Home Ice Horrors Continue For Maple Leafs

Two games on the road to conclude last week in Pittsburgh and New York seemed to cure many of the early season ailments that had plagued the Maple Leafs. Defensive zone coverage was organized and no longer resembled a jailbreak. There was an element of aggressiveness and an effective forecheck that generated offense. Goaltending was as good as it has been for the Maple Leafs since prior to the work stoppage in 2004-2005. Then the Maple Leafs return home for a date with the Washington Capitals and all the positives that surfaced throughout the brief road trip vanished during a ghoulish 7-1 loss two days before Halloween.

Washington got on the board early with a goal from Boyd Gordon at the 3:19 mark of the first period. Alexei Ponikarovsky was quick to respond for the Maple Leafs beating Capitals’ netminder Olaf Kolzig thirty one seconds later on a set up from Mats Sundin. From there though, the Maple Leafs had no answers from Alexander Ovechkin who scored twice in the game or any other player wearing a red and white jersey for that matter.

Vesa Toskala was pulled in favour of Andrew Raycroft after the Capitals scored their fourth goal in the first period. Toskala, though not spectacular, was not the primary issue of concern in this game as defensive lapses occurred frequently leaving him with little chance to make stops. Where the Maple Leafs kept pressure to the outside in Pittsburgh and New York, they allowed Ovechkin and Nylander to set up camp behind the net and in the slot making the lives of both Toskala and Raycroft very difficult. So much for the Maple Leafs being a tough team to play against.

The Maple Leafs will be off until Friday when they will travel to New Jersey to take on the Devils to kick off a four game road trip that will see them also make stops in Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.8

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Unlike many of today’s successful teams, the Maple Leafs are devoid of dynamic young talent that could one day become the next face of their franchise. Effective young talent they do have, but at this point, none that appears poised to lead the team over the next decade. Now over two years into the league’s obstruction crackdown, speed, skill and youth have continually shown that they are three of the most important assets a team can possess. Generally to acquire such franchise cornerstone type players, a team must hit rock bottom for a year if not more to accumulate enough high draft picks with which to rebuild from. The Maple Leafs, though, don’t want to fully commit to a rebuilding period but still wouldn’t mind one of those young franchise type players. JFJ’s latest idea…Let’s subvert the draft.

Earlier last week, a story broke suggesting the Maple Leafs had approached John Tavares with an AHL contract offer in hopes of him signing the deal paving the way for him to become a Maple Leaf down the road in 2013. After concluding a multi year AHL contract until said date, he would become a free agent eligible to sign with the Maple Leafs or any other team for that matter. Leaf fans…don’t count on it. If it were just that easy to subvert the draft, teams would be doing it with the top two or three “can’t miss” prospects each year. Unless ¾ of AHL teams voted in favour of passing an exception, Tavares would not be eligible for the AHL any sooner than he would be for the NHL. He still has to be 18. Don’t think for a minute 75% of the league would agree to allow an exception for one team to sign a player that would likely give them a significant competitive advantage.

Let’s not forget that Tavares is a kid who already wants to play in the NHL at age 17. Why would he wait until he is 23 just for a chance to play for the Maple Leafs. So if you’re Tavares, why not just wait and do things the conventional way. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Leafs Look Strong In Second Straight Win

Scoring six goals per game is great, but not when offensive chances come at the expense of defensive zone coverage. Though the Maple Leafs were scoring at an impressive clip at the outset of the regular season, those goals were coming on opportunities that were generated by sacrificing sound play in the defensive zone, one of the primary reasons for early season struggles. When they failed to score, the Maple Leafs were leaving themselves prone to counterattack chances and as a result, were often giving up as many goals as they were scoring.

Last night, for the second straight game, the Maple Leafs took care of their own zone first and then derived offense out of mistakes committed by their opponents. Despite shelling out big dollars to land two of the coveted prizes on last summer’s free agent market – Chris Drury and Scott Gomez – the Ranger newcomers have yet to fit in with their new team. In fact, this team looks a lot like a pre lockout version of the Rangers – numerous high priced individuals that are struggling to play as a team. As a result, improved play by the Maple Leafs in their defensive end and an aggressive forecheck led to the Rangers committing mistakes which the Maple Leafs turned into offense.

Pavel Kubina’s first goal of the season drew the Maple Leafs even at one goal a piece with the Rangers mid way through the second period after Jaromir Jagr had scored earlier in the period to open the scoring for the Rangers. Boyd Deveraux, who skated and forechecked well all game long, pressured Ranger netminder Hendrik Lundqvist into a turnover behind his net leading to John Pohl’s first goal of the season. His goal would become the eventual game winner as the Maple Leafs held the Rangers off the board for the remainder of the game. Nik Antropov scored an insurance marker at 17:06 of the middle frame and Chad Kilger sealed the victory with an empty net goal in the final seconds of the third period.

Vesa Toskala has appeared to gain the confidence of his teammates and Head Coach Paul Maurice who has now started the netminder in three consecutive games. Another impressive performance last night in which Toskala made thirty two stops en route to a 4-1 victory will make Maurice’s decision easy when the Maple Leafs return home to take on the Washington Capitals on Monday night.

Tlusty Leads Leafs In NHL Debut

Just as Paul Maurice alluded to during his post game press conference following a disheartening shootout loss on home ice to the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, hitting the road was indeed a tonic to the porous defensive play that the Maple Leafs have suffered through for the better part of the regular season. An injection of youth in the form of 2006 first round draft pick, Jiri Tlusty, did not hurt against the speedy Penguins either.

The Maple Leafs took on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season but looked vastly different from the squad that imploded in the third period en route to a 6-4 loss in their first meeting on October 13th. Instead, the Maple Leafs skated aggressively, limiting the production of Sidney Crosby and company and held the potent Penguins offense to only twenty five shots. Vesa Toskala made his second consecutive start and was solid when called upon to make difficult saves. Most importantly, with the game tied at one goal a piece heading into the final period, the Maple Leafs did not self destruct. Throughout the final twenty minutes, the Maple Leafs played their best period thus far this season, dominating the play scoring four times on nine shots leading them to an impressive 5-2 victory.

Offense continued to come naturally to the Maple Leafs who still hold a commanding lead in scoring among NHL teams with forty two goals. Nik Antropov – one of the Maple Leafs most consistent performers at both ends of the rink throughout their first eleven games – had two assists and Alex Steen finally broke out of an early season slump with a goal and two assists. Just as he did a year ago, Steen has struggled during the month of October despite, at times, showing glimpses of greatness.

General Manager John Ferguson Jr. summoned Jiri Tlusty from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Wednesday to add an injection of youth and to change the dynamic in the dressing room reminding veterans that job security is never guaranteed. Tlusty impressed in his National Hockey League debut scoring twice and showed speed and explosiveness, talents the Maple Leafs have far too little of contained in their roster. Tlusty’s second goal – a tremendous effort in which he beat a Penguins’ defenseman one on one – would eventually turn out to be the game winning marker. With the performance he contributed in his inaugural NHL contest, there is little doubt he has earned himself a second game on Saturday when the Maple Leafs will take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Leafs Manage Single Point Against League’s Worst

The Maple Leafs have been a team lacking confidence for the better part of the first ten games of their schedule. Last night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers - the league’s worst team to date - was meant to be one where plaguing mistakes could be corrected and optimism could be rejuvenated for a positive start to the second ten game segment of their schedule. However, after the Maple Leafs struggled to a 5-4 shootout loss, neither goal was accomplished. In fact, the Maple Leafs were lucky to receive just a single point in this game thanks to a goal from Alexei Ponikarovsky with just ten seconds remaining in the third period. For all intents and purposes, this effort only made things worse for all those who consider themselves to live in the wide reaching regions of Leaf Land.

Going into last night’s game, the Maple Leafs and Thrashers ranked as the bottom two teams in goals against per game and by the end of sixty minutes, both teams quite vividly displayed why that was the case. Mats Sundin opened the scoring thirteen seconds into the first period skating uncontested around the Thrasher net and jamming the puck past Thrashers’ backup netminder, Johan Hedberg. The Maple Leafs did not hold the lead for long though as Tomas Kaberle, who has looked very much unlike Tomas Kaberle to this point, got caught minutes later on an offensive rush forcing Mats Sundin to cover his spot on defense and take on dynamic winger Ilya Kovalchuk in a one on one situation. The Russian speedster easily beat Sundin to the outside and dropped a pass back into the slot for rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom who beat Maple Leaf netminder Vesa Toskala for his first career NHL goal.

Kovalchuk put the Thrashers ahead just before the end of the opening frame when he was allowed to circle out from behind the Maple Leaf net and fire a shot past a screened Toskala. Over the remaining two periods, the Maple Leafs were forced to fight back from one goal deficits on three separate occasions on tallies from Hal Gill, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky.

The early season trend of third period difficulties continued for the Maple Leafs as well. After managing to begin the third period tied at three goals a piece, due solely to the exceptional play of Vesa Toskala, the Maple Leafs again could not come up with a solid effort in the final frame that would have led to victory. Only once the Thrashers had taken the lead with just under seven minutes remaining did the Maple Leafs begin to show signs of life. Although they did generate considerable offensive pressure in their desperate attempt to tie the game, it was hardly a sound effort with most of the offensive chances coming at the expense of defensive concentration leaving them lucky not to give up another goal.

Surprisingly – or perhaps not – the Maple Leafs showed very little energy or interest in a very winnable game. Head Coach Paul Maurice and his troops have spent the past three weeks explaining how they must be a difficult team to play against on a nightly basis to have legitimate opportunities to win but have rarely heeded their own advice. Consistent trips to the penalty box also continued, affording the Thrashers five power play chances: many of said infractions were of the mindless variety. Atlanta, to their credit, stayed penalty-free for the first half of the game and ended the night with only three minor penalties.

Mats Sundin and Jason Blake were again at their offensive best, in spite of their defensive shortcomings. Both players picked up three points against the Thrashers leaving Sundin in a tie with Hendrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings for the lead in NHL scoring – each with seventeen points - and Blake, too, within striking distance of that distinction.

Following yet another disheartening loss, Paul Maurice indicated his eagerness to hit the road with his team after starting the season with eight of their first ten games on home ice. Unlike most teams, the Maple Leafs have yet to go on a protracted road trip preventing them from spending considerable time amongst themselves bonding as a team. Maurice will get his wish over the next two weeks when seven of the Maple Leafs’ next eight games will take place away from Air Canada Centre starting Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.7

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The Maple Leafs so far this season have looked about as uncomfortable playing with a lead as a kid who knows they’ve done something wrong, knows they’re going to hear about it, but just isn’t sure quite when the screaming and yelling is going to come. For some unknown reason, and believe me, we’re working on it, when the Maple Leafs carry a lead into the third period, it almost seems like they are expecting things to go sour in an awful hurry. They get away from their hard checking, energetic style of play and are instead being caught flat footed, standing around, watching their opponents control the game.

Flat footedness and standing around when you have a group of players who certainly couldn’t be referred to as fleet of foot at the best of times in turn leads to scoring chances and penalties. With questionable penalty killing, this pattern more often than not leads to goals. Of the thirty seven goals they have surrendered thus far, sixteen have come in the third period of play, far and away the highest total of any team in the NHL. See it’s not that the Leafs aren’t in positions to win games. Save for the Carolina debacle two weeks ago, the Maple Leafs have been in striking distance going into the third period. It’s not that they can’t score goals; in fact they do it better than any team in the league sitting first in goals for. They just can’t keep them out of their own net, sitting dead last in goals against. When that’s the case, it’s no surprise the Maple Leafs are hovering right around the 500 mark.

The mark of any good team is one that wins more often than not in the crunch. When crunch time hits for the Maple Leafs, these days, they just aren’t producing with the game on the line. And until they realize, hockey is the same game in the third and it is in the first and second, don’t expect this up and down season to change. But hey, all that was just rigmarole.

Leafs Let Another Lead Evaporate

Last night, the Maple Leafs ended their week of action against the Chicago Blackhawks in much the same fashion as they started it back on Monday against the Buffalo Sabres. In both games, the Maple Leafs began the third period up by two goals and both times, they allowed that lead to evaporate. Giving up leads late in games is becoming a very disturbing trend of this year’s edition of the Maple Leafs, now having done it in four separate games in the second period or later.

The Maple Leafs built a 3-1 lead over the Blackhawks on two breakaway goals from Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle’s third goal of the season and seemed as though they were well on their way to a second straight victory. Andrew Raycroft, a somewhat surprise starter after Vesa Toskala turned in a strong performance in winning fashion against the Panthers on Thursday, was arguably as strong as he has ever been for the Maple Leafs in the first two periods. However in the third, Raycroft, along with the rest of his cohorts infront of him, seemed to tighten up as soon as Andrei Zyuzin scored on a power play to pull Chicago to within one goal. Less than thirty seconds later, the Blackhawks tied it on Duncan Keith’s first goal of the season. Patrick Sharp picked up what turned out to be the game winner on a power play at 11:47.

Throughout the season, the Maple Leafs have preached that they must avoiding a constant parade to the penalty box but so far, they do not seem to be heeding their own advice. Tonight’s game was a perfect example of taking too many penalties allowing the Blackhawks to score on four out of seven power play opportunities. Despite the Blackhawks not scoring on it, Alexei Ponikarovsky took the most costly penalty with just under a minute remaining in the game with the Maple Leafs down only one goal preventing the team from a six on five situation with Andrew Raycroft on the bench. Conversely, the Blackhawks exhibited sterling discipline taking only one minor penalty.

The Maple Leafs will likely face their sixth consecutive backup netminder when they take on the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night. Starter Kari Lehtonen’s participation is in jeopardy after he tweaked his groin late last week.

Antropov Gets Leafs Back In Win Column

Following a heartbreaking loss in Buffalo on Monday night in which they surrendered a two goal lead, the Maple Leafs returned home Thursday to take on the Florida Panthers and this time, they would be the team to spoil a two goal lead coming back to from an early deficit to win 3-2. In keeping with their trend set early on this season, nobody could say for sure which version of the Maple Leafs would show up tonight at Air Canada Centre but fortunately for their fans that have been growing ever more impatient, it was the energetic, aggressive team that is so much more difficult to play against.

There were concerns though that the Maple Leafs were in for another discouraging outing after falling down two goals by the ten minute mark of the first period. To their credit, they returned to the style of play that has led them to success this season by skating well, being aggressive, establishing a solid forecheck in the offensive zone and limiting their trips to the penalty box. Defensive play was much improved against the Panthers in this game than compared with the third period against Buffalo, tonight backed by another solid goaltending performance from Vesa Toskala. Florida had several good chances to retake the lead in the third period but Toskala was able to come up with big saves down the stretch to keep the Maple Leafs in a position to win.

Bryan McCabe silenced his critics for at least one night with arguably his best performance of the season scoring the tying goal and rediscovering his rugged style on defense. He looked far surer of himself in the defensive zone, utilizing his size and throwing his body around to lead the Maple Leafs with five hits in the game.

As the game appeared headed to overtime, Nik Antropov scored the game winner with twenty seven seconds left propelling the Maple Leafs to their third win of the season. That goal gave Antropov his fourth consecutive game with at least a goal and an assist and keeps him up near the top of the league in scoring.

The Maple Leafs get back in action on Saturday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in a very rare visit to the Air Canada Centre.

Sabres Use Every Last Second To Beat Leafs In OT

It seems that most games between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs are both entertaining and unpredictable. Tonight’s contest was no different. Perhaps it is due to the style of play these two teams tend to use: the kind of style the Buffalo Sabres excel at and the Maple Leafs try to play against their better judgment. The Sabres are one of best skating, most effective puck moving teams in the NHL and as a result, it allows them to play a run and gun style that few teams can match up against consistently. The Maple Leafs continue to try to play a similar style, devoid of much attention to defensive coverage. Clearly though over the last two seasons, they have shown again and again it is not one they can be successful at.

For two periods in tonight’s game, the Maple Leafs shut down the Sabres potent offense with air tight concentration in the defensive zone, an aggressive forecheck that led to scoring chances, and solid goaltending from Andrew Raycroft. In fact, Raycroft actually looked like a goaltender the Maple Leafs could win with during the first forty minutes of this game. He did make several stops off quality Sabre chances but his success was in part due to the fact that he was not left on his own to clean up after porous defensive zone play. Come the third period, the Maple Leafs decided to abandon what led them to success during the first forty minutes and take their chances by giving the Sabres the opportunity to use their speed.

Call it mission unaccomplished as that decision allowed the Sabres to tie the game quickly and efficiently over the span of thirty seven seconds midway through the third period on goals from former Maple Leaf Adam Mair and Jason Pominville. Two periods of hard work building a 2-0 lead was gone the moment the Sabres were allowed to start skating.

The two teams would trade goals for the remainder of the third period before Ales Kotalik was credited with the overtime winner, a goal that Bryan McCabe swatted into his own net just three seconds away from a shootout. In addition to McCabe’s struggles, Pavel Kubina seemed equally uncomfortable handling the puck committing several glaring turnovers. The Mats Sundin unit consisting of linemates Alex Steen and Jason Blake was victimized on the Sabres first two goals. On the night, Sundin’s line held a combined (-11) rating.

A newly comprised line of Nik Antropov centring John Pohl and Chad Kilger took advantage of increased ice time and was easily the Leafs best line. Kilger picked up his first two goals of the season, John Pohl earned three assists and Nik Antropov continued his impressive play with a goal and an assist.

The Maple Leafs are off until Thursday when they will return home to take on the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Centre.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.6

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In the NHL, the age range between 27 and 35 is widely viewed as the time when many players hit their prime and experience the most productive years of their careers. By that point, players have learned the ropes of the NHL and know the way they have to play in order to be most successful. It’s often the time when great players establish themselves as consistently dominant NHLers and average players rise up to a new level as they realize their full potential.

When the Maple Leafs signed Bryan McCabe to a massive five year deal worth $29 million prior to the start of the 2006-2007 campaign, they thought they were signing a player who had shown tremendous potential that would only get better as his “best years” were still yet to come. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, the previously discussed trend in players’ careers seems to be working in reverse for McCabe. Ever since McCabe put pen to paper on that deal, the confident youngster full of potential for greatness has disappeared and been replaced by one who continually fights the puck, looks unsure of himself in the defensive zone and commits horrible turnovers; all of which is unacceptable for a player being paid the way he is.

Players just coming off signing big contracts do tend to struggle initially as they attempt to live up to their new salary but usually regain their form after twenty or thirty games. For McCabe, it has now been over a season’s worth of hockey and improvement is nowhere to be seen. In fact, McCabe’s quality of play seems to be diminishing each game out. His defensive game is at the point where he is virtually a liability on the ice against any of the opponent’s top players, the ones he is paid so richly to shut down. Worst of all, his on ice demeanor gives off the impression to fans that he isn’t particularly concerned with his struggles and that his where he is losing the patience of Leaf Nation. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Crosby & Co. Get Rolling In Toronto

Following a season in which Sidney Crosby accomplished more than most players do throughout their entire career, expectations were set even higher for the young lad from Nova Scotia who has become the face of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the National Hockey League and the game of hockey itself. On top of that, Crosby is entering his third NHL season as the undisputed leader of the Penguins at just twenty years of age after being named team captain this past summer. All those heightened expectations seemed to take their toll on Crosby who had gone scoreless through his first three games this season until the real Sidney returned on Saturday against the Maple Leafs on the stage he thrives best on: the biggest one he can possibly find.

Broadcast coast to coast throughout Canada on Hockey Night In Canada, Sidney Crosby returned to form potting his first two markers of the season including the game winner as he led his Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Despite the poor result for fans of the Maple Leafs, the game was tremendously entertaining due in part to terrible defensive play at times from both teams leading to a multitude of scoring opportunities. Erik Christensen opened the scoring for the Penguins but the Maple Leafs fought back with three unanswered goals from Darcy Tucker, Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin giving them a 3-1 lead early in the second period. Lucky to be in such a position after surrendering nineteen shots on Vesa Toskala during the opening frame, the Maple Leafs were unable to bear down and solidify their defensive play to carry that lead through to the end of the game.

Instead the Penguins were able to continue peppering Toskala with shots, ending the game with a total of fifty two. Toskala again was the reason why the score was as flattering toward the Maple Leafs as it was by night’s end. Their play inside their own blueline looked a lot more like the kind they displayed during an embarrassing 7-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes this past Tuesday than compared to the much improved defensive play that shut down the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Bryan McCabe, now over a year into his gigantic contract, continued to exhaust the patience of Maple Leaf fans with a disgraceful performance struggling to a (-3) rating, committing several costly turnovers and taking three minor penalties. At a time in his career when most players begin to reach their prime, the quality McCabe’s play almost seems like it is eroding instead of improving.

Conversely another player who drew much criticism during his early years with the Maple Leafs is starting to show why he was given such patience to make his mark. Nik Antropov was arguably the most dominant Maple Leaf against the Penguins scoring once and recording an assist on Mats Sundin’s goal while generating five shots on goal.

The Maple Leafs will travel down the QEW to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Monday in what will be only their second road game of the season.

Leafs Dismantle Islanders In Special Night At ACC

Mats Sundin said it best during an on ice interview following the Maple Leafs 8-1 trouncing of the New York Islanders. “Even the team that wins the Stanley Cup is going to lose some games big this year and it’s how you respond after a loss that shows the good teams,” professed the Maple Leafs captain. His team was in desperate need of a confidence building effort against the team that surpassed them on the final day of the regular season to secure the final playoff spot, not to mention a win and a valuable two points in the Eastern Conference Standings.

The Maple Leafs were vastly improved forty eight hours after an embarrassing performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Starting off well in the first period would be key for a fragile Maple Leafs team and they did so, building an early 2-0 lead as well as raising their defensive zone play to a far more competent level. The Islanders did get on the board when Ruslan Fedotenko scored on a power play midway through the first period but that goal would mark the end of their offensive production in this game. From the second period onwards, the Maple Leafs dominated the Islanders scoring six unanswered goals while continuing their high-paced, energetic play that is essential to any kind of success they will see this season.

Head Coach Paul Maurice juggled his lineup against the Islanders by giving the nod to Andrew Raycroft along with dressing Wade Belak and Toronto Marlies call up Simon Gamache. Bates Battaglia, who has struggled so far this season, and Alexei Ponikarovsky, who suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday’s practice, both sat out against the Islanders. Belak and Gamache were welcomed additions as they injected sparks of energy to a lineup that was in need of a wake up call. Gamache was very impressive picking up a goal and an assist while Belak got into a spirited tilt with Andy Sutton and led a relentless fourth line attack with Kris Newbury and Chad Kilger.

Topping off the night was Mats Sundin finally breaking Darryl Sittler’s long time records for most goals and most points as a Toronto Maple Leaf. It was first thought that Sundin had surpassed Sittler’s mark of 916 points when he was awarded an assist on Tomas Kaberle’s goal at 7:15 of the second period. However, replays clearly showed Sundin had no involvement in the goal forcing the celebrations to be cued back up. At 9:54 of the third period, Sundin would take care of both records when he scored giving him his 390th goal and 917th point sitting him first all time in goals and points as a Maple Leaf. In an appropriate honour, Sundin was named the first, second and third star of the game.

Mats Sundin responded, the Maple Leafs responded and for now, if for just a day, all is right once again in the land of the Maple Leafs.

Hurricanes Blow Leafs Out In Atrocious Home Effort

The Maple Leafs may still be trying to figure out what hit them last night at Air Canada Centre. One thing is for sure, they never saw it coming. Going into Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, there were several rallying points for the Maple Leafs to take advantage of and build on toward a successful performance.

Two games ago against the Ottawa Senators, Mats Sundin tied Darryl Sittler’s twenty five year old record for most goals all-time as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Then just over four minutes into last night’s contest, Sundin was at it again, equaling Sittler’s record for the most points all-time in a Leaf uniform, when he assisted on Bryan McCabe’s power play goal, the only marker the Leafs would post against the Hurricanes. Unlike many world class superstar athletes, Sundin has long shown a passion for seeing his teammates have success of their own. His teammates ought to return the favour one of these days.

After an emotional come from behind overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens this past Saturday, one would have to think the energy would be running high in the corridors of Air Canada Centre. Apparently, that was not the case.

In Carolina, the Maple Leafs faced a team in direct competition with them to fight their way back into the playoff picture. Both teams missed out on post season play by slim margins a year ago. Judging by the result of last night’s game, it is quite clear which team is serious about seeing action come the springtime.

If all that was not enough, Jason Blake was playing in his first game since being diagnosed with leukemia. On his first shift, Blake showed he was ready to lead the way with an energetic effort and few body checks. Unfortunately, no Maple Leaf decided to follow his lead.

Last night’s was the first game for the Maple Leafs this season that lacked an element of glamour. A mid week game against an opponent with really no particular rivalry from the Southeast Division hardly carries with it the sort of glamour that the season opener held, or the kind of glamour that the Ottawa Senators Eastern Conference Championship banner raising ceremony during their home opener a night later had, or even the glamour of the first Saturday night match up of the season with none other than their forever rivals, the Montreal Canadiens in town. See those games are easy to get up for and for the most part, the Maple Leafs did. Last night’s game against the Hurricanes was where being a professional has to take over to ensure your team comes out strong and to a man, the Maple Leafs were unable to do that.

Instead, the Maple Leafs started out very disjointed forcing netminder Vesa Toskala into a difficult series of saves on the first shift of the game. Once they took the lead 1-0, the Maple Leafs let their laziness continue by turning the puck over constantly, making horrible decisions with and without the puck and showing literally no interest in staying out of the penalty box.

Vesa Toskala was left on his own with no chance on the majority of the Hurricanes’ goals. Frankly, without Toskala, the score likely would have reached double digits. Head Coach Paul Maurice would be wise to give Toskala the start again on Thursday when the New York Islanders arrive at Air Canada Centre. By starting Andrew Raycroft in their next game, it implies that Toskala was somehow not good enough and in a way, lets the rest of the team off the hook. Toskala was far from the problem against the Carolina Hurricanes. Unless the whole team gets better in a hurry, it would not matter who is in the Leafs net.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.5

www.afootinthecrease.com

Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games. Goaltending wins championships. Without quality, reliable goaltending, a team in today’s day and age does not have a legitimate shot at competing for a championship regardless of how good they may be. Last season, with Andrew Raycroft, the Maple Leafs simply did not receive strong enough goaltending to be consistent on a regular basis. In the past, Maple Leaf fans were spoiled with the likes of future Hall of Famers Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph patrolling the blue paint, both regularly stealing games their teams did not deserve to win. With those extra wins on their record, the Leafs finished in the upper half of the Eastern Conference standings for most seasons during their tenures in Toronto.

Last year Raycroft stole a grand total of one game coming on March 13th in Tampa Bay; one game that his team likely did not deserve to win. The total is much higher when it comes to games the Leafs did deserve to win but ended up losing due to inadequate netminding. Right there is one of the major reasons why the Maple Leafs did not see post-season play last season.

So far the Maple Leafs first three games have been a microcosm of this year’s potential and last year’s failures. Raycroft played on Wednesday and could not come up with a big save down the stretch, costing his team a game they should have one. On Thursday, Toskala held the Leafs in the game during the third period as he watched his team continue a parade to the penalty box. Same story again on Saturday as Toskala was rock solid in the third period and in overtime leading the Leafs to victory. Would they have won with Raycroft in net? Maybe, maybe not. But judging from past examples, not likely. Now we aren’t planning the parade route after only two decent games, but we are saying the Leafs will be far more competitive with Toskala’s kind of goaltending should he play that way all season long. But hey, all that was just rigmarole.

Toskala, Sundin Lead Leafs To Victory

If only a bounce could have gone a different way in one of their first two regular season games against the Ottawa Senators, the Maple Leafs may not have faced the possibility of opening their season winless in three straight games going into their first Saturday night match up against the Montreal Canadiens. But of course, they did not get a break in their favour during that season opening home and home series and as a result, two fine efforts against the defending Eastern Conference Champions went for not. As legendary Maple Leafs’ broadcaster Joe Bowen likes to say, “If “ifs” and “buts” were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.” Regardless of how absurd that phrase may or may not be, it quiet accurately explains that there is no use complaining about what might have been. Instead just get down to business and control what you can.

That is exactly what the Maple Leafs did when they welcomed the Montreal Canadiens into Air Canada Centre for the first time since ending the Habs’ playoff hopes with a win in the final regular season game of the 2006-2007 campaign. Vesa Toskala started in goal for the second consecutive game and built on a solid performance on Thursday in Ottawa coming up with solid saves down the stretch not seen from a Maple Leafs goaltender since the days when Eagles and Rabid Dogs patrolled the crease. He was at his best in overtime with the game on the line when the Maple Leafs were forced to kill off a Mats Sundin roughing penalty.

Once out of the penalty box, with the Maple Leafs on a man advantage of their own, Sundin would set up Tomas Kaberle for a blast from the point which beat Canadiens’ netminder Cristobal Huet giving them their first power play goal of the season and more importantly, their first win of the season. Despite picking up a roughing penalty, Sundin added to his effectiveness in this game by showing a willingness to get involved physically. With three assists on the night, Sundin is rolling at a two point per game pace with six points in his first three games.

The Maple Leafs, once again, showed their ability to fight back from behind overcoming two deficits against the Canadiens. Montreal would score first before Ian White tied it at one goal a side soon after. The Habs would then build a 3-1 lead but the Maple Leafs again fought back on two goals from Alexei Ponikarovsky after he was reunited with Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov; the line mates he ended last season with.

The Carolina Hurricanes roll into Air Canada Centre on Tuesday for a match up with the Maple Leafs starting at 7pm.

Strong Effort Wasted For Second Straight Night

After two games of the 2007-2008 Battle of Ontario, the Ottawa Senators boast a perfect record while the Maple Leafs head back home having managed only one point in an overtime loss. In theory, this should be yet another discouraging start to the season for the boys in blue; however, their play in this season opening home and home series with the newly anointed Eastern Conference Champions has been anything but discouraging. In fact, it has been quite the contrary for the Maple Leafs as they showed they are quite capable of skating with the Senators. Unlike in previous seasons when the Senators made beating the Maple Leafs look far too easy, routinely posting heavily lopsided scores, the past two match ups have been available for the taking.

The Ottawa Senators raised their Eastern Conference Championship banner prior to their home opener surely causing many Senators fans that still seem to suffer from an inferiority complex toward the Maple Leafs to enjoy it for all the wrong reasons. For their sake, it is a shame the Senators could not have opened their home schedule against the St. Louis Blues. Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs matched the Senators energy in the first frame generating thirteen shots on Martin Gerber. It was the Senators though that got on the board first on Daniel Alfredsson’s second goal of the season when he beat Vesa Toskala mid way through the period.

Half way through the second period, Alex Steen thought he had tied the game for the Maple Leafs jamming in a loose puck that sat in the goal crease after Jason Blake had taken the puck to the net creating a scramble in front of Martin Gerber. Instead the referees ruled Blake had made incidental contact with Gerber while cutting across the net preventing him from being able to make a save. The goal was disallowed, yet a penalty for goaltender interference was not assessed to the Maple Leafs on the play. The incident was much like the one in a game between the Maple Leafs and Islanders last season on February 22nd, 2007 when Kerry Fraser ruled Alexei Ponikarovsky had made incidental contact with Islander netminder Rick Dipietro rendering him unable to make an attempt at stopping a Mats Sundin shot. Though rarely used, a portion of rule 69.3 in the NHL rulebook permits a referee to disallow a goal based on incidental contact with the netminder without assessing a goaltender interference penalty.

Minutes later, the Maple Leafs caught another bad break. Thinking they had killed off a John Pohl roughing penalty, a stoppage in play prompted a review of a play that occurred during that Senators power play. Though Leafs netminder Vesa Toskala appeared to turn aside a deflection off the skate of Dany Heatley, video evidence showed that in fact Toskala’s pad was behind the goal line and that the puck too had crossed the line.

The Maple Leafs did respond quickly tying the game at two goals a side by the end of the second period. Mats Sundin got the Maple Leafs on the scoreboard with his first goal of the season and in the process; he equaled Darryl Sittler’s long standing team record of 389 goals as a Maple Leaf. Thirty two seconds later, Matt Stajan struck with his second goal of the season capping a dominant second period performance by the Maple Leafs.

Too many penalties though were what inevitably cost the Maple Leafs another game. With Chad Kilger in the penalty box serving two minutes for roughing, Daniel Alfredsson scored the game winner with just under five minutes to play in the third period. Giving any quality offensive team ten opportunities with the man advantage is asking for trouble and tonight the Senators did not let the Maple Leafs off the hook picking up two power play goals. Conversely, the Maple Leafs struggled again with the man advantage going 0-7 for the second straight game.

Vesa Toskala was outstanding in his debut as a Maple Leaf, much improved over his startlingly ineffective play during the exhibition season. He is likely to receive a second consecutive start and a warm ovation from the Air Canada Centre faithful when the Maple Leafs take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Senators Spoil Leafs Home Opener…Again

For just over fifty four minutes of hockey, it appeared the Maple Leafs were finally on their way to a different outcome against the Ottawa Senators in their season opening match up on Wednesday night, at least until the now pocket-heavy Dany Heatley took over. For the third consecutive year, the Maple Leafs began their season at home against their provincial rivals but just as they have the previous two years, the Leafs fell to the Senators on opening night.

Ottawa jumped on the scoreboard first when Antoine Vermette beat Andrew Raycroft, who got the start in favour of sacrificing Vesa Toskala to the always judgmental gathering at Air Canada Centre. Nik Antropov responded for the Maple Leafs picking two goals but Daniel Alfredsson would even the score at two goals a side by the end of the opening frame. In the second period, the Maple Leafs grabbed the lead back on a goal from Matt Stajan, who carried his solid preseason play through to the regular season with an effective outing tonight. Fresh after signing a six year contract extension worth $45 million, Dany Heatley tied the game at three late in the third period to push it to overtime. Once the extra frame began, it was Heatley who struck again sending a capacity gathering home unhappy.

Despite a disappointing overtime loss, the Maple Leafs did show they could play with the Senators and play well against them. When the Maple Leafs made sure they were the team establishing the tempo and style of play, they were able to keep the Senators’ powerful offensive attack under control. Clearly not a team capable of matching up man for man from a talent standpoint, the Maple Leafs experienced success by getting the Senators to play away from their strengths as a team. For much of the game, an aggressive forecheck and pressure on the puck carrier took away the Senators’ time and space preventing Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley from running wild.

Trouble started though for the Maple Leafs late in the third period when they got away from being aggressive and instead sat back trying to play to “not get scored on.” In doing that, the Senators were able to take advantage of their speed and skill breaking down the Maple Leafs in their defensive zone. Sitting on a one goal lead and letting the Senators skate with the puck at will is simply not an option that will lead to success.

The top line of Nik Antropov, Mats Sundin and Jason Blake looked like a formidable unit for most of the game but it was the netminding of Andrew Raycroft that once again left Leaf fans scratching their heads. After allowing a goal on the third shot he faced, Raycroft faced several rounds of sarcastic cheering from fans that are clearly becoming frustrated with his perceived inconsistency. He looked like he was fighting the puck for most of the game and did not appear comfortable or confident in his ability. Though he did settle down and look strong at times, it was his inability to come up with a big save at a crucial time late in the game which ultimately cost the Leafs. New season, same story. The Leafs played well enough to win but goaltending and short lapses let them down again.

Both teams get right back at it when they hit the ice at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa for the second half of their home and home series on Thursday night.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.4

www.afootinthecrease.com

So here we sitwith the 2007-2008 NHL regular season mercifully upon us. Lots of personnel movement between teams this past off season will see some teams improve drastically and others fall from grace. Let’s start our look in the East. There will again be lots of parity especially between sixth through eleventh. The Leafs were one point shy of playoff hockey last year despite having to deal with several significant long term injuries to Sundin, Wellwood, Tucker, Ponikarovsky, Antropov, Kubina and Kaberle while putting up with shoddy netminding. If they stay relatively healthy this season and get better goaltending, the Leafs can finish as high as sixth.

The Sens, Pens and Rangers will battle it out for top spot while the Sabres will still remain very competitive and finish in 4th. The Flyers, with their numerous new additions, will challenge for a playoff spot as well. As for the Islanders, Lightning and Thrashers: no post season ticket for them this time around, they’ll be golfing early this spring. And as for a surprise team, watch out for the Washington Capitals. They are full of quality young players, and made shrewd free agent moves getting Tom Poti and Michael Nylander to help anchor and lead their youngsters.

Out west, expect Edmonton to return to contention now boasting several talented young forwards, including Robert Nilsson, Sam Gagner and former St. Mike’s Buzzer, Andrew Cogliano. LA should compete too, while Colorado will no doubt return to the playoffs. Other playoff teams from a year ago: Detroit, Anaheim, Vancouver, San Jose, Dallas and Calgary, all will return to the post season. Nashville was torn apart as they faced uncertainty regarding their ownership situation and Minnesota, well they didn’t really improve while other aforementioned teams that finished below the Wild last year did. They’ll be hard pressed to skate in the second season this year. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.