Leafs Right The Ship Against The Flyers

As the Leafs had again played their opponent into a deadlock after two periods of play, the Leafs were not about to let another game get away from them in the third period. The Leafs came out strong in the third and played arguably their strongest period of this young season, scoring two goals and shutting the Flyers down to register their first win of the season. Again, there were many positives, aside from the win itself to grow on, and that is paramount for the Leafs as they continue to make their way through the schedule without Mats Sundin.

Sundin had some good news come his way today after the fracture he suffered to his orbital bone last week was said to be not displaced upon further examination. That means Sundin will be able to avoid surgery to fix the injury however an outlook for his return still remains somewhat murky.

Mikael Tellqvist received his first action of the season tonight as he took care of the goaltending in the second game of the Leafs’ back to back contests to begin the week. Along with his brand new equipment, Tellqvist had a sensational debut tonight looking like a grizzled veteran for a team desperately in need of a strong net minding performance. During a stretch of about ten minutes during the second period, the Leafs were dominated by the Flyers but with several big stops and consistent play, Tellqvist managed to hold the Leafs in the game.

Jason Allison and Eric Lindros had outstanding performances tonight as they continue to fill the void in Sundin’s absence. Playing all night against Primeau and Forsberg, Allison and Lindros shut down the Flyers top two lines while providing an offensive contribution of their own.

Up next, the Leafs face the newly bolstered lineup of the Atlanta Thrashers this coming Friday. After a contract dispute, Ilya Kovalchuk and the Thrashers agreed to terms which should see the sniper in the lineup.