A Week in the Life of the Maple Leafs

Tuesday March 13, 2007 - Leafs 3 v. Lightning 2: Season Sweep

This game was closer than it had to be as the Leafs' shooters again made a subpar goalie look like a world beater. The game was one-way traffic for the first 50 minutes as the Leafs completely dominated the play save for Ian White's lovely deflection into his own net and Dan Boyle potting a shorty 20 seconds after clipping Mats in the face. Great call.

Thankfully, the Leafs were able to eventually take the lead courtesy of a personal favourite, Nik Antropov, who showed some good anticipation and hands in creating some space for himself down low before tucking a shot in at the far post.

Friday March 16, 2007 - Leafs 1 v. Capitals 5: I Want A Refund

Stupidly, I thought that a well-rested Leafs team might be able to handle a Hershey Bears team that had lost to the Bruins the previous night and in fact was on a 9 game win streak. Unfortunately, Olaf Kolzig was back in net and with the Leafs in the mood to make Johnson look great they were not going to get any favours playing against an actual world class goalie.

I compounded my error by purchasing the LeafsTV interactive feed for my computer. In a pinch it is actually worth it but that money would have bought me more happiness if they had been used for anything else. The worst part was that my buddy and I were conversing over MSN about how McCabe seems to have picked up his defensive play over the past few games and had dedicated himself to a simpler game. Literally 20 seconds later he tried to freaking pokecheck Alex Semin in front of the net. HIT HIM!

Saturday March 17, 2007 - Leafs 2 v. Canadiens 3 (SO): St. Patrick Returns

Maybe the Leafs' long-term plan is to screw the Habs over by making them think that Jaroslav Halak is a good goalie rather than a goalie that is benefitting from a Leafs team that has gone into another offensive funk. The Spirit of St. Patrick (no, Roy is not dead) was certainly in a giving mood for the Habs. I missed the Tucker-Bouillon fight but I heard it was a much fairer tilt than last time what with the Hab waiting for Tucker to join the fight before punching him in the face.

The Leafs' again dominated the Habs (that's 6 times out of 7 for those keeping count) and again lost in a shootout. Mats went to his patented move, top shelf, but Wellwood lost the handle on his deke, Perreault ran out of room, and Tucker took a bad shot. Unused after their previous success were O'Neill and Steen. Raycroft was looking good until Koivu scored with the Habs' third shot and Andrei Kostitsyn potted the winner.

The upcoming week sees the Leafs host the Devils and Sabres to bookend a trip to Buffalo. The Leafs will probably have to pick up three points at a minimum which means that the forwards cannot be happy chucking 30 shots at the net. They have to tap their inner-snipers and find a way to shot somewhere other than at the goalie's crest. Anywhere else. Ask McCabe how he misses the net entirely and adjust a bit.

What If?

I rarely read The Sun (Liverpool fan and all) but I managed to catch this story which made me simultaneously cry, laugh in pain, spit my milk at the screen, and slam my head against my desk. Of course, who knows how the trade would have worked out in the long-run. Well, it definitely would have been the best thing that Jonas Hoglund ever did for the Leafs. Player development is a game of maybes and could bes or Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda so maybe this trade would have been remembered as the time that the Leafs traded away three future superstars while gambling on the NHL's Michael Jordan. But as it stands, Vinny would look good in blue and white but I am happy with Kaberle and Antropov who combined cost less and put more points on the board.

Anyway, back to this reality, where the Leafs host the aforementioned Mr. Lecavalier and his friends. This season the Leafs have shown some ability to control the Three Amigos (or at least limit their damage) and hold a 3-0-0 record in the season series against the Bolts. They picked up a pair of 4-2 wins in the Sunshine State bookending a 5-4 victory at the ACC. Tonight they will be looking to complete the season sweep but will have to once again look out for Richards, St. Louis, and the almost-Leaf Lecavalier the latter two which are among the top three in scoring while Vinny leads the race for the Richard Trophy. The Leafs need this win (and all three games this week) as they face a killer 7 days starting Sunday with a game against the Devils and a home-and-home with the Sabres.

Ups and Downs

Game Recap - Tuesday January 16, 2007 - Leafs v. Lightning

Game Recap - Thursday January 18, 2007 - Leafs v. Panthers

Game Recap - Saturday January 20, 2007 - Leafs v. Penguins

The good news is that while the Leafs were recovering from their fun in the Florida sun Andrew Raycroft was stealing them a couple of wins. The Soviet Bloc returned and powered the offence in the Tampa game with a goal and an assist each. The Florida game showcased JFJ's talent for spotting unappreciated players that could help the Leafs as Battaglia, Kilger, and Devereaux scored the goals. This probably the biggest mystery surrounding the Leafs' GM. He has shown a great skill for the little deal but not much for the blockbuster and that is worrisome as the Leafs head towards a deadline day in which they have several assets that could be moved to either build for the future (I hope) or make a last desperate push for the playoffs (a pyrrhic victory is successful) or he could sit on his hands again (the most likely scenario).

Unfortunately, Raycroft's great play apparently made the rest of the team think that they could be completely absent and they were buried in Pittsburgh. In a game that featured undisciplined play and some atrocious refereeing the Leafs were done in by their useless powerplay and their shockingly inept penalty kill. It is incredible just how much the Leafs PK misses Peca. The team suffered as they repeatedly lost defensive zone faceoffs and ran around like chickens with their head cut off. Travis Green has helped take some pressure off of Mats' shoulders on faceoffs but they both were outclassed by Crosby.

The good thing is that the Leafs have focused much more on the confidence that they derived from the two games in God's Waiting Room than the mess in Pittsburgh. The Leafs take on the Habs tonight, a team that they have dominated this season and save for some incredible goaltending would be 4-0 against, in Toronto. It will come down to the goalies which was a much scarier prospect two weeks ago.

Leafs 5 v. Lightning 4: Hallelujah!

Game Recap
(Note: The majority of this article comes from my BoO post. Of course, there is some PPP exclusive material here for my loyal readers/lost internet wanderers.)

Thank God for small miracles. The Leafs earned their first win when trailing after one period of play (1-13-0) and snapped a seven-game streak that was prompting all sorts of crazy talk in the media and more than a little consternation amongst the fans. The game itself was a bit of a rollercoaster ride as the Leafs took an early lead on the back of some strong play and a nice powerplay marker by Alexei Ponikarovsky. That was his first goal in 9 games. However, the game quickly took a turn for the worse.

J-S Aubin got the start and only lasted until the first minute of the second period. He was the victim of a Mats Sundin deflection and a Bryan McCabe braincramp. Paul Maurice gave him the hook and turned the ACC air blue with a timeout tirade that despite being inaudible on TV was nonetheless terrifying. Apparently it worked on the Leafs. Andrew Raycroft kept the Lightning off the board with a couple of big saves before Chad Kilger scored a brace to tie the game heading into the third. Darcy Tucker deflected a Sundin shot to give the Leafs the lead before Jeff O'Neill jumped on a juicy rebound to hammer home a 5th. Tampa added a fourth on a powerplay but the Leafs defended well in the third period and came away with the win.

Other notables were Pavel Kubina, who played great against his old mates, Carlo, who did not look out of place after an almost year long layoff, and Michael Peca, who continued his excellent play of late with assists on the second and third goals. The Sandpaper Line (Kilger, Peca, Tucker) was reunited and caused the Lightning no small amount of trouble. I could say that this was easily one of Tucker's best games of the year as he tracked back to defend well, hit well, and kept his shenanigans to a minimum.

So the weight is lifted off the Leafs. They played better all-around but there is still a long way for them to go before they reach the pre-losing streak levels let alone where the team should be. Next up is a Friday-Saturday double bill that starts in Carolina.

Leafs 4 v. Lightning 2: Opposite Day

Game Recap
Scoresheet
Statistics

The Leafs have strung together a 3 game win streak (beats our prevous best on the season by two!) and will head into Sunrise, Florida with a full head of steam. Paul Maurice, on the other hand, probably has a head full of steam that is ready to shoot out of his ears. Once again the Leafs were an enigma to their fans, their coach, and thankfully, to the Lightning.

In a game that could only be described as reminiscent of the childhood game Opposite Day. You remember the game. You nonchalantly walked up to a girl (that you secretly liked) and told her that you thought she was smart/pretty. Right when she was feeling good about herself you would yell 'Opposite Day!' before running back towards your buddies laughing. The reminds me of how much fun I had last Saturday night. However, instead of getting yelled at by a teacher the Leafs picked up a 4-2 win.

5 Things that made Maurice roll his eyes on the bench as the cameras were on him

1. Despite ostensibly being 'tougher' to play against (and in fairness, the Leafs have shown that they possess that ability) Bitter Leaf has noted how often the opposite is in fact true. Last night was no different as the Leafs looked shell shocked to be playing a game in Florida instead of golfing. The Lightning were unlucky to leave the first period tied. Thankfully, I am not a Lightning fan.
   
   
2. The Leafs defenceman handled all of the scoring. Yes, teams that succeed usually receive some offensive output from their defence but after Ian White notched the game winner on the PP (that is #3) the Leafs had let their defence score 7 of the last 10 goals. I would rather have 3 lines scoring than depend on our defence but then again have won our last 3 games so maybe it's the beginning of a rearguard-led offensive system.
   
   
3. The Lightning's penalty kill has been terrible this season while the Leafs entered the game with the fourth best powerplay on the road. As soon as a reported mentioned this stat Paul Maurice thanked him for ruining his powerplay. He really should have been blaming Bryan McCabe who was atrocious. The powerplay looked lost on a four minute powerplay at the beginning of the game and if White had not scored they would have cost the Leafs the game.
   
   
4. The impact players for the Leafs last night were some of the usual suspects but what was weird (based on everyone's hate) was seeing some of the...umm...less appreciated Leafs contributing to the win. Hal Gill scored the game tying goal and was again a rock on the PK (and just as fast), Jeff O'Neill picked up two assists and got into numerous good positions, and Nik Antropov played 8 strong shifts on the reunited top line with Ponikarovsky and Sundin while picking up an assist and almost setting up a couple of other goals. What do they have in common? I have been a supporter of all three (Nik is clearly the hardest to defend) and they have done well to make me look like I know more than just some homer. My suggestion to Bryan McCabe: get into my good books and pick up that karmic boost. A cash donation will work wonders.
   
   
5. The Leafs played like crap for 40 minutes and then stole the game in the third. This is clearly the inspiration for the post's title since dominate for 40 minutes and have the game stolen has been much more common this season. In fact, this was just the 2nd time in 39 games that the Leafs have won after entering the third period behind.

All in all, if the Leafs keep playing sinfully boring games and winning then I will get on board with this new strategy. However, I am guessing that Maurice would like to see the team that was on the ice in the third more than the one that started the game. And can Alex Steen please start scoring. Most fans only look at stats and do not notice your hard work on the cycle and your increased physical presence. They want goals and I want them to shut up.

Maple Leaf Goals
First Goal
Tomas 'Wesley' Kaberle continues to show that if any defenceman should be on the wing it's him. Alex Steen set up this goal with a nice move to the inside past the Lightning defenceman (Sarich?) but he was unable to get a shot off. O'Neill picked up the puck and curled towards the boards and held the puck until he saw Snipes open on the far side. Jeff slid a perfect pass to him on right side and Tomas' shot hit both of Denis' pads before sliding in. That was the 300th point of his career which almost matches the total he is on pace for after this outburst.

Second Goal
Another lucky bounce. A good Leafs forecheck caused the Lightning to make a bad pass up the left boards. Gill kept the puck in and fired a shot on net (note to defencemen: low and hard is better than high and wide) which was deflected by a defender and slid into the net.

Third Goal
The powerplay finally connects! Ian White scoops up a loose puck and fires home the winner. Stajan had tried to hit him sneaking down from the point but it was knocked away and eventually found its way to his stick.

Fourth Goal
Antropov makes nice deflection of White's pass to Sundin who hit a streaking Ponikarovsky who slid the puck into the empty net as he was falling.

The Final Word

But when it mattered most, when the score was tied in the third, Leafs defenseman Ian White found the back of the net during a power play, and Toronto skated off with a 4-2 victory.
Carter Gaddis, The Tampa Tribune, writing something that Leafs are used to reading about the other team. Feels good.

I thought it was an exceptionally good call.
Paul Maurice, Head Coach, describing his thoughts on Tampa's disallowed goal. He is probably the funniest coach in hockey. Aside from Jacques Martin that is. Of course, we are laughing with Paul.