After a heartbreaking loss in overtime last night in Toronto. The Leafs must regroup for the second game in the back to back series with Ottawa. The Senators who jetted out immediately after the game to be home to wake up with their wives and spend some quality time before the morning skate. The Leafs lamented another loss while drinking to the wee hours of the morning in the dressing room as if they were a pick up team who didn't have to worry about another team needing the room. They will fly in to Ottawa after a morning skate tomorrow.
Toronto should be starting Toskola in net for game two to see if he is money well spent. Coach Maurice will be in a pickle for game three of the season if Toronto are to lose in Ottawa. This reporter thinks he should just name Raycroft heads and Toskola tails and flip a coin on game day to decide who gets to see the rubber come their way.
A good game from the number one line at the ACC. They filled the net twice in the first period to the delight of the fans. After scoring his second goal, we thought Antropov may have tweaked his knee in the celebration as he is prone to injury. Sundin still needing two goals to become the all time Leaf goal scorer tallied a couple of helpers. Blake looked like money in the bank as he was flying on the ice. Note to Raycroft: Close your pads when you see a shot coming towards the net.
Sundin will score 2 tonight
London 2005
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
After a heartbreaking loss in overtime last night in Toronto. The Leafs must regroup for the second game in the back to back series with Ottawa. The Senators who jetted out immediately after the game to be home to wake up with their wives and spend some quality time before the morning skate. The Leafs lamented another loss while drinking to the wee hours of the morning in the dressing room as if they were a pick up team who didn't have to worry about another team needing the room. They will fly in to Ottawa after a morning skate tomorrow.
Toronto should be starting Toskola in net for game two to see if he is money well spent. Coach Maurice will be in a pickle for game three of the season if Toronto are to lose in Ottawa. This reporter thinks he should just name Raycroft heads and Toskola tails and flip a coin on game day to decide who gets to see the rubber come their way.
A good game from the number one line at the ACC. They filled the net twice in the first period to the delight of the fans. After scoring his second goal, we thought Antropov may have tweaked his knee in the celebration as he is prone to injury. Sundin still needing two goals to become the all time Leaf goal scorer tallied a couple of helpers. Blake looked like money in the bank as he was flying on the ice. Note to Raycroft: Close your pads when you see a shot coming towards the net.
This should be a regular feature on Laff's game day.
Ottawa looked absolutely terrible last night, and there was so many bs penalties and missed calls (I thought you had to hit the puck before the skater to avoid tripping or a penalty shot? Well a stick isn't a puck...) I thought I was watching a Hab's game.
WTF is up with Gerber dishing out 20 foot rebounds?? Fak. Ottawa got lucky last night.
Hehe, I still don't have internet at home (supposed to be hooked up today, but it's the second appointment so chances are we'll miss it as we did the first one, stupid utility companies...) so you might want to stop by on Monday instead!
Of course, if the Laffs win, you might not see me till he forgets about it :P
Hehe, I still don't have internet at home (supposed to be hooked up today, but it's the second appointment so chances are we'll miss it as we did the first one, stupid utility companies...) so you might want to stop by on Monday instead!
Of course, if the Laffs win, you might not see me till he forgets about it :P
my comp iin long island s messed up at times also ,,
my comp iin long island s messed up at times also ,,
I just moved so they were supposed to hook up their shitty internet service on Wednesday, but tell you when they're going to come (12-5 afternoon appointment) and you tell them 'Well I can't be there till 3" they say ok and show up at 12.
Fucking utilities. No fn' way would I take a day off work to accomodate their ass. They don't pay me, I pay them.
Hehe, I still don't have internet at home (supposed to be hooked up today, but it's the second appointment so chances are we'll miss it as we did the first one, stupid utility companies...) so you might want to stop by on Monday instead!
Of course, if the Laffs win, you might not see me till he forgets about it :P
Snow storm on the east coast hindering your hook up?
Canadiens-Maple Leafs PreviewOct 6, 2007, 7:00 PM ET
TV Information
National TV:
CBC (HD),RDS (HD)
The Montreal Canadiens were the best power-play team in the NHL last season, and in their first game of 2007-08, they showed no signs of letting up.
The Canadiens will be looking to take advantage of the Maple Leafs' penalty kill Saturday when the rivals square off in Toronto.
Montreal (1-0-0) led the league in power-play percentage last season, converting 22.8 percent of its chances. The Canadiens power-play unit picked up where it let off in Wednesday's season opener, scoring all of the team's goals with the man advantage in a 3-2 overtime win over Carolina.
Saku Koivu, who ranked third on the team last season with 11 power-play goals, had two against the Hurricanes.
"Today it worked," Koivu said of the power-play unit. "We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves ... (but) the power play is a big part. Just don't expect us to score three power-play goals every game. It is a good start. If you can chip in once in a while with the power plays, it's going to make your job a little bit easier."
Now, the Canadiens will be trying to take advantage of a Toronto team that struggled against the man advantage last season. The Maple Leafs (0-1-1) killed off only 78.5 percent of their opponents' power-play chances, ranking 27th in the NHL.
Toronto allowed two power-play goals on 10 chances in Thursday's 3-2 loss in Ottawa. The Maple Leafs have dropped each of their first two games, both against the Senators.
Montreal scored eight power-play goals in 35 chances against Toronto last season, a 22.9 percent conversion rate. However, the Maple Leafs were even better with the power- play, scoring 13 goals on 43 chances, a 30.2 percent rate.
This season, Toronto has failed to score on 14 power-play chances.
Mats Sundin and Matt Stajan scored goals 32 seconds apart for Toronto in Thursday's defeat. Sundin's goal was his 389th with the Maple Leafs, tying Darryl Sittler's franchise record.
Vesa Toskala made his Maple Leafs debut after being acquired in the offseason and stopped 26 shots. He looked sharp after going 0-3-0 with a 4.69 goals-against average and an .854 save percentage in the preseason.
Coach Paul Maurice has not announced whether Toskala or Andrew Raycroft, who gave up four goals in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss, would start against the Canadiens.
Mark Streit also scored and Andrei Markov had two assists Wednesday for Montreal, which won its first game for the 48th time since joining the NHL in 1917. The Canadiens have gone on to reach the playoffs after 43 of their previous 47 season-opening victories.
"Obviously, you build confidence with every win and when you play a tough team like them, it is a good thing," Koivu said.
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs just missed the playoffs last season. Montreal was 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, while Toronto was one point ahead of the Canadiens with 91.
That's a stretch. Those two teams looked like an AHL game out there. They were both terrible with the only exceptions being Toskola, who looked really really good (good enough to say if Raycroft was in instead the result would have been much much different), and Plekanec, who worked like a horse but still couldn't seem to aim anywhere except the goalie's logo.
If the Habs are going to play like that, they deserve the loss. Leafs too, but I suppose one of two losers needs a win.
On a more serious note, Blake has leukemia, which in his case has a very good outlook. I don't think this will hurt the team's play. In fact, I think it'll have the exact opposite (see Koivu vs Boston). Good luck to him.
And a good laugh at the typical Leaf fandom/media coverage - Blake without a goal in his first three games, obviously his signing was a mistake!
That's a stretch. Those two teams looked like an AHL game out there. They were both terrible with the only exceptions being Toskola, who looked really really good (good enough to say if Raycroft was in instead the result would have been much much different), and Plekanec, who worked like a horse but still couldn't seem to aim anywhere except the goalie's logo.
If the Habs are going to play like that, they deserve the loss. Leafs too, but I suppose one of two losers needs a win.
On a more serious note, Blake has leukemia, which in his case has a very good outlook. I don't think this will hurt the team's play. In fact, I think it'll have the exact opposite (see Koivu vs Boston). Good luck to him.
And a good laugh at the typical Leaf fandom/media coverage - Blake without a goal in his first three games, obviously his signing was a mistake!
You win this round Kenny. 7 more to go.
Good read from the star, thanks for that
London 2005
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Leafs Look To Make It Two Straight Oct 9, 2007, 7:00 PM ET
TV Information
National TV:
VERSUS (HD),RIS
Local Home:
SNET-O
Here are the Leafs lines from the morning skate:
Forwards
Nik Antropov - Mats Sundin - Jason Blake
Alex Steen - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky
Boyd Devereaux - Chad Kilger - Darcy Tucker
Wade Belak - Kris Newbury - Bates Battaglia
Defence
Bryan McCabe - Ian White
Tomas Kaberle - Pavel Kubina
Hal Gill - Andy Wozniewski
Goalies
Vesa Toskala
Andrew Raycroft
Goaltender Vesa Toskala battled for playing time on his first NHL team. His chance to be a No. 1 goalie may have finally arrived with his new club.
Toskala is expected to start when the Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1-1) host the Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-1) on Tuesday.
Although he has not won the job away from Andrew Raycroft completely, the Maple Leafs will likely give Toskala most of the playing time for now.
"Our goal here is to have one of our two goalies hot all the time," Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "We want to keep our hockey team in a position to do that. I won't leave anybody out too, too long, but at the same time when a guy's playing well - a guy's playing well."
Toskala got off to a good start in winning his first home appearance with Toronto, stopping 25 shots in a 4-3 victory over Montreal on Saturday.
Toskala made 26 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss at Ottawa on Thursday in his Maple Leafs debut. The 30-year-old goalie was acquired from San Jose in June along with forward Mark Bell for three draft picks.
In six seasons with the Sharks, Toskala split time with Evgeni Nabokov, never playing more than 38 games. He did, however, go 49-17-5 with a 2.45 goals-against average over the 2005-06 and '06-'07 seasons.
"He's a great goaltender," new Leafs forward Jason Blake said of Toskala, who's 0-2-0 with a 3.03 GAA against Carolina. "There's no question about it."
Blake revealed some stunning news Monday, announcing he has a rare form of leukemia that is highly treatable. The 34-year-old player said he has begun treatment and will still be able to perform at a high level. He made his condition public after talking to teammates at practice.
He said he has started taking a pill daily that "has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer."
"The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life," he said in a statement on the team's Web site.
Blake is in no immediate danger and shouldn't miss any playing time, according to team doctors.
Blake scored 40 goals last season for the New York Islanders and signed a $20 million, five-year deal with Toronto in the offseason.
The Leafs added Blake with the hope that he could provide offensive support to captain Mats Sundin, who's on the verge of setting two team records. Sundin is tied with Darryl Sittler for the franchise mark in goals with 389, and the center needs one point to match Sittler's 916 for the most in Maple Leafs history.
Sundin has a point in all three games this season, totaling a goal and five assists. He recorded three assists against Montreal.
Sundin has 30 goals and 36 assists in 61 games against the Hurricanes franchise.
Toronto has struggled on the power play so far, going 0-for-17 before Tomas Kaberle scored with 1:34 left in overtime against the Canadiens.
"We worked hard for it," forward Alexei Ponikarovsky said. "The first two games we've been working hard but didn't get the results we wanted."
Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette saw his team open a six-game road trip with a 2-0 defeat to Washington on Saturday.
"We showed more spark in the third period," Laviolette said, "but it's too little too late."
While the Leafs have had problems with the man advantage, the Hurricanes have allowed five power-play goals in 18 chances. They went 0-for-4 on the power play Saturday and have scored on only two extra-man opportunities this season.
"We were sitting on our heels," Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley said. "We obviously didn't play to our potential."
Forward Eric Staal has a goal in each of his last three visits to Toronto and has totaled seven points in his past four games at the Air Canada Centre.
The Hurricanes' Cam Ward is 2-3-1 with a 3.79 GAA in six starts against the Maple Leafs, who took three of four meetings last season and won the last two by a combined 10-2.
They ain't goin' pitch an 0 for this season Kenny.
How dare Ry post after that threat of a Montreal loss.
Gotta take your licks if you expect to be dishing from the other side of the coin in the (near) future. I'll say that Brisebois looked so much better than Hamrlik....and Brisebois didn't look that great, so way to go on spending too much money on nothing BG.
TORONTO -- The positive vibes that winning spawn have returned to the Carolina Hurricanes dressing room.
They disappeared last season when they missed the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous spring.
``When we won, everything was easy, and when we lost it was a battle,'' says left-winger Cory Stillman. ``You could see it on our faces when you watch video of last year.
``Guys were dragging through the season. But now we're excited to be back. We're a stronger team. Everybody is healthy and ready to play.''
They certainly looked Tuesday night like a team ready to climb back into the NHL playoffs.
Justin Williams, Cory Stillman, Matt Cullen, Ray Whitney, Scott Walker, Jeff Hamilton and Eric Staal all scored on Vesa Toskala in a 7-1 Hurricanes romp.
Bryan McCabe was the only Leaf who could put a puck behind Cam Ward.
Mats Sundin's assist on McCabe's goal was his 916th point as a Leaf, tying him with Darryl Sittler for the club record, but that was long forgotten by the time Carolina had scored its seven consecutive goals.
``Well, it was a flat effort by the whole group and that's it,'' said Sundin. ``Really, there's no excuses to have an effort like that.
``It's not like we're in the middle of a tough schedule. We just weren't good and that's the bottom line. It was bad, it was frustrating, but we have to go and get ready for Thursday (and a game against the visiting New York Islanders).''
The Hurricanes, who play in Ottawa on Thursday, were angry at themselves for a 2-0 loss in Washington last Saturday and took it out on the Leafs.
``Sometimes you really need a reminder of how hard it is to win in this league,'' said Williams.
Stillman, making his season debut after missing Carolina's first three games after being shaken up in an auto accident, Williams, Cullen and Rod Brind'Amour each picked up two assists.
``Our top three lines are as potent as any in the league,'' said Williams. ``We're hoping this win will be a springboard to more offensive production.''
Senators, beware.
Four of Carolina's goals came on power plays. Coach Peter Laviolette is using five forwards when his team has an extra skater.
``When the other team is coming at our two forwards at the back end it's nail-biting time but the flip side of that is we've got five dangerous players on the ice,'' said Laviolette.
When the game began, the thoughts of all the Leafs and of the announced crowd of 19,224 were with Jason Blake, who let his teammates know Monday that he has chronic myelogenous leukemia, which is a slow-growing cancer of the white blood cells caused by an abnormal chromosome in cells in the body's bone marrow. Among symptoms experienced by the 34-year-old Minnesotan is fatigue but he intends to continue playing hockey. He's taking oral medication and will undergo weekly blood tests.
Blake didn't look the least bit fatigued when he slammed Tim Gleason against the end boards in the opening minute.
Toronto had a two-man advantage when McCabe opened the scoring at 4:21. Sundin sent a cross-ice pass into the circle to the left of the net and McCabe instantaneously smashed the puck behind Ward.
That would be it for the Leafs highlights.
``We didn't play our best, not even close,'' Toskala offered.
``They kept coming at us,'' said Matt Stajan. ``We had a number of turnovers . . . it was like shinny hockey out there.''
Williams tied it at 6:46 when, from the circle to the left of Toskala, he picked the top short-side corner of the net with a wrist shot as the goalie was dropping to his knees.
Stillman put Carolina ahead to stay with a power-play goal 23.8 seconds before the first intermission when, from the side of the net, he tapped a rebound off Toskala and into the net.
``At the start, I was a step behind,'' Stillman said afterwards. ``As the game went on, I felt a lot better and I felt more comfortable with the puck.''
With Carolina carrying the play as the second period wore on, Leafs coach Paul Maurice tried to get something going by moving Alexei Ponikarovsky up to the first line with Sundin and Nik Antropov and shifting Blake alongside Stajan and Alex Steen. The change had sparked a come-from-behind win over Montreal on Saturday and Maurice was hoping for a repeat.
The Hurricanes were too sharp to let it happen and dominated the rest of the way.
Cullen deflected in a Stillman pass on a power-play goal at 11:41 of the second, Whitney slipped a slider between Toskala's legs on a breakaway at 17:23, Walker smacked the puck into an open side of net on the power play at 1:35 of the third, Hamilton added yet another Carolina power-play goal at 5:07 with a slap shot from the middle of the zone, and Staal reached from behind the net to squeeze the puck between the post and Toskala's left skate at 14:07.
The Hurricanes had been angry at themselves for losing 2-0 in Washington on Saturday.
``The other night, we got beat to every loose puck and we lost every battle and (Tuesday) we were prepared to play right from the get-go,'' said Stillman.
He's from Peterborough, Ont., and always loves the trips north.
``It's fun coming back to play in Toronto,'' said Stillman.
It was anything but fun for the Leafs on this night, and Maurice admitted to being surprised by the woeful effort.
``You can't get beat like that and not be surprised,'' he said. ``We were in the game until late in the second period, then they got that fourth goal and we were in a world of trouble.
``We tried to play someone else's game, and that's a mistake. We don't have their speed or transition game. We do other things well, but we don't have their speed.''
Notes: Carolina outshot Toronto 39-28 ... On power plays, Toronto was 1-for-5 and Carolina was 4-for-8 ... Carolina improved to 2-1-1 while Toronto slipped to 1-2-1 ... Blake's wife, Sara, had surgery for thyroid cancer six years ago ... GM John Ferguson says Blake's US$20-million, five-year contract is insured for health matters ... Sundin remained tied with Sittler at 389 for the club goals record. His assist tied him with Sittler at 527 for second place in assists in club history. Borje Salming owns the record with 620 ... Tucker hasn't earned a point in Toronto's four games ... Wade Belak has been a healthy scratch for all four Toronto games ... The Leafs play at home Thursday against the New York Islanders and Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and are in Buffalo on Monday.
Three star selections:
1st: MATT CULLEN
2nd: JUSTIN WILLIAMS
3rd: RAY WHITNEY
Comments
Sundin will score 2 tonight
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Alfredson - Must have a laser on his stick to pick corners like that.
Sundin - Way to go! One more goal and a couple of more points and you will be "the Leaf".
Gill - Should be wearing number 23 as he plays as poorly as Todd did.
I can't believe you can't even breathe near a goalie in the modern league. The goal the Leafs had called back was brutal.
All in all, the Laughs need Columbus to come to town so they can feel good about themselves.
This should be a regular feature on Laff's game day.
Ottawa looked absolutely terrible last night, and there was so many bs penalties and missed calls (I thought you had to hit the puck before the skater to avoid tripping or a penalty shot? Well a stick isn't a puck...) I thought I was watching a Hab's game.
WTF is up with Gerber dishing out 20 foot rebounds?? Fak. Ottawa got lucky last night.
Yep, should be a pretty fast paced game.
We will get our first win on Saturday
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Hahaha, maybe!
The last two seasons have been in the favor of the Habs though, so we'll see.
After that comment, I'm definitely going to rip you a new one if you don't.
i must remember to stop here on sunday b4 fishing
Hehe, I still don't have internet at home (supposed to be hooked up today, but it's the second appointment so chances are we'll miss it as we did the first one, stupid utility companies...) so you might want to stop by on Monday instead!
Of course, if the Laffs win, you might not see me till he forgets about it :P
my comp iin long island s messed up at times also ,,
I just moved so they were supposed to hook up their shitty internet service on Wednesday, but tell you when they're going to come (12-5 afternoon appointment) and you tell them 'Well I can't be there till 3" they say ok and show up at 12.
Fucking utilities. No fn' way would I take a day off work to accomodate their ass. They don't pay me, I pay them.
Snow storm on the east coast hindering your hook up?
Pay attention to the weather much? We aren't too far behind your 30° arses.
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Of course I do. I was just tossing a little fun your way.
Yeah I know, that's the best I could come up with at the time.
TV Information
National TV:
CBC (HD),RDS (HD)
The Montreal Canadiens were the best power-play team in the NHL last season, and in their first game of 2007-08, they showed no signs of letting up.
The Canadiens will be looking to take advantage of the Maple Leafs' penalty kill Saturday when the rivals square off in Toronto.
Montreal (1-0-0) led the league in power-play percentage last season, converting 22.8 percent of its chances. The Canadiens power-play unit picked up where it let off in Wednesday's season opener, scoring all of the team's goals with the man advantage in a 3-2 overtime win over Carolina.
Saku Koivu, who ranked third on the team last season with 11 power-play goals, had two against the Hurricanes.
"Today it worked," Koivu said of the power-play unit. "We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves ... (but) the power play is a big part. Just don't expect us to score three power-play goals every game. It is a good start. If you can chip in once in a while with the power plays, it's going to make your job a little bit easier."
Now, the Canadiens will be trying to take advantage of a Toronto team that struggled against the man advantage last season. The Maple Leafs (0-1-1) killed off only 78.5 percent of their opponents' power-play chances, ranking 27th in the NHL.
Toronto allowed two power-play goals on 10 chances in Thursday's 3-2 loss in Ottawa. The Maple Leafs have dropped each of their first two games, both against the Senators.
Montreal scored eight power-play goals in 35 chances against Toronto last season, a 22.9 percent conversion rate. However, the Maple Leafs were even better with the power- play, scoring 13 goals on 43 chances, a 30.2 percent rate.
This season, Toronto has failed to score on 14 power-play chances.
Mats Sundin and Matt Stajan scored goals 32 seconds apart for Toronto in Thursday's defeat. Sundin's goal was his 389th with the Maple Leafs, tying Darryl Sittler's franchise record.
Vesa Toskala made his Maple Leafs debut after being acquired in the offseason and stopped 26 shots. He looked sharp after going 0-3-0 with a 4.69 goals-against average and an .854 save percentage in the preseason.
Coach Paul Maurice has not announced whether Toskala or Andrew Raycroft, who gave up four goals in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss, would start against the Canadiens.
Mark Streit also scored and Andrei Markov had two assists Wednesday for Montreal, which won its first game for the 48th time since joining the NHL in 1917. The Canadiens have gone on to reach the playoffs after 43 of their previous 47 season-opening victories.
"Obviously, you build confidence with every win and when you play a tough team like them, it is a good thing," Koivu said.
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs just missed the playoffs last season. Montreal was 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, while Toronto was one point ahead of the Canadiens with 91.
Associated Press
http://www.mapleleafs.com
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
That's a stretch. Those two teams looked like an AHL game out there. They were both terrible with the only exceptions being Toskola, who looked really really good (good enough to say if Raycroft was in instead the result would have been much much different), and Plekanec, who worked like a horse but still couldn't seem to aim anywhere except the goalie's logo.
If the Habs are going to play like that, they deserve the loss. Leafs too, but I suppose one of two losers needs a win.
On a more serious note, Blake has leukemia, which in his case has a very good outlook. I don't think this will hurt the team's play. In fact, I think it'll have the exact opposite (see Koivu vs Boston). Good luck to him.
And a good laugh at the typical Leaf fandom/media coverage - Blake without a goal in his first three games, obviously his signing was a mistake!
You win this round Kenny. 7 more to go.
Good read from the star, thanks for that
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
TV Information
National TV:
VERSUS (HD),RIS
Local Home:
SNET-O
Here are the Leafs lines from the morning skate:
Forwards
Nik Antropov - Mats Sundin - Jason Blake
Alex Steen - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky
Boyd Devereaux - Chad Kilger - Darcy Tucker
Wade Belak - Kris Newbury - Bates Battaglia
Defence
Bryan McCabe - Ian White
Tomas Kaberle - Pavel Kubina
Hal Gill - Andy Wozniewski
Goalies
Vesa Toskala
Andrew Raycroft
Goaltender Vesa Toskala battled for playing time on his first NHL team. His chance to be a No. 1 goalie may have finally arrived with his new club.
Toskala is expected to start when the Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1-1) host the Carolina Hurricanes (1-1-1) on Tuesday.
Although he has not won the job away from Andrew Raycroft completely, the Maple Leafs will likely give Toskala most of the playing time for now.
"Our goal here is to have one of our two goalies hot all the time," Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "We want to keep our hockey team in a position to do that. I won't leave anybody out too, too long, but at the same time when a guy's playing well - a guy's playing well."
Toskala got off to a good start in winning his first home appearance with Toronto, stopping 25 shots in a 4-3 victory over Montreal on Saturday.
Toskala made 26 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss at Ottawa on Thursday in his Maple Leafs debut. The 30-year-old goalie was acquired from San Jose in June along with forward Mark Bell for three draft picks.
In six seasons with the Sharks, Toskala split time with Evgeni Nabokov, never playing more than 38 games. He did, however, go 49-17-5 with a 2.45 goals-against average over the 2005-06 and '06-'07 seasons.
"He's a great goaltender," new Leafs forward Jason Blake said of Toskala, who's 0-2-0 with a 3.03 GAA against Carolina. "There's no question about it."
Blake revealed some stunning news Monday, announcing he has a rare form of leukemia that is highly treatable. The 34-year-old player said he has begun treatment and will still be able to perform at a high level. He made his condition public after talking to teammates at practice.
He said he has started taking a pill daily that "has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer."
"The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life," he said in a statement on the team's Web site.
Blake is in no immediate danger and shouldn't miss any playing time, according to team doctors.
Blake scored 40 goals last season for the New York Islanders and signed a $20 million, five-year deal with Toronto in the offseason.
The Leafs added Blake with the hope that he could provide offensive support to captain Mats Sundin, who's on the verge of setting two team records. Sundin is tied with Darryl Sittler for the franchise mark in goals with 389, and the center needs one point to match Sittler's 916 for the most in Maple Leafs history.
Sundin has a point in all three games this season, totaling a goal and five assists. He recorded three assists against Montreal.
Sundin has 30 goals and 36 assists in 61 games against the Hurricanes franchise.
Toronto has struggled on the power play so far, going 0-for-17 before Tomas Kaberle scored with 1:34 left in overtime against the Canadiens.
"We worked hard for it," forward Alexei Ponikarovsky said. "The first two games we've been working hard but didn't get the results we wanted."
Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette saw his team open a six-game road trip with a 2-0 defeat to Washington on Saturday.
"We showed more spark in the third period," Laviolette said, "but it's too little too late."
While the Leafs have had problems with the man advantage, the Hurricanes have allowed five power-play goals in 18 chances. They went 0-for-4 on the power play Saturday and have scored on only two extra-man opportunities this season.
"We were sitting on our heels," Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley said. "We obviously didn't play to our potential."
Forward Eric Staal has a goal in each of his last three visits to Toronto and has totaled seven points in his past four games at the Air Canada Centre.
The Hurricanes' Cam Ward is 2-3-1 with a 3.79 GAA in six starts against the Maple Leafs, who took three of four meetings last season and won the last two by a combined 10-2.
Associated Press
http://www.mapleleafs.com
Toronto 2011 night 2
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How dare Ry post after that threat of a Montreal loss.
o baby i love the nhl package
I'm hoping for 2 in a row
Toronto 2011 night 2
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London 2013
You are like a hurricane, there's calm in your eyes, do do do, and I'm gettin' blown away........
Gotta take your licks if you expect to be dishing from the other side of the coin in the (near) future. I'll say that Brisebois looked so much better than Hamrlik....and Brisebois didn't look that great, so way to go on spending too much money on nothing BG.
Good follow up last night, Laffs.
TORONTO -- The positive vibes that winning spawn have returned to the Carolina Hurricanes dressing room.
They disappeared last season when they missed the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous spring.
``When we won, everything was easy, and when we lost it was a battle,'' says left-winger Cory Stillman. ``You could see it on our faces when you watch video of last year.
``Guys were dragging through the season. But now we're excited to be back. We're a stronger team. Everybody is healthy and ready to play.''
They certainly looked Tuesday night like a team ready to climb back into the NHL playoffs.
Justin Williams, Cory Stillman, Matt Cullen, Ray Whitney, Scott Walker, Jeff Hamilton and Eric Staal all scored on Vesa Toskala in a 7-1 Hurricanes romp.
Bryan McCabe was the only Leaf who could put a puck behind Cam Ward.
Mats Sundin's assist on McCabe's goal was his 916th point as a Leaf, tying him with Darryl Sittler for the club record, but that was long forgotten by the time Carolina had scored its seven consecutive goals.
``Well, it was a flat effort by the whole group and that's it,'' said Sundin. ``Really, there's no excuses to have an effort like that.
``It's not like we're in the middle of a tough schedule. We just weren't good and that's the bottom line. It was bad, it was frustrating, but we have to go and get ready for Thursday (and a game against the visiting New York Islanders).''
The Hurricanes, who play in Ottawa on Thursday, were angry at themselves for a 2-0 loss in Washington last Saturday and took it out on the Leafs.
``Sometimes you really need a reminder of how hard it is to win in this league,'' said Williams.
Stillman, making his season debut after missing Carolina's first three games after being shaken up in an auto accident, Williams, Cullen and Rod Brind'Amour each picked up two assists.
``Our top three lines are as potent as any in the league,'' said Williams. ``We're hoping this win will be a springboard to more offensive production.''
Senators, beware.
Four of Carolina's goals came on power plays. Coach Peter Laviolette is using five forwards when his team has an extra skater.
``When the other team is coming at our two forwards at the back end it's nail-biting time but the flip side of that is we've got five dangerous players on the ice,'' said Laviolette.
When the game began, the thoughts of all the Leafs and of the announced crowd of 19,224 were with Jason Blake, who let his teammates know Monday that he has chronic myelogenous leukemia, which is a slow-growing cancer of the white blood cells caused by an abnormal chromosome in cells in the body's bone marrow. Among symptoms experienced by the 34-year-old Minnesotan is fatigue but he intends to continue playing hockey. He's taking oral medication and will undergo weekly blood tests.
Blake didn't look the least bit fatigued when he slammed Tim Gleason against the end boards in the opening minute.
Toronto had a two-man advantage when McCabe opened the scoring at 4:21. Sundin sent a cross-ice pass into the circle to the left of the net and McCabe instantaneously smashed the puck behind Ward.
That would be it for the Leafs highlights.
``We didn't play our best, not even close,'' Toskala offered.
``They kept coming at us,'' said Matt Stajan. ``We had a number of turnovers . . . it was like shinny hockey out there.''
Williams tied it at 6:46 when, from the circle to the left of Toskala, he picked the top short-side corner of the net with a wrist shot as the goalie was dropping to his knees.
Stillman put Carolina ahead to stay with a power-play goal 23.8 seconds before the first intermission when, from the side of the net, he tapped a rebound off Toskala and into the net.
``At the start, I was a step behind,'' Stillman said afterwards. ``As the game went on, I felt a lot better and I felt more comfortable with the puck.''
With Carolina carrying the play as the second period wore on, Leafs coach Paul Maurice tried to get something going by moving Alexei Ponikarovsky up to the first line with Sundin and Nik Antropov and shifting Blake alongside Stajan and Alex Steen. The change had sparked a come-from-behind win over Montreal on Saturday and Maurice was hoping for a repeat.
The Hurricanes were too sharp to let it happen and dominated the rest of the way.
Cullen deflected in a Stillman pass on a power-play goal at 11:41 of the second, Whitney slipped a slider between Toskala's legs on a breakaway at 17:23, Walker smacked the puck into an open side of net on the power play at 1:35 of the third, Hamilton added yet another Carolina power-play goal at 5:07 with a slap shot from the middle of the zone, and Staal reached from behind the net to squeeze the puck between the post and Toskala's left skate at 14:07.
The Hurricanes had been angry at themselves for losing 2-0 in Washington on Saturday.
``The other night, we got beat to every loose puck and we lost every battle and (Tuesday) we were prepared to play right from the get-go,'' said Stillman.
He's from Peterborough, Ont., and always loves the trips north.
``It's fun coming back to play in Toronto,'' said Stillman.
It was anything but fun for the Leafs on this night, and Maurice admitted to being surprised by the woeful effort.
``You can't get beat like that and not be surprised,'' he said. ``We were in the game until late in the second period, then they got that fourth goal and we were in a world of trouble.
``We tried to play someone else's game, and that's a mistake. We don't have their speed or transition game. We do other things well, but we don't have their speed.''
Notes: Carolina outshot Toronto 39-28 ... On power plays, Toronto was 1-for-5 and Carolina was 4-for-8 ... Carolina improved to 2-1-1 while Toronto slipped to 1-2-1 ... Blake's wife, Sara, had surgery for thyroid cancer six years ago ... GM John Ferguson says Blake's US$20-million, five-year contract is insured for health matters ... Sundin remained tied with Sittler at 389 for the club goals record. His assist tied him with Sittler at 527 for second place in assists in club history. Borje Salming owns the record with 620 ... Tucker hasn't earned a point in Toronto's four games ... Wade Belak has been a healthy scratch for all four Toronto games ... The Leafs play at home Thursday against the New York Islanders and Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and are in Buffalo on Monday.
Three star selections:
1st: MATT CULLEN
2nd: JUSTIN WILLIAMS
3rd: RAY WHITNEY
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20072008>ype=2&gnum=39
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013