Belfour and Leafs Shut Down Devils

The Maple Leafs looked like a completely different team last night against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils compared with their midweek incompetence in the state of Florida. With star netminder Ed Belfour back in goal for the first time since a 4-1 defeat of the Columbus Blue Jackets back on February 12th, the Maple Leafs shut down one of the best teams in the league making them look like the team with the defensive problems.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, having Ed Belfour back in goal seemed to cure all the Leafs’ defensive problems. Just like magic, Aki Berg was making good plays to clear the zone, Klee maintained control of his men in the corners, McCabe’s rear end was not causing him any positioning problems and forwards were back checking and tying up loose men infront of the goal. Perhaps it is because the Leafs have more confidence in their number one goalie but all of a sudden with Ed Belfour in the goal, the Leafs again looked as though they were a top tier team.

The power play was also much better than it has been recently. The Leafs scored their first two goals of the game on the power play which seemed to immediately take the energy away from New Jersey.

The Leafs will continue their homestand on Tuesday in a key division match up with the Boston Bruins.

Leafs Cannot Catch Up After Slow Start

The Maple Leafs were unable to rebound from another slow start early in the game and eventually dropped their third game in a row to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 4-3. Mikael Tellqvist, making his fifth consecutive start, suffered the loss despite playing fairly well. It is evident that the Leafs miss Ed Belfour as they have not played with the same kind of confidence that they show when Belfour is in goal.

One of the major problems of late for the Maple Leafs has been their inability to score the first goal. Often people underestimate the importance of the first goal of the game; however, it is quite important especially when playing with a backup goalie. By scoring the game’s first goal, it allows a team to dictate the style of play and to tighten up by playing stingy defense. Not only have the Leafs not been scoring the game’s first goal, they have been allowing several early goals forcing them to open up the game to get more chances thus giving up even more chances on defense. The last two times the Leafs have registered the game’s first goal (February 19 versus Carolina, February 21 versus Montreal); they have come away with victories. Coincidence? Probably not.

Ed Belfour will decide again tomorrow during the morning skate whether or not he is capable of playing in tomorrow’s game against New Jersey. Considering the offensive roll they have been on and their always spectacular goaltending, it could be a tough night for the Leafs if they are not at the top of their game.

Leafs Continue To Struggle Offensively

As the Leafs moved into Florida for this evening’s game, all warnings were pointing toward the stellar goaltending of Roberto Luongo. Despite all these warnings, the Leafs were unable to develop any kind of constant attack on the Florida netminder, easily allowing him to pick up his third shutout in four games. Apart from a few chances in the first period by Mats Sundin that did not even count as shots on goal as they hit the post, the Leafs failed to generate any kind of attack after Florida scored the first goal of the game.

Ed Belfour seems to be targeting tomorrow’s game in Tampa Bay as a possible return. The Leafs could really use Belfour back in the net to help regain some confidence that they seem to have when Belfour is in. Tellqvist has played well in the games he has started; however, the Leafs do not seem to play with the kind of confidence they do when Belfour is between the pipes.

The Leafs are right back at it tomorrow in Tampa Bay and then will return home to take on Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.

Weekes Does It Again

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are particularly concerned about their backup goaltending position, perhaps they should consider giving Hurricanes general manager, Jim Rutherford a call to see if they can pry Kevin Weekes out of Carolina. In his past two appearances at Air Canada Centre, Kevin Weeks has been the difference in both games, literally carrying his team to victory in both contests. If the Maple Leafs were to acquire him, judging by his performance in the last two Hurricanes games at ACC, Weekes would be practically unbeatable. This, of course, is said with the tongue planted firmly in the cheek as this sort of a transaction is very unlikely to occur and is probably impractical for both teams; however, it points out that Kevin Weekes is a good goaltender and the Carolina Hurricanes are not as bad as they seem if their opposition underestimates them.

The Maple Leafs played slightly better than they did in their last match up with the Hurricanes at ACC but still struggled to maintain any kind of consistent offensive threat. Compounding this problem was their ineffectiveness against one of the worst penalty killing units in the league as well as their inability to kill penalties themselves against one of the worst power plays in the league. The Leafs went zero for six on the power play and allowed two goals on three power play opportunities.

Mikael Tellqvist played another solid game for the Maple Leafs leaving Coach Pat Quinn with a difficult decision when it comes to deciding whether Tellqvist should be sent back down to the minors or whether he should be kept up with the big team leaving no room for Trevor Kidd.

The Leafs will play back to back games this coming Wednesday and Thursday against Florida and Tampa Bay, respectively. After throwing away points against several weaker teams lately, two wins on this road trip would be extremely helpful.

Mogilny Returns, Tucker Wins It

Alex Mogilny’s three month absence from the Maple Leaf lineup after undergoing and recovering from hip surgery finally came to an end last night as the star forward made his long awaited return. Playing a more limited role on the fourth line along with Matt Stajan and Tom Fitzgerald, Mogilny was eased back into game action by Coach Pat Quinn. In total, Mogilny saw just over thirteen minutes of ice time.

Bryan McCabe gave the Leafs the lead in the first period with a power play goal on a good shot from the point set up by Joe Nieuwendyk. From that point on until the Hurricanes scored midway through the third period, the game was extremely tight checking. Darcy Tucker won the game for the Leafs in overtime after going hard to the net to jam in a centering pass from Drake Berehowsky.

Mikael Tellqvist, who made his second start in the last three games, was exceptional making thirty four stops including numerous saves that were of the difficult variety. Just prior to Tucker scoring the game winning goal, Tellqvist came up with a huge stop off of Jarret Stoll who was all alone infront of the net.

The Leafs will take on the struggling Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and then will play the Carolina Hurricanes again on Monday.

Leafs Defense Goes Missing

What happens when pucks are given away in the defensive zone and behind the net, defensemen pinch into the rush at inappropriate times and forwards do not backcheck? Hockey games are lost. The Toronto Maple Leafs did all of those aforementioned things in tonight’s game against their division rival Boston Bruins. No surprise, the Leafs lost this game and they looked very bad in the process.

Over the past few games since the Leafs commanding 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators back on January 31st, they have really struggled with the defensive side of the game. Whether or not it is a coincidence that Ed Belfour has been on the shelf for all but one game since that date, in which the Leafs only gave up one goal in, is really irrelevant. The fact is that the Leafs defense has just not been getting the job done in these past few games. Guys who were more than dependable earlier in the year in their own end like Klee, Berg and Pilar have really been struggling of late and it has been becoming more noticeable each game.

Tonight’s game was the culmination of all of the bad habits, poor decisions and awful plays the Leafs have been making lately. Berg gave the puck away in his own zone twice without being under any heavy pressure. Both giveaways led to goals. Karel Pilar also lost control of the puck behind his own net allowing it to be converted into a goal very easily. Klee pinched in at the blueline and got caught way out of position allowing the Bruins to score another goal, this time on a two on one.

Trevor Kidd really had no chance on most of these goals. With the glaring errors on defense, Belfour would likely have had trouble himself. The bottom line is all the players and coaches who have been saying the team must tighten up defensively before next game have to stop saying it and start doing it in order for the Leafs to return to their dominant play of earlier in the season. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of hopeless defensive play to continue as it is something that can be improved with conscious attention to defense first. These players have the skill as we have seen before. Let’s start seeing it again.

Leafs Fall Apart Against Sabres

It looked as though the Leafs had the game in the bag as they were up three goals against the Buffalo Sabres but dumb penalties and careless play led to the Sabres tying the game up and eventually taking the lead. The Sabres ended up with a six to four victory.

Ed Belfour was out of the lineup again after his ailing back began to bother him after Thursday’s win against Columbus. Kidd played very well in the first half of the game but led in several soft goals allowing the Sabres back into the game. Should Belfour be out any considerable length of time, the Leafs will be forced to look into the goaltenders still available on the market and consider making some offers as Trevor Kidd is not strong enough to carry the team into the playoffs.

The Leafs take on the league’s worst team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, tonight and then have a big game against divisional rival Boston tomorrow.

Leafs Do Not Mess Around This Time

Contrary to what many people may have thought, last night’s seemingly insignificant game against a team that the Leafs will only meet once this season was a lot more important than it looked. Apart from the usual clichés that are used in these types of situations like two points against Columbus is worth as much as two points against Ottawa, this was a must win game for the Leafs’ self-confidence. In the past two weeks, the Leafs have been shut down by two of the lower lights of the National Hockey League: the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks on successive Tuesdays. If the Leafs had of laid another egg on home ice against one of the worst teams in the league, not only would the Maple Leafs legion of fans have been disgusted, the team its self might have began questioning their ability to win games that may not seem important at the time but certainly do payoff at the end of the year when two points is the difference between a division title and fourth or fifth in the conference.

Ed Belfour made his return to the Maple Leafs lineup last night after a three game absence due to his periodically recurring back ailment. In his absence, the Leafs, with Trevor Kidd in goal, recorded one win, one loss and one tie allowing four goals against in each game. Belfour was very strong as he usually is making eighteen saves helping the Leafs to a 4-1 victory. Defensively, the Leafs played a very strong game giving up few chances that forced Belfour to make difficult saves. The majority of the shots given up were from the outside and easily handled by Belfour.

Coincidently enough on the day after the proposed rule change that could prohibit goalies from playing the puck behind the icing line, Ed Belfour had one of his best puck handling games of the season. He made several strong plays behind the goal by getting his defensemen out of tight spots with intelligent puck handling. Belfour’s puck handling was not confined to behind the goal though. As he was skating to the bench to get an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty, the Leafs lost control of the puck in the offensive zone and had it slide out into the neutral zone. Alertly, Belfour ensured his replacement had not yet jumped on the ice and then proceeded to take control of the play by deeking out a Columbus forechecker at centre ice and sending a pass to Kaberle creating a second opportunity on the delayed penalty.

Sundin along with Gary Roberts and Mikael Renberg were again dominant last night. They were able to set up a presence down low early in the game and maintain it all game long making Columbus’ defensive zone coverage very difficult. Roberts scored the eventual game winner in typical Roberts fashion as he roofed a shot from two feet away over the shoulder of Columbus goaltender, Marc Denis. Renberg added an empty net goal late in the third.

A line of Robert Reichel, Darcy Tucker and Tie Domi also had good success cycling the puck in the offensive zone. This line has had continued success since being put together in November. They were able to get the Leafs on the board last night with good puck control in the offensive zone until Reichel found Domi alone at the side of the net for a tap in.

The Leafs take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at Air Canada Centre and then embark on one of their busiest weeks of the season with three weekday games against Pittsburgh, Boston and Carolina.

Four Leafs On Canada’s World Cup Bubble

Earlier today, Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky announced the preliminary list of fifty four players which consisted of thirty one forwards, sixteen defensemen and seven goaltenders. Four Maple Leafs were included on the list of possible players. Owen Nolan, Joe Nieuwendyk and Ed Belfour, who were all a part of the gold medal winning Olympic Team, are once again being considered. Bryan McCabe was also included in the list of defensemen. McCabe has really raised some eyebrows this year as he is in the midst of a career season having recorded eleven goals and twenty five assists for thirty six points.

Several notables from the 2002 Olympic team were left off the preliminary World Cup list. Eric Lindros, Theo Fleury (no surprise there), and Curtis Joseph were all left off the list due to downfalls in their careers.

Leafs Start Playing Lets Make A Deal

Maple Leaf general manager made a deal today as he sent unhappy defenseman Ric Jackman to Pittsburg in return for Drake Berehowsky. Jackman had been complaining of late due his lack of game action and said he would welcome a trade. He will certainly get a large amount of playing time on a Pittsburg team that is really struggling this season. They are currently on a thirteen game loosing streak.

Berehowsky was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs tenth overall in the 1990 NHL entry draft. He has played with several teams including the Maple Leafs, Penguins, Coyotes, Oilers, Predators and Canucks throughout his career which has consisted of 540 career games. This season, Berehowsky has recorded five goals and sixteen assists in forty-seven games with the Penguins. He should help the Leafs defense as he can provide relatively dependable play in his own end. Should injuries befall any of the current blueliners, he will be more than capable of stepping in whether it is during the regular season or in the playoffs.

Leafs Keep The Comebacks Going

After a thrilling 5-4 comeback defeat last Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, the Leafs once again came up with a late game comeback to salvage one point as they tied the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-4. The Leafs got a huge break from the officials late in the third period that set up an offensive zone faceoff eventually leading to Gary Roberts’ tying goal at 19:15 of the third period. As Tampa Bay cleared the puck down the ice, Bryan McCabe hustled back and touched the puck just shy of the icing line; however, the linesman on the far side of the rink called an icing on Tampa Bay setting up an offensive zone faceoff.

Sundin and Roberts returned from the all-star game and continued their success as each scored last night. Sundin scored a highlight reel goal as he took a pass between the two defensemen at the blueline, maintained control and went in all alone on Khabibulin beating him over the glove.

Nolan and Reichel also continued their recent success with a goal each. Reichel now has three goals in his last five games all coming at important times in the game. Nolan has returned to his expected form since getting back into the lineup after his eye injury. Nolan scored the OT winner on Thursday and got the Leafs rolling in the third with a goal last night.

The Leafs will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Air Canada Centre tomorrow night and it is likely they again will not have Ed Belfour in the lineup.

Stajan Named To Young Stars All-Star Team

This afternoon the NHL announced that Maple Leaf rookie centre, Matt Stajan has been named to the Young Stars All-Star team for this weekend’s all-star festivities in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stajan, who was not named to the roster at first which was completely absurd, will replace Garnet Exelby of the Atlanta Thrashers.

In fifty-one games, Stajan has put up eight goals and nine assists for seventeen points. He has also showed that along with putting the puck in the net, he is an extremely talented defensive player capable of killing penalties and playing against the opposition’s best players. Stajan has made a real solid contribution to the Maple Leafs and certainly deserves this honour!

Leafs Pull Off Outstanding Comeback

By the ten minute mark of the first period, the score was much the same as it was back when these same two teams met up on January 8th: 3-0 Senators. It looked as though the Senators were going to run up the score and beat the Leafs in a commanding fashion. The Leafs showed no discipline and no intensity in the first period allowing the Senators to carry the play. By the time the second period was four minutes old, the Senators held a commanding 4-0 lead and it looked as though the game was all but over.

Then the Leafs took over. As Senators kept dropping like flies from the flu, the Leafs were chipping away at the lead just as quickly. At one point, the Senators only had seven people on their bench as the rest of the players were in the dressing room suffering from the flu. Darcy Tucker started the comeback off by deflecting a pass from Mikael Renberg in off his skate. The next Leaf goal was scored by Mikael Renberg by jamming in a pass from Alexei Ponikarovsky in the slot. Matt Stajan was up next as he came around the net and jammed in a loose puck in the crease to cut the lead to 4-3 at the end of the second period.

By the time Stajan scored to make the score 4-3, it looked as though the Leafs were not going to let this game get away. They came out flying in the third period generating numerous scoring chances until Mats Sundin put the tying goal in with less than five minutes remaining. In overtime, Owen Nolan took a pass from Tomas Kaberle in the high slot and drove it by Patrick Lalime capping off an amazing comeback.

Hopefully the Leafs will be able to use this comeback to build their confidence going into the second half of the season. The all-star break is on over the weekend. The Leafs will get back at it on Tuesday as they travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning.

Leafs Run Into Another Hot Goaltender

For the second Tuesday in a row, the Maple Leafs offensive attack was turned aside by the hand of a hot goaltender. Last Tuesday, the Leafs could not find a way to beat Carolina Hurricanes netminder, Kevin Weeks despite generating numerous solid scoring opportunities. Last night, Craig Anderson stepped into Air Canada Centre and turned aside all but one of the Maple Leafs forty-four shots. When a team runs into a good goaltender, there is not much that can be done, however, starting out with absolutely no energy or intensity in a game against a poor team certainly does not help.

That is exactly what the Maple Leafs did last night as they sat back throughout the first two periods and let the Blackhawks hang around until they finally chipped four goals past Trevor Kidd. By the time the Leafs got in gear at the start of the third period, it was much too late to mount any sort of comeback as the Blackhawks netminder, Craig Anderson had fallen into a groove. The Leafs fired twenty-one shots at the Blackhawks goal in the third period but could not find a hole in the armor of Anderson. By the end of the game, the Blackhawks walked away with a shocking 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

After a game as intense as the match up on Saturday against the Senators, a poor follow up was a large concern. Adding to the cause for concern was the possibility of looking too far ahead to Thursday’s game against the Senators not to mention the fact the key players including Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk were lost to injury in Saturday’s game. As difficult as it may be to maintain intensity throughout each game of the eighty-two game regular season, there is no excuse for laying an egg against a team that has only one road win all year. At the end of the year, the Leafs may look back and wish they had the two points back from last night’s game.

Should the Leafs beat the Senators tomorrow, they will hold a five point lead going into the all star break. However, tomorrow’s game seems to be shaping up quite like the Senators versus Leafs match up on January 8th with several key players out of the lineup. Ed Belfour, Tom Fitzgerald and Joe Nieuwendyk are all highly doubtful and Bryan McCabe is listed day to day after sustaining a broken nose in practice today.

Leafs Hand Back The Humiliation

After a humiliating 7-1 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators back on January 8th infront of the home crowd, the Maple Leafs returned the humiliation with a convincing 5-1 on Saturday. In hindsight, it is somewhat laughable that the Senators only managed a 7-1 defeat against a team that had so many key regulars including Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan, Alex Mogilny and Ed Belfour out of the lineup compared with a 5-1 defeat for the Leafs against an Ottawa team with a fairly healthy lineup.

Mats Sundin was a real factor in Saturday’s game as he scored the game winning goal on a five on three advantage and registered two assists coming on the Leafs first goal near the end of the first period and fifth goal with less than a minute remaining in the game. Along with his offensive production, Sundin had a great presence on the defensive end showing he is capable of contributing in big games, something he has been accused of not doing especially in the home and home series with the Flyers. In reality though, did anybody produce in those games? Sundin takes a lot of unfair criticism whenever the team has a tough stretch. This is criticism Sundin certainly does not deserve as he plays a big part in most games the Leafs win.

The Maple Leafs penalty killing unit gave the team a chance to win as they killed off thirteen of fourteen power play opportunities against one of the most proficient power plays in the league. Darcy Tucker and Tom Fitzgerald, two of the Leafs best penalty killers, were both out of the lineup on Saturday which forced the Leafs to use a penalty killing by committee style with so many usual penalty killers out of the lineup. All but six Leaf players saw at least three minutes of penalty killing time making this penalty killing success a remarkable achievement.

Ed Belfour was excellent for the Maple Leafs as he made numerous difficult saves when the score was tied. He was also stellar on the penalty kill despite causing two of the penalties himself by chopping down Senators in front of him with his goal stick.

The Maple Leafs will take on the Chicago Blackhawks tomorrow and the Senators again on Thursday. The importance of these next two games for the Maple Leafs goes without saying; however, they will likely have to play them without Joe Nieuwendyk as he suffered a pelvic injury in Saturday’s game.