Maple Leafs Finally Get A Win

Considering the name calling, finger pointing, and “sky is falling” remarks in the Leaf Land this past week, the Maple Leafs needed a win against the Atlanta Thrashers in the worst possible way. For a change though, the Maple Leafs put forth an effort that made them appear as though they expected to win instead of hoping not to lose. What a difference it made as they put together a controlled and robust sixty minute effort defeating the Thrashers by a score of 4-2.

Andy Wozniewski opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs in the first period on a very strange play that saw a point shot ricochet of the skate of a Thrashers’ defenseman, then bounce off the end glass onto the top of the net and then off the back of Thrashers’ netminder Johan Hedberg before falling into the net. The Maple Leafs built their lead to two goals late in the opening period when Kyle Wellwood set up Alex Steen on a tremendous individual effort getting around the Thrashers’ defense. Steen’s goal ended an eleven game goal scoring drought for the third year forward.

In the second period, the Maple Leafs continued their strong play adding to their lead when Mats Sundin scored his eleventh goal with a backhand shot at 15:18. Ilya Kovalchuk responded before the end of the middle frame with his league leading twentieth goal of the season to draw the Thrashers to within two goals.

Heading into the third period up two goals, the Maple Leafs’ defensive play did not let them down as it often has throughout the course of this season. Atlanta only managed seven shots against Vesa Toskala, who came up with several difficult stops down the stretch to preserve the Maple Leafs’ lead. Matt Stajan contributed another solid defensive effort and got back on the score sheet with a big goal to put the Maple Leafs up 4-1 six minutes into the final period.

The Maple Leafs return home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night as they look for their second consecutive win.

Shootout Plauges Maple Leafs Again

The dark clouds hovering over the Air Canada Centre today indicated more than just lousy weather in Toronto: they symbolically represented the current state of Leafs Nation. The Maple Leafs sunk to the abysmal level on Saturday night against the Phoenix Coyotes prompting many to suggest the jobs of either general manager John Ferguson Jr. or head coach Paul Maurice or perhaps even both hung in the balance depending on the result of their next game: a mid week tilt against the Montreal Canadiens. In typical Maple Leaf fashion, the result of this game only served to confuse the situation even further.

There were times during this game against the Canadiens that the Maple Leafs showed positive signs that perhaps they could be a competitive team, or at least one that could compete for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs turned in a dominant first period out shooting the Canadiens seventeen to six, but as has been the trend lately; they could not convert any of those shots to goals. By game’s end, forty six shots were directed at Habs’ rookie netminder Carey Price but only three found the back of the net. There were late game heroics provided from Mats Sundin who scored with eighteen seconds remaining in the third period to send the game to overtime salvaging a point from a hard fought effort. Even their five on five play reached the acceptable level from time to time.

However, there were also other times where the Maple Leafs looked like a team in need of significant alterations. Their penalty killing struggled allowing two goals on five Montreal power plays. Disorganization and hopelessness reined for the Maple Leafs on the man advantage, unable to score on any of their four power plays. Montreal had success working the puck low in the Maple Leaf zone on the power play while the Maple Leafs continued to insist on generating their attack from the point rarely challenging Carey Price with difficult scoring chances.

Once the zamboni finally left the ice after a lengthy dispute between both Canadiens’ head coach Guy Carboneau and Paul Maurice as to the fairness of the ice conditions heading into the shootout, it was the same old story for the Maple Leafs in the post game skills competition that counts. Mats Sundin was the lone Maple Leaf to beat Carey Price while Alexei Kovalev and Andrei Kastsitsyn both scored for the Montreal Canadiens leaving Vesa Toskala with no wins in seven career shootouts. Nik Antropov and Darcy Tucker had chances to win the game for the Maple Leafs with a goal in the shootout but neither could play the hero in this game.

Will a game where the Maple Leafs certainly looked better than they did on their road trip late last week but still could not come up with a victory be enough for John Ferguson Jr. and Paul Maurice to retain their jobs? Who knows? It is impossible to predict decisions that come from the wacky world of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

The Maple Leafs will travel to Atlanta on Thursday to take on the suddenly hot Thrashers since the firing of their head coach Bob Hartley. Hint, hint…

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.12

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A stunning 3-0 victory on November 17th against the Ottawa Senators and a strong first forty minutes against the Boston Bruins the following Tuesday led many to start suggesting the Maple Leafs had finally found their recipe for success and had turned their season around. Hahaha, over the remaining seven periods last week, the Maple Leafs quickly corrected those misguided notions with arguably their worst stretch of hockey since Paul Maurice’s tenure as head coach began.

Now in the midst of a three game losing streak the Maple Leafs have fallen to second last spot in the Eastern Conference standings and improvement doesn’t seem to be on the horizon. The power play is still anemic – third worst in the NHL. The offense, which had been an early season strength of the Maple Leafs has all but dried up. Jason Blake sits seventh in the NHL in shots taken but has a mere two goals to show for his efforts. Nik Antropov, Matt Stajan, Alex Steen and Darcy Tucker have a combined four goals in the month of November. Tomas Kaberle is starting to look like Bryan McCabe when handling the puck. Speaking of McCabe, he now holds a team low -10 in the plus minus department. There’s really nothing else to say about Andrew Raycroft other than he isn’t getting much better.

Right now the majority of the team, Mats Sundin notwithstanding, is in a slump. Despite a terrible week that saw them pick no points, it’s nothing a good stretch of three or four wins in a row won’t cure. The Maple Leafs only sit three points out of the final playoff position and as a result, it’s important to curtail this losing streak immediately. If they go on a seven or eight game losing streak as they have in each of the past two season, the iron door will be shut on the Maple Leafs playoff hopes for a third consecutive season. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Leafs Left Looking For Signs of Life In Desert

A night after giving up another lead against the Dallas Stars, the Toronto Maple Leafs traveled to Phoenix for a rare visit with the Coyotes. While they were there in the physical sense, where they were mentally is still a question without an answer. This game was essentially over before the halfway point of the first period with the Coyotes pouncing on the Maple Leafs to build an early 3-0 lead. At times, it appeared that the Coyotes were merely toying with the Maple Leafs who struggled again mightily in their defensive zone. Despite pulling Andrew Raycroft after two goals in favour of Vesa Toskala and calling a time out to give his team a verbal tongue lashing after giving up a third goal, Paul Maurice was left at a loss as he attempted to stop the bleeding and salvage something positive from this game.

Andrew Raycroft got his first start since losing to the Boston Bruins back on November 15th and put in arguably his worst performance this season. Allowing two goals on seven shots, Raycroft’s rebound control was atrocious, the leading cause of Phoenix’s first two goals. His confidence appears to be at an all time low begging the question of whether he would benefit from a stretch with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Conversely, Scott Clemmensen’s inspired start to the season picking up eight wins in ten starts certainly has made him a worthy candidate for a look with the Maple Leafs.

Apart from a Kyle Wellwood goal late in the first period, the Maple Leafs rarely tested Ilya Bryzgalov who remains undefeated in four starts since being picked up on waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Much of their lack of offense was the result of an alarming inability to breakout of their own zone effectively, both at even strength and with the man advantage. Instead of an organized march up the ice, the Maple Leafs breakout looked more like a jailbreak devoid of any communication between players resulting in numerous turnovers and no speed through the neutral zone.

Following the game, John Ferguson Jr. emerged from a lengthy meeting with Paul Maurice and assured that the Maple Leafs would stay the course with the current coaching staff. However, if the Maple Leafs continue to fall further out of playoff contention over the next two weeks, it will be interesting to see just how long a leash both Maurice and Ferguson himself have to work with.

The Maple Leafs will attempt to right the ship at home on Tuesday night when they will take on the Montreal Canadiens.

Rask Sticks It To Leafs

In an ironic twist of fate, Tuukka Rask made his first NHL start against the Toronto Maple Leafs – the team that drafted him twenty first overall in 2005 – and left John Ferguson Jr. questioning whether trading him for Andrew Raycroft at the 2006 NHL entry draft was indeed the correct decision. Just over a year later, Rask certainly did look NHL ready turning aside thirty Maple Leaf shots while leading his Bruins to a 4-2 come from behind victory.

For the first thirty nine minutes, the Maple Leafs looked like the better team, capitalizing on their chances to build a 2-0 lead and holding the Bruins to fourteen shots on Vesa Toskala. Bryan McCabe scored late in the first period on the power play to open the scoring. Mats Sundin scored his eleventh goal of the season at the 15:36 mark of the second period, putting him past Frank Mahovlich for twenty sixth on the all time NHL goals list.

Despite a fairly robust thirty three minutes – a team high for ice time in this game - McCabe would not escape without a costly turnover leading to Boston’s first goal in the final minute of the second period. Until this mistake, the Maple Leafs appeared to have done a good job of carrying over their stingy defensive play on home ice that they put on display Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.

However the third period equaled the same old story for the Maple Leafs on home ice: another meltdown. PJ Axelsson scored midway through the period to tie the game for Boston. With less than four minutes remaining, Chuck Kobasew put the go ahead goal past Vesa Toskala after Ian White lost positioning on Kobasew allowing him to skate the puck toward the front of the net and beat the Maple Leaf netminder with a shot to the blocker side. The Bruins iced the game late on Kobasew’s second goal of the game, an empty net marker at 19:33.

Tuukka Rask was strong for Boston in this game making numerous solid stops including a kick save late in the third period off a Jiri Tlusty shot to preserve Boston’s one goal lead. The Maple Leafs will look to get back on track when they hit the road to take on the Stars in Dallas on Friday night.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.11

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Throughout the first fifteen games of the regular season, the Maple Leafs had to make due without Kyle Wellwood as worked his way back from abdominal surgery that he underwent in the offseason. During this time, it was clear that a key element was missing from the Maple Leafs power play. There was little creativity and poor puck movement on the man advantage which led to the Maple Leafs power play becoming very predictable. Predictability is one of the worst traits a power play can have because when a power play becomes predictable, it becomes very easy to shut down and that’s just what opponents were doing to the Maple Leafs power play.

Since Wellwood’s return, the Maple Leafs have scored with the man advantage in four of his six games. Wellwood himself has two. Not only is his scoring touch useful, but Wellwood’s imagination and passing ability makes a weapon out of Darcy Tucker and frees up even more room for Mats Sundin to operate. With more room, Mats Sundin becomes even more dangerous. As for Tucker, he is starting to get chances at the side of the goal that led to a twenty four goal season a year ago. Last night against Ottawa, his power play goal was the game winner.

The Maple Leafs power play is not out of the woods yet and is still classified as anemic by most people’s standards. However, with Wellwood’s return, it is starting to show signs of life and for a team that struggles to kill penalties as much as the Maple Leafs do, a successful power play is key to offsetting that deficiency. Several games throughout the course of the season have been lost as a result of being unable to capitalize with the man advantage. If Kyle Wellwood can continue to help reignite the power play, the Maple Leafs should see themselves in the win column a lot more regularly. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Maple Leafs Stun Senators With Shutout

Did anybody honestly see this coming? A 3-0 shutout victory over the Ottawa Senators - NHL’s strongest team thus far this season. For the Maple Leafs, last night’s victory went as far as to conjure up pre-lockout memories of when the Battle of Ontario rivalry was at its peak. It was a flawless effort where many of the consistent mistakes that have been made throughout the season disappeared. Confidence is paramount in order to defeat a top team and somehow, despite a terribly lacklustre effort against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, the Maple Leafs were able to find some as they played like a tremendously confident group.

Their power play, for a change, looked dangerous throughout the game scoring twice on four opportunities. Darcy Tucker scored what turned out to be the game winning goal on the man advantage with forty five seconds remaining in the second period when he shoveled in a rebound off a Bryan McCabe point shot. Mats Sundin grew the lead to 2-0 at 6:43 of the third period with a drive from the top of the circle: that goal also coming on the power play. Jiri Tlusty put the game out of reach with just over four minutes remaining when he scored his third goal of the season.

Vesa Toskala made his return to the lineup after a two game absence dealing with a bout of the flu. Facing twenty four shots, Toskala was outstanding in shutting out a Senators team that had gone sixty seven consecutive regular season games with at least one goal. The Maple Leafs were far more efficient in their defensive zone but when called upon, Toskala came up with several big stops to keep the Senators off the board. Arguably, his best save of the game came late in the third period on a two on one led by Daniel Alfredsson caused after Andy Wozniewski pinched at the offensive blueline in an attempt to keep the puck in the Senators zone. Alfredsson held onto the puck and attempted a backhand to the short side but Toskala threw up the blocker and controlled the rebound preserving his shutout.

The good Bryan McCabe was back as well against the Senators playing a rugged thirty plus minutes and leading the Maple Leafs’ physical presence with six hits. He also picked up two helpers assisting on Darcy Tucker and Mats Sundin’s goals.

Despite this confidence building victory over one of the NHL’s best teams, it leads Maple Leafs fans to wonder why this version of the Buds does not show up every game. Maybe it is easy to get up for a glamour game against a bitter rival with a national audience watching on television but then again, the Maple Leafs do not often have their way with the Senators. Should they be able to harness this effort and carry it through the course of a month, it would do a lot to keep their playoff aspirations a reality.

The Maple Leafs will get another look at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at Air Canada Centre before heading to the south western United States to take on the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes next Friday and Saturday respectively.

Bruins Burn Leafs In Boston

It was an even more tumultuous than normal last two days in the world of the Toronto Maple Leafs with Bryan McCabe’s resurgence declared nothing but a mirage after committing a horrendous giveaway that directly led to the Montreal Canadiens’ game winning goal on Tuesday night, not to mention the news of embarrassing pictures involving Jiri Tlusty circulating on the internet. All this turmoil proved to be too much for the Maple Leafs as they appeared to regress back to early season bad habits in a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins.

Boston got off to a quick start when Marc Savard scored nineteen seconds into the game. Miscommunication between Mats Sundin and Andy Wozniewski following a draw in the Maple Leaf zone created a turnover which the Bruins’ Glen Murray capitalized on by finding Savard in the slot who wired a shot past Andrew Raycroft. Kyle Wellwood tied the game with his third goal of the season midway through the first period but the Maple Leafs came back with a lackluster effort on the ensuing shift allowing Marco Strum to give Boston back the lead.

Glen Metropolit increased the Bruins’ lead to 3-1 midway through the second period when he jammed in a loose puck in the goalmouth after fighting off Bryan McCabe. Alexei Ponikarovsky brought the Maple Leafs back to within one goal just two minutes later. In the remaining eight minutes of the second, the Maple Leafs sustained two lengthy shifts of pressure in Boston’s zone but were unable to even the game at three goals.

To begin the third period, they could not continue the momentum generated at the end of the second and allowed Peter Schaefer to score twice within the first six minutes to build the Bruins lead to three goals. The Andrew Raycroft that surprised everyone with a stunning performance in a 3-0 shutout of the Buffalo Sabres last Friday was nowhere to be found in this game. Instead the Maple Leafs’ netminder looked much more like the Raycroft who lacked confidence and allowed questionable goals earlier this season.

Despite throwing nineteen shots toward Bruins’ netminder Tim Thomas in the final period, the Maple Leafs allowed Boston to score twice on seven shots and suffered another third period collapse in a game that was within reach after forty minutes.

Discipline was one of the major positives for the Maple Leafs to come out of this game. Toronto took only one minor penalty although they struggled with the man advantage scoring only once on five opportunities. Though the power play has looked more dangerous of late with the return of Kyle Wellwood, it still is not producing at a rate of success anywhere near last year’s level of 17%. The Maple Leafs currently sit with the second worst power play in the NHL – ahead of only the Edmonton Oilers - scoring at a 12% success rate.

The Maple Leafs will not have an easy getting back in the win column as they will host their archrivals – the Ottawa Senators – on Saturday night at Air Canada Center.

McCabe Miscue Costs Leafs

For the second straight game at home, the Maple Leafs played well enough to earn a victory but skated off the ice at the end of the game lamenting another home loss. Typically, it was vastly entertaining contest between the Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens – each of their three head to head contests this season have been decided by one goal, two of them in extra time. This time, the Montreal Canadiens got the better of the Maple Leafs defeating them in overtime by a score of 4-3.

Montreal opened the scoring with a goal by Andre Markov while the Maple Leafs were shorthanded two players after Hal Gill was issued a “closing the hand on the puck” penalty for throwing the puck around his back and off the side boards in an attempt to clear the zone. Though it was a move that would surely impress Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell, it was a costly mistake that afforded the Canadiens a lengthy five on three power play. Kyle Wellwood scored twice giving the Maple Leafs the lead late in the second period but Andrei Kastsitsyn drew the Habs even with a goal in the dying seconds of the middle frame.

In the third period, Boyd Deveraux gave the Maple Leafs the lead once again when he scored his third goal of the season. However, as has constantly been the case on home ice this season, the Maple Leafs were unable to close the deal allowing Alexei Kovalev to score with just over six minutes remaining. In overtime while playing three skaters aside with Saku Koivu and Matt Stajan serving coincidental penalties incurred at the end of the third period, Bryan McCabe attempted a cross ice pass to Nik Antropov at the Canadiens blueline but Canadiens’ defenseman Mike Komisarek anticipated the play and intercepted the pass affording him a clear cut breakaway from centre ice. Komisarek beat Andrew Raycroft sealing the victory for Montreal.

Despite giving up four goals, Andrew Raycroft, who got the start in place of Vesa Toskala while he battles a bout of the flu, was strong making twenty one stops. Each of the four goals resulted from defensive breakdowns or missed assignments leaving him with little chance to make a stop. Carey Price got the start for the Montreal Canadiens – his first against the Maple Leafs - and looked confident throughout the game, efficiently turning aside thirty seven shots.

The Maple Leafs will continue a critical stretch of games against divisional opponents on Thursday when they will take on the Boston Bruins at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Rigmarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.10

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Finally after fifteen games, the Maple Leafs got their first look at Mark Bell when he made his season debut last Tuesday against Ottawa after concluding a suspension related to his off ice incident a year and a half ago in San Jose. Throughout training camp and the first part of the regular season, fans and media alike wondered out loud just what could be expected from Mark Bell. Understandable considering Bell had spent his entire career in the Western Conference before coming to the Maple Leafs. We knew Bell was a big, tough, physical player but just how big, tough and physical would he be? We knew he had some offensive talent, but just how much would we see from a player who still clearly has a lot of off ice issues to think about.

Against the Senators, Bell gave Maple Leaf fans a very good sampling of what kind of player he can be expected to be. He was strong and physical. He was not afraid to go into the corners and he was very willing to come to the defense of his teammates. Perhaps the best word to describe Bell’s game is robust; a strong skater who enjoys playing the body and is willing to challenge anyone from the opposing team. For Mark Bell, his play against the Senators was just what the Leafs were hoping for out of him. Once he gets ten games under his belt, Bell will start to get more comfortable offensively and find his niche within the Leafs offensive system.

Keep in mind, Bell was essentially thrown into the deal that sent Vesa Toskala to the Maple Leafs. Take Bell or you don’t get Toskala was the message from the Sharks. If Bell can continue his physical brand of hockey throughout the remainder of the season and net 15 to 20 goals, he will go from being looked at as a cast off at the beginning of the year to a valuable member of this Maple Leaf team come game 82. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Leafs Fall Again In Shootout

Since its inception into the NHL’s regular season following the lockout, the shootout has been one aspect of the game that the Maple Leafs have been unable to conquer. So far this season, nothing has changed for the Maple Leafs who are now losers of both of their two shootouts after falling by a score of 3-2 in a shootout to the New York Rangers on Saturday night. The Maple Leafs have scored only once on five shots in shootouts this season while Vesa Toskala has allowed four goals on five shootout attempts.

In the annual Hall of Fame Game, the Maple Leafs put forth a much more effective home ice effort compared to recent performances at Air Canada Centre. Though they were not as strong as they were a night earlier in Buffalo, the Maple Leafs did do a good job of containing the Rangers talented forwards while generating some quality offensive opportunities. After a scoreless first period, the Maple Leafs came out soft in the second period allowing the Rangers to quickly build a 2-0 lead on goals from Brendan Shanahan and Sean Avery. Late in the middle frame, Alexei Ponikarovsky scored twice to draw the Maple Leafs even heading into the third period.

Both teams had chances to take the lead in the third period but both Vesa Toskala and Ranger netminder Stephen Valiquette were solid down the stretch. Overtime did not solve anything sending the game to a shootout. Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin were unable to score for the Maple Leafs while Brendan Shanahan and Marcel Hossa converted their attempts for the Rangers.

Pavel Kubina left the game in the second period complaining of a sore knee. At this point his status is probable for Tuesday. Prior to the game during the warmup, the two teams nearly came to blows with Sean Avery right in the middle of the disagreement. Later in the first period, Avery and Darcy Tucker settled the matter in a spirited tilt that saw both combatants land several punches.

The Maple Leafs will be off until Tuesday when they will take on the Montreal Canadiens at Air Canada Centre.

Night and Day For The Maple Leafs In Buffalo

The last time the Maple Leafs made a trip down the Queen Elizabeth Way to take on the Buffalo Sabres, a good start went horribly wrong in the third period when the Maple Leafs were unable to hold onto three separate leads and eventually lost the game with three seconds left in overtime on a Bryan McCabe own goal. In last night’s game, McCabe – in his return to the lineup after a six game layoff recovering from a groin injury – scored another game winner but this time, into the correct net sending the Maple Leafs to their first shutout victory of the season.

Andrew Raycroft was the story for the Maple Leafs when he was given his first start in eight games. Raycroft did not disappoint turning in perhaps the best effort in his tenure with the Maple Leafs stopping all thirty shots he faced en route to his sixth career shutout. If you listened closely, Maple Leaf fans in attendance at the HSBC Centre in Buffalo could be heard pondering, “Who are you and what have you done with the real Raycroft?” Several more performances like this would go a long way toward finally endearing himself to Maple Leaf fans and perhaps reopening the battle for the number one goaltending position with Vesa Toskala.

The Buffalo Sabers gave up the opening goal of the game for the eighth straight time last night and look much different from the high scoring, free wheeling team that the Maple Leafs saw eight times a year ago and in their first trip into Buffalo earlier this season. The Maple Leafs deserve credit though for returning to their stingy defensive ways shown often this season whenever they are on the road in a building not named Scotia Bank Place. They continued their solid work ethic and did not appear tentative in the third period as they attempted to maintain their lead.

Mats Sundin scored what turned out to be the game’s insurance goal when he notched his ninth of the season on a partial breakaway set up by Tomas Kaberle. Late in the third, Matt Stajan highlighted a perfect example of the Maple Leafs’ solid forecheck in this game – an area Stajan excels in – when he forced a Buffalo turnover deep in the Sabre end and found Boyd Deveraux streaking in from the bench who beat Sabre netminder Ryan Miller for his second goal of the season capping a 3-0 victory.

The Maple Leafs return home tonight to take on the New York Rangers in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game in advance of Hall of Fame inductions on Monday night.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.9

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Fifteen games into the regular season and still the Maple Leafs are a team struggling to find an identity. They sit with a record of 6-6-3, a 500 team in 5th place in the Eastern Conference Standings. Not really that bad a result for a team that has undergone such trenchant criticism from fans and media alike during the first five weeks of the season. But when looking closely at their season to date, is this team really worthy of the 5th place position that it currently holds?

Frankly no. The Maple Leafs position right now is a function of their high number of games played. No team in the East other than the Leafs has played 15 games. Instead most have played between 12 and 14 games. Had the Maple Leafs played, let’s say the average, 13 games and sat with a 500 record, they would instead be in the fringe group of teams fighting for the final playoff spot, you know where they spent most of last season. When their opponents make up their games in hand, the Leafs are sure to fall unless they can drastically improve their play over the course of the next fifteen games.

Also consider the team’s atrocious defensive reputation and terrible play on home ice, two factors that plagued the Maple Leafs for much of last season and have still yet to be corrected. With fifty six goals against, the Maple Leafs sit second last in the league in that department, ahead of only the woeful, albeit rebounding Atlanta Thrashers. Starting the season off with nine home games in October, the Maple Leafs managed only a 3-4-2 record. Going forward, defensive efficiency and play on home ice will need to be improved upon greatly if they hope to remain in the middle portion of the Eastern Conference.

Six of their next seven games are within their division meaning the next fortnight will become a major telling point of the Leafs season when we look back in April. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Leafs Get Back To 500 In Win Over Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are becoming somewhat of a confidence building opponent for the Maple Leafs thus far this season. In both meetings between these two teams since the regular season began, the Maple Leafs came with doom and gloom surrounding their season’s expectations and their fans placing the proverbial axe over the heads of both head coach Paul Maurice and general manager John Ferguson Jr. Each time, the Maple Leafs responded with a tremendous effort leading many to question whether this is the team they have the ability to become or if this type of quality effort will ever be shown against a team not from Montreal.

Games between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens seem to bring out the best in these two history-rich franchises and last night’s game was no different. An outstanding sixty minutes of hockey featured a high pace, stellar netminding from both Vesa Toskala and Cristobal Huet, and a game deciding goal from Matt Stajan that came in the final two minutes of the third period, giving the Maple Leafs a 3-2 victory and restoring their record to the .500 mark at 6-6-3.

The scoring began early in the first period when Tomas Kaberle scored on the power play with the game just over a minute old. His goal was only the ninth for a Maple Leafs’ power play which has struggled to a meager 12.5% success rate – the fourth worst in the NHL - through their first fourteen games. After giving up a late short handed goal a night ago against the Devils that inevitably cost the Maple Leafs a chance at victory, Paul Maurice threatened to dismantle the power play and instead begin employing third and fourth line forwards who rarely see time with the man advantage. Kaberle’s goal took the power play off life support but certainly, it still sits in critical condition considering it was a strength of the Maple Leafs over the past two seasons.

Mike Komisarek scored his first goal of the season to pull the Habs even at one goal a piece before the end of the first period. Chris Higgins gave the Canadiens the lead early in the second period but Mats Sundin responded quickly with his eighth goal this season at 6:04. From there the score remained tied heading into the third period when Vesa Toskala shined down the stretch.

Toskala turned aside all ten shots he faced in the final frame, several of which were of the spectacular variety. Despite a free wheeling game, the Maple Leafs were able to maintain a reasonable amount of control in the defensive zone, something they are not usually able to do in fast paced games. Pavel Kubina led all Maple Leaf defensemen with over twenty eight minutes of ice time.

Since beginning the season on a tear, Matt Stajan had cooled off of late but broke out of his mini slump assisting on Tomas Kaberle’s goal and fooling Cristobal Huet with 1:34 left in the third period to seal a Maple Leaf victory.

The Maple Leafs will travel to Ottawa on Tuesday to take on the Senators in the third game of their four game road trip.