Friday, December 5, 2008
OH Yeah!!!!
I almost forgot, if you, or anyone you know is interested. I have 2 center ice golds to an upcoming Leafs game against the Nashville Predators on Jan 14th. Click the ' ticket raffle ' link for details.
Down, down we go....
Tomas Kaberle was benched for the entire first period to begin last nights game, it didn't motivate him any. On his first shift of the second period the Coyotes scored their 3rd goal to re-take a one goal lead. Don't get me wrong, I've been picking on poor Kabby for the last couple of days, but I don't dislike the guy. I do think however that the Leafs would be better served by trading him simply because the are re-building and the would get something tangible in return.
Despite have some extra rest after losing to the best team in the league, on Tuesday, the Leafs seemed to come out a little flat last night. I personally would have thought that between, the rest and seeing one of the 'senior' players on the team being benched the Leafs would have played a lot more motivated game. I have been known to be wrong on occasion, as was demonstrated with their 6-3 loss to the Coyotes.
Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play last night, one area of the Leafs game that has shown vast improvement. The Leafs have jumped 2 spots in the last week on the penalty kill and are now 26th in the league in that department. After last night though, their power play slipped from 8th to 10th.
The long and the short of it is, it would be easy to sit around and pick apart the Leafs all day long, and I'm sure that there are alot of people doing it. Sitting their, making way more money than I do, analyzing, digging up meaningless stats about everything imaginable. The fact of the mater is, this team is NO supposed to win. Don't get me wrong, I love the Leafs, and I love to see them win. I am very excited, for the first time since I can remember though to watch a game. They are a fun team to watch, and there is a plan for the future, for a cup. So kids, let's just have fun, and enjoy some hockey. If they still aren't contending by say 2011, then we can all start bitching again ok?
Despite have some extra rest after losing to the best team in the league, on Tuesday, the Leafs seemed to come out a little flat last night. I personally would have thought that between, the rest and seeing one of the 'senior' players on the team being benched the Leafs would have played a lot more motivated game. I have been known to be wrong on occasion, as was demonstrated with their 6-3 loss to the Coyotes.
Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play last night, one area of the Leafs game that has shown vast improvement. The Leafs have jumped 2 spots in the last week on the penalty kill and are now 26th in the league in that department. After last night though, their power play slipped from 8th to 10th.
The long and the short of it is, it would be easy to sit around and pick apart the Leafs all day long, and I'm sure that there are alot of people doing it. Sitting their, making way more money than I do, analyzing, digging up meaningless stats about everything imaginable. The fact of the mater is, this team is NO supposed to win. Don't get me wrong, I love the Leafs, and I love to see them win. I am very excited, for the first time since I can remember though to watch a game. They are a fun team to watch, and there is a plan for the future, for a cup. So kids, let's just have fun, and enjoy some hockey. If they still aren't contending by say 2011, then we can all start bitching again ok?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Leafs vs Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final!
Geez, I hope not!!! Well ,in what can only be described as a rout, the best team in the league, showed you last night why they are now tied with the 1943-44 Montreal Canadians for the most points in 25 games to start a season. The Sharks remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss on home ice this season. Helped by a 4 point night from Joe Thornton, the Sharks were simply too much for the Leafs. Handing the buds their first loss in 3 games by a score of 5-2
There were a couple of underlying stories in this game. Firstly, Last night marked the return of two former Sharks to the Shark Tank. Ron Wilson made his debut from the opposing bench. Although the Sharks and their fans, still hold Wilson in high regard, giving him a standing ovation before the game, there was no love for his new team last night. Wilson is the winningest coach in San Jose Sharks history, but was fired last may after exiting from the playoffs in the second round for the third time in 4 years. About the game last night Wilson said, “From what I’ve seen, this is easily the best team in the league, If we somehow could have survived maybe the first 10 minutes of the game, we would have found an equilibrium, but it was over by then. That was one where you throw the white towel in the corner, like in a boxing match.”
The Leafs have given up short handed goals in back to back games, on both occasions, Tomas Kaberle was on the ice. I think Karberle could do with a little shot of confidence. He is one of the leagues better defenders, but so far this year, hasn't shown it. There is always the train of thought that he isn't really that good. Whoa! Please don't kill me! Think of it this way. When McCabe and Gill were here, Kabby looked like a superstar, right? He probably looked that way because Mcabe and Gill were, well, not. Now that they aren't here to make him look good..............................
Alright, enough about that. The Leafs will look to get back on track against the bottom feeding Coyotes on Thursday. The Leafs, in the past had made short work of teams that were ranked lower overall, but for the last few seasons, that has been a dissapearing trend. You will be able to hear the action live right here on Bench Brawl!
There were a couple of underlying stories in this game. Firstly, Last night marked the return of two former Sharks to the Shark Tank. Ron Wilson made his debut from the opposing bench. Although the Sharks and their fans, still hold Wilson in high regard, giving him a standing ovation before the game, there was no love for his new team last night. Wilson is the winningest coach in San Jose Sharks history, but was fired last may after exiting from the playoffs in the second round for the third time in 4 years. About the game last night Wilson said, “From what I’ve seen, this is easily the best team in the league, If we somehow could have survived maybe the first 10 minutes of the game, we would have found an equilibrium, but it was over by then. That was one where you throw the white towel in the corner, like in a boxing match.”
The Leafs have given up short handed goals in back to back games, on both occasions, Tomas Kaberle was on the ice. I think Karberle could do with a little shot of confidence. He is one of the leagues better defenders, but so far this year, hasn't shown it. There is always the train of thought that he isn't really that good. Whoa! Please don't kill me! Think of it this way. When McCabe and Gill were here, Kabby looked like a superstar, right? He probably looked that way because Mcabe and Gill were, well, not. Now that they aren't here to make him look good..............................
Alright, enough about that. The Leafs will look to get back on track against the bottom feeding Coyotes on Thursday. The Leafs, in the past had made short work of teams that were ranked lower overall, but for the last few seasons, that has been a dissapearing trend. You will be able to hear the action live right here on Bench Brawl!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Leafs Make it 2 In a Row Against LA
Ya know, I don't really want to open today by praising the play of Vesa Toskala, but I will tell you this. Wow did he make some not only huge but timely saves against LA last night! I work afternoons so it is a rare treat for me to see my favorite team any day but Saturday. I don't mind telling you, the Leafs didn't disappoint. There were times in the game that I held my breath and cursed silently, but all in all, it was what we should expect from a team that is not only developing, but still trying to find an identity.
Mat Stajan, and Mikeal Grabovski, who have both been in a bit of a funk lately, scored in the early part of the third period to give the Leafs a one goal lead. Both goals were scored on the power play. Stajan's goal, his seventh, and the 18,000 goal scored in franchise history, was scored in the 3rd minute of the third period. There hadn't been a goal since the first minute of the first period when LA's Alexander Frolov opened th scoring 57 seconds in. For all the details, go here.
The Brian Burke era has started with a bang! It is unlikely that Burke will do any thing regarding roster moves at least until after the Christmas freeze as he will need some time to assess the current roster. Although he is the President and GM, it rumored that will seek permission to speak with other candidates to fill the GM role in the future.
It is also unlikely, according to Burke that Sundin will make a return to the organization. The two spoke on Saturday and Burke left with the feeling that Sundin would still likely seek a return to playing, with a contender. When asked about the un-certainty surrounding Sundin's returning at all, Burke said “There has been a lot of criticism of Mats Sundin for not making up his mind,” Burke said. “Having been through this situation before, I do not agree with it. I’d rather have a guy who wants to make sure in his own mind of what he is doing, as opposed to a guy who plays (halfway) just to collect a pay check.”
A big test for the current roster will come tonight when the Leafs face the best team in the league in the San Jose Sharks. You can listen to the game live right here on Bench Brawl!
Mat Stajan, and Mikeal Grabovski, who have both been in a bit of a funk lately, scored in the early part of the third period to give the Leafs a one goal lead. Both goals were scored on the power play. Stajan's goal, his seventh, and the 18,000 goal scored in franchise history, was scored in the 3rd minute of the third period. There hadn't been a goal since the first minute of the first period when LA's Alexander Frolov opened th scoring 57 seconds in. For all the details, go here.
The Brian Burke era has started with a bang! It is unlikely that Burke will do any thing regarding roster moves at least until after the Christmas freeze as he will need some time to assess the current roster. Although he is the President and GM, it rumored that will seek permission to speak with other candidates to fill the GM role in the future.
It is also unlikely, according to Burke that Sundin will make a return to the organization. The two spoke on Saturday and Burke left with the feeling that Sundin would still likely seek a return to playing, with a contender. When asked about the un-certainty surrounding Sundin's returning at all, Burke said “There has been a lot of criticism of Mats Sundin for not making up his mind,” Burke said. “Having been through this situation before, I do not agree with it. I’d rather have a guy who wants to make sure in his own mind of what he is doing, as opposed to a guy who plays (halfway) just to collect a pay check.”
A big test for the current roster will come tonight when the Leafs face the best team in the league in the San Jose Sharks. You can listen to the game live right here on Bench Brawl!
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