The Leafs 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes was one of their best all-round games of the season. They were hitting, received solid goaltending from Raycroft, pressured on the fore-check creating turnovers and got timely goals from the big Nik Antropov. Alexei Ponikarovsky even got into a little tilt with David Tanabe after Ponikarovsky collided knee-on-knee with Rob Brind'Amour. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed watching an entire Leaf game as much as I did last night. Of course the game was aired on LeafsTV and not regional/national, so for those that do not subscribe, missed a great game.

Antropov played a solid game, netting 2 goals in the 3rd period to put the Leafs in the lead for good. On his second goal, he made a really nice move on a Hurricane defenseman behind the goal line, and then banked a weak goal past Cam Ward, who otherwise kept the game close. It was one of those games that gets us fans and Leaf management excited about what this kid can do when he puts his mind to it. He was fore-checking well, showed the touch that he can put the puck in the net, was throwing his body around; using his body to his advantage. But as we've been seeing for years, Antropov cannot play consistently like this.

The Maple Leafs got a scare early in the game when Carlo Colaiacovo was hit from behind and hobbled off to the dressing room with an apparent leg injury. But unlike the Colaiacovo of the past, he returned to the game, playing pretty well. He laid out Brind'Amour with a hit along the Leafs blue line. Before Carlo was temporarily injured, he 'apparently' interfered with Ken Belanger enough that he was warranted a penalty shot for Carolina. My TV was thankful that I did not have anything in hand to throw at it. It was such a ridiculous call. This is the part of 'the New NHL' that drives me crazy. There is no way a penalty shot should have been called, or even a penalty at all. He was not hooked or tripped, and was not in the clear. When Carlo was hit from behind, only a 2 minute minor for boarding was called. The league has come out and said that they are taking a no nonsense stance on hitting from behind, and then they completely blow this one. Once again my TV was thankful I had nothing to throw at it.