Good Late Effort Gives Leafs The Win

Less than six minutes into last night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Leafs were already trailing by two goals. A very poor start gave many fans the feeling that this might turn into another seven or eight goal debacle. Fortunately for the Maple Leafs, Brian Leetch took over halfway through the first period to get his team on the board. Making two unbelievable moves to get in alone on Atlanta netminder, Pasi Nurminen, he picked up his rebound after a failed scoring attempt and found Tie Domi in the slot who wired a quick shot in. Before the end of the period the Leafs tied the game after Roberts made a strong play to initiate the forecheck behind the Thrashers goal. He picked up a loose puck and sent it out infront to Mogilny who flipped it over the fallen netminder.

A scoreless second period left the game tied after two periods allowing the Leafs’ offensive firepower to go to work. Gary Roberts scored the eventual game winning goal early in the period and Nik Antropov added the insurance marker. The Leafs top line of Mogilny, Roberts and Sundin, which had been held off the scoreboard in the Leafs’ last two games came through big last night as they will need to do more often than not for the team to have a lengthy postseason schedule.

Owen Nolan, who will likely miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Saturday’s game, was replaced by Matt Stajan. He played on a line with Robert Reichel and Tie Domi while Tom Fitzgerald moved up to take Nolan’s spot on the line with Kilger and Francis.

The Leafs have three days off until they play the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and the Senators on Saturday to close out the regular season.

Nolan Out Of First Round

Maple Leafs forward Owen Nolan will be out of the lineup at least until the end of the first round of the playoffs after suffering an injury to his knee in Saturday’s two all tie against the Ottawa Senators. Coach Pat Quinn said Nolan will be re-evaluated at the end of three weeks time.

Nolan was injured while delivering a bodycheck to the Senators’ Bryan Smolinski. As he went in for the hit, his leg seemed to buckle underneath him causing him to stumble awkwardly into Smolinski and fall subsequently to the ice in considerable pain. The irony is that Nolan was injured playing the sort of style he needs to in order to be successful. When Nolan plays the crash and bang style of hockey, he becomes an excellent part of the team.

The Leafs will take on the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at Air Canada Centre in what will be their final home game of the season.

Leafs Bounce Back Against Bruins

After Tuesday’s meltdown at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, many fans were just about ready to count the Leafs out of the Stanley Cup hunt. “How can a legitimate Stanley Cup contender lose to a close rival by a score of 7-2 and still think they have a shot,” many people asked. Well would a convincing 3-0 victory less then forty-eight hours later do anything to get people back on their side? All of a sudden the Maple Leafs are going to go all the way again according to their fickle fans.

This season, the Maple Leafs have displayed an uncanny ability to look horrible one game and then dominant the next. Against Tampa Bay, it looked as though Coach Pat Quinn had iced a lineup comprised completely of players who had never played in the NHL before. The defensive zone coverage was appalling and they were hard pressed to get any kind of consistent offensive attack going. Conversely against Boston, it looked as though all those regulars that might as well have been given the night off on Tuesday returned to the lineup as though they had not missed a beat. It is almost like they can turn the tap on and off as they please. With the playoffs just four games away, hopefully they decide to crank the tap all the way to full blast and leave it there. It is much easier to keep things going in the playoffs than it is to get things going, although with the way the Leafs have rebounded after poor efforts this season, maybe it does not make any difference to them.

The Leafs finish the season up with two games against Ottawa as well as games against Atlanta and Buffalo. The two games against the Senators will probably dictate whether or not the Leafs will win their division.

Leafs Get Crushed By Lightning

Any hopes of finishing first in the Eastern Conference were thrown away last night as the Leafs were easily disposed of by the Tampa Bay Lightning. At times during the game, it looked as though the Leafs still treated the Lightning like the lousy expansion team they once were. Simply stated, the Maple Leafs were too easy to play against last night as they failed to accomplish any of the fundamentals necessary for being successful against good opponents.

The coverage in the defensive zone was terrible all night long. “The front of the net was like a free man’s zone all game,” said Coach Pat Quinn. On at least four of the goals, there were two or three Leafs standing infront of the net not taking any of the loose men. The defensemen did a very poor job of identifying what should be done to thwart the Lightning attack thus giving them an easy path to the net practically all night. The Leafs were also dominated in the faceoff circle, an area they are usually quite proficient in.

The discipline situation also did not improve as the Leafs took silly penalties throughout the game. They went two men down within a minute and a half of the start of the game allowing the Lightning to get an early lead.

With yesterday’s loss and Boston winning last night, the possibility of finishing first in the Northeast Division also became more remote, especially with Boston holding a game in hand. It will be mandatory to win on Thursday against Boston if the Leafs still entertain thoughts of first in the division.

Leafs Knock Avalanche Down

The Maple Leafs easily beat a team on Saturday that has recently struggled over the last few weeks and showed that they can be a dominant team when they want to be. The Leafs scored three early goals that got them off to a great start; however, they let their undisciplined play take over in the second period allowing the Avalanche to cut the lead to 3-2. The Leafs got a big goal with a few seconds left on the clock at the end of the second period by Mats Sundin which put the game out of reach.

Tomorrow, the Leafs will put their hopes of finishing in first place in the Eastern Conference on the line as they take on the conference leading Tampa Bay Lightning. Should the Leafs win tomorrow, they will have a real good shot at finishing first as they have five games left in the season. If they loose, they will likely finish elsewhere in the conference.

Leetch Foils Flyers

In his first seven games as a Maple Leaf, Brian Leetch has done everything that was expected of him when he was acquired by the Leafs earlier in the month. Registering eight assists and playing very well in the defensive end, Leetch has been an excellent addition to the Leafs defense. The only thing he had not done was score a goal. Well, Leetch took care of that detail last night times two against the Philadelphia Flyers helping the Leafs to an important 3-2 win against a team they had not beaten all year.

Despite a convincing effort last night on the penalty kill including a lengthy stretch with two penalty killers without sticks, the amount of penalties the Leafs take is still quite concerning. It could be argued the Leafs “got away with one” last night against the best power play team in the league which they gave numerous chances including two situations where they were two men down. It will be very difficult for the Leafs to have any postseason success if they continue to take so many needless penalties as teams with good power plays will not miss many opportunities that are given to them.

Coach Pat Quinn should also be given some credit in last night’s win as he made a number of decisions both before and during the game that put the Leafs in the best position to succeed.

With the amount of extra quality players the Leafs have right now; they have the luxury of matching their players against opponents they will be most successful against. Quinn took advantage of this last night by realising their opponent is a very big and physical team and set his lineup accordingly. Quinn sat smaller, less physical players including Tomas Kaberle and Matt Stajan in favour of punishing defenseman Bryan Marchment and Wade Belak. Against less physical teams, look for Stajan and Kaberle to be back in the lineup as their speed and agility can be used as assets in breaking down the trap.

Quinn also decided to leave the number one power play unit on the ice for the second part of the two man advantage they had which resulted in Brian Leetch’s first goal as a Maple Leaf.

The Leafs will take on the Colorado Avalanche in their only meeting of the season on Saturday.

The Pink Floyd Experience Rocks Toronto


The Pink Floyd Experience, a cover band of obviously Pink Floyd, played at Hummingbird Centre last Thursday and they rocked the joint. If there were any relatively uninformed fans in the crowd, they may have mistaken them for the real thing. Covering everything off Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon, the majority of the well known songs from The Wall as well as “One of These Days” from Meddle and a song from Piper At The Gates of Dawn, I felt as though I was really experiencing what Pink Floyd was like in the 70’s.

The highlights of the show were the performances of “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” and “Another Brick in the Wall – Part 2” from The Wall as well as “Time” from Dark Side of the Moon. Sitting up in the balcony of the Hummingbird Centre well above the stage, I was also able to notice something that I think most of the crowd in the orchestra section may have missed. The band incorporated an excellent use of lighting affects that really helped add that purely Psychedelic feeling to the show. From where my friend and I sat, we were able to easily notice the spectacular lighting affects as we were looking down on it instead of having it be over our heads and we both agreed it made the show so much better.

It was a truly enjoyable experience and I would definitely recommend The Pink Floyd Experience when they come back to Toronto for the next time.

Ex-Leaf Haunts His Former Team

When Travis Green was picked up by the Boston Bruins last fall in the annual NHL waiver draft, many people around Toronto were disappointed in loosing a dependable two way player who is good on faceoffs and who will not shy away from physical play. Them’s the breaks for clubs with a lot of depth up front. However, since being picked up by the Bruins, Green has struggled scoring only six goals all year until last night when he came into his former home arena and made the difference in the game.

Green registered two power play goals for the Bruins propelling his new team to an important 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs who are desperately attempting to catch the Bruins for first place in the Northeast Division. The win now puts the Leafs three points back of the Bruins for the division lead. The first of Green’s two power play goals came in the second period on a nice shot over the glove of Ed Belfour to tie the game for the Bruins. His second goal put the Bruins ahead for good as he was able to fight off Tomas Kaberle infront of the goal and jam in a rebound.

Boston also got solid goaltending from Calder Trophy candidate, Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft, who is in his first full season in the NHL, gave the Bruins excellent goaltending in the last few minutes of the game as the Maple Leafs tried to recreate some comeback magic from a day ago in Buffalo.

Unlike most years where there is a clear cut favourite for the Calder Trophy, this year’s race is wide open with the frontrunners being Boston’s Andrew Raycroft, Montreal’s Michael Ryder and the Islander’s Trent Hunter. Also people like Toronto’s Matt Stajan, Colorado’s John-Michael Liles, and Anaheim’s Joffery Lupul will get some votes. Raycroft seems to stand out though as it is much more difficult to step in as a rookie goaltender and be solid every night backstopping your team to first place in their division than it is to come in and play fifteen minutes on the fourth line.

The Leafs will not have any easy games in the near future as they will take on the Flyers in Crazyville, USA, also known as the Wachovia Centre and then will return home to take the Colorado Avalanche.

Alex Is Great In Thrilling Comeback

After a long absence of over forty games recovering from hip surgery, many wondered if Alex Mogilny could step back into the lineup and find a way to continue his magic. Judging by his performance in last night’s thrilling comeback win in overtime against the team he first started with in the NHL, Mogilny is going to be just fine.

Since his return to the lineup, Mogilny has contributed one goal and eleven assists for twelve points. His assist on the game tying goal with less than a minute to go marked a milestone that has long been within reach. Before his injury, Mogilny was expected to become the first Russian player to record one thousand points in the NHL. However, as Mogilny was just eleven points shy of the milestone, he went down with a hip injury allowing Sergei Federov to take the honour. After last night’s game, Mogilny commented about the milestone by saying, “It means a lot. It was a long time coming, one thousand points. I’m the first Asian.”

At the end of the second period, the Leafs were trailing by a score of 5-2, a typical storyline when the Leafs play in Buffalo. With Trevor Kidd and the Leafs poised to take their third loss in a row, Owen Nolan took over.

At the 4:30 mark of the third period, Nolan flew down the left wing sending a centering pass in front of the net that was inadvertently deflected in by a Buffalo defenseman. One down, two to go.

As the Leafs looked to have missed their opportunity to get closer midway through the third on a power play, Nolan struck again with his second, arguably sketchy, goal of the period. At the 14:58 mark, a long point shot was fired wide of the net ricocheting off the end glass allowing Nolan to fire a quick shot toward the front of the goal from behind the icing line having it go in off the leg of Buffalo netminder, Martin Biron. Two down, one to go.

With two minutes left, the Leafs had numerous chances but were unable to find a way to beat Biron. After Brian Leetch raced down the ice to touch up an icing with forty seconds to go, Joe Nieuwendyk stepped in to take the draw. He won it back to McCabe who found Mogilny at the side boards for a quick wrist shot that was deflected past Biron by Gary Roberts for the tying goal. Comeback achieved!
The Leafs were still not in the clear for a guaranteed point for sending the game to overtime. Trevor Kidd, who has been heavily criticized for his poor play of late, came up with a huge stop with about ten seconds to go allowing the Leafs to take a shot in overtime and, more importantly, secure a much needed point in the standings.

Kidd was not yet done with his heroics though. In overtime, the Leafs were forced to kill off a brutal penalty call on Alex Mogilny for barely hooking his man in the neutral zone. On the ensuing penalty, Buffalo got a point shot through that resulted in a rebound off to the left of Kidd. In what looked to be a sure goal, a Sabre player shot it toward the empty net but Kidd dove across and made a remarkable glove save to preserve the game.

As Mogilny’s penalty ended, he stepped out of the box and took a pass springing himself and Tomas Kaberle off on a two on two rush. Once he crossed the blueline, he stopped quickly loosing his defender and sent a quick pass right on the tape of Kaberle’s who had went hard to the net where he deflected the winner past Martin Biron.

Hopefully this inspired comeback will shake the Leafs of a slump they seemed to be falling into. The Leafs will get right back at it tonight against the Boston Bruins in a huge match up at Air Canada Centre. If the Leafs win, they will hold first place in the Northeast Division.

Canadiens Edge Leafs With Late Goal

Back and forth went the score of last night’s game between the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens. The Leafs twice held one goal leads but were unable to hold onto them due to some defensive breakdowns forced by the energetic Canadiens. The Canadiens played a very high paced, energetic game, beating the Leafs in many one on one battles with great speed and determination. This was never more clearly evident than on the game winning goal as Yanic Perreault managed to flip the puck over Ed Belfour with Robert Reichel draped all over him.

This game marked the Leafs’ second straight loss putting them farther out of contention for first place in their division. A conference title is all but out of reach now as Tampa Bay sits in first place with a seven point lead on the Leafs. Earlier in the season, many stressed the importance finishing in one of the top three positions to get an easier first round opponent. Now with only ten games remaining, it is becoming more apparent that there really is not a weak team in the top eight of the Eastern Conference which diminishes the value of a division or conference title. Even with a division title, as it stands now, the Leafs would end up playing the Islanders, Devils or Canadiens from first through third, respectively.

If the Leafs still intend to pursue a division title, winning their next two games against Buffalo on Monday and Boston, the current Northeast Division leader, on Tuesday are pivotal.

Aubin and Caron Puzzle Leafs

In shared effort, Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Sebastien Caron helped carry the Penguins to a surprise 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs were certainly not stingy offensively as they threw forty-six shots at the Penguins goal including twenty-six in the third period. Each time it looked as though the Leafs had a sure goal, the Penguins goaltenders would come up with an exceptional save. By the end of the game, the Leafs seemed frustrated as they could not find away to beat the Penguins goalies.

Ron Francis made his Leafs debut last night on a line with Owen Nolan and rookie Matt Stajan who, when Francis first started in the NHL, was not yet born. The line looked very effective generating numerous quality scoring chances but was unable to convert on any of their opportunities. Francis displayed his exceptional faceoff skills winning eleven of sixteen draws.

Trevor Kidd started the game for the Maple Leafs and made fourteen saves on seventeen shots. Two of the three goals were somewhat questionable causing the backup goaltending issue to rage on. It is very clear that the Leafs defense misses the excellent puckhandling skills of Ed Belfour when he is not in goal; consequently, the Leafs seem to have much more trouble moving out of the zone in an organized fashion when Kidd plays. This loss against the worst team in the NHL which dropped Kidd to a record of 5-5-2 on the season will definitely not help his confidence level. It also shows Leafs management that the health of Ed Belfour is paramount if the Leafs intend to make a serious run for the Stanley Cup.

The Maple Leafs will take on the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow at the Bell Centre and then will go to Buffalo to play the always troubling Sabres. They will return home on Tuesday for a tremendously important game against their divisional rival, Boston Bruins.

Leafs Return Florida’s Favour

It was just shy of two weeks ago that the Maple Leafs were crushed by the lowly Florida Panthers by a score of 4-0. This time; however, the Leafs were a much more confident group of players, partly because of the excellent deadline acquisitions and partly because of Ed Belfour being in the Leafs goal. There was no messing around in last night’s game as the Maple Leafs dominated the Panthers from start to finish resulting in a 5-0 win for the Leafs. In the process, Ed Belfour made fifteen saves to record his seventy-second career shutout.

Matt Stajan made his return to the Leafs’ lineup after a short stay in St. John’s for roster purposes. Stajan was reunited with Owen Nolan, a combination that had success earlier in the season. Stajan fed Nolan a pass in the slot early in the first period which Nolan blasted home, giving the Leafs a 1-0 lead and ending Nolan’s nine game goalless drought. Stajan also added a goal himself later in the third that essentially put the game out of reach for the Panthers. Today in practice, Stajan skated on a line with Nolan and newly acquired Ron Francis in preparation for tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh.

Gary Roberts also had a strong game scoring two goals. Sundin with Roberts and Mogilny is really shaping up to be a great line that produces practically a scoring chance per shift which, should it continue you, will quickly force that line to be regarded as one of the best in the NHL.

The Leafs will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Leafs Acquire Ron Francis; Claim Kilger Off Waivers

It has just been learned that the Toronto Maple Leafs have convinced Ron Francis to wave his no trade clause, allowing for a trade to the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs picked up Francis in return for a fourth round draft choice in 2005.

Francis has ten goals and twenty assists for thirty points in sixty-eight games this season with the Carolina Hurricanes. By acquiring Francis, the Maple Leafs will get a player with tremendous experience and leadership skills that will no doubt help the Leafs in their run for the Stanley Cup.

Earlier in the day the Maple Leafs claimed Chad Kilger off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens. Kilger has two goals and two assists for four points in thirty-six games with the Canadiens this season.

Leafs Sign Calle Johansson

It has just been disclosed that the Maple Leafs have signed free agent defenseman Calle Johansson. A native of Sweden, the 37 year old defender played last season with the Washington Capitals in all eighty-two regular season games registering three goals and twelve assists for fifteen points.

The Leafs now have ten capable defenders causing some to believe that perhaps one may be moved before today’s deadline at 3pm to get back some draft picks or prospects.

Leafs Cannot Figure Out Sabres

Perhaps it is becoming a psychological barrier for the Maple Leafs but each time the Leafs take on the Sabres, they struggle to come up with a solid sixty minute effort. The Leafs have still yet to beat the Sabres this season with the last two games resulting in very ugly losses. Tonight’s game resulted in another poor effort with the Leafs never developing any kind of momentum.

Ed Belfour allowed the most goals he has in quite a while; however, the majority of them were not his fault. Defensively, the Leafs looked completely disorganised allowing several breakaways and odd man rushes. Midway through the third period, Belfour was pushed awkwardly back into the net after a Buffalo forward charged hard to the net causing him to look slightly uncomfortable in the moments after the play. Hopefully that situation did not aggravate his back injury as that would certainly be a huge blow to the Leafs.

Matt Stajan was assigned on paper to St. John’s to rectify the Maple Leafs roster problems but is likely to be recalled on Tuesday after the rosters expand following the trade deadline.

The Maple Leafs will take on the Panthers and the Penguins on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively to finish up their homestand.

Leetch Storms Into Toronto

Less than twenty four hours before the start of last night’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins, Brian Leetch was sitting in a Boston hotel room when he received a phone call telling him he had been dealt after seventeen years of service from the New York Rangers to the Toronto Maple Leafs. As surprised and difficult as it was for him to leave the team he had felt he was going to retire with, Leetch, being the true professional that he is, realized he was being presented with one more opportunity to take a run at a Stanley Cup, a chance he has not had in seven years.

After arriving in Toronto at 2:30pm yesterday afternoon, Leetch dropped off his belongings and made his way directly to the rink to meet and greet his new team mates. He then went out and recorded three assists in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut causing most Leaf fans to virtually guarantee a Stanley Cup victory for the Maple Leafs come mid June. All in a days work for Brian Leetch.

Leetch, being a former captain, brings a Norris Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup along with his numerous games of playoff experience and the knowledge of what it takes to win deep in the playoffs. This knowledge will no doubt help many of the players on the Maple Leafs who have never been as far into playoff competition as Leetch has been.

Despite his fantastic performance last night, the real key will be to see how Leetch performs over the next week once all the emotions settle down. Owen Nolan’s first game in a Leafs uniform last year saw him record two goals but then struggle down the stretch and into the playoffs. It is unlikely the Leetch’s play will tail off too much as he has been so proficient at his game for many years. Also the prospects of participating in his first playoff run in seven years will certainly inspire him to be his best.

With three games remaining in this homestand against Buffalo, Florida and Pittsburgh, it is possible for the Leafs to jump ahead and stay in first place in the conference.

Brian Leetch Is Toronto Bound

In a deal announced minutes ago, pending the approval of the NHL, the Maple Leafs have acquired Brian Leetch and a conditional draft pick from the New York Rangers in return for Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, a first round draft choice in 2004 and a second round draft choice in 2005.

After loosing out on the Sergei Gonchar deal, the Maple Leafs jumped at their second option, which in many peoples’ opinion, should have been their first choice all along. Leetch, who has numerous games of playoff experience, has good offensive skills but is far more defensively conscious in his own end than Sergei Gonchar. With the acquisition of Leetch along with Kaberle, Klee and McCabe, the Leafs have four solid, dependable defensemen. Marchment is still capable of playing a very physical game and will be used accordingly down the stretch. There is also Karel Pilar, Aki Berg, Drake Berehowsky and Wade Belak which really gives the Leafs a solid defense corps with excellent depth.

Leafs Dominate Bruins, Well, For Fifty Minutes At Least

For the first time since practically opening day, the Maple Leafs had a fully healthy lineup on the ice and they showed what they can do with all of the components of their team in place. The Leafs came out and dominated the first two periods of play both offensively and defensively. The Bruins spent a great deal of time in their own zone for most of the game. It was only due to the sensational goaltending of rookie netminder, Andrew Raycroft that allowed the Bruins to remain in striking distance of the Leafs. Not only did they remaining in striking distance, the Bruins actually came back to tie the game in the third period with two quick goals after being severely outplayed for the first forty minutes. However, the game was not tied for long as Mats Sundin scored the game winner with just under seven minutes remaining.

Mats Sundin was reunited with Gary Roberts, who was back from an eight game absence after sustaining a groin injury, and Alex Mogilny for last night’s pivotal division match up. This was the first time these three players played together on the same line since November 20, 2003 against the Edmonton Oilers. Mogilny was out until just recently with a hip injury and when he returned, Roberts went down with a groin injury. One hundred and three days later, they picked up right where they left off playing a key role in the Leafs victory. Last night, somewhat surprisingly, was the first time Mats Sundin scored two goals in one game this season.

It is certainly no coincidence that the Leafs have turned their play around since the return of Gary Roberts and Ed Belfour to their lineup. These two players are extremely important to the team’s success as they both bring so many good things to the lineup. Belfour will providing world-class goaltending on an almost nightly basis and also contributes to the organization in the defensive end with his superior puckhandling skills. Roberts has so much energy and seems to inspire his teammates to raise their level of play with his relentless effort and determination to succeed.

The Leafs will take on the New York Islanders on Thursday and then will continue their homestand on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.