Lightning 3 - Leafs 2 --overtime final-- 5 Points Out
Five Alive
On the first of what is a back to back in the schedule, the Maple Leafs finished up their visit to the Sunshine State much similarly to way Al Gore did in 2000, just a bit short. One can only wonder if the Chad we left hanging at Sunrise could have made a difference. Special teams were again a factor with the spotlight tonight on the PK, or lack there off. While I should have started by complaining about the officiating due to there being a weak holding call on Niko Antropov, and how Pav Kubina got one for using his hands to get up off the ice in OT, I wont, and I’ll digress, calls are made and missed throughout the game, on both teams, throughout the league, every night.
I mentioned in my previous blog about my desire to sure up the 6 D. Playing the lights out of the 4 horsemen; Kaberle, Kubina, Colaiacovo, and McCabe is common sense. As for the 5-6 slot, after a quick heads up play to first elude the fore-check, Ian White made a strong case for himself with a sensational pass up the middle to hit Jason Blake flying into the offensive zone, Blake fished the play fast and strong as he cut behind the defender to send the game into OT.
White still has to work on his down low game, numerous times in the second he failed to clear the zone that resulted in good scoring chances against, not to mention more then one giveaway in the neutral zone. That said, full credit to Maurice in this game for cutting his time and then having the valour to go back to him in the third, it secured us a point in the standings, which is worth a start versus the Capitals. As for Stralmen, his inexperience is ever glowing on the ice in games of this magnitude, he has yet to find a comfort level defensively as his is still trying to find himself offensively, only five points out this isn’t the time of year to play hide and seek. Jay Harrison or yes, Andy Woznieski should be back in the lineup as soon as you can say Washington. Either or would help the PK as insurance in the case one of the 4 Horsemen get the penalty against, as both are big lanky players who would also fill a void left by Gill 5on5
As for the PK, it needs to be more active; players need to be moving their feet and attacking, and they cannot do so while using the diamond system, it is too slow moving and forces our PK to sit and cautious wait for next move instead of forcing it. The second PP goal the Lightning scored was a bit of a fluke, but in the end all three goals against were scored on the PP. I am not knocking White, as a player his statue would have an impossible time trying to defend a 4on3 using a stagnate PK, he did everything possible and did a great job blocking that first shot before Boyle scored where seconds earlier Colaiacovo was a little slow to react to LaCavalier on the short side. The most pressing issue here is wondering what Maurice was saving his timeout for; resting the best available penalty killers after the Maple Leafs got a whistle halfway through the penalty would have been a wise decision. In conclusion to yet another defensive rant, White would be ahead of Stralmen in a battle for the 5th spot, and Harrison before Woznieski in the battle for the 6th spot.
Honourable mention tonight to Vesa, was strong in net as always, Kris Newbury stood up and had a spirited fight with the much bigger Janik that help set the table for what was a great third period. Jason Blake threw the body hard for the little guy, and wasn’t afraid to get dirty, Alex Steen for his huge goal, and Kyle Wellwood is skating stronger by the shift, he made a dandy move to the slot through three checkers. The total team effort to fight back in the third and gain a point is commendable and is reason why I still BeLEAF.
As I pack my things and head to Montreal tonight, I can only hope to find a bar showing the Leafs game tomorrow, I may be in luck seeing as how some Habs fans may want to watch Huet match his shutout performance from the night before. The Capitals are flying right now, and the team looks to be happy with the way ownership decided to push forward with big moves at the deadline acquiring Huet and Federov, at this point, it will indeed be the challenge of the year.
On the first of what is a back to back in the schedule, the Maple Leafs finished up their visit to the Sunshine State much similarly to way Al Gore did in 2000, just a bit short. One can only wonder if the Chad we left hanging at Sunrise could have made a difference. Special teams were again a factor with the spotlight tonight on the PK, or lack there off. While I should have started by complaining about the officiating due to there being a weak holding call on Niko Antropov, and how Pav Kubina got one for using his hands to get up off the ice in OT, I wont, and I’ll digress, calls are made and missed throughout the game, on both teams, throughout the league, every night.
I mentioned in my previous blog about my desire to sure up the 6 D. Playing the lights out of the 4 horsemen; Kaberle, Kubina, Colaiacovo, and McCabe is common sense. As for the 5-6 slot, after a quick heads up play to first elude the fore-check, Ian White made a strong case for himself with a sensational pass up the middle to hit Jason Blake flying into the offensive zone, Blake fished the play fast and strong as he cut behind the defender to send the game into OT.
White still has to work on his down low game, numerous times in the second he failed to clear the zone that resulted in good scoring chances against, not to mention more then one giveaway in the neutral zone. That said, full credit to Maurice in this game for cutting his time and then having the valour to go back to him in the third, it secured us a point in the standings, which is worth a start versus the Capitals. As for Stralmen, his inexperience is ever glowing on the ice in games of this magnitude, he has yet to find a comfort level defensively as his is still trying to find himself offensively, only five points out this isn’t the time of year to play hide and seek. Jay Harrison or yes, Andy Woznieski should be back in the lineup as soon as you can say Washington. Either or would help the PK as insurance in the case one of the 4 Horsemen get the penalty against, as both are big lanky players who would also fill a void left by Gill 5on5
As for the PK, it needs to be more active; players need to be moving their feet and attacking, and they cannot do so while using the diamond system, it is too slow moving and forces our PK to sit and cautious wait for next move instead of forcing it. The second PP goal the Lightning scored was a bit of a fluke, but in the end all three goals against were scored on the PP. I am not knocking White, as a player his statue would have an impossible time trying to defend a 4on3 using a stagnate PK, he did everything possible and did a great job blocking that first shot before Boyle scored where seconds earlier Colaiacovo was a little slow to react to LaCavalier on the short side. The most pressing issue here is wondering what Maurice was saving his timeout for; resting the best available penalty killers after the Maple Leafs got a whistle halfway through the penalty would have been a wise decision. In conclusion to yet another defensive rant, White would be ahead of Stralmen in a battle for the 5th spot, and Harrison before Woznieski in the battle for the 6th spot.
Honourable mention tonight to Vesa, was strong in net as always, Kris Newbury stood up and had a spirited fight with the much bigger Janik that help set the table for what was a great third period. Jason Blake threw the body hard for the little guy, and wasn’t afraid to get dirty, Alex Steen for his huge goal, and Kyle Wellwood is skating stronger by the shift, he made a dandy move to the slot through three checkers. The total team effort to fight back in the third and gain a point is commendable and is reason why I still BeLEAF.
As I pack my things and head to Montreal tonight, I can only hope to find a bar showing the Leafs game tomorrow, I may be in luck seeing as how some Habs fans may want to watch Huet match his shutout performance from the night before. The Capitals are flying right now, and the team looks to be happy with the way ownership decided to push forward with big moves at the deadline acquiring Huet and Federov, at this point, it will indeed be the challenge of the year.
posted by LEAFER at
9:18 PM
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