The new comeback kids

Steve says,

well, we started off good...

then it got sloppy...

then it got even more sloppy,

then we started kicking the snot out of people,

then they started taking penalties,

then we scored 3 unanswered goals for the win.

and what a clutch save by Toskala in OT...makes up for some of the sloppy play I mentioned earlier...

and a sweet goal by Hagman, using the D man as a screen...smart move.

nice to have a winning record for now...

these guys are fun to watch even when losing...

Kaberle and Beauchemin look great together ...lots of communication...nice to see a good tandem on our blue line...

Oh...and in case you've been living under a rock...we got Kessel!

The Future

As we near the end of another season I feel the need to point out some highlights.

Starting with our future...Christian Hanson is already a welcome new addition, and Tyler Bozak will come in next training camp and prove all the drafters of past years wrong...I hope...

Poni had a great season even though we traded Antropov away. Grabovski broke the 20 goal mark in his rookie season. Kulemin has shown major progress towards his development to the North American ice surfaces. His forecheck has become a major part of his game. Hagman has scored 20 goals even though he missed 20 games due to injuries. I hope he can remain healthy next season as he is a major workhorse on every shift. Blake had a much improved season. He and Moore had some great chemistry before Burke traded Moore away...and how could he not...Moore was asking for the moon...nice try Dom...Burke is not JFJ. Blake looks like he is having fun on the Leafs team this year...and I think it has a lot to do with the change in the room. All the players who felt they had "the right" to be Leafs are gone. What's left are a group of youngsters competing for jobs with a few good vets in place for leadership. Toskala had a terrible season that he put down to injury...but with his surgery this summer, he should be 100% next season...let's hope for the best.

Whatever happens over the summer will surely make the Leafs even more dangerous next season. No one is expecting the Leafs to compete next season again. They are expected to continue the rebuild. And so they might...but I see the competitive fires burning in Burke...and I think we will pick up a FA and maybe even another big college guy before long (Gilroy?).

It's a no lose situation...which is great...Leaf games have been very entertaining for just that reason....and we'll get 82+ more next season.

Go Leafs!

History is made...and The Comeback (almost) Kids

Steve says:

OBAMA-RAMA!

down 3-0....we get 1

then down 4-1...and we storm back to tie it

a goal by Blake is called back (early whistle)

only to have a shot from the point go in past a screened Toskala.

Another painful loss after a storybook comeback.

Seems these guys love to bounce back in the 2nd period.

That Grabovski / Kulemin / Hagman line is deadly!

Win #2 ! 4-2 vs. Boston

Steve says:

That was a really good game for our guys...there were some big hits, and we stood up for ourselves. We won puck battles in the corners and best of all, we didn't give up after being down 2-0.

No Blake in the lineup didn't stop us from having a lot of shots on net, but this time some of them went in...

Toskala got his 100th win which is cool.

Van Ryn got his first goal as a Leaf.

Hagman played another solid game.

Schenn was pretty solid for the most part. He took a couple of penalties standing up for teammates which I am totally OK with and he was cool and collected on the PK. Great future for this kid...and it looks like he'll stay up with the big club for the duration.