Leafs Use Penguins Game As Glorified Practice

In hindsight, a loss in yesterday’s game against the Pittsburg Penguins would have been completely devastating to a Maple Leafs team that had just come off a long streak off success but was experiencing a little bit of trouble of late. Fortunately, the Maple Leafs showed why they sit first in the Eastern Conference by easily disposing of the Penguins 5-0.

It seemed to be a game of firsts for the Leafs. Aki Berg and Tomas Kaberle recorded their first goals in a long time and Nathan Perrott scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf. Trevor Kidd recorded his first shutout as a Maple Leaf marking his first shutout since November 16, 2001 against the Buffalo Sabres. Ed Belfour also recorded his first shutout as a Maple Leaf against Pittsburg at the Melon arena in his first game as a Leaf at the beginning of last season.

The Leafs looked much stronger defensively than they have over the past five games; however, playing a strong game defensively is not that hard against the offensively challenged Penguins who have been shutout now four times this season. Trevor Kidd was solid when called upon although he was never really challenged. Hopefully this shutout will give Kidd a bit of confidence allowing him to play more often to give Belfour some much needed rest.

Joe Nieuwendyk had a very strong game scoring the Leafs’ first goal early in the first period. This gave the Leafs a big confidence boost and allowed them to establish a dominant style of play early on in the game. Nieuwendyk is on pace for over twenty goals this season which is a respectable output in this day and age. Not only has Nieuwendyk been producing offensively, he has also been an excellent leader, somebody the Leafs can count on to give 100% each and every night.

The Leafs are back at it tonight against the Nashville Predators. They have been hot of late; however, they were crushed by the Detroit Red Wings 6-0 last night.