Thursday, March 12, 2009

Tampa 'shocks' T O with 4-1 win


The leagues second worst team managed to pull off a win over the Leafs tonight. Yep, The Tampa Bay Lightning, second only to the New York Islanders in the league basement managed a 4-1 win over Gerber and the Leafs.

Tampa managed 30 shots while Toronto somehow only managed 21. Not a total that will instill fear in the minds of a lot of teams.

Jason Blake, ( man I love this guy ) is still just trippin' along, picking up another assist tonight to bring his point total this season to 52. If he stays healthy and has a couple of good games, with 13 left in the season, he could eclipse his career high in points of 69. He has already tied last years total.

But enough about him, here are you highlights.



The Leafs next game is Saturday night at home to Calgary............

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Leafs beat Isles 3-2


Actually, the head line should read " I'm an Idiot because I didn't realize there was a game on Monday against the Senators that I missed "............ But, I couldn't fit it all into the little space I have for my headline.

So, on Monday, the Leafs lost to Ottawa by a final of 2-1. After Alfredson tied it in the second period, which by the way was the 2,500 th goal that Cujo has surrendered in his career, Heatley scored the eventual game winner on a deflection.

When asked about the milestone that he shares with 5 other goalies in NHL history, Cujo replied “Good one. Good one,” Joseph said. “Believe me, it’s not baseball, we don’t keep stats like that. I mean, it just means I played a lot.”



Ian White scored in the first period for Toronto, which lost in regulation for the second straight game after earning at least a point in its eight previous games (6-0-2).

“We got off to a quick start and had somewhat control of the game and they came out in the second and took it to us,” White said. “We didn’t respond the way we needed to.”



The Leafs Beat the Isles 3-2 tonight to again put Leaf Nation in a tizzie! (no, I'm not sure if that is actually a word)!

And what do ya know Grabovski scored a goal!!!! Wow, I had all but forgotten about him. I'm just kidding. He has been playing pretty well, for the most part including some impressive improvement in the defensive department.

His first goal in 18 games couldn't have come at a better time. It proved to be the overtime winner, the first overtime goal of his career, “The coach had faith in me and gave me a chance to play in overtime,” Grabovski said. “It’s my first career goal in overtime, so I’m pretty happy.

Gerber made 28 save for his second win in a Leafs uniform and his first in front of the home crowd.



On a bit of a sad note, one of my favorite all time Leafs, Gary Roberts announced his retirement today. Here is an excerpt from a piece by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.ca

"I think back to the Toronto days and how good a team we had, it is a disappointment for me that we had that group of people and we didn't win," admitted Roberts. "Sure, we had some injury issues like everybody does in playoffs. Mats [Sundin] was out for part of that '02 run. We played a team like Carolina that was so disciplined and basically we beat ourselves in that series, I felt.

"But definitely, a disappointing part is that we never won. We were very competitive. I think we were a 100-point team every year that I was here in Toronto, so to have won a Stanley Cup obviously would have been the ultimate. We didn't do that. But I have fond memories of the teammates that I played with here [in Toronto] and the organization. It was a sad day for me when I left Toronto."
....more


The Leafs next action comes Thursday at the Hanger against Tampa Bay. As always, you can hear all of the action live, right here on Bench Brawl!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Oilers hand Leafs first Regulation Loss..........



The Edmonton Oilers handed the Leafs their first regulation loss in 9 games last night. Several Ontario born players were excited about playing close to home, save for perhaps Dwayne Roloson who was a career 0-6 when facing the boys in blue.

The Leafs suffered their first regulation loss with this 4-1 defeat, spoiling Martin Gerbers home debut in a Leafs jersey.

"The puck is going to go through you sometimes," said Gerber. "That's just the way it is when you're a goaltender."

Roloson was easily the busiest of the two goalies facing 40 shots in total, compared to the 17 that the Oilers mustered.

“He’s really on top of his game,” Oilers defenseman Steve Staios said.



Toronto sees their next action Monday at Ottawa. As always, you can hear the action live, right here on Bench Brawl!