a lot of heart and soul to this team. With our unessecary and ongoing goalie baggage, and our continuing lapses at defence, I think it might be time to jettison one of goaltenders and fish around for a Tucker replacement if it looks like he'll have to ride the pine for any length of time.

Look at it like found money. Personally, I feel okay staying with Toskala.

Game 9

Steve says:

Ouch...
:-(

Chris says:

WTF was that? Ever been so mad at what's happening during a game that you've chucked a remote control at the television? My only consolation is that Raycroft wouldn't have been able to stop that either.

So. Another meltdown for the Leafs. The first two periods were great. Strong, consistent performances from the all the Leafs. We brought it right to the front door of the Chicago Blackhawks and the results were on the board. Up 3-1 by the top of the third.

But even as early as five minutes remaining at the bottom of the second the Leafs were showing signs of self destruction. It was a seemingly endless string of penalites that started it all.

Hooking, tripping, delay of game, apparently we were trying to run the entire gamut of the NHL penalty book. After starting the third with two men down it looked as if we were going to escape the glut of penalities unscathed.

Well, in the end, that wasn't the case. Andrei Zyuzin snapped a goal past Raycroft at 1:04 in the third period and the Leafs were done. Their mental focus was shot to hell and the Blackhawks proceeded to run up the score on them. In the end all the Leafs were able to do was score one more goal.

If they aren't hanging their heads in shame today they should be. But in all likelihood, would you hang your head in shame when you've got millions of dollars to make the pesky pain go away? I thought not.

It's one thing to loose a tightly fought match, but it's quite another to lose a game that you so neatly had in your hands.

Game 8

Chris says:

So, I really enjoyed watching last night’s game on Leafs TV when…

Wait a minute, I still don’t have LEAFS TV!!!!

That’s right, Steve is still not living up to his end of the bargain from the Great Playoff Bet of 2007, a fact that I became very aware of last night when I wasn’t able to tune into the game. It must be because L-TV is so expensive, I mean at 2.50 a month Steve is gonna have to cut down on his never-ending stream of morning lattés.

So, here’s what the newspaper tells me this morning.

A FanTAStic come from behind win from our boys in blue. Down 2-nil the Leafs come came back to win it by a score of 3-2. The Leafs were rough and aggressive, knocking around the Panthers a bit.

Goal scorers for the night were Jason Blake, Bryan McCabe (insert jaw drop here) and Nik Antropov, with 28 seconds to go in the third. Other notable mentions are Captain Mats Sundin with two assists and some pretty tight puck stopping by Toskala. All in all, it may not have been a pretty win, but one we’ll take nonetheless.

Hey, we’re Leafs fans, we’ve got pride but not THAT much pride.

busy day off

Steve says:

Hartly got fired in Atlanta. Talk of Pat Quinn or Pat Burns taking his place.
Poni expected back on #1 Line with Sundin and Blake on Thursday.
McCabe getting roasted by hockey media.
Leafs spend entire day working defensive zone coverage drills.
Flames lose a 4 goal lead and lose the game in shootout.

whew!

Chris says:

The rumour mill has it that Wellwood could be making his first appearance of the season on Saturday. I have yet to be wowwed by Wellwood, but that's primarily because he's injured so often.

Colaiacovo is apparently on the mend as well.

The Return of Bell

Steve says:
Not only is it super frikkin cool that I have tickets for the game on Nov. 6th with the Leafs returning to Ottawa to avenge their losses..but it also marks the return of one MARK BELL!

Hopefully he will bring some actual skill and power to this lackluster D of ours!
Go Leafs!

Chris says:

Really? Mark Bell? That's who you're tagging as the Great White Hope of the Leafs?

Did we reach the bottom of the barrell so soon?

In an unrelated item I too will be in Ottawa on November 6th. But sadly it won't be for the game.

Game 7

Steve says:

Raycroft was great.
Gamache was great.
McCabe was McCabe.
So we lost.
We need to send him away...far far away...and bring up some hungry youth who actually want to help us win. McCabe (and the defensive play as a whole) was so terrible that it staggered my mind last night.
No goalie can face 40-45 shots every night and be expected to win. No Goalie could...not Luongo, not Gerber, not Brodeur...no one...
we need defence!
we need defence!
(continue repeating until blue in the face)

Chris says:

There was a time when I was pretty stoked to have B-Mc on our D corps. Of course, a lot of that positive karma was pre-lockout.

Back then McCabe had a hell of a slapshot from the blue line and was dumping forwards on their collective asses faster than you could say "pay raise". But then the lockout came along. Suddenly the only the thing the "can-opener" was good for was two minutes in the penalty box. And the once vaunted slap shot? Not as effective when the other team knows its coming and sets up their D accordingly.

It was enough to get McCabe 5 years, 29 million dollars and absolutely no-trades without his say so. If only the ink had time to dry before he started stinking up the joint. I guess its hard to care about hockey when you're fornicating in a big pile of cash every night.

Here's the bottom line. McCabe is our highest paid player and as such he either needs to play like it, get benched or be traded. And my money's on the trade. We need to take what we can get for this guy and run. Look, I knock around a couple of sports for fun and I've made more than my share of mistakes on the field. So I know that perfection just isn't possible. But in the NHL there is no excuse for shoveling the puck into your own net. At this level of play you will be judged for each and every mistake you make, fairly or not. He's either incomptenent or he just doesn't care anymore.

I suspect it's a bit of both.

For whatever reason, McCabe's early career promises have ripened into a smelly pile of rotten crap. Maybe he just can't take the pressure of playing hockey under the microscope of such a hockey mad town. Whatever the reason, I've run out of patience and out of excuses.

Bryan McCabe your time here is done.

Game 6

Chris Says:

Sid the Kid broke his personal scoring draught, by scoring a pair of goals on us, please pardon my surprised face, which make all the difference when the score ends up being 6 – 4.

An aside, will Sidney Crosby get saddled with this nickname for the rest of his life? Or will he grow out of it? A note to Sidney, “The Great One” has been taken.

Again our Defense was porous at best and it seems like there’s not going to be much hope for these 07-08 Leafs if they can’t stop the other team from scoring. Even the greatest goaltender in the world is only as good as his defenders. What do you think we could get for McCabe right now? A six pack and a half off coupon at McDonald’s? Right now, if it were me, I’d settle for just dropping his salary.

Next up Buffalo, and if you've been following that team's games lately you'll see that we're in for a rough one.

Steve says:
Mcabe is killing us. It's as simple as that. With his defensive issues leading the way, our goaltenders are getting killed out there. It's too bad because Toskala and Raycroft are both actually playing really well...but have nothing to show for it.

Game 5

Steve says:

Sundin Sundin Sundin!

Well he finally did it. Mats Sundin is the top goal scorer and point getter of any Maple Leaf Ever!

Good on ya Mats!

And, as the gracious leader that he is, he immediately thanked the fans for their help along the way.

There will be many sites praising Sundin for all of his accomplishments so I am sure if you want more Sundin stats you can Google them easily enough. I want to talk about the game itself.

The loss to Carolina was exactly what the Leafs needed to kick them in the ass. They have been playing (for the most part) slightly above mediocre hockey and squeaking out wins here and there. Then a team like Carolina comes to town and say hey Leafs, suck on this!

The team could have gone one of 2 directions after the loss to the Hurricanes...suck more or kick some ass....I'm glad they chose the latter.

Everything was really firing for the buds. they cut back on penalties (still more than I would have liked, but getting better), the defencemen actually started to hit. They called up some speed in Gamache (who I thought should have made the opening roster) and I gotta say that Raycroft looked pretty sharp.

The thing that made Raycroft look sharp is that our defencemen cleared the front of the net and they cleared away rebounds for a change. Most goalies in the NHL can stop what they see. It's the screened shots and the rebounds that get behind them. So when our defencemen actually do their jobs, even Raycroft looks good!

If they can keep up that style of hitting defence and solid rebound clearing, our goalie tandem will take us a long way!

Go Leafs!

Chris says:

So they gave Mats Sundin all three stars last night.

Not too shabby. Scratch that. It was freaking amazing.

In an 8-1 slaughter of the Islanders Sundin finally found that elusive point number 917 to sneak past Sittler as the Leaf’s all time point leader.

Sundin is slowly but surely winding up his career. Which means the opportunities for him to hoist a cup over his head are starting to shrink. Is this the team that can help turn it all that around for him? My gut reaction says no. Essentially we’re the same team as last year, good, but not good enough. The Leafs made a smart upgrade upfront landing Blake but what they really need is another high level sniper and a consistently solid puckstopper. Both of which have eluded this club for the last couple of seasons.

But it’s a long season and we’re barely out of the gate here. And while it’s nice to get in a drubbing like that every now and again, that accomplishment is diminished slightly by the fact that the Leafs were on the receiving end of a similar pounding only two nights earlier.

With such a demanding schedule ahead of them the trick to making it into the playoffs is going to be consistency, and unfortunately, on that front we’ve been found lacking.

So while it’s important to enjoy this milestone while we can, our number one focus has to be on making sure that we’re bringing our A-game to the ice, week in and week out.

Poni sits

Steve says:

Poni is sitting out tonights game after running into Kilger during practise.

D'oh!

Chris says:

Apparently yesterday saw a fairly spirited practice as the team tried to work of the stink of failure from the Carolina game, which is how Pony got hurt.

Keep working boys.

Late start...?

Steve says:

There is a high possibility to a late start to next season. The NHL is looking hard at pushing back the start date for the 08-09 season in order to avoid some American sports TV conflicts such as the World Series in baseball.

This really sucks IMO because once again we are altering our sport to better suit the Americans. I think we (being the NHL) have been plugging away at the southern states long enough for even a blind person to see that hockey is not going to become the "next big thing" down there.

Why the NHL is beating a dead horse at the expense of all the other teams has me dumbfounded.

If you put a team in Winnipeg tomorrow, you would have sold out games every night.

If you put a team in Hamilton (like Balsille offered to do with a 50mil bonus to boot) you would have sold out games every night.

Why keep putting teams into markets where the best you can really expect is between 5-7000 for attendance?

Just doesn't add up.

Chris says:

Just more of the same B.S. from Betteman and company. Apparently the fact that League and the Sport is a cherished Canadian institution doesn't mean crap to them.

Didn't the Sens playoff schedule get severely screwed around last year because of a NASCAR race or something? Who wants to watch playoff hockey in the afternoon.

What really pisses me off isn't that the League seems to have forgotten Canada, its that they go the extra mile to consistently spit in our faces. The death of the Hamilton Blackberries being the perfect example.

If you want to build the brand, try putting hockey clubs in cities, Canadian cities, where the fans actually want to show up.

Put a team in Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec City or even on the East Coast. And if the current business model doesn't support that structure, trying paying the players less. Because a sucessful NHL benefits everyone. There's nothing I hate more than watching some game in the grapefruit belt and looking at an arena that's only half full. That's just depressing.

These guys have blinders on and they're systematically ignoring the easy saves in pursuit of a couple American billionares and a broadcast contract.

How about pursuing the fans instead.

Game 4

Chris says:

A brief analysis of last night’s 7 - 1 loss against the Hurricanes.

“Oh hey Chris, what are you doing?”

“Punching myself in the gut repeatedly.”

“Why?”

“Because it hurts less than watching the Leafs play”

If you happened to miss last night’s work shop on how to score goals, you didn’t miss much. In fact, you didn’t miss anything at all. Actually, I stand corrected, Sundin did tie Sittler for career points at 916. Not like that makes up for the whole sordid affair. It's time to sit back and let the excuses fly.

Steve says:
OUCH! Poor Vesa. He must be wondering "what the hell am I doing here?". I remember a Habs game where they were playing so poorly that Patrick Roy took the puck from behind his net and stick handled all the way out past 3 players to past the red line as his way of telling his team, "look, if I can do it, with all these pads and nobody to pass to, why cant you guys?"
He got a penalty because there is some rule that says Goalies cant go beyond the centre ice (stupid rule btw), but it woke the Habs up.
Maybe Vesa needs to do something like that.
Anyways, I really don't blame Vesa for last night. Yes it is bad when a goalie lets in 7 goals, but in his defence, here is a quick rundown of the goals:
Goal #1 - this one is partially Vesa's fault, he went down to early (as he appears to do regularly) but also, Justin Williams is allowed to walk in form the half boards and get a clear shot...that should never happen...but it does all the time, cuz our D guys are afraid to hit.
Goal #2 - again, no help by the D to clear a rebound
Goal #3 - Toronto D is killing a penalty,...poorly
Goal #4 - if you watch the replay, Boyd Devereaux actually watches the Carolina player skate past and into the zone with the puck before snapping out of his daydream to try and chase him down, but by then it is too late and the puck is in the back of the net. Would have been nice for Vesa to stop this one.
Goal #5 - another bad PK
Goal #6 - another bad PK (starting to sense a theme here...penalties = goals against)
Goal #7 - this one hurt the most IMO. Kilger simply watches as Staal skates in, goes past him, drives to the net and stuffs it not once, not twice, but 3 times on the short side. Kilger doesn't touch Staal once! NOT ONCE!
It's called defence you lazy bastards! hit them as they come into your zone! They cant shoot or pass when they are flat on their ass!
Last night Vesa stood on his head trying to give us a chance, but when my 11 year old sons team plays better D that the Leafs, what chance did they have?
None.
better pick up your socks boys or nights like that will happen again and again.
ps. Did you see McCabe trip over his own net, under no pressure by Carolina...man,...that guy is starting to really suck lately...oh...and hey Steen...try opening your eyes when searching for the puck...!

Game 3

Steve says:

WooHoo!

We got win #1 under our belt! It was a great effort by all of the buds to come back from being down 3-1.

Once again the refs made some pretty bad calls on both sides including one on Sundin in Overtime, and then right after we killed that off, one on the habs...but that last one worked in our favour so I won't complain too loudly.

Once again Toskala made some huge saves to keep us in it. Now if only we didn't have to score 4 goals to win a game...

I am glad that Blake is such a strong person to be able to to play as well as he has knowing that he has a rare form of cancer. Hopefully he is telling the truth about his ability to continue playing. I hope he recovers and that his family doesn't need to suffer.

Good job boys...now lets keep the train a rollin'!

Go Leafs!

Chris Says:

I have a confession to make. I was watching this game at a restaurant in Montreal when I should have been paying attention to my lovely and gorgeous fiancé who was sitting at the table with me.

Oh, by the way, Steve, I’m going to need a groomsman. Save the date.

Anyway, moving on. This was a great game. It was good to see the boys in blue battle back after getting down two goals. Toskala was sharp and the defense wasn’t totally porous. But in the third period Toskala was leaving the net a lot to field the puck on the boards and that was making me nervous. On more than one occasion a Habs player could have easily given him a well placed nudge. Raycroft has the same habit and it’s that kind of wanderlust that could see a quick goal scored on an undefended T.O. net.

Stay between the pipes boys and if you’re gonna leave the safety of the crease, at least be smart about it and don’t chase after every puck skidding across the ice like an over anxious retriever.

Three assists from Sundin and that ain’t shabby. But I want to see the old man scoring goals. He may not have m(any) more seasons left in him and I’d like to see him run up his stats while he still can.

And finally, Jason Blake. For those of you still unaware Blake was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The good news is apparently CML is highly treatable so Blake’s prognosis is positive. Having gone through my own cancer scare with my mother this year I know how heavy this kind of stuff can be. I wish him all the best and I hope that he comes through this thing in flying colours.

Game 2

Steve says:

First, the good stuff.

SUNDIN TIES SITTLER!!!

Ok, on with the rest...

Steve's Report Card
Game 2

Offense - C

Defence - D

Goaltending - B

Overall, it was more of the same. More Penalties. More Defensive breakdowns.
I didn't think that Blake-Sundin-Antro really gelled too well last night. But Toskala was really good. It was nice to see our goalie making a few great stops at key times to keep us in the game. It must be frustrating for him to make all those stops and then still lose because of the 10 penalties we took against one of the most offensive teams in the league. On top of that, we totally failed to make anything of the chance we got on the powerplay (I don't think we can call ours, a "power"play). At one point we had an extra man for 4 minutes. and what happened? Nothing, barely even a scoring chance.

I do have a bone to pick with the reffing in the league however. This is not because of the penalties. Don't worry I'm not some guy who whines when his team loses that the refs were paid or anything stupid like that. No, this is because of inconsistency from one game to the next depending on which ref you get. The Blake goal which was disallowed due to Goaltender interference was a correct call. As much as I didn't like it, it was the correct call to make (although my Leafer side says that I am sure Blake did everything he could to get out of the way). My issue with it is the fact that 20 minutes later in a different game, Phoenix scored a goal and they had players literally sitting on the Blues goalie. How does that goal count but the Blake one not?

vs

Inconsistency from ref to ref has plagued this game for decades. There needs to be a standard set and met each and every night from every ref so that the players know each night what they can and can not do.

Go Leafs...take this same game (minus the penalties) to Montreal (1-0-0, 6th overall) and kick their asses!

Game 1

Steve's Report Card
Game 1
Offense - B
Defence - D
Goaltending - C

I felt that our Sundin-Blake-Antro line was fantastic, especially when you consider that it was only their 3rd time playing together as a line. Good things to come from them. Lines 2 and 3 were average, generating some chance. Line 4 was ineffective. Not as much hitting as I would have expected.

Defensively I thought it was a sideshow. I was screaming at my TV for our D to hit guys like Heatly, and Alfredsson. They really only showed up for the 2nd half of the 2nd period. Much improvement to be made, but I think Paul Maurice can do it.

Goaltending, Raycroft was basically the same as last year. Andrew made some good saves (like stopping Alfredsson on the breakaway, atta boy Andrew), but also let in some weak ones, which is pretty much the same story as last season. This is a game where, if he had made a couple of key saves, I would now be praising his off season training or something like that. But it looks like he took off his skates, went south, got married, came back and put his skates back on.
Hopefully Toskala is no longer suffering from media-itis.

Final comments - Overall I am happy with the Leafs performance. When playing the supposed 2nd best team in the NHL, the buds looked pretty damn good.

Go Leafs Go.

Chris says:

Steve already kinda said it all didn't he.

Blake-Sundin-Antropov? That's a line I can see good things from. Even if that one goal did go off the skate, our boys were in place and the timing is right. We can only get better there.

Defence. I'm sorry, I didn't see any defence. I DID see a lot of scoring on Raycroft. But that's nothing new. None of it looked like Defence however.

So. We solider on. But we'll get an opp to match up against them soon enough. Hopefully this time the outher come will be a little more in our favour.

Peca

Steve says:
I forgot to mention this before...
The bluejackets have put Peca on injured reserve list...He missed all pre-season game due to groin strain...http://bluejackets.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=338932

Chris says:

He'll be back.

0's

all the 0's go away in a few hours...but why is Toronto in 11th place when we all have 0's?

TICKETS !

Steve says:

I GOT TICKETS FOR NOV.6th VS THE SENS !!!

GO LEAFS GO !

Chris says:

You fuck hole. How'd you swing that?

Steve says:

my work has inter office want-ads and this one lady bought a bunch of tickets, then her husband bought tickets for the same nights (ha!) so she is selling them cheap-ish $125 for the pair... I checked online and the best left at the 300 level is $160so that is gonna freakin' ROCK!!!! what do you think of the goalie controversy going on right now?

Chris says:

Put in Raycroft until he pooches a game, then put in Toskala until he does the same. You wanna play, show it.

Steve says:

lots of money to pay a guy to ride the pines!

Chris says:

Well fuck yah. Ideally I'd trade somebody. But do you see that happening anytime soon?Obviously they want to kick the tires on both of them and hope one of the two stands out.But in the meantime, it'll always be a guessing game.

Steve says:

funny how Maurice wouldn't say who was playing, but Raycroft did... and then Toskala looked upset... makes me wonder if it is PM playing games or Raycroft trying to sneak in and pressure PM to put him in

Chris says:

Raycroft got the nod according to the Star. I don't think Mo would play games...but I'm not sure.

Steve says:

normally he doesn't... but shit is going on... think he is being jerked around from above

Chris says:
Well, that's always the problem isn't.
It's like having your manager stand over your shoulder while you're at the computer. Only they're the ones doing the typing.

Steve says:
Here are just a few images to remind you how I feel about the Sens... Go Leafs Go!

that last on is the best!