Leafs 3 - Thrashers 1 -- Seven Points Out
The end may be near, but it is not yet here.
The Leafs battled the Thrashers last night with both teams having to deal with the extra-curricular; it was evident that the trade distractions were equally shared and after a meek first period. Ponikarovsky went down at the one minute mark from another questionable hit from the notorious Garnet Exelby, it resulted in rib injury that could keep the Poni Express away from any last minuet trades, and pushing the newly signed 1.7 million on the cap for the next two years Alexander Steen to the top line. I would have enjoyed seeing retribution agents Exelby in any way, but that hasn’t been norm for this Leafs team, an issue that I would love to see addressed. I was happy to see that Maurice went back to a 6 D man unit, even if it meant keeping White in the line-up, it was the right move after Whites performance as of late. It is the best way to get the most out of the D both offensively and defensively as the pairings are set and each player has a better understanding and comfort level of what is expected of himself and his D partner. Other then that, and another missed opportunity for our PK, the first ended with very little to cheer or jeer, and it was for the most part uneventful 1-0 game at that point.
The second started and it was only fitting that our captain opened the Leafs scoring to get the buds back on track. It great play by Antropov to spot an even better play by Wellwood sneaking into the slot, Wellwoods patented hesitation to freeze defenders and the keeper before sliding it to Mats for the goal was something I would have expected to see at least 30-50 times this season. The injury and re-injury that Wellwood sustained has keep this from happening on a regular basis, but in the last two weeks he has skated much faster and has been much stronger on his edges and has been getting to the corners and in front of the net with more regularity. These are spots that he needs to get to, and with continued health will come confidence, and ultimately this player will hit those spots and score with regularity. I am a big Wellwood fan, as I mentioned to fellow Leafer’hockeytape19’, I think Wellwood is a great player. When the Leafs drafted him I was very impressed, I knew he was traded for Spezza in the OHL so I knew he had talent. During the lockout year he was tremendous in the AHL, and in the next two years he proved that he could be a great player in this league, his size doesnt worry me because of his sense and skill, but he does have to improve his speed and defensive awareness if he wants to be competitve at C. As for this year it is a wash and should be forgoten, the injury he had is a very difficult injury to recover from, especially the mental side since he had the first opperation he had to get it re-done. As a result, I think his trust in the medical staff may have waivered a bit, which is why I think people, including his pops said he didnt work hard enough to get back. I have personaly had a similar injury, and it so difficult to train hard because of the lack of power and fear of doing more damage. That said, I think after the offseason, with continued commitment to training, he can regain his strength and be the player he can be. This is why it is paramount that this team re-sign Kyle in the same fashion that they did Steen, keeping the price and term down, as he has room to grow and we in Toronto should give him all the time to do so before having to deal with outside competition from his RFA status this July. The same applies to Stajan, giving our own picks the respect they deserve is vital to rebuilding this team now and into the future.
1-1 going into the third, even watching from home you could feel the buzz was back into the building, weather that has to do with the close game, or maybe it was due to the possibility that this was Sundins final period as a member of the Leafs. Either way the Maple Leafs came out of the gate storming, and two minuets in, Steen scored a backhand goal which was all the proof needed to understand why this guy should and will be a member of the Leafs for many years to come. Steen was sent in from a great tip pass by my favourite Leafs player, Niko Antropov. Later in the third, Steens work ethic got the puck over the blue line which returned the favour to send in Antropov for the clincher. 3-1, the game was done.
Honourable mention to Vesa, who has been between the pipes for the last 17 of 18 games, and he rebounded quite well from a disappointing game on Thursday. He had to come up big in the third to sustain the lead that the Leafs top line created. Belak was out there and played more minutes then he has seen for quite some time, but was very effective in the second period, joining the Moore/Kilger line, his speed and aggressiveness fit right in as he bounced Thrashers all night long, all night. The rest of the team was solid, and they did what they had to do against a pretty uninspired, uninterested Thrasher team.
I found it quite interesting to hear Bobby Holiks comments after this game, hear is a guy who spent the prime of his career winning Cups in Jersey, and in doing so, shutting down my Leafs on many crucial playoff evenings. His demeanour and attitude following the loss were that of an experienced veteran, he spoke quite frank about loosing to one of the bottom teams in the NHL standings, and made no mistake to ensure he repeated it over and over again. "If you can't beat one of the worst teams in the conference, we don't deserve it," said centre Bobby Holik. Then with a little smirk he said; "There's no room for excuses. Those are facts. We all know that we lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, and what else is there to say?" Holik made public a sentiment that is wide spread felt throughout the League and the HockeyFan World as a result of the many unsuccessful seasons here over the past 40 or so years. It is rare that a player makes this statement as boldly as Holik did, it is usually done by snubbing this team during the “Free Agency” period, but being in the twilight of his career, with rings on his fingers, I can understand Holik for saying what he did the way he did, and respect the confidence, experience and character of his conviction. On that same note, however true it may be, I hate what he said and the way he said it. In true Leafs fashion, it just fuels the fire of the passion that burns for every fan of the Maple Leafs, and hopefully the organization. This negative attitude was rampant in the 80’s to very early 90’s, this was the era that I began to follow the Maple Leafs, and just as numerous Habs fans and Leaf haters did when I was young, Bobby Holik crossed the line.
If I were Maurice, I would have that postgame Holik interview on repeat playing throughout that the trip to Ottawa, it the change room, everywhere and anywhere for the remainder of the season. We will then see the players who really want to be here, we will see the players who really understand what is at stake game in game out, we will see who is willing to go through walls to bring winning and respect back to this organisation, and while I am at it, I would have that same interview playing throughout MLSE headquarters, laying on Peddies and the Boards voice mail, right down the list to the ushers at the game. For as much as its the passion that unites us all, the hate unifies an even bigger group against.
Monday, versus the Senators, this is a game I want to win, sitting here at 1:30pm Sunday afternoon, I can only wonder if the same personal I watched on Saturday will be there on Monday night.
The Leafs battled the Thrashers last night with both teams having to deal with the extra-curricular; it was evident that the trade distractions were equally shared and after a meek first period. Ponikarovsky went down at the one minute mark from another questionable hit from the notorious Garnet Exelby, it resulted in rib injury that could keep the Poni Express away from any last minuet trades, and pushing the newly signed 1.7 million on the cap for the next two years Alexander Steen to the top line. I would have enjoyed seeing retribution agents Exelby in any way, but that hasn’t been norm for this Leafs team, an issue that I would love to see addressed. I was happy to see that Maurice went back to a 6 D man unit, even if it meant keeping White in the line-up, it was the right move after Whites performance as of late. It is the best way to get the most out of the D both offensively and defensively as the pairings are set and each player has a better understanding and comfort level of what is expected of himself and his D partner. Other then that, and another missed opportunity for our PK, the first ended with very little to cheer or jeer, and it was for the most part uneventful 1-0 game at that point.
The second started and it was only fitting that our captain opened the Leafs scoring to get the buds back on track. It great play by Antropov to spot an even better play by Wellwood sneaking into the slot, Wellwoods patented hesitation to freeze defenders and the keeper before sliding it to Mats for the goal was something I would have expected to see at least 30-50 times this season. The injury and re-injury that Wellwood sustained has keep this from happening on a regular basis, but in the last two weeks he has skated much faster and has been much stronger on his edges and has been getting to the corners and in front of the net with more regularity. These are spots that he needs to get to, and with continued health will come confidence, and ultimately this player will hit those spots and score with regularity. I am a big Wellwood fan, as I mentioned to fellow Leafer’hockeytape19’, I think Wellwood is a great player. When the Leafs drafted him I was very impressed, I knew he was traded for Spezza in the OHL so I knew he had talent. During the lockout year he was tremendous in the AHL, and in the next two years he proved that he could be a great player in this league, his size doesnt worry me because of his sense and skill, but he does have to improve his speed and defensive awareness if he wants to be competitve at C. As for this year it is a wash and should be forgoten, the injury he had is a very difficult injury to recover from, especially the mental side since he had the first opperation he had to get it re-done. As a result, I think his trust in the medical staff may have waivered a bit, which is why I think people, including his pops said he didnt work hard enough to get back. I have personaly had a similar injury, and it so difficult to train hard because of the lack of power and fear of doing more damage. That said, I think after the offseason, with continued commitment to training, he can regain his strength and be the player he can be. This is why it is paramount that this team re-sign Kyle in the same fashion that they did Steen, keeping the price and term down, as he has room to grow and we in Toronto should give him all the time to do so before having to deal with outside competition from his RFA status this July. The same applies to Stajan, giving our own picks the respect they deserve is vital to rebuilding this team now and into the future.
1-1 going into the third, even watching from home you could feel the buzz was back into the building, weather that has to do with the close game, or maybe it was due to the possibility that this was Sundins final period as a member of the Leafs. Either way the Maple Leafs came out of the gate storming, and two minuets in, Steen scored a backhand goal which was all the proof needed to understand why this guy should and will be a member of the Leafs for many years to come. Steen was sent in from a great tip pass by my favourite Leafs player, Niko Antropov. Later in the third, Steens work ethic got the puck over the blue line which returned the favour to send in Antropov for the clincher. 3-1, the game was done.
Honourable mention to Vesa, who has been between the pipes for the last 17 of 18 games, and he rebounded quite well from a disappointing game on Thursday. He had to come up big in the third to sustain the lead that the Leafs top line created. Belak was out there and played more minutes then he has seen for quite some time, but was very effective in the second period, joining the Moore/Kilger line, his speed and aggressiveness fit right in as he bounced Thrashers all night long, all night. The rest of the team was solid, and they did what they had to do against a pretty uninspired, uninterested Thrasher team.
I found it quite interesting to hear Bobby Holiks comments after this game, hear is a guy who spent the prime of his career winning Cups in Jersey, and in doing so, shutting down my Leafs on many crucial playoff evenings. His demeanour and attitude following the loss were that of an experienced veteran, he spoke quite frank about loosing to one of the bottom teams in the NHL standings, and made no mistake to ensure he repeated it over and over again. "If you can't beat one of the worst teams in the conference, we don't deserve it," said centre Bobby Holik. Then with a little smirk he said; "There's no room for excuses. Those are facts. We all know that we lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, and what else is there to say?" Holik made public a sentiment that is wide spread felt throughout the League and the HockeyFan World as a result of the many unsuccessful seasons here over the past 40 or so years. It is rare that a player makes this statement as boldly as Holik did, it is usually done by snubbing this team during the “Free Agency” period, but being in the twilight of his career, with rings on his fingers, I can understand Holik for saying what he did the way he did, and respect the confidence, experience and character of his conviction. On that same note, however true it may be, I hate what he said and the way he said it. In true Leafs fashion, it just fuels the fire of the passion that burns for every fan of the Maple Leafs, and hopefully the organization. This negative attitude was rampant in the 80’s to very early 90’s, this was the era that I began to follow the Maple Leafs, and just as numerous Habs fans and Leaf haters did when I was young, Bobby Holik crossed the line.
If I were Maurice, I would have that postgame Holik interview on repeat playing throughout that the trip to Ottawa, it the change room, everywhere and anywhere for the remainder of the season. We will then see the players who really want to be here, we will see the players who really understand what is at stake game in game out, we will see who is willing to go through walls to bring winning and respect back to this organisation, and while I am at it, I would have that same interview playing throughout MLSE headquarters, laying on Peddies and the Boards voice mail, right down the list to the ushers at the game. For as much as its the passion that unites us all, the hate unifies an even bigger group against.
Monday, versus the Senators, this is a game I want to win, sitting here at 1:30pm Sunday afternoon, I can only wonder if the same personal I watched on Saturday will be there on Monday night.
posted by LEAFER at
11:51 AM
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