Leafs Thrash The Thrashers

Any concerns about the Leafs’ offensive ability, goaltending, power play, penalty killing or team character after a 9-1 shellacking of the Atlanta Thrashers should now be non issues. A game, that was a good one for about thirty minutes, turned into a disgrace for the Atlanta Thrashers, both because of the outcome on the scoreboard and the way in which they conducted themselves as the game fell far out of reach in the third period.

The Thrashers began taking liberties with the Leafs halfway through the third period. Lindros was felled by a flying elbow along the side boards leaving him unhappy but otherwise seemingly alright. The hit sparked a full scale brawl which saw each player on the ice involved and ended after a linesman was thrown to the ice by a slightly too agitated Thrasher. Next, Tucker was run headfirst at full speed into the end boards leaving him with a large gash above his left eye. Jason Allison jumped in and engaged in a fight in Tucker’s defense. Andy Sutton was issued a match penalty for intent to injure which carries with it an automatic suspension for his role in the hit. Finally, Nik Antropov was the victim of a shot to the head from Patrick Stefan leaving him with a cut under his left eye.

Coach Pat Quinn was incensed after the conclusion of the game suggesting Atlanta coach Bob Hartley is responsible for his team’s conduct because of his reputation as a headhunting coach. The fact is though there is absolutely no place in the game for the kind of behaviour Atlanta displayed. For a league trying to rebuild its image in the wake of the lockout, the NHL should come down hard on the Thrasher players responsible for this nonsense because it was frankly a disgrace.

The Leafs offense found another gear and with the help of phenomenal performances by Darcy Tucker, Jason Allison, Jeff O’Neill and Bryan McCabe were very effective both at even strength and with the man advantage. After starting slowly to begin the year, the Leafs power play has come to life. Once all the NHL statistics are updated to include Friday’s games, the Leafs’ power play, with seven power player markers alone against the Thrashers, will undoubtedly be among the more efficient in the league.

Ed Belfour recorded his first win of the season with a fine performance, overshadowed by the issues later in the game. After a few subpar efforts to begin the season, Belfour showed his competitive nature by bouncing back and holding the Leafs in the game until they were able to pull away midway through the second period.

The Leafs take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight at Air Canada Centre. The lineup may look quite different than the one that started last night in Atlanta due to the injuries to Tucker, Antropov, and Kilger, all which will likely be game time decisions. Wade Belak and Tie Domi face possible suspensions stemming from their actions in last night’s altercation. Nevertheless, it is a crucial game for the Leafs with Montreal sitting only two points ahead going into tonight’s match up.