Leafs Just Keep On Rolling

The Maple Leafs did not get to bed last night until around 3:00am giving them little time to recuperate after their victory in Ottawa last night but it did not seem to slow them up at all. Though the Leafs did not score the first goal of the game for the first time in seven games, they took the lead quite quickly and never looked back. Mats Sundin reached a milestone in tonight’s game by achieving his 700th point as Leaf on the game winning goal.

Trevor Kidd returned to NHL action tonight with a tremendous game, one that certainly was not expected. After having surgery to repair a shoulder injury that had been bothering him for about three years, Kidd said after the game that his shoulder felt the best it has in quite a while. He looked very good especially in the third period when the Rangers were pressing hard to tie the game. He showed a lot of confidence both playing the puck and challenging shooters. The factor that made his return even more difficult was the fact that he did not receive a shot until seven minutes had been played in the first period. This is extremely difficult for a netminder returning to the lineup. Often a lot of work early in the game is best for them as it prevents them from beginning to think and question their ability

Gary Roberts left tonight’s game after one period of play suffering an apparent lower body injury. As specific as this description from the Maple Leafs is, it is not known whether Roberts’ injury will keep him out of the lineup long term or if it is just a slight aggravation of a previous injury. Hopefully Roberts will not be out long term as Mogilny and Antropov are still trying to recover from serious long term injuries of their own.

The Leafs will take on the same New York Rangers on Tuesday at Air Canada Centre, part of the four games in twenty-seven days these two teams will play. With the animosity that was built up in tonight’s game, specifically from a tilt with Nolan and Barnaby and some gritty play from Darcy Tucker, it should promise to be a spirited match on Tuesday.

Belfour Solid In Fourth Victory In A Row

It felt like a playoff game right from the puck drop and the Leafs played a playoffs type game. Good defense, excellent goaltending and timely goals led the Leafs to victory again tonight as they pulled off a 2-1 victory over their bitter Northeast division rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

Matt Stajan had another outstanding game scoring the first goal of the game and played tight defense again seeing increased ice time. Having not scored a goal in thirteen games, Stajan continued to work hard to get chances and finally saw it pay off tonight. Senator’s netminder, Patrick Lalime was unable to handle a routine wrist shot from Harold Druken causing a rebound to drop right at Stajan’s feet who had good position infront of the net and was easily able to tap it in.

Ed Belfour was also up to his usual tricks making some tremendous saves with the game on the line. His best play occurred during a four minute penalty killing situation late in the third period keeping the score in the Leafs favour. It is not known whether he will start again tomorrow in New York or if Trevor Kidd will be given his first start of the year. Coach Pat Quinn said he would talk to Belfour to see if he feels comfortable playing in back to back games.

With tonight’s win, the Leafs tied the Boston Bruins for the lead of the Northeast division; however, the Bruins have two games in hand. Playing with a great deal of confidence as the Maple Leafs have been will only help them put some distance between themselves and the rest of the teams in their division.

Leafs Do It Right Against Atlanta This Time

Unlike the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Thrashers met, the Leafs were able to close the deal in tonight’s game. Tonight’s 3-1 Leafs victory, their third in a row, played out much the same as the previous match up between these two teams with the Leafs opening up a two goal lead. During the previous game, the Leafs surrendered their two goal lead in less than half a minute and inevitably went on to loose the game in overtime. This time; however, the Maple Leafs were able to hang on to that 2-0 lead until Ilya Kovalchuk scored with one minute and twenty-five seconds remaining to make the score 2-1 and break up Ed Belfour’s bid for a sixty-seventh career shutout. The Leafs’ lead was never in jeopardy though, as Nolan quickly added an empty net goal, his second of the game.

With Alex Mogilny undergoing hip surgery on Wednesday, putting him out of the lineup until at least mid February, it will be essential for other players to pick up some of the offensive slack. This was evident tonight as Owen Nolan and Matt Stajan simultaneously had their best games of the season. Stajan caused a turnover at the blueline resulting in Nolan’s first goal. Stajan was also a part of Tucker’s goal feeding him a beautiful pass in the slot on a give and go right between the legs of the Atlanta defender. Tucker was all alone in front of the net leaving him with an easy goal.

Ed Belfour played another super game making at least a dozen quality saves. Things were a little tense midway through the third period as Belfour came out of the net to play a puck around to his defense as he usually does. After playing the puck, he began to return to the net where a nasty looking knee on knee collision occurred with an Atlanta Thrasher sending Belfour to the ice in what looked to be a considerable amount of pain. After a couple minutes on the ice, Belfour was able to get up and carry on in the game. An injury to Belfour would be terrible as the Leafs live and die on the success of their number one netminder.

Leafs Pull Off An Unlikely Two Game Sweep Of Canucks

Well who would have thought after the poor performance the Maple Leafs put forth last Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers that they would walk into GM place and take a victory from the Western Conference leading Vancouver Canucks; moreover, return home and take the second game of their two game mini series? Surely not too many people would have believed that. That is indeed what the Leafs did. Players like Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin were influential in leading the Leafs to victory in both games, especially in last night’s 2-1 win at Air Canada Centre.

In the last two games, Roberts has shown effort and energy that has not been seen from him since the playoffs two seasons ago. He is going hard to the net, causing turnovers behind the goal, winning battles for the puck in the corners and perhaps most importantly, causing problems infront of the opposition’s net. Sundin is also playing with a presence that Maple Leaf fans are used to seeing from him. He is showing great strength in controlling the puck in the offensive zone, something that he seemed to be lacking at the beginning of the year. With the two points he recorded last night, Sundin has thrown himself right back into the scoring race sitting only eight points back of Robert Lang.

Ed Belfour played one of his better games of the season making some tremendous saves down the stretch to preserve the win for the Leafs. In total, Belfour made twenty-four of twenty-five saves.

The Leafs were only home for one game before they go back on the road for three more games in Atlanta, Ottawa and New York on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Leafs Break Canucks Home Unbeaten Streak

The Maple Leafs long six game western North American road trip finally came to end in Vancouver last night with the Leafs pulling off a 5-3 victory against the one of the best teams in the NHL at home. This trip was made even longer by the fact that the Leafs had not won a game on this road trip until the final game last night. For some reason, every game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks especially in Vancouver’s GM Place seems to be extremely entertaining, exciting and high scoring. On December 31st, 2003, the Leafs won a wild game 5-4 coming back from a 2-0 deficit early in the game. Last night’s game was no different as the Leafs quickly jumped out to 2-0 lead. The Canucks game back to tie the game two all before the Leafs got two more goals in the third period to put the game away.

There were many positives to take away from last night’s game apart from the fact the Maple Leafs picked up a much needed two points. Gary Roberts played one of his best games in a Maple Leaf uniform conjuring up memories of his play during the playoffs two seasons ago. Roberts had two goals and a plethora of chances that could easily have seen him record a hat trick. Along with his goal scoring, he went to the net with enthusiasm on most plays causing problems infront of Vancouver netminder, Dan Cloutier. He was a physical presence throughout the game as well, dealing out a few thunderous checks.

Harold Druken played his first game for the Maple Leafs last night on a line with Owen Nolan and Matt Stajan. Apart from Gary Roberts’ line, Stajan between Nolan and Druken was probably one of the Leafs’ best lines last night. Nolan scored a goal and both of his line mates recorded assists on the play. They also generated a lot of chances with a high energy style of play. Coach Pat Quinn gave Matt Stajan considerably more ice time with regulars like Alex Mogilny, Joe Nieuwendyk and Wade Belak being out of the lineup. Stajan played well with the increased ice time he received proving he can play effectively in a role more important from his current spot as the fourth line centre.

The Leafs will take on the Vancouver Canucks again on Monday at Air Canada Centre. The Canucks will definitely want to salvage at least one game out of this mini two game series which means they will probably play with a considerable amount of intensity and energy.

Heritage Classic Is A Frozen Fairy Tale

Finally the weekend arrived for the much anticipated heritage outdoor game between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. What a game it turned out to be! Over 57,000 people turned out to witness the first outdoor regular season hockey game in NHL history. With a temperature of -25˚C, the hall of famers kicked off the afternoon with a truly memory provoking game that saw the Oilers legends pick up a 2-0 victory.

It was truly unbelievable to see all those legends skating together once again in an outdoor, old time hockey setting. Though Wayne Gretzky did not pick up any points, it was wonderful to see him out on the ice. Ever since he retired, it has felt like the game was missing something, that household name that everybody could relate too. The Edmonton netminding tandem of Grant Fuhr and Bill Ranford looked as though they could still play effectively in the NHL as each posted a shut out in their portion of the game complete with several outstanding saves each.

The current day players also put on a great show in a game that was quite exciting. On the whole, it looked as though the players thoroughly enjoyed themselves, buying into the heritage and history that was involved with this game. The highlight of the game was probably Jose Theodore playing the entire game with a Montreal Canadiens toque complete with a pompom top over top of his helmet.

What a great show the Edmonton Oilers put on and all involved with this event should be commended. It was a truly outstanding event that really brought back the true meaning of hockey and the genuine feeling it can have on families. Well done everybody!

Leafs Come Within Literally a Toe’s Length in Edmonton

The Leafs continued their struggles on their road trip in Edmonton as they dropped tonight’s game by a score of 3-2. Though some noticeable improvements to their play were made during this game, the Leafs still were unable to put together a full sixty minutes of hockey. A poor second period was, once again, the period that put the Leafs in a hole that they could not dig out of. A couple of unintelligent plays and some defensive mistakes that the Oilers were able to capitalize on put the Leafs down by a score of 3-1 heading into the third. Despite an inspired third period effort, Oiler netminder, Ty Conklin came up with fourteen of fifteen saves in the final frame, enough to preserve the victory for the Oilers.

If the Leafs are able to play more periods that resembled the third period they played tonight, they will be a lot better off. They registered fifteen shots and were able to generate a lot of good looking offensive opportunities. They came within Tom Fitzgerald’s foot of tying this game. A chance midway through the third period which saw a Leaf shot heading directly into the net was stopped inadvertently by Tom Fitzgerald’s foot on the goal line as he tried to reestablish his position infront of the net. Defensively, the Maple Leafs played a lot better in the third as well. Only one error was made that resulted in a great Edmonton chance. This was caused by a Bryan Marchment giveaway at the blueline.

Perhaps what was most concerning was the reoccurrence of the hip problems of Alex Mogilny. He left at the end of the first period of tonight’s game and did not return. He had an aggravation of this problem a week ago tonight against Los Angeles where missed the overtime period. This could be a problem that has to do with the joint of Mogilny’s hip which is cause for considerable concern as this could see him out of the lineup for an extended period of time.

Defensive Mistakes Highlight Poor Offensive Effort

When a team struggles to score goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs have over their western road trip which has seen them play in Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Calgary so far, it is very unlikely that hockey team will win a lot of games. This has been the case for the Toronto Maple Leafs including in last night’s game against the much weaker Calgary Flames team. What made the lack of offense stick out even more were the glaring defensive errors the Leafs made when the game was on the line late in the third period and in overtime. If not for more of the usual Ed Belfour heroics, the Leafs would not have even earned the single point they did in the 3-2 overtime loss.

Mats Sundin tied the game midway through the third period giving the Leafs a bit of an energy boost. They got a couple more decent chances to take the lead right after that but they quickly lost their spark of energy and allowed for some tremendous chances to go Calgary’s way. Belfour was forced to make two phenomenal saves on a point blank chance in the slot and a breakaway by Jarome Iginla. The breakaway opportunity was an especially poor play because not only did Tomas Kaberle allow himself to get beaten by his man at the Leaf blueline, he then stopped his pursuit and began pleading for an offside call.

The Leafs lack of any consistent offensive attack is extremely puzzling because, on paper, they look as though they should be able to put out at least two fairly daunting lines. Apart for Mats Sundin and occasionally Alex Mogilny, nobody has been able to establish themselves as a constant threat for the opposing team’s defense. A change that must be made is to get Tom Fitzgerald off the fourth line and up to a line where he can be more effective. Fitzgerald offers too many things including experience, hustle and grinding ability to have it squandered on the fourth line where he only sees five to ten minutes of ice time per game. Putting him back on a line with Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk which was able to produce earlier in the season could be one option. Playing him with people like Robert Reichel and Owen Nolan or Darcy Tucker could also be another option. These two scenarios would be two much more prudent ways to use him.

The Leafs will finish up their road trip with games this coming Thursday and Saturday against Edmonton and Vancouver, respectively. They must win both of these games to be able to look back on this road trip as a somewhat successful one.

Leafs Can’t Close The Door On The Sharks

Everything seemed to be going well for the Maple Leafs in their game last night against the San Jose Sharks until a deflection off a point shot on a power play early in the third period seemed to transfer the momentum to the Sharks. They would eventually score the tying goal and force the Leafs to settle for a 2-2 tie. Disappointing this was for the Leafs who were in control for the first two periods of the game.

Alex Mogilny and Mats Sundin played very well each recording a goal and an assist. Mogilny recorded the Maple Leafs first shorthanded goal of the season when he scored at 8:18 of the second period. Sundin’s goal was a power play marker.

Mikael Tellqvist played in his second game in a row and as he has done throughout the year when he has been given the start, he played very well. He had no chance on the first Sharks goal and the second was also somewhat fluky. Belfour will probably start on Tuesday as the Leafs start the second half of their road trip, specifically the Canadian portion.

Kings Fail To Finish Leafs Off

For the first forty minutes of last night’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, it looked as though the Leafs were bound for another loss. The Kings were in control by a score of 4-1, not to mention outplaying the Leafs in the first two periods. The game, up to the end of the second period, was almost a carbon copy of Wednesday’s game against the Ducks. The opposition scored first followed by the tying goal by the Leafs. Then three unanswered goals would put the opposition in command by the end of the second period. The third period, however, was completely different in last night’s match.

Instead of packing in their effort for the night as they seemed to do against the Ducks, the Leafs came out for the third looking like an inspired and determined team. An early power play goal by Gary Roberts put the Leafs within two with over sixteen minutes to play. Alex Mogilny mounted the next attack as he essentially undressed the Kings defenseman and wired a hard shot past goaltender, Roman Cechmanek. The tying goal occurred on the power play as Reichel made an excellent cross ice pass to Owen Nolan who was easily able to tap it in. The key part of that play though, was not Reichel’s pass but Tomas Kaberle going hard to the net who acted as a decoy. Two Kings left their positions to cover him leaving Nolan all alone. Also, Cechmanek believed the pass was intended for Kaberle so he did not pay any attention to Nolan.

It was excellent to see this exceptional determination to fight their way back into the game. Many veterans like Mats Sundin, Alex Mogilny, Mikael Renberg, Gary Roberts, Owen Nolan, and Robert Reichel really stepped up and refused to quit. The power play on which the Leafs scored the tying goal resulted from good puck control by the Leaf’s number one line of Gary Roberts, Mats Sundin and Alex Mogilny. Sundin used is trademark wrap – around move to get infront of the net causing a King to haul him down drawing the penalty.

Since his return to the lineup, Mikael Renberg has played very well recording two goals and providing a little energy boost to the Leafs on this long road trip. Renberg’s trademark style of grinding it out and causing chances out of nothing is an invaluable asset to the team. Not only does he provide a lot of energy but he rarely looses a battle for the puck along the boards which ultimately leads to more scoring opportunities.

Mikael Tellqvist made his third start of the season playing very well when the game got tight. The four goals he did allow were more due to the result of poor defensive plays by his teammates. He certainly looks as though he is ready to assume the Leafs backup goaltending role if not this year, than certainly next year.

Karel Pilar made his return to the lineup after an eleven month absence due to a rather frightening infection that caused inflammation around his heart. There was no medication to help remedy this infection. Only rest and inactivity helped to calm down. Considering all of this, Pilar played fairly well in his return recording an even plus/minus.

The Leafs will carry on with their road trip on Saturday taking on the San Jose Sharks before they travel north to begin the Canadian part of the trip.

Leafs Drown In Duck Pond

Whether it was the long plane ride or the extra day in between games, something caused the Maple Leafs to be extremely ineffective in the first game of their six game western road trip. They had been riding a four game unbeaten streak until last night’s 5 – 1 loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

For some reason, the Leafs did not seem to have a lot of energy last night which really showed in the second period as the Mighty Ducks scored three unanswered goals on three fairly lazy plays. The Ducks first goal of the second period was scored on a scramble infront of the net. Nolan was unable to tie up his man in the slot and he was able to jam in the loose rebound. On the second goal of the second period, Ken Klee fell behind his net allowing the puck to slide right infront of the net where it was quickly blasted in. The third goal of the second period occurred on a three on two which had a pass hit a leg in the slot and redirect past Leaf netminder, Ed Belfour.

Apart from the redirection on the three on two, the other aforementioned goals were scored on very lazy defensive plays which the Leafs must avoid. It sounds trivial but tying loose men up infront of the net allows the goalie to smother rebounds which inevitably leads to more successful results. Puck control is also essential in the defensive zone. Giving the puck away to the opposition when it is controlled in the defensive zone will almost always lead to a good scoring opportunity. It is very important for the Leafs to make sure the puck gets out of their zone once they have it in control. In the end, it was too many defensive mistakes which cost the Leafs a chance at victory in Anaheim.

With two games in a row to start a long road trip, it is likely that Mikael Tellqvist will get the start tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Coach Pat Quinn will have explained to his team what it is they did wrong in last night’s game. Look for a much more effective game tonight as the Leafs do not want to drop both games to start of their road trip.

Leafs Ignite Oilers for 4 Goals

For about the last week now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to play like the team everybody was expecting since the beginning of the season. Many of the players like Roberts, Nolan, Mogilny and Sundin who had gotten off to slow starts have begun to find their games once again. Ed Belfour is also falling into a groove, specifically over the past two games. In the tie against New Jersey, Belfour made several spectacular saves in the third period allowing Gary Roberts to score the tying goal. In tonight’s game against the Oilers, Belfour again was solid, making several saves early in the game that allowed the Leafs to get out to an early lead.

The Leafs played very well right from the start of the game, showing hustle and energy that was influential in getting off to a good start against a usually fast and exciting Edmonton Oilers team. The Oilers lacked their usual speed and offensive skill in tonight’s game and the Leafs were able to capitalize on a few of their early mistakes. Mats Sundin showed some of his trademark skill while scoring the team’s first goal. Beating his man across the ice, he was able to fight off a defender to the front of the net and throw a quick back hand shot over the shoulder of the his Team Sweden teammate, Tommy Salo.

Mogilny and Reichel took care of the rest of the scoring during the game. Mogilny added a power play goal with two seconds left in the first on a great shot from a poor angle. He added an empty net goal late in the game to seal the deal for the Leafs. Reichel got a strange one on a deflection from the point that went off three separate people before beating Tommy Salo.

The Leafs will head on a six game western North American road trip riding a four game unbeaten streak. A trip on the road of this length is never welcomed but it is falling at the best possible time for the Leafs as they have solidified their spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Goalies Trade Saves In Low Scoring Match

Former Leaf netminder, Corey Schwab and Ed Belfour were both outstanding in a fairly wide open game compared to typical New Jersey Devils defensive hockey. Though the low score does not indicate the amount of chances both teams had, both goalies were solid when tested throughout the game.

Gary Roberts was the catalyst in the Leafs comeback in the third. He played with energy and jump not seen from him since the post-season of two years ago. At the 14:56 mark of the third period with the Leafs down by a goal, Roberts drew a roughing penalty after he beat his man to the puck in the Devils zone and was hauled down making his way to the front of the net. Later on that power play, Roberts again got the puck in the corner and skated hard to the front of the net, fooling Corey Schwab with a quick back hander over top of his near shoulder.

Despite good chances for both teams, neither could jam in a winner causing the game to end in a one all tie. Mikael Renberg made his return to the lineup after a lengthy lay off due to a rib injury. He was even on the night in just under eleven minutes of ice time.

The Leafs are back on the ice tomorrow when they face an always exciting Edmonton Oilers team.

Leafs Offense Takes Weak Penguins Defense Apart

For the first time in recent memory, the Maple Leafs were able to register over 35 shots in a single game. It seems as though the concept of shooting the puck finally got through to the Leafs as they seemed to shoot instead of over handle the puck as they seem to have done for quite a while now. Instead of their usual 15 – 25 shots a game, they registered 38 shots, a staggering number for the Leafs.

Against rookie netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury, the Maple Leafs were able to score four goals, all resulting from good forechecking in the offensive zone. They were able to establish a good cycling game very early in the first period which they were able to carry through the whole game. Playing with energy and jump seen very rarely this season, the Leafs were able to recover the puck in the corners and work it out to the point where the defensemen got good, hard, low shots through that either beat the goalie with traffic infront or produced rebounds that were jammed in by players in the slot.

Team unity was also prevalent in the Leafs victory against a very depleted and weak looking Penguins team that was without star centre Mario Lemieux. There were several instances that the Penguins resorted to dirty play and cheap shots directed at some of the Leafs’ younger players. Steve Webb, a player the Leafs already have a particular distaste for from when he was with the Islanders, was, once again, playing with his usual disregard for respect of other players. As usual, he looked more interested in hurting people than he did in playing hockey. Owen Nolan finally gave Webb what he deserved late in the third after he had taken some runs at rookie Matt Stajan earlier in the game. Nolan was assessed a game misconduct penalty among other penalties after the altercation. Webb is excellent at getting under the skin of his opponents; however, he always does so in an inappropriate fashion. Players can never get him back with a clean body check because he never seems to have the puck. This ultimately leads to the degeneration of the integrity of the game as players are forced to get back at him in ways that are not completely within the rules.

Following the game, Wade Belak commented on the situation of Leafs being thrown out for defending their teammates. Belak said, “Something must be done to rectify the instigation penalty. Guys should not be allowed to take cheap shots at guys and not be held accountable. You drop the gloves to settle things the way it should be done and you end up being thrown out with the guy who took the cheap shots laughing in your face.” Indeed the NHL must do something to straighten out this matter because, quite frankly, the guys taking cheap shots are getting away with it and the guys who try to settle things properly are getting more punishment. There is no place in hockey for stickwork, dirty hits or cheap shots and it’s about time the NHL gets the rules set properly. Having clean players punished more severely for fighting face to face than guys who use the stick or the dirty hits is utterly ridiculous.

The Leafs will take on the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Devils are defense masters so this could be a relatively low scoring game.

Leafs Recover With Decent Effort In Carolina

When a hockey team plays as bad as the Toronto Maple Leafs played on Saturday, chances are the next game the team plays cannot get any worse than that. This was the case as the Maple Leafs pulled off a much needed victory in Carolina yesterday evening. It certainly was not a flawless game and the competition was certainly not fierce, nonetheless, it was a much improved effort from the abysmal game on Saturday.

Mats Sundin recorded his second goal of the season and Alex Mogilny registered assists on both goals. The Leafs top line showed a little more spark than it has in recent games. This top line which has consisted primarily of Mats Sundin, Alex Mogilny and another winger who has been cycled with regularity in that spot since Mikael Renberg was injured two weeks ago have not only been struggling offensively but also in their own zone. It would not be as much of a concern if they were not scoring but playing solid defensively. However, when they are not scoring and not playing well defensively, they become a very serious liability on the ice. Sundin will inevitably emerge from his early slump. He has already begun to do so with a recent six game point streak and tighter defensive play.

Mikael Tellqvist started his second game of the year and for the second time, played very well. He has proved, in his limited game action, that he is capable of taking the step up to the NHL which will inevitably present the Leafs with a dilemma once Trevor Kidd returns from shoulder surgery later this month. It may be risky to send Tellqvist back to St. John’s after proving he is a capable backup goalie, a move that could end up hurting his confidence.

The Leafs will take on the Pittsburg Penguins on Tuesday in what will be the two teams first meeting of the season. Mario Lemieux will most probably miss the game with a recently sustained hip injury. From a Leafs perspective, this is a game that should be won as Pittsburg is clearly in a rebuilding mode. These are two points the Leafs do not want to let slip away as each game is important when the end of the season comes and two points could make a difference in a conference position.

Leafs Hit Rock Bottom

It is very easy to stick up for a hockey team that may loose a few games as long as they come to the rink each game and put forth a solid, determined effort. However, when a hockey team comes out and before four minutes of the game has elapsed, they look as though they have called it a night; that is when there is a disturbing problem. Tonight’s game, which was the fifth annual Hockey Hall Of Fame Game in Toronto, was supposed to be a measuring stick for the Leafs to measure their level of play against a good hockey team. It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Leafs were eliminated in game 7 of the eastern conference quarter finals in a game that was quite similar to tonight’s game. In both games, the Leafs were out of contention very early in the contest.

In a game which already has added atmosphere as it was the Hall Of Fame Game, the Leafs were unable to establish any kind of intensity or inspired play. They were down by a score of 3 – 0 by the time the game was four minutes old. After the third goal was scored, it looked as though the Leafs were just waiting for the remaining fifty six minutes of the game to expire, which, for a professional hockey team at home for the Hall Of Fame Game, is completely unacceptable.

The Leafs will go on a six game road trip during the middle of November, which means they must figure out a way to turn this style of play around or they could find themselves in deep trouble come the end of the month.