Stamkos' first NHL point

Steve says:

There's some trivia for you...against what team did future NHL star Steven Stamkos get his first point.....wait for it...oh yes...it's the Leafs.

It was a good game spotted with a bit of sloppy D which I am not used to seeing from our guys anymore....also some blind passes in the Offensive zone that didn't pan out they way we'd all hoped it would...

but really it was a good effort by the Tampa netminder, Smith, and a couple of highlight goals by Lecavilier that won the game.

The Lightning were due for a win...and our guys just could not finish on all the chances we generated, and there were many chances.

The next game should be interesting against the Devils...we're up against a goalie who is on the hunt to break Patrick Roy's win record....

hopefully he doesn't get one game closer tonight.

ps. the pic is of Lecavilier scoring with Stamkos behind him just after the pass...

 

Game 35 - Leafs lose again...2-1

Game 35: Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Wins 2 -1

Steve says:


I didn't catch the game cuz I was out with my son playing hockey...trying to teach him the one-timer. I figured "this game is in the bag". We have been kicking TB's butt lately, and Toskala has been spectacular, we've lost a couple so we'll be hungry for a win again, AND TB has put in a backup rookie goalie from the AHL.


No way we could lose right?


well...wrong...and it is all the fault of 2 things...

1. why do we not have guys camped in front of the net waiting for Jason Blake's multiple rebounds?
2. composite sticks....when will players learn that the benefits of having a slightly lighter stick do not outweigh the negatives of broken sticks leading to turnovers, and in this case, a game winning goal for the other team...

At least my boy got better with the one-timer...I can't wait for his game on Sunday.

this rookie backup from the AHL just schooled our #1 line!

Chris says:

I'm back! Did you miss me?

Yah well, screw you too.

When I last posted on Hockey Talk the Leafs were slowly spinning towards playoff elimination as third period collapes and a porous defence had combined to sap the will of even the most diehard fan.

It's nice to see how some things never change.

There's precious little that's really positive to say about the Leafs these days. McCabe is gone for 6-8 weeks and, depending on how charitable you're feeling, that little development can be viewed in a lot of ways. My two cents? You can't trade him unless he's out on the ice daily and nightly and ever so rightly, proving his "worth".

But that's just sour grapes from a guy who's afraid his team is going to be on the outs once playoff season rolls around again.

A quick analysis. Our O is what it is. Most nights they're good enough to pot a least a couple goals in the other team's net. Out backstopper? Not quite top shelf, but definetly a cut above what we icing at the same time last year. Our D. Nonexistent.

They're older, slower and less skilled than our opponents. Without a significant upgrade on our blue line you might as well just stick a fork in us, we're done.

from last night...to tonight

Steve says:

Some good things happened for the Leafs:
Sens beat the Penguins
Devils beat the Bruins
Flames beat Tampa

but, with the good comes the bad

habs beat flyers
isles beat yotes

So after all the dust has settled, Toronto gets bumped down to 10th place.
The good way to spin this is that we are now in a 3 way tie for points with Pittsburgh and NYIslanders. Pittsburgh has played the same number of games as us, and the Islanders only have 1 game in hand.
The Habs, Rangers, Bruins, and Devils have all also played the same number of games...so we can really see where we sit right now...which is out of a playoff spot.

That means that our future is really in our own hands now. Hopefully we fans will not be left on the edge of our seats hoping for some other team to win in order to decide our playoff fate this year.

Of the games happening tonight, here is who I hope wins...

Caps over Sabres
Flames over Canes
Leafs over Thrashers (duh)

Go Leafs Go!

Road Trip!

Steve says:

With that sweet home win, the boys in blue get themselves ready to hit the road on a 7 game road trip. They will not be back at the ACC until Sat. Dec. 29th vs. Rangers (Avery vs. Belak anyone?).

Anyway, here are the teams we are playing on the road, their last 10 game record and their position in relation to us in the standings:

Thrashers 5-4-1 below us
Canadiens 3-6-1 above us*

Hurricanes 4-6-0 above us

Lightning 3-6-1 below us

Panthers 6-4-0 below us

Islanders 3-5-2 below us

Flyers 4-4-2 above us*

(* equal in points, but they have games in hand)

So it looks like we have a good chance of not only winning some more games on the road, but with the race being so close (only 7pts separate us from 1st in the East!) we could really put ourselves in a good position heading into the 2nd half of the season.

Also, with the issues that teams like the Sens have been having lately, and the schedule they have in front of them, there is a chance of a few losses which would be great for the Leafs.

All of theses games are "4 point" games meaning that if we win in regulation, not only do we get 2 points, but we keep the other team, who happens to be in our conference race, from getting 2 points.

Hope we can keep up the winning ways.

As an aside, there is talk of the Leafs talking trade with San Jose...Marleau for Kaberle?...personally I think we should stick with the happy group we have for now...I think adding Marleau would only add to our offense..which isn't really an issue..it's the D we need to secure going forward.

Game 31 - Leafs extinguish Lightning 6-1

Steve says:

woo hoo...that was a "shitkickin" to quote the coach of Tampa Bay. Great play all around. Even the PP was looking good. Blake with a sweet tip in. Toskala gets an assist. Even Wozniewski made a pretty sweet pass.

I will say that when this team is clickin, they really click! Nice to see them rebound off a loss with a commanding effort on home ice before a 7 game road trip.

Now we get to the real serious section of the season. We are in the meat and potatoes part of the season. we need to get our record over .500...preferably 5 games over .500. That would put us on pace to be 10 over .500 by the end of the season and that would put us in good position for a playoff spot. These are the games that matter most. We've had some time to make some mistakes and learn how to play as a team. Our PP still needs some love, but it is starting to look better. We are finally combining shots with the patient passing and it is getting results.

Our D is collapsing nicely and we have really eliminated the 2-1 rushes that killed us so many times at the top of the season.

And of course, Toskala has been playing the kind of solid goal tending I always knew he was capable of. This is the kind of consistent positional play I was waiting for. He is very aggressive in challenging the shooter which can lead to rebounds, but 2 great things have been happening as of late. Firstly, he is standing up more and not allowing himself to be baited out of position. Secondly, the D has become much better at clearing the rebounds out to the forwards who are collapsing down more to get the puck out of our zone.

All positive things that they hopefully will continue to execute over the next 2 weeks on the road.

Go Leafs Go!

ps. The Leafs management are cleaning some cap space by putting Battaglia on waivers today. I wonder if this means a trade is coming up...I hope JFJ doesn't do anything stupid.