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.