Nolan Carries The Leafs To A Point In Florida

At the eight minute mark of the third period, it looked as though the Leafs were about to surrender their second game in a row, this time to the young and inexperienced Florida Panthers. However the Panthers lack of experience late in games was what eventually led to the Leafs tying the game up to salvage a point. As the Panthers began to sit back and attempt to simply ride their two goal lead to an easy victory, the savvy Leafs picked up their play and put considerable pressure on Florida for the remainder of the game. In the third period alone the Maple Leafs registered eighteen shots on goal which included a handful of quality scoring opportunities.

Owen Nolan broke his eight game goalless streak by coming up big with both of the Leafs’ third period goals. Both goals were scored by either deflecting or swatting the puck into the net. Nolan’s first goal came on the power play where he was situated infront of the net and was able to deflect a Bryan McCabe point shot past Florida netminder, Roberto Luongo. The tying goal came with less than three minutes remaining in the game where Nolan was able to swat a rebound at waist level into the Florida net. Nolan also registered an assist on the Leafs first goal of the game scored by Darcy Tucker.

Tomas Kaberle returned to the lineup resulting in Rick Jackman being sent down to St. John’s. Kaberle looked as though he was a little tentative attempting to avoid any unnecessary body contact. He was also beaten one on one a couple of times during the game. Defense is one of the toughest positions to play so it may take Kaberle a few games to get his timing back.

The Leafs are now off until New Years Day when they will take on the struggling Boston Bruins.

Leafs Win A Wild One In New York

Who says two days off the ice and lots of turkey is not a good recipe for victory? Well it may work but it is doubtful that Coach Pat Quinn thinks it is the most effective method after watching his team squander 4-1 and 5-2 leads during the coarse of the game. In a wild back and forth match between two teams that have played each other four times in under a month, defense was put on the back burner for high scoring, free wheeling offense. The game also involved a simultaneous goaltending switch at the beginning of the third. The Rangers pulled Mike Dunham as he looked somewhat shaky during the first two periods and the Maple Leafs pulled Trevor Kidd after he apparently experienced a groin pull during play in the second period.

The Maple Leaf defense corps has been chipping in offensively all year and all of a sudden they find themselves fourth in the league among defense corps in scoring. Rick Jackman and Ken Klee both scored last night helping the Leafs to a sweep of the season series with the Rangers.

Mats Sundin continued his late game heroics by scoring the winning goal in overtime with a hard shot the just dribbled over the goal line. With that overtime goal, Sundin’s thirteenth career overtime goal, he ties Steve Thomas for the all time overtime goals lead. Sundin also leads all players this season with nineteen third period points solidifying him as a clutch performer in key situations when the game is on the line.

Matt Stajan made a strong play on Ken Klee’s goal in the second period. Stajan established a spot behind the net and picked up the loose puck. Fighting off a much larger Eric Lindros, Stajan got out infront and centered a pass to Klee who was in the high slot. Klee quickly one timed the pass and blasted it by New York goaltender, Mike Dunham.

Late in the game Robert Reichel went down with an injury after taking a blindside hit from Darius Kasparaitis. Upon further examination, Reichel was diagnosed with a separated shoulder. It was popped back into place although; it is not yet known how many games he is expected to miss. This is a big blow to the Leafs as Reichel helped solidify the third line along with Tucker and Domi. Harold Druken will likely be inserted in Reichel’s spot during his absence.

The Leafs are right back at it tonight against the Islanders when they will try to stretch their point streak to seventeen games.

Leafs Easily Tame Panthers

The Maple Leafs extended their point streak to fifteen consecutive games with a commanding 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers last night. As they have throughout their streak, they received contributions from various players including two point efforts from Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk and Nik Antropov. Belfour was his usual outstanding self making some huge saves in key situations. Defensively, the Leafs seemed to loosen up in the third period allowing the Panthers to chip in another goal during a wild goal mouth scramble. This display of poor defense probably came as a result of a large lead and the fact that the holidays are near. This trend will probably disappear quite quickly as there are too many veterans to allow it to continue.

Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts played perhaps their best games of the season showing a little extra jump and speed allowing both of them to record two points each. Both of Roberts’ points were goals including the first goal of the game on an excellent set up pass by Sundin. Roberts also added his second goal to make the score 3-1 at that point on a beautiful shot to the short side of Florida netminder, Roberto Luongo.

With the win last night, the Maple Leafs now sit first overall in the National Hockey League, one point ahead of the Western Conference leading Detroit Red Wings. The Maple Leafs have not been in first place overall this late in the season since Christmas time in 1962. The hardware is not handed out in December but if a team is never hot during the season, chances are they will not get hot come April, May and June.

They are off for two days now before they kick off the post-Christmas part of the season in New York on Boxing Day for games against the Rangers and Islanders.

Leafs Find Away To Win Again

The Maple Leafs may not have been at their best every game throughout the last month, but they have always been able to hang around in games until they got the break they needed pull out a good result. They were able to pull off another win tonight against the Montreal Canadiens; however, during certain parts of the game, they did look as though the game might get away from them. Although just as the Maple Leafs have been doing throughout their streak of consecutive games earning at least one point, they hung around until Mats Sundin was able to give the Leafs the lead with thirty-five seconds to go.

Ed Belfour made his return to the Leafs net tonight and played very well as usual, making several key saves to keep the game in reach for the Maple Leafs. Although Belfour is often a very good puck handler, he had a minor episode of panic when he lost the puck in the corner and it was sent into the slot with the Leaf netminder a considerable distance from the net. A scramble in the empty goal crease began and inevitably ended with a strong play by Rick Jackman who managed to keep the puck out of his net until Belfour made it back on the scene.

Midway through the third period when the Canadiens looked to be taking control of the game, they took a penalty sending the Leafs to the power play. On the ensuing power play, Joe Nieuwendyk took control of the puck on the left wing at the blueline and was able to work the puck around the net and out infront to none other then Wade Belak who had come off the point to snap in a quick shot to tie the game. This was Belak’s first goal of the year and it certainly came at the right time perhaps giving Belak some more confidence as he continues to improve his nightly contribution.

Montreal’s first goal occurred on the power play thus marking the second game in a row the Leafs have given up a power play goal. This indicates just how important Tomas Kaberle and Aki Berg are to the penalty killing unit and how difficult it is for players who are not familiar with the system used to kill penalties to step in and do a good job.

The Leafs will take on the Florida Panthers in their final game before Christmas and on Boxing Day, the Leafs will play their divisional rival, the Boston Bruins.

Leafs Squeak Out A Point In Washington

The Maple Leafs continued their streak of consecutive games earning at least one point with a 2-2 tie against the Washington Capitals. The Leafs were without two of their better defensemen in Tomas Kaberle, who is out with a shoulder injury and Aki Berg, who came down with the flu after Tuesday’s game against Tampa Bay. Ed Belfour received a night off this evening; however, he will most likely be back in goal tomorrow as the Leafs will take on the Montreal Canadiens.

The Leafs gave up both goals against during penalty killing situations which does not come as much of a surprise considering two defensemen used frequently killing penalties were not in the lineup. Wade Belak was used during some penalty killing situations but it is unrealistic to expect him to do as good a job as Aki Berg or Tomas Kaberle. Kidd did not have much of a chance on either goal as loose men were able to tap in rebounds on both goals. He played quite well throughout the rest of the game though making a number of difficult saves.

A new line consisting of Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, and Joe Nieuwendyk looked fairly good generating some good chances including the Leafs first goal of the game. Antropov was able to recover the puck in the corner and get it to Ponikarovsky infront who was able to jam in his rebound.

Mats Sundin also continued his offensive success of late with a solid goal in the second period. He took a pass at the blueline, fought his man off and beat him to the net sticking a perfect shot over the shoulder of Olaf Kolzig.

The Leafs will take on the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow and then the Florida Panthers on Tuesday finishing up their games before Christmas.

Leafs Set Franchise Record With 12 Straight Games Earning At Least 1 Point

The Maple Leafs stretched their streak without a regulation loss to twelve consecutive games with a solid 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The first two periods were very tightly played between the two teams. The Leafs registered only six shots in each of the first two periods.

The Maple Leafs were unable to figure out a way to penetrate the Lightning’s defensive system as most of the shots in the first two periods were taken from the outside and easily handled by Tampa Bay netminder, Nikolai Khabibulin. In the third period however, the Leafs found a way to get some good inside looks with Roberts eventually scoring the Leafs first goal by jamming in the rebound off a hard Sundin slap shot. Sundin quickly boosted the score to 2-0 in the Leafs’ favour with a power play goal. He took a pass just infront of the net and found a small hole above the shoulder of Khabibulin which he took advantage of with a phenomenal shot.

Matt Stajan returned to the lineup taking the place of Nathan Perrott. In limited ice time, Stajan played quite well generating a couple of chances for his linemates.

Owen Nolan also returned to the lineup taking the spot of Joe Nieuwendyk who could not play after taking a hard shot of his foot in Saturday’s game. Nolan showed a lot of speed and hustle perhaps indicating that his most recent hip aggravation was behind him. Nolan provided a lot of energy especially during penalty killing situations where he aggressively forced and pressured the Lightning attack.

Ed Belfour was his phenomenal self once again keeping the game scoreless until Gary Roberts could break the tie early in the third period. Belfour made twenty-one saves to register his fourth shutout of the season.

The Leafs will attempt to extend their franchise record twelve game point streak on Friday when they travel to Washington for a game against the Capitals.

Leafs Make It Three In A Row Against Rangers

The Leafs beat the New York Rangers for the third time in thirteen days with another solid home effort by a score of 3-1. This win was their second win in a row after having their eight game win streak broken on Tuesday against St. Louis with an overtime loss. Despite the overtime loss on Tuesday, the Leafs still picked up a point in that game, giving them a streak of eleven consecutive games earning at least one point. This recent streak of success has put the Leafs in second place in the eastern conference and it has also given them the lead of the northeast division.

Matt Stajan was a healthy scratch in tonight’s game in favour of Wade Belak, a more physical player capable of dealing with the large number of Ranger goons. He will likely be back in the lineup on Tuesday against the Lightning as they are not nearly as physical as the Rangers. Also, Joe Nieuwendyk left early in the game after taking a hard slap shot of the ankle possibly leaving a hole in the lineup should he not be capable of playing on Tuesday. Stajan has played extremely well for the Maple Leafs this season surprising a lot of people with his skill and good decision making on the ice in difficult situations. Playing as well as he is now proves he will be a great player for the Maple Leafs and he will continue to get better as he develops over the next few of years.

Mikael Renberg and Gary Roberts had strong games for the Maple Leafs, both recording three points in tonight’s game. Renberg had two timely goals including the tying goal and an insurance marker early in the third period. Mats Sundin registered yet another milestone tonight by recording his four hundredth assist as a Maple Leaf on Renberg’s second goal.

The Leafs will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at Air Canada Centre. The Lightning are a very unpredictable team that can be great one game and then awful the next. If the Leafs come out and dictate the pace of the game, it will help them to be successful as the Lightning are a team that can loose confidence very quickly if things go wrong early in a game. The Maple Leafs will also attempt to stretch their streak of consecutive games earning a point to twelve.

Leafs Get Back To Their Winning Ways

A heartbreaking overtime loss on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues did not keep the Leafs from regaining their confidence and putting themselves back in the win column with an impressive 1-0 road win against the Minnesota Wild. This was the Leafs second 1-0 win of the season, their first came back on October 18th against Montreal. Though the Leafs were outplayed at different times in last night’s game, they were able to come together late in the third period to turn aside Minnesota’s last efforts to tie the game. With the win last night, the Leafs became the second team along with Philadelphia to reach the forty point plateau. This sits them in second place in the eastern conference standings and second overall.

Ed Belfour was phenomenal throughout the game making twenty-eight saves which included at least twelve good scoring chances. His best save came with just under two minutes remaining when the Leafs defense suffered a breakdown which left Richard Park all alone infront of Belfour on the right wing. From behind the net, Park took a centering pass and quickly wired a shot that Belfour came across the net to snag with his glove. Belfour played one of his best games all year and really looks to be falling into a groove.

Tom Fitzgerald scored the Leafs goal atoning for his late penalty in Tuesday’s game against St. Louis. Fitzgerald had a very solid game scoring the goal and playing very well as usual on the defensive end providing a key shot block late in the third period.

The Leafs will take on the New York Rangers on Saturday marking the two teams’ third meeting in the last two weeks. The animosity was high in the last two games which could lead to a very spirited game tomorrow.

Blues Stop Streaking Leafs

All the excitement that was created with under thirty seconds left after Joe Nieuwendyk scored the tying goal quickly was taken away with Chris Pronger’s game winner on the power play in overtime. Compared with the way the Leafs have played over the past eight games, they did not look as sharp in last night’s game. The defense of St. Louis should be given a lot of credit as they were able to shut down the powerful and confident Maple Leaf offense that had been firing on all cylinders during their winning streak.

Unable to establish a good forecheck or many odd man rushes left the Leafs powerful offensive attack struggling to get quality scoring opportunities. The Blues were able to keep the play in the Maple Leafs zone for a good portion of the game. The Leafs were held to only nine shots over the first two periods by the efficient defense of the Blues backed by Chris Pronger who had a strong game.

Mats Sundin had a strong game for the Maple Leafs contributing on both goals that the Maple Leafs scored. Sundin scored late in the second period to put the Leafs within one goal going into the third period. Late in the third period with Tom Fitzgerald serving a double minor penalty for high-sticking, Quinn pulled Ed Belfour to get the Leafs back to even strength. Sundin got the puck and set up behind the net feeding Joe Nieuwendyk in the slot to tie the game with less than thirty seconds left. It looked as though more Maple Leaf magic would carry the team to their ninth win in a row; however, while still short handed in overtime, the Blues quickly set up an attack and scored the winner ending the Leafs winning streak.

Owen Nolan left last night’s game at the second intermission with a reoccurrence of a hip injury that troubled him during last year’s playoffs. Early prognosis is that it is not a very serious aggravation and that he may be ready for Thursday’s game in Minnesota. If he cannot play Thursday, Nik Antropov may play his first game after a long absence recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in late October.

Leafs Are Making Winning A Habit

It seems the Maple Leafs cannot do anything wrong these days as they extended their winning streak to eight games with a victory against the Detroit Red Wings. Though they did not score first in tonight’s game, the Leafs showed a lot of confidence coming back to tie the game. In the third period, they were up by a goal to start and played very well holding the lead until they exploded for two quick goals at the fourteen minute mark.

Balanced scoring was the route the Leafs took to victory tonight with goals from five different people including Marchment, Domi, Roberts, Sundin and Stajan. Marchment’s goal was especially important as it came early in the second period to tie the game. He walked off the blueline and right into the slot putting it in on the backhand on a rush that conjured up images of Bobby Orr. Roberts netted his goal with a laser shot from the top of the circle and Sundin took a pass from Roberts to get off on his breakaway where he subsequently put it in on a good move to his backhand.

Roberts looked very good in his return to the lineup after being out for a couple of games with a hip flexor. His return meant somebody would have to be taken out and that person turned out to be Harold Druken. Druken was sent back down to the baby Leafs, a decision that was difficult for him to swallow but he, nonetheless, conducted himself with class saying, “I’ll go back down and have some fun, work hard, and hopefully I’ll be asked to come back and help out again.”

The Leafs winning streak stands at eight games now and if they can get by St. Louis with a win, they can probably beat Minnesota and the Rangers leaving the streak at eleven for the game against Tampa on December 16th.

Leafs Retain Lead In Division With Convincing Win In Boston

In what was supposed to be a very tight and competitive game that would dictate the leader of the Northeast Division, the Leafs came into the Fleet Centre and made a mockery of the Boston Bruins. Without any trouble at all the Leafs easily coasted to a 6-0 victory and moved three points up on the second place Boston Bruins in the race for the lead in the Northeast Division.

Joe Nieuwendyk and Darcy Tucker each had two goals in tonight’s game. Tucker’s two goals came thirty-four seconds apart in the third period and put the Leafs ahead 6-0. Joe Nieuwendyk scored the first Leaf on the power play and he then scored the third Leaf goal also on the power play. His second goal was outstanding as he was able to bat a rebound at waist level out of the air and into the net.

Perhaps the forgotten man in tonight’s game was Ed Belfour. With such prolific offense from many players, it almost went unnoticed that Ed Belfour quietly posted a shut out. He was not even given the position of a star in tonight’s game. Though he did not have to make too many really tough saves, as the defense played with a lot of confidence tonight, Belfour was solid in a couple of situations when the game was tight in the first.

Leafs Make It Six In A Row

For some reason, the more key players out of the lineup, the better the Toronto Maple Leafs play. With Antropov, Mogilny, Roberts and Belak out of the lineup, the Leafs have won six straight games. Tonight’s game, the second game in the home and home with New York Rangers, was old time hockey at its best. It was wide open with end to end action resulting in lots of goals and a major fight in the second period with three separate fights going on at the same time.

Mats Sundin played an outstanding game adding to his list of credentials taking over the lead in game winning goals as a Leaf with his sixty-fourth game winning goal in a Leaf uniform. He recorded this milestone on one of the most amazing goals a hockey fan will ever see. While fighting off a defender, Sundin muscled his way out infront of the net, spun around and roofed a laser backhand shot over the shoulder of Mike Dunham. It was extremely appropriate for Sundin to record this milestone on a typical Sundin goal on a wrap around from behind the net.

Owen Nolan and Matt Stajan played strong games as well, as they have been doing throughout this six game winning streak. Stajan seems to look better each game as he continues to gain confidence while playing in key situations. Nolan looks like a renewed player exhibiting heart and determination many though he was incapable of. Playing through the obvious pain of a hand injury he sustained on a blocked shot, he was still able to put a tremendous game together.

Joe Nieuwendyk played his best game since returning from his back injury scoring three points in the game. He is somebody that must contribute as the Leafs press on without a few of their key players.