Game 21: Toronto Beat Who?! (Ottawa In Case You Missed It)

Saturday night I found myself at the Christmas potluck for my in-laws extended family (about 75 people)...Somewhere between the half frozen PC shrimp ring and the home made meatballs the Leafs game was on and they we're looking for another embarrassing loss to the Senators only something really weird happened...They won.

I was watching the game on a huge TV that had the reception of an old coat hanger antenna and for 2.5 hours of the night I was in a happy place.

This is reason #4320 why the leafs piss me off...They beat Ottawa. No, they shut out Ottawa... The first time Ottawa has been shut out since last December. The last 19 match ups leading up to Saturdays game Ottawa was 15-2-2 against the Leafs...Does this mean Toronto is just as good as Ottawa? No way...Does Ottawa have an excuse for losing? nope...Did Toronto deserve to win? You bet...Toronto can play 60 minutes of near flawless hockey against the best team in the league and win 3-0 then Tuesday they'll play Boston and probably lose 5-3. I just don't get how inconsistent the Leafs are this year. No one can really explain why...It just happens...and it blows big time.

A few reason why I think Toronto won:

1) First and foremost...Wozniewski was only on the ice for 7 minutes (2nd lowest TOI for Toronto on Saturday next to Pohl)

2) Toronto converted on 2 power play opportunities in one game (first time all season I think)

3) I don't go back on stats often (I go by memory) but I think this may be only the second time they didn't allow a power play goal in a game...(the first being a Raycroft shutout earlier)

4) Maybe Ottawa came in thinking (assuming) it was going to be an easy win...

5) We had a goalie in net that could make a big save when the Leafs needed it.

I find that a goalie getting a shutout is a lot like a pitcher getting a no-hitter (even though a no-hitter is much harder to do) There are a few things that need to happen...The defence must be solid. The Goalie/Pitcher has to be on top of his game and the defence (goalie for hockey/fielders for baseball) have to make 3 huge plays during the game. Toskala did that making a few giant saves and holding the fort while the leafs were actually skating with Ottawa instead of watching them like they did in the previous 3 games this year.

So before this 4 game week started I was predicting a 2-2 (optimistically) and 1-3 (realistically) record after the game in Boston tomorrow night...Right now they're 1-1-1 so things are looking decent for the time being...I'm really hoping that the win on Saturday can add somesort of morale boost in the Leafs dressing room because as this season grows, it's not gonna get any easier for them.

See everyone Wednesday morning...peace

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.

Game 5: Leafs Win!...Sundin Passes Sittler...No He Doesn't...Yes He does!

With a total cock slap givin' to Leafs Nation on Tuesday by the Canes, Toronto was looking to rebound in the biggest way against the Islanders last night...and they did.

Having been out scored 7-1 on Tuesday the Leafs paid it forward to the Islanders in an 8-1 romp. Gamache scored his first goal as a Leaf, Wozniewski scored his first goal as a...anybody and Sundin got an assist to pass Darryl Sittler as the all time points leader as a leaf...There were standing ovations,

tears, a montage the whole nine yards...That's what made it so funny when they took his assist away a few minutes later thus tying him with Sittler again...Haa Haa

Having felt the achievement of being the Leafs all-time scorer only to have it taken away moments later Sundin was like a dyke at a craft show...He was determined to score...and at any cost too. Of his 390 goals this one is probably ranked somewhere between 7th and 12th as being the ugliest...but hey, they all count. They made him 3rd, 2nd and 1st star (I had never seen that before)...Raycroft must have enjoyed seeing that 2nd and/or 3rd star slip away from his grasp...what the fuck does this guy have to do to get a fuckin' bone in this city?!

Dubowitz looked like a back up goalie...where was this type of performance last spring when he absolutely robbed the leafs of a playoff spot?...I digress...8 different Leafs scored on him but the best goal of the evening hands down goes to...Thomas Kaberle...what a move...he absolutely made the Islanders look like ass...it was amazing.

The Leafs have a much more difficult opponent on Saturday vs the Penguins but with the offensive outburst last night there might just be a bit of much needed morale booster. Before I go I just wanted to mention how stupid the reporters sounded last night when saying "This is a must-win game for the Leafs"...what?! this is game 5 of fuckin' 82!...let's pace ourselves people...