Game 20: Here's What I Think About The Leafs Game Last Night In Boston...

So I just spent the entire morning in sensitivity training so pardon me if my post is not up to its standard.

I feel as though the Leafs played poorly last night against the Bruins. Raycroft was not as strong as he has been in previous games and it would be nice to see Toronto play well on Saturday against the Senators. I hope they do...that would be swell...Other than that I can not really say anything else regarding last nights match up...I feel that if I do I might be offending someone so it's best to be quiet.

Anyone seen my balls? I seem to have lost them...

Game 19: McCabe Out Shines Himself Once Again...

Last night the Canadiens were in Toronto for "Tuesday Night In Toronto" doesn't really have the same ring as "HNIC" but whatever...

It was a very exciting game. It was both ways the whole game with a lot of speed and lots of good chances...both goalies played great (not much of a surprise for Price) and despite a very hard fought battle for 60 minutes the Leafs only had to look as far as #24 to give Montreal the extra point and the win in overtime.

The rest of the Leafs blue line core desperately need to learn CPR because Bryan McCabe keeps choking so much he's killing the Leafs.

I'm pretty busy at work today so I can't really get into detail about the game...here are a few cliff notes...

1) Wellwood Scored goal #1 and #2 in the second period last night..His 4th game back since the surgery
2) Mark Bell picked up his first point as a leaf (assist) in his 4th game back (since he got suspended for getting shit faced and wrecking his car)
3) Raycroft was really good for once and got the short end of the stick (in the bum) for his efforts
4) Price was wicked and looks promising...
5) Ferguson is a douche (not really related to the game but I felt it needed to be said again)

Here is a Lovely montage to "McKlutz" (as the media calls him) showing why he's worth every penny...



So Toronto are up against Boston on Thursday...let's keep our fingers crossed that McCabe pulls his groin again in practice before then...0-0-1 so far in this crucial 4 game stretch...until Thursday...go to youtube and look up "Lady Punch" it will make you feel better about the O.T. loss.

Week 4 Pylon Goes To The Head Richard...

Or Dickhead if you didn't catch that play on words...So the votes are in and week 4 winner is Richard "Dick" Peddie the head of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment...

Not much of a surprise that the fans would pick the guy at the top of the food chain seeing as how all the problems within the Leafs organization start from the top. Hey, where's Aki Berg?

Tonight Toronto is off to Buffalo for another kick at the Sabres McCabe and Tucker should both be in the line up and other than Colaiacovo the leafs will be at full health for the first time since two months into the post-lockout era (end of November 05) for those of you who didn't know when the lock out was...Toronto has a good chance at winning tonight (the only reason I say that is because there aren't too many teams with worse records than the Blue and White.

I wouldn't be surprised if Raycroft got the start. Toskala has been pulled twice in two games and last time Raycroft was in the Buff he played pretty well...(lost in O.T. thanks to Bryan McCabes over time heroics)
I had a little extra time at work today so I got busy with the photoshop and poked fun at the "Razor"...if you have any funny photoshop ideas let me know...Leaf fans always like rippin into over paid under performing bed-shitting sieves.

Enjoy...and I'll see you all tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll have something to be happy about...Until then vote for week 5 pylon...(worst player from today till next Wednesday) I'm welcoming back all the injured guys so you can pick who should of stayed on the disabled list.

Peace.

Ohh wait...Big 88 retired yesterday...On behalf of all leafs fans let me say...Thank god.

Game 13: Washington 7 vs Toronto Holy Shit You Suck...

Funny story...so yesterday I had Indian buffet for lunch and after work I had roughly 4 beers before the game...I got home took the dirtiest shit imaginable and guess what came out?...The Leafs defence...

Last night Toronto got romped 7-1 by the Capitals in a game that saw 5 Capital players score their first goals of the season and one Capital score his first career goal in the NHL (Toronto seems to be good at making those dreams come true for opposing players) and Alexander Ovechkin threw two in to add insult to injury. The Leafs have now allowed 51 goals this season...That's the most in the NHL for those of you who were wondering...

Wha Happen? Toronto put together 2 great games on the road last week and seemed to have gotten over the hurdle that is defence. But then they show back up at the ACC and it's like they took nothing away from the two road wins...I just don't understand.

"Hey Kubina, You're having enough problems playing defence as it is...let's not put too much on our plates and try to play forward too". Pavel Kubina was jumping into every single rush last night and he was getting caught deep in the offensive zone quite often. You piss me off Pavel...you have my pylon vote this week...I dont care if you scored in New York

Halloween costume of the evening goes to Andrew Raycroft for looking exactly like Vesa Toskala and sneaking in net to let in the first 4 goals of the game (it's the only way he's going to get any playing time) And runner up for second best costume goes to Vesa Toskala for looking (and playing) exactly Like Raycroft and letting in the final 3 goals...good job guys!

Thankfully for Leafs fans the Blue and White are on the road for the next 4 games. Hopefully they'll leave this play here at the ACC and pick up the play they had in Pittsburgh and New York again. If anyone is happy about Toronto's bed shitting extravaganza last night it would be Tucker and McCabe...I bet they were starting to get worried that they might of been healthy scratches when they got back...I'm relieved knowing that that wont happen (sarcasm). Toronto's next opponent is the Devils at their flashy new building "The Prudential Center" Hopefully New Jersey starts their back up against the Leafs and we start someone who can actually stop a puck...maybe I'm wishing for too much.

Game 9: Raycroft is back into "Raycroft Form"

So tonight we saw the Chicago Blackhawks come into the ACC to take on the Leafs for Hockey Night In Canada...Again the opposing team decided to start their back-up goalie (Lalime) against Toronto, who in turn started their starting goalie who acts like a back up (Raycroft). The last time Lalime was in the ACC he got lit up in game 7 of the 2004 Eastern Conference quarter-final playoffs while allowing some brutal goals in. That was the last game he ever played as a Senator...Way to go Joe Nieuwendyk!...Wow, I actually forgot what playoffs were like...

Chicago got on the board early with a power play goal by Williams that saw the Toronto penalty killers diving around like Italian soccer players...It was brutal to watch this defensive coverage attempt to penalty kill. They looked like those idiots that put their foreheads on the knob of the baseball bat, spin around 20 times then try to race...unbelieveable...and at the end of it all McCabe is standing by him self (and no one around him by at least 15 feet) watching the whole play...Hey Fucker! get in the game for Christ sakes...you're only getting paid $7M this year...

Sundin came back with a nice short handed goal to tie things up at 1-1 Then shortly after Kaberle threw the puck on net on a 3-3 rush that went off Zyuzin's stick and in...It was a huge break that the Leafs really needed...They haven' been getting any bounces and have been getting stiffed pretty hard in the penalty calls so far this year...For the rest of the period Toronto looked very impressive. They had great back checking, and something I haven't really seen this year was the forwards were really coming back and helping the defence behind their own net with one on one battles...It looked like Toronto was going to really expose the lack of rest Chicago had because of the late arrival in the t-dot the night before.

Toronto completely dominated the second period but only had Sundin's semi-breakaway goal to show for it. Lalime was huge making some really big stops. Because I am new to blogging I don't really know how to do things...while I watch the leaf games I take little notes to remind myself what to talk about after the game. with about 3 minutes left in the second i wrote to my self 'I think this may be the first period all season (or at least that I can remember) that the Leafs haven't taken a penalty"...well way to go Scott you douche...go a head and totally jinx it. Ponikarovski, Wozniewski and Gill all took penalty's that saw Toronto deal with a 5 on 3 for almost 2 full minutes...they held them off in the second but the Third was a different story.

This is the part of the game where it gets really frustrating to be a Leafs fan. Toronto kills off the 5-3 but as Wozniewski is coming back onto the ice Chicago scores...okay no big deal. It's still 3-2 Toronto and because Wozniewski's penalty was over when they scored that just cancels out Gill's penalty and now we're even strength and still up by 1. Then again, like always, the Leafs defence decides to watch the game instead of play it. Keith comes down the right wing as they're announcing Zyuzin's goal and puts it past Raycroft with ease to tie it up at 3's. Then the flood gates open...Lang scores a brutal goal on Raycroft over his shoulder.

Now when Raycroft first came to Toronto he was pretty good (it didn't last long) all the other teams had to do was go look at some old game tapes and see that he goes down on every single shot...and I'm not exaggerating. he really does go down on every...single...shot. So now teams just shoot high and it's almost a givin' that it will go in (and it does)...and this is why I get frustrated...For the entire second period Toronto completely pwned Chicago but only managed 1 goal from Lalime. When Toronto needs Raycroft to steal a few for them what happens? he shits the bed...I swear...I can not describe the frustration I have with Raycroft. Ohh yeah, Sharp also scored on a brutal deflection to make it 5-3 Chicago. Kilger got one back late but as the Leafs were trying to make a last minute come back all momentum was lost when Ponikarovsky was called for "ghost hooking"...(that's one of those brutal penalty breaks that I was talking about earlier) Lang put in an empty net goal and Chicago ended up winning 6-4 in front of a full crowd of sheep.

So Tuesday Toronto will be playing the Thrashers...I'm really hoping that Toskala gets the start...He doesn't give you that "ohh shit" feeling every time the puck is shot at him like Raycroft does. I know it's still really early in the season (game 9 of 82) but Toronto is already under .500 and have only played 2 away games (7 home games). They've lost both their away games and I'm just thinking to myself...there are some teams who start the season with 7 or 8 game road trips and they are doing fine holding their own...what's going to happen later on this year when Toronto has more away games then home?...They certainly aren't making it easy for themselves early on this year...

One last thing before I go...Tonight was Belak's 400 NHL game and in true Belak style he beat the crap out of Koci...way to go Wade. So despite losing again tonight I leave you with this little video montage of Wade because even if you lose the war, Wade will win a few battles.

The Votes Are In...Week One Pylon Goes To...

Well the polls have closed for "Week One Pylon"...thanks to everyone who participated. We will be doing this each week...Our winner this week was...

Vessa Toskala! With a win and two losses in the first week Vessa has rounded into true Blue and White form posting a 4.48 Goals Against Average and an amazing .878 Save %...well done...John Ferguson must be happy with the situation of his team...Last in the North East and #1 in the league for goals allowed. Looks like another 82 game season while the Senators make another legit run for the cup...Fuck you Brian Murray and your stupid lisp...

Toronto is playing Florida tomorrow night and it will be interesting who's gonna win here...what happens when a tier two team plays another tier two team? do they both start their back ups? I guess for Toronto they don't have to worry seeing as how they have two back ups and no starter...

I truly believe McCabe will have a good game Thursday. (there is no possible way he could have another shit game) and I'm hoping Maurice plays Raycroft. I mean this guys been doing everything he can to try and win...just the defence is so brutal that not only are they not preventing goals...They're scoring on their own net!...It's truly frustrating being part of this Leafs Nation...

Game 4: Final Score: Carolina - 7 vs. Toronto - Sucks...

Let me start off by saying I didn't watch the game (Stupid regional coverage). But I did listen to it on the radio for 90% of the first period and all of the second. I did catch the highlights on "The Score" last night and it looked bad...really bad...(I'm talking about the game highlights not the stretched out video they put on air) I don't know what was worse...listening/watching the leafs lose 7-1 to the Canes or spending the rest of my evening watching "Reign Over Me"

Warning: The following paragraph talks about Marty York...reader discretion is advised...

I had an opportunity to pick up a pair of tickets for yesterdays game...I'm glad I didn't because it would have been a total waste of money...$180 for a pair of Greens...And that's face value! I was coming into work this morning on the GO and got to Marty York's words of wisdom that seem to find their way into the sports section of the metro...somewhere inside his verbal vomit of CFL news that no one cares about was an Interesting stat (not surprising, but interesting): The Leafs top the NHL with the highest average ticket price at $88.32...Holy shit! No Kidding! Has this not been the topic of discussion since like 1998? The thing that did surprise me was that Buffalo charges the second lowest at $33.56. If you've ever been to a Sabers game you know how fun it is. If I didn't live so far east of Toronto I would be making frequent trips over the boarder to see Buffalo in action. It's a great atmosphere and apparently WAY fuckin' cheaper than a Leafs game (ohh and the on-ice quality is better too....but you already knew that)

A few mile stones of note from last nights game:

1) Toronto Actually scored another power play goal
2) Sundin tied Sittler for most points as a leaf as well as earned second place on the all-time assists list
3) ....nope that's it...just two notes.

It really seemed as though the "I have Cancer" Blake delivered would have been a huge momentum builder but that was not the case last night as they looked completely flat after the first goal. Carolina beat Toronto on every 1 on 1 assignment in the corners, out skated and all round out played the leafs last night....Toskala can't be blamed for all 7 goals at all...(2 by my count) And Sundin's "we played like horseshit" kind of summed it up...I thought I saw Raycroft smirking on the bench after the 6th goal...or maybe he was just trying to repress the tears that the 8 year-old heckler behind him was causing....Rayyyyyy-craaawwwwffffft Rayyyyyy-craaawwwwffffft. Kids can be so mean...

Hopefully the Blue and White get their shit together for Thursday night when the Isles drop by...maybe Blake will score his first goal against them...maybe (and this as a long shot) the Leafs could win again...we'll see. Until next time - "Keep Fit And Have Fun!"

Game 2: 0-1-1...Not Bad...For The Leafs

Well the Leafs escape the the home and home series with a loss and...well, another loss. No one will argue that the leafs didn't play well. but at the end of the day they are still 0-1-1. Toronto needed a few bounces, a few breaks on the penalty calls and 2 starts from Toskala and things could be a lot different right now. I'm not worried...we still have 80 more games and only 6 are against Ottawa.

Vesa Looked like a number one starter last night. One thing I like about Vesa is the modest yet confident attitude he carries in the media scrum. After his "Raycroft-esq" pre-season, reporters (and only reporters) were worried that maybe he was another one of Ferguson's off season fuck-ups. He was quick to reply "Don't worry I'll be fine when the season starts"...and to me...he was. Does anybody remember Belfour looking brutal in the pre-season then looking...well less brutal once the season started. Toskala will be in fine form on Saturday and with the Leafs / Habs rivalry coming to the ACC I'm sure this will be win number one for the blue and white this season.



Sundin scored? holy shit....Hallelujah...It's not that he sucked at the end of last year. He just wasn't getting any breaks. with goal number 389 under his belt (and early in the season too) he can leave that mental baggage behind and hopefully get plenty more bounces to go his way.


I'll also make my first confession of the season...I have a man-crush on Blake. This guy is the balls. Or as Pierre would say "He's a MONSTER! with DEXTERITY!"....Monsters and dexterity?...this isn't dungeons and Dragons Pierre, Get your shit together...But Blake is looking really good. He was a total pest again and had a great two-way presence in both games. On the opposite end of the scale Tucker needs either new skates, vertigo treatment or one of those little plastic chairs that 4 year-olds push around the ice when they learn to skate. Is it just me or does he look like a house league call up? He's flopping all over the ice and backchecks like Jason Allison. Tucker needs to smarten up. What a little bitch.


I truly hope Saturday is win number one for the blue and white. I also hope Toskala stays in net. Get some rest Maurice, lose those bags under your eyes...Saturdays gonna be a good one.

Game 1: New Year...Same Old Song

So last night was the first game of the regular season for the leafs. And what better way to get things started then a huge media circle jerk before the game even starts.

Everyone was asking (actually everyone was fearing) Who's gonna start in net for the Leafs season opener...Drum roll please...

Raycroft?!


Why the hell did we pick up Toskala in the off season if we didn't want to make the playoffs? Paul Maurice has been giving it the old "it's his job to lose..." Hey, Fuck Face, Did you not see what he did last year? He lost this job before he even left Boston. I do agree "Razer" was the better of the two in pre-season but give me a break...everyone and their retarded kid sister knew Raycroft wouldn't stand a chance against the Sens. Put Toskala in and see if he'll lose the job. It's really a pick your poison kind of situation so far. I hope tonight Toskala gets the start. It will really put thing into prespective...on one hand it will be "wow Vesa's a lot better than that bitch-face, sarcastic prick Raycroft"....or it will be "Holy shit did Vessa ever shit the bed...With no goal tending and molasses-slow defence, here's hoping for a high draft pick"

Anyone who watched the game last night saw Raycroft let in two really soft goals in the first...He did however manage to save a little face by stopping several 2 on 1's and a breakaway or two. The defence looked really slow...McCabe was up to his old antics and very skillfully turning the puck over while Thomas Kaberle looked uncharacteristically sloppy. I was impressed with Hall Gill for the amount of ice he got and Kubina actually looked like a 3rd line defenceman...money well spent.

As far as forwards go I'm gonna say that Blake was impressive. Great two-way skating and was a total fuckin' pest in the offensive zone. I wont be suprised if he matches last years numbers...this guy is what we thought Darcy Tucker was going to be...Tucker's just missing a few things (like balance and skill) other than that he's on his way. Sundin looked old...that's all I'm gonna say about that. Kilger, Steen and Pohl looked good...I hope they do well this season and Matt Stajan needs to learn how to skate with his fucking head up! CAR!

The Senators looked much like they did last year when they played the leafs...fuckin' good. Danny Heatley wrapped one around Raycroft and in (lake a Ferrari around a tree) and also scored the overtime winner...Leaf fans will have nightmares about this guy for years now that he's signed a new extension with the Senators that will see him there for at least another 6 years. Lets hope they let him drive the team bus.

The Leafs are going to lose in the Nations Capital tonight (we all know that)...on the bright side, after tonight we only have to play Ottawa 6 more times this season.

Listen to what I have to say...

Welcome to my Toronto Maple Leafs Blog for the 2007-2008 season.

This Blog is my soap box...In this blog I will bitch, moan, complain and sulk about all things leafs. From Owners to Managers to Coaches to Players to Trainers to Fans to Ushers to Ticket takers to Shovel Sluts all the way down to the bottom of the list where Raycroft stands.

I am a leafs fan. And I HATE leafs fans...I fucking can't stand them. There are several types of leaf fans within "Leafs Nation" and as much as I love cheering for the blue and white I also love bashing these douches...

01. The sketchy middle aged Italian guy that always seems to get tickets from a "buddy". These guys always tend to sit behind you at every fucking game and spew coaching wisdom as if they were Paul fuckin' Maurice. These guys cheer louder for a free t-shirt than an overtime goal. They smell like old spice and always have one of those beers with the stupid sippy lids on them. They also have: Harry ear lobes, Leafs jerseys on under their leather jackets, that curly hair that's half black and half grey but completely resembles old man pubic hair on his junk (not that I've seen this before) If this is your dad/brother maybe tell him that his Purple section coaching is not helping and no one wants to hear it. and if this is you...then you suck.

02. The 16 year old "fanboy" with the "Domi" jersey on while his 14 year old girlfriend wears that cute pink (it's not really cute, it's actually a huge joke) maple leafs jersey. This kid probably got his tickets from his mom who in turn got them from some guy at her office that wants to bone her. This fanboy usually has the matching leafs hat that conveniently sits on top of his hair leaving enough room for his gay bangs to hang out the front. They'll sit in the Gold section while she sends text messages on her cell phone and won't see the goal being scored but will cheer just as loud as everyone else to fit in. He'll sit there thinking the whole game about how he'll try and hold her hand on the train ride home and maybe, just maybe squeeze her boob during that kiss goodnight...I guess I really can't get mad at the fact he got tickets from his mom. But I can tell you that if I have kids that dress like that and waste a ticket on his flavour of the week girlfriend I'll punch him in the throat.

03. The 20-somethings that get shitfaced at the game off $11 beers, wear toques that resemble Jofa hockey helmets and chant "go Leafs go" in the train station after the leafs lose 4-1. These guys are so involved in trying to look like a fan that they have no fucking clue whats going on. I'm not even going to get into this one. These are the ones that truly piss me off...They don't follow the leafs on a daily basis and only rehash stuff they heard from Pierre McGuire on TSN. Stuff like "Antopov's a Monster!" and "Sundin is gonna look good this year"...wow...thank you for nothing you stupid fucks.

You don't have to prove to anyone your a fan of the team. Especially me. So don't wear your leafs jersey over your winter jacket in February at an East Side Mario's before the game because we get it. you like the leafs...no one cares.

Follow along with me this year as we watch the leafs shit the bed again. Post comments and let's start something here...(non sexual) because weather you want to admit it or not...you love the leafs...you homo