Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Smile for the Camera Eddie
I think that Belfour wasn't refusing to put his hands behind his back for cuffing, he was trying to reach into his pocket to pull out a billion dollar check to offer as a bribe to get out the arrest.
By the way Eddie, nice shirt.
Where to begin….
As you all can tell, I've been slacking in posting blogs over the last week or so, been busy with other projects. I've also been ranting about the beloved Maple Leafs, and having trouble thinking of where to start with this team. Damn are they frustrating. They did make it interesting for us to watch, and did come through in the final game of the season. But in the end, they blew it. I'll spend the next couple weeks going through the roster, changes that should be made, what went wrong this year, etc. etc..Let's start off with the big JFJ. Sorry Johny boy, it's time for you to get fired. Actually, you shouldn't have been given an extension at the
beginning of the year after the team got off to a decent start. I'm still trying to figure out what positive moves this guy has made for the Leafs. Was it trading all world goalie prospect Raske for Raycroft? Trading Brandan Bell and a 2nd Round pick for 6 minute Yannick? Wait I got it, signing one of the most overrated players in the league to a 5 year contract worth $5.75 million a season. No that wasn't it, how
about Kubina at $5 million a year for 4 years?
I think the only good deals that Fergie has done in all the years he's been here was signing Kaberle at $4.25 and Tucker for $3. But I don't think he should get full credit for decent price they were signed at, the credit should go to Kaberle and Tucker for giving the Leafs a great hometown discount. Two good picks that I can give JFJ credit for are John Pohl and Chad Kilger. But the only problem is, if adding 2 3rd line players is his best move, you're not doing your job properly.
Now, if for some reason big Fergie still has his job heading into next season, can he fix this mess he created? I personally don't think so.
Sure the salary cap is suppose to be going up to around $48 million from the $44 million this year, but there is a lot of money tied up in a few players. There won't be a lot of room to bring in the players that could put this team as a contender for next year. There really isn't any young prospects that could set in and make a difference. I'm not very optimistic about positive change this summer. I think it's going to be a frustrating off-season, and the same can be said for the 2007-08 season.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Game 79 - Leafs 2 Rangers 7
1st Period Summary Toronto Power-Play Goal - Alexei Ponikarovsky (21), from Mats Sundin at 1:48.
NY Rangers Goal - Sean Avery (17), unassisted at 5:19.
NY Rangers Goal - Michael Nylander (25), from Brad Isbister and Jaromir Jagr at 9:14.
Toronto Goal - Boyd Devereaux (8), from Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle at 16:35.
Penalties
0:48 NY Rangers Jaromir Jagr - 2 minutes for interference
11:54 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 2 minutes for roughing
14:33 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 5 minutes for fighting
14:33 NY Rangers Sean Avery - 5 minutes for fighting
18:16 Toronto Ian White - 2 minutes for slashing
2nd Period Summary
NY Rangers Goal - Ryan Callahan (4), from Jed Ortmeyer at 1:35.
NY Rangers Goal - Martin Straka (29), from Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan at 4:42.
NY Rangers Goal - Sean Avery 2 (18), unassisted at 14:53.
Penalties
8:04 NY Rangers Colton Orr - 2 minutes for tripping
10:28 NY Rangers Jaromir Jagr - 2 minutes for holding
18:22 Toronto Alexei Ponikarovsky - 2 minutes for hooking
3rd Period Summary
NY Rangers Power-Play Goal - Michal Rozsival (10), from Michael Nylander and Jaromir Jagr at 6:49.
NY Rangers Goal - Jaromir Jagr (29), from Brad Isbister at 12:14.
Penalties
5:20 Toronto Matt Stajan - 2 minutes for holding
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total
Toronto 11 11 5 27
NY Rangers 12 6 7 25
Team Power Play
Toronto 1 of 3
NY Rangers 1 of 4
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Jean-Sebastien Aubin 9 3 6 .667 35:18
Andrew Raycroft 16 4 12 .750 24:42
NY Rangers Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Henrik Lundqvist 27 2 25 .926 60:00
Friday, March 30, 2007
Game 77 - Leafs 2 Thrashers 3 (OT)
1st Period Summary Atlanta Power-Play Goal - Marian Hossa (42), from Keith Tkachuk and Ilya Kovalchuk at 3:24.
Toronto Goal - John Pohl (12), from Yanic Perreault and Ian White at 17:33.
Penalties
2:56 Toronto Pavel Kubina - 2 minutes for holding
4:00 Atlanta Ilya Kovalchuk - 2 minutes for high-sticking
11:30 Atlanta Niclas Havelid - 2 minutes for slashing
18:26 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 2 minutes for goalie interference
2nd Period Summary
No Scoring
Penalties
17:56 Toronto Alexander Steen - 2 minutes for slashing
3rd Period Summary
Atlanta Goal - Vyacheslav Kozlov (26), from Andy Sutton and Bobby Holik at 2:15.
Toronto Goal - Hal Gill (5), from Nik Antropov and Mats Sundin at 6:40.
Penalties
13:15 Atlanta Marian Hossa - 2 minutes for hooking
Overtime Summary
Atlanta Power-Play Goal - Vyacheslav Kozlov 2 (27), from Marian Hossa and Alexei Zhitnik at 4:13.
Penalties
3:14 Toronto Nik Antropov - 2 minutes for hooking
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 OT Total
Toronto 13 8 8 0 29
Atlanta 5 8 10 4 27
Team Power Play
Toronto 0 of 3
Atlanta 2 of 4
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 27 3 24 .889 64:13
Atlanta Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Johan Hedberg 29 2 27 .931 64:10
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
He is funny…
So we all rip on Wade Belak's questionable hockey talent, but one thing he gets full props on is his sense of humor. This is a couple weeks old, but it's still worthwhile watching again.
Another Must Win
The Maple Leafs face another playoff hopeful opponent tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes. This is another must game for the Leafs. The Leafs are currently sitting in 11th spot in the Eastern Conference with 82 points, but only 2 points back of the 8th placed Montreal Canadiens. Carolina and the NYI Islanders are also ahead of the Leafs by 2 points. The NY Rangers have been playing well of late and are sitting in 6th place with 87 points, only 5 points ahead of the Leafs.The Leafs must win every game they play against the other playoff hopefuls. After tonights game, the Leafs will have 6 games remaining. They will face Rangers, Islanders and Canadiens before seasons end and the outcome of these games will most likely be the key to if they make the playoffs or if they don't. Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Philly are the other games.
Jeff O'Neill will be a healthy scratch again tonight. O'Neill hasn't scored in a month. John Pohl will be in the lineup again.
Sundin in one goal short of Darryl Sittlers' Toronto Maple Leaf record of 389.
Carolina is 4-0-1 in their last 5 games.
The Leafs are 4-7 in shoutouts this season. 3-3 in overtime.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Game 74 - Leafs 4 Sabres 5
1st Period Summary Buffalo Power-Play Goal - Thomas Vanek (36), from Dmitri Kalinin and Jason Pominville at 5:17.
Toronto Power-Play Goal - Bryan McCabe (12), from Tomas Kaberle and Mats Sundin at 18:55.
Penalties
3:51 Toronto Alexei Ponikarovsky - 2 minutes for hooking
5:29 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 2 minutes for goaltender interference
6:28 Buffalo Thomas Vanek - 2 minutes for tripping
17:12 Buffalo Jochen Hecht - 2 minutes for high-sticking
18:42 Buffalo Dainius Zubrus - 2 minutes for hooking
2nd Period Summary
Toronto Goal - Matt Stajan (10), from Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo at 4:11.
Penalties
5:16 Toronto Nik Antropov - 2 minutes for hooking
6:03 Buffalo Nathan Paetsch - 2 minutes for tripping
3rd Period Summary
Toronto Goal - Boyd Devereaux (5), from Matt Stajan at 0:59.
Toronto Goal - Boyd Devereaux 2 (6), unassisted at 3:52.
Buffalo Power-Play Goal - Thomas Vanek 2 (37), from Derek Roy and Jason Pominville at 5:27.
Buffalo Goal - Daniel Briere (31), Brian Campbell and Chris Drury 9:18.
Buffalo Goal - Jason Pominville (32), from Daniel Briere and Jochen Hecht at 13:52.
Buffalo Goal - Drew Stafford (12), from Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy at 14:12.
Penalties
4:21 Toronto Pavel Kubina - 2 minutes for tripping
7:16 Toronto Ian White - 2 minutes for hooking
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total
Toronto 21 8 15 44
Buffalo 9 6 19 34
Team Power Play
Toronto 1 of 4
Buffalo 2 of 5
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 34 5 29 .853 58:58
Buffalo Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Ryan Miller 44 4 40 .909 59:50
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Kaberle to Return Tonight
Tomas Kaberle and Kyle Wellwood will be returning to the lineup tonight for Maple Leafs. The Leafs need these 2 guys to remain healthy for the rest of the season if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year. Heading into tonight's game, the Leafs are sitting in 11th spot. Granted they are only a couple points out and have a game or two in hand over teams they are chasing, but they can not afford to waste points. This is a pivotal home-and-home series with Buffalo. The Leafs need to at least come away with 2 out of the 4 points. If they were to lose both games, I think it would be very difficult for them to get into the playoffs.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Belak Seeks Revenge
Well it wasn't much of surprise to see Wade Belak and Cam Janssen go toe-to-toe last night. Belak throws 16 punches before Janssen tosses 1. Check out the fight if you missed it or want to see it again.
Game 73 - Leafs 2 Devils 1
1st Period Summary Toronto Power-Play Goal - Kyle Wellwood (11), from Mats Sundin and Carlo Colaiacovo at 18:33.
Penalties
9:23 New Jersey Cam Janssen - 5 minutes for fighting
9:23 Toronto Wade Belak - 5 minutes for fighting
12:31 New Jersey David Clarkson - 2 minutes for interference
17:15 New Jersey Colin White - 2 minutes for interference
2nd Period Summary
No Scoring
Penalties
0:57 Toronto Nik Antropov - 2 minutes for holding
11:16 Toronto Jeff O`Neill - 2 minutes for slashing
3rd Period Summary
Toronto Goal - Nik Antropov (16), from Mats Sundin and Alexei Ponikarovsky at 6:09.
New Jersey Goal - Travis Zajac (16), from Jamie Langenbrunner and Andy Greene at 6:49.
Penalties
0:25 Toronto Alexei Ponikarovsky - 2 minutes for hooking
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total
New Jersey 12 6 7 25
Toronto 11 6 8 25
Team Power Play
New Jersey 0 of 3
Toronto 1 of 2
New Jersey Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Martin Brodeur 25 2 23 .920 59:06
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 25 1 24 .960 59:38
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Monday, March 19, 2007
Kaberle Returning?
Leaf re-guard, Tomas Kaberle is hoping to return to the lineup on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. He will undergo a series of tests today and if doctor's give him medical clearance, he'll be playing.With the Leafs in a dogfight for the final couple playoff spots, they definitely need him healthy and playing at the level he can. The team is struggling to score and getting their top offensive defenseman will only increase their chances of getting in the playoffs.
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Game 72 - Leafs 2 Canadiens 3 (SO)
1st Period Summary Montreal Goal - Andrei Kostitsyn (1), from Chris Higgins and Tomas Plekanec at 6:05.
Toronto Power-Play Goal - Kyle Wellwood (10), from Bryan McCabe and Carlo Colaiacovo at 15:01.
Penalties
0:19 Toronto Ian White - 2 minutes for high-sticking
10:08 Toronto Mats Sundin - 2 minutes for interference
13:42 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 5 minutes for fighting
13:42 Montreal Francis Bouillon - 5 minutes for fighting
13:42 Montreal Sheldon Souray - 2 minutes for roughing
17:24 Toronto Andy Wozniewski - 2 minutes for delay of game
20:00 Toronto Ian White - 2 minutes for roughing
20:00 Montreal Guillaume Latendresse - 2 minutes for roughing
2nd Period Summary
Montreal Goal - Saku Koivu (19), from Francis Bouillon at 10:01.
Penalties
6:36 Montreal Michael Ryder - 2 minutes for hooking
7:14 Toronto Mats Sundin - 2 minutes for interference
3rd Period Summary
Toronto Goal - Pavel Kubina (6), from Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker at 8:41.
Penalties
1:57 Montreal Andrei Kostitsyn - 2 minutes for tripping
7:48 Toronto Nik Antropov - 2 minutes for roughing
7:48 Montreal Maxim Lapierre - 2 minutes for roughing
Overtime Summary
Time left Team Scoring Detail
No Scoring
Shootout Result: TOR 1 - MON 2
# Pos Team Shooter Goaltender R Shootout Score
1 27 RW MON A. Kovalev A. Raycroft S 0 - 0
2 42 C TOR K. Wellwood J. Halak S 0 - 0
3 35 LW MON T. Plekanec A. Raycroft S 0 - 0
4 13 C TOR M. Sundin J. Halak G 1 - 0
5 11 C MON S. Koivu A. Raycroft G 1 - 1
6 94 C TOR Y. Perreault J. Halak S 1 - 1
7 46 LW MON A. Kostitsyn A. Raycroft G 1 - 2
8 16 LW TOR D. Tucker J. Halak S 1 - 2
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 OT SO Total
Toronto 11 11 16 1 0 39
Montreal 15 6 7 3 0 31
Team Power Play
Toronto 1 of 3
Montreal 0 of 4
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 31 2 29 .935 65:00
Montreal Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Jaroslav Halak 39 2 37 .949 65:00
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Saturday, March 17, 2007
Game 71 - Leafs 1 Capitals 5
1st Period Summary Washington Goal - Alexandre Giroux (1), from Steve Eminger and Mike Green at 1:46.
Washington Goal - Alexander Semin (34), unassisted at 7:55.
Penalties
9:02 Toronto Darcy Tucker - 2 minutes for hooking
10:40 Toronto Nik Antropov - 2 minutes for slashing
12:27 Toronto Bryan McCabe - 2 minutes for roughing
14:22 Washington Milan Jurcina - 2 minutes for interference
15:38 Washington Shaone Morrisonn - 2 minutes for cross-checking
2nd Period Summary
Toronto Power-Play Goal - Nik Antropov (15), from Mats Sundin and Bryan McCabe at 12:19.
Washington Goal - Boyd Gordon (4), from Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich at 15:34.
Penalties
2:35 Washington Alexander Semin - 2 minutes for high-sticking
6:12 Toronto John Pohl - 2 minutes for tripping
8:31 Toronto Andy Wozniewski - 2 minutes for holding
11:42 Washington Donald Brashear - 2 minutes for high-sticking
16:35 Toronto Bryan McCabe - 2 minutes for holding the stick
3rd Period Summary
Washington Goal - Kris Beech (8), from Donald Brashear and Alexander Semin at 2:07.
Washington Power-Play Goal - Tomas Fleischman (2), from Milan Jurcina and Alexandre Giroux at 16:51.
Penalties
3:45 Washington Alexander Ovechkin - 2 minutes for slashing
7:07 Washington Jeff Schultz - 2 minutes for holding
11:44 Toronto Mats Sundin - 2 minutes for holding
14:57 Toronto Jeff O`Neill - 2 minutes for hooking
16:51 Toronto Pavel Kubina - 2 minutes for slashing
17:07 Washington Donald Brashear - 2 minutes for high-sticking
17:29 Toronto Chad Kilger - 10 minutes for misconduct
17:51 Washington Steve Eminger - 2 minutes for holding
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total
Toronto 12 10 13 35
Washington 11 13 9 33
Team Power Play
Toronto 1 of 8
Washington 1 of 9
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 33 5 28 .848 59:54
Washington Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Olaf Kolzig 35 1 34 .971 59:47
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Friday, March 16, 2007
And the All-Time Maple Leaf Wins Leader Could Be….
The Leafs have 12 games remaining this season, with everyone of them being important. There is a chance that Andrew Raycroft could start all of them, giving him a shot at becoming the Maple Leafs all-time win leader for goaltenders. He only needs 5 wins to tie Eddie Belfour's record of 37. So far this season, Raycroft has played in 60 of the Leafs 70 games, posting a record of 32-21-7. His current pace would put him at 37-25-8 playing in 70 games. So there is a really good chance that Andrew Raycroft will become the all-time single season win leader. That doesn't sound right saying that. How can a goaltender, who appears to be disliked by 98% of Toronto because of questionable goaltending skills, have a shot at holding such a record. His goals against average is 2.94 (31st in the league) and his save percentage of .895 is ranked 35th. That's terrible. How can this guy be mentioned in the same sentences with Bauer, Belfour and Cujo when it comes to goalie records. Here's a few reasons as to how he may get this record. Raycroft has a shot at playing in 72 games this season, the most games Cujo played was 68, Belfour 62. Shootouts didn't exist until last season. 3 of Raycrofts wins have been by shootout. For every other leaf goalie, those 3 wins would have been ties. So if we disregard the 3 shootout wins, Raycroft would only have 29 wins, meaning he'd have to win 8 of the 12 games to tie the record. But this is the new NHL and shootouts count, and more than likely Raycroft will get the record. I wonder how many wins he would have had if he had an average GAA and not a terrible one.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Game 70 - Leafs 3 Lightning 2
1st Period Summary Tampa Bay Power-Play Goal - Brad Richards (24), from Vincent Lecavalier at 2:24.
Toronto Goal - Chad Kilger (11), from Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker at 11:43.
Penalties
2:01 Toronto Carlo Colaiacovo - 2 minutes for tripping
8:23 Toronto Andy Wozniewski - 2 minutes for cross-checking
2nd Period Summary
Tampa Bay Short-Handed Goal - Dan Boyle (16), from Brad Richards at 4:36.
Toronto Goal - Mats Sundin (27), from Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov at 16:06.
Penalties
3:35 Tampa Bay Cory Sarich - 2 minutes for interference
3rd Period Summary
Toronto Goal - Nik Antropov (14), from Mats Sundin and Hal Gill at 5:51.
Penalties
2:18 Tampa Bay Jason Ward - 2 minutes for tripping
8:31 Tampa Bay Ruslan Fedotenko - 2 minutes for roughing
8:42 Toronto Hal Gill - 2 minutes for roughing
Shots on Goal 1 2 3 Total
Tampa Bay 6 2 13 21
Toronto 12 12 4 28
Team Power Play
Tampa Bay 1 of 3
Toronto 0 of 3
Tampa Bay Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Marc Denis 28 3 25 .893 58:31
Toronto Goaltending
Player SA GA Saves SV% TOI
Andrew Raycroft 21 2 19 .905 60:00
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