TORONTO - The home schedule for October is in the books for the Toronto Maple Leafs and it's far from pretty.
Three wins out of nine home dates - and a chorus of boos to cap it off Monday night following a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Capitals.
"Just collectively, for some reason, we're very fragile at home," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said following the latest loss at Air Canada Centre.
Alexander Ovechkin scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season as the Caps pounded the enigmatic Leafs before an angry crowd of 19,316.
"We played very well tonight, all four lines played well, everybody scored and our goalie played well," said Ovechkin, who now has nine goals in nine career games against the Leafs. "I think we deserved tonight's win."
No argument there, Alex.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Leafs (5-5-3), who looked nothing like the squad that picked up impressive victories in Pittsburgh and Manhattan heading into Monday's game. Instead, it was the defensively challenged edition of the Leafs that re-surfaced, featuring poor defensive zone coverage, sloppy play and stupid penalties.
"How do I explain it? I can't," said Sundin. "Just too many breakdowns all over the ice . We did a lot of good things on the road but it seems we're tight at home, we try to do too much."
That's exactly what Leafs head coach Paul Maurice also offered up, criticizing his players for trying to make too many difficult plays when the simpler ones were there instead. Why not chip it off the boards instead of trying a perfect pass up the middle, for example?
"Clearly there's still difficulty in accepting to play a simple game," said Maurice. "We just continued to try and make plays that weren't there."
The Leafs have now given up an NHL-high 51 goals on the season while offering up their worst play at home (3-4-2) where they now have a pair of 7-1 homes losses on their docket, also getting routed by Carolina on Oct. 9.
"It we're going to be a playoff team we need to win at home," said Sundin.
The home fans didn't hide their disappointment, soundly booing the Leafs as they left the ice both at the end of the second period and at the final buzzer and several times in-between. They also gave goalie Andrew Raycroft, who replaced starter Vesa Toskala after Washington's fourth goal, several mock cheers after easy saves in the second and third period.
By the time the third period started, at least one third of the Air Canada Centre was empty and one small section could be heard chanting "Let's Go Raptors!". The NBA season starts Wednesday for Toronto's club.
Perhaps a return to the road is what's needed for the Leafs and that's just what's on tap, a four-game set starting Friday at New Jersey followed by Saturday at Montreal, next Tuesday at Ottawa and Friday, Nov. 9, at Buffalo.
"We just have to bounce back and play like we did the last two games on the road," said Toskala.
It got ugly right in the opening period Monday. Gordon, standing alone in front of the net, re-directed a Bradley pass to make it 1-0 at 3:19. Ponikarvosky gave the home fans some false hope when he tied it 1-1 just 31 seconds later, only to see Pettinger give the Caps the lead for good at 5:26 when he flipped a rebound over Toskala on a Caps power play.
Ovechkin made it 3-1 at 11:57 when he rifled a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle right through Toskala's glove side. Schultz was then allowed to skate into the slot untouched two minutes later and ring a shot off the post and in. The boos began and chased Toskala to the bench, His night was over, but he was hardly the worst player on the ice, his team outshot 13-3 at this point.
Bradley beat Raycroft with a slap shot while short-handed 8:57 into the second period to make it 5-1 and by now it was clear there would be no Leafs comeback on this night. Ovechkin made it 6-1 at 11:09 when his power-play blast from the point beat Raycroft five-hole - the Russian star's ninth goal in nine career games against the Leafs.
Sutherby skated in alone at 6:17 of the third period and deked out Raycroft to complete the massacre.
Notes: Both teams were missing key components. Caps Captain Chris Clark sustained a severely lacerated left ear when he was struck by an Ovechkin shot last Friday night. Star winger Alexander Semin is day-to-day after aggravating his sprained right ankle against St. Louis on Saturday. Defenceman Tom Poti (groin) was also out . Forwards Kyle Wellwood (groin) and Darcy Tucker (knee) and defencemen Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) and Bryan McCabe (groin) remained out for the Leafs.
Hehe, electronics shop will do good business selling tvs this week in Toronto Maple Leafs land (Toronto Leafs land = "World" for Toronto Maple Leafs fans )
"L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers"
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Leafs Looking for W in the SwampNov 2, 2007, 7:00 PM ET
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. Being the league's worst defensive team is not going to help them get there.
The Maple Leafs look to win their third consecutive road game Friday night when they play the first of four straight away from home against the New Jersey Devils.
A weak defense and suspect goaltending have been issues for Toronto the past two seasons, and those problems were not corrected in the first month of 2007-08.
The Maple Leafs (5-5-3) have allowed a league-high 52 goals while neither Vesa Toskala nor Andrew Raycroft have played well enough to seize control of the No. 1 goaltender's job.
Toskala has four of the team's five wins but his 3.73 goals-against average ranks 41st in the NHL. Raycroft, meanwhile is 1-1-2 with a 3.67 GAA.
Injuries also have contributed to the team's poor defensive play. Defencemen Bryan McCabe (groin) and Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) are currently out of the lineup, as are forwards Darcy Tucker (knee), Kyle Wellwood (groin) and Mark Bell (suspension).
Although they already have a pair of 7-1 losses this season, the Leafs have remained mostly competitive due largely to their play on offense, as they rank among the league's best with 47 goals.
Captain Mats Sundin is off to an impressive start with six goals and a team-best 19 points, while center Nik Antropov is on pace for a career season with eight goals and seven assists.
Free-agent acquisition Jason Blake has two goals and 11 assists in his first season with Toronto.
"We've got to play better," said Blake. "We're a .500 team right now and we had nine games in October at home. What does that tell you? It's not very good."
After beating Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers on the road, the Leafs returned home Monday and fell 7-1 to a Washington team that was missing three of its top players.
Toronto had the luxury of playing nine of its first 13 games at home but only went 3-4-2 in that span.
"Just collectively, for some reason, we're very fragile at home," Sundin said. "How do I explain it? I can't. Just too many breakdowns all over the ice. We did a lot of good things on the road but it seems we're tight at home, we try to do too much."
This will be just the third home game of the season for the Devils (4-6-1), who played their first nine contests on the road while construction of their new arena was completed.
New Jersey ended a four-game losing streak and recorded its first win at the Prudential Center on Thursday, getting a hat trick from defensive specialist Jay Pandolfo in a 6-1 victory over Tampa Bay.
The six goals matched a season high and were two more than the Devils had during their four-game skid.
"It's nice to get confidence," Pandolfo said. "We've obviously struggled this year. If we can keep doing that, and gain some confidence by scoring goals at home, it will be fun."
Martin Brodeur, who recorded his 497th win Wednesday, is 12-14-1 with seven ties and a 2.48 GAA in 35 starts against the Maple Leafs. They are one of only two teams (Vancouver) against which he has a losing record.
Toronto is 7-1-1 in the past nine meetings overall, recording at least one point in seven straight visits to New Jersey.
Devils 3, Maple Leafs 2
: Leafs Nation Pre-Game | Game in Six | Post-Game | Photos | Stats | Box
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - John Madden would have handed out a lot of assists on his go-ahead, short-handed goal late in the third period for the New Jersey Devils.
Every teammate either on the ice or on the bench who screamed at him to break into the Toronto Maple Leafs' zone and score would have been rewarded after the Devils 3-2 win on Friday night.
Until the screams, Madden was ready to dump the puck into the Toronto zone and end his penalty-killing shift.
``When I was racing for the puck, I knew it was (Jason) Blake on my shoulder and I had all intentions of clearing it down the ice,'' Madden said after scoring his 14th career short-handed goal and first in two seasons. ``Then I heard someone on the bench say: `You got him.'''
Zach Parise, who added what proved to be a much-needed goal less than two minutes later, said everyone on the bench was yelling for Madden to challenge Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala.
``You could definitely hear the bench yelling for him to go because he is such a great skater,'' Parise said.
Madden took their advice after picking up defenceman Andy Greene's pass in centre ice. He skated in on Toskala and beat him with a shot over the glove to break a 1-all tie with 4:12 to play.
``I thought Kabby was coming over,'' Blake said. ``But he (Madden) was there and got the puck. I really don't think it would have mattered.''
The goal was the sixth of the season for Madden, who is now tied with linemate Jay Pandolfo for the team lead. In recent years, they have been the two key members of New Jersey's checking line.
``What can I say about that guy,'' Parise said of Madden. ``This year he has been on fire. That's a huge goal shorthanded in a 1-1. That's a backbreaker for the opposing team.''
Parise added what proved to be the game-winner 97 seconds later on a rebound.
``It seemed like I had five (cracks) at it,'' Parise said. ``One shot was blocked by the D, then another, a third and the fourth one went in.''
David Clarkson added a goal and Martin Brodeur stopped 26 shots and picked up an assist as the Devils won consecutive games for only the second time this season.
Alex Steen scored a spectacular goal and Mats Sundin banked in a flukey one with 32 seconds to play for the Maple Leafs, who lost their second straight game.
Coming into the game, the Maple Leafs had one of the worst power plays in the league. They converted on 1-of-5 chances but they also gave up the go-ahead goal by allowing their fourth short-handed goal of the season.
Sundin made the final minute interesting, scoring his seventh goal by banking the puck off Brodeur from behind the net with Toronto on a power play and their net empty.
There were only two goals scored in the first two periods and both were set up by long passes off the sideboards by defencemen.
Steen's game-tying goal was highlight reel material.
Kaberle started the play with a pass from his own defensive circle up the left boards to Jiri Tlusty. The rookie carried the puck into the Devils' zone and dropped it back. Steen collected the puck, put it between his legs to get past defenceman Vitaly Vishnevski and then beat Brodeur with a backhander with 9:04 left in the second period.
Devils defenceman Mike Mottau set up Clarkson's first goal of the season with an angled cross-ice pass from his own end to the right blue-line. Clarkson got around Maple Leafs defenceman Andy Wozniewski as the puck bounced off the boards and beat Toskala one-on-one with a backhander.
Notes: Brodeur's assist was the 28th of his career. ... Devils D Karel Rachunek missed his second straight game because of a groin injury. ... Toronto D Bryan McCabe missed his fifth straight game due to a groin injury. ... Maple Leafs F Mark Bell will be eligible to play on Tuesday against Ottawa. He was suspended for the first 15 games by the NHL for a drinking and driving incident. ... All five of the Devils wins this season have come in games where they scored the first goal.
Stajan Scores Winner Late In Third
Bell, Wellwood Close | Box | Stats | Pics : Pre-Game | Game In Six | Post Game
(MONTREAL) (CP) -- The sound of puck hitting metal at the back of the Montreal Canadiens net was music to Matt Stajan's ears.
The Toronto winger drilled a shot that went off defenceman Mark Streit's stick and beat Cristobal Huet with 1:34 left to play as the Maple Leafs earned a hard-fought 3-2 NHL victory over rival Montreal on Saturday night.
``I just wanted to get a shot on the net and go for a line change,'' said Stajan after his fourth of the season. ``Then I heard it hit the metal bar and the light went on.
``You can't describe the feeling you get when you hear that sound.''
Tomas Kaberle and Mats Sundin also scored for Toronto (6-6-3), which was kept in the game by a big effort from goaltender Vesa Toskala, who made major stops on Tomas Plekanec, Mathieu Dandenault and Guillaume Latendresse with the score still tied in a tense third period.
Toronto ended a two-game losing run.
Mike Komisarek and Chris Higgins scored for Montreal (7-3-3), which lost in regulation time for the first time in seven games.
``The difference in this game was Toskala,'' said Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau, whose team outshot the Leafs 34-31 in an end-to-end game. ``We had excellent chances and didn't score.''
But while Toskala shone, Huet had had trouble with tips and bounces.
``They got a lucky bounce on one goal (by Sundin), but I think Cristobal would like to have the others back,'' added Carbonneau.
Indeed he would _ at least Stajan's winner.
``You try to see the puck off the stick, but it slowed down and caught me off guard and got through me,'' Huet said. ``It definitely was not a great goal.''
It was Toronto's second win in as many games this season over their oldest rival, after their 4-3 overtime win Oct. 6 at the Air Canada Centre. Last season, Toronto went 0-3-1 in Montreal.
As usual with Montreal-Toronto match-ups, the crowd was raucous, with the many fans in Leafs blue-and-white sending up competing chants for their team against the locals.
Kaberle and Pavel Kubina logged 27:02 and 28:36 minutes of ice time respectively as the Leafs battled fatigue in their second game in as many nights after their 3-2 loss in New Jersey a day earlier.
But they came out flying and by the 10-minute mark of the first period, held a 1-0 lead and a 10-1 shots advantage.
Dandenault was called for tripping Sundin 44 seconds into the game and 34 seconds later, Kaberle took a harmless looking swipe at the puck from the left point and saw it beat Huet to the glove side.
The Canadiens got back in the game late in the period and Komisarek tied it on a point shot that went through a cluster of players in front of Toskala and may have hit Alexei Ponikarsovsky before going into the net.
The second period was the reverse, as Sundin was sent off early and, after Boyd Devereaux joined him in the box, Higgins banged in Andrei Markov's rebound with the two-man advantage at 2:33.
But Sundin got it back at 6:04 as he threw the puck in front and saw his eighth of the season go in off Dandenault's skate.
Coach Paul Maurice joined in the applause for Toskala, who made his sixth straight start and put together back-to-back strong efforts in New Jersey and Montreal.
``We're very happy with how he played,'' said Maurice. ``We played two good road games this weekend but unfortunately, we only got two points,'' said Toskala. ``But I like how we played. I felt pretty good. I got a little lucky a couple of times. They made some cross-ice passes and I was able to get to them.''
The Canadiens dropped struggling winger Michael Ryder to the fourth line in the third period and promoted Tom Kostopoulos to the first, but Carbonneau said Ryder skated harder and played better after the move.
Carbonneau used a checking combination of Dandenault, Steve Begin and Bryan Smolinski against Sundin's line and it seemed to work. The opposing trios scored a goal each.
The Leafs conintue their four-game road trip Tuesday in Ottawa and Friday night in Buffalo. Montreal ends its four-game homestand Monday night against the Sabres.
Notes: Wade Belak dressed and Bates Battaglia was a healthy scratch for Toronto. ... Bryan McCabe missed a fifth game with a groin injury and Darcy Tucker (knee) missed a sixth game. ... Montreal scratched Mikhail Grabovsky while Francis Bouillon (shoulder) and Garth Murray (ankle) remain sidelined.
Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: MATS SUNDIN
2nd: CHRIS HIGGINS
3rd: TOMAS KABERLE
Winning Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala
What do u mean, it did look like a pond hockey game back and forth, but i was entertained by it.
Of course you were entertained by it, you won.
I was telling Toronto to score every time Montreal did something stupid (which was often) but Toronto needed to put together a decent chance (which wasn't often) so it was up to Huet to let 'em in, which was semi often.
Montreal was coming off a good game against Phillie, and you guys off a mediocre game against Jersey, and neither team played like they wanted to be there...
Bell To Play First Game Tuesday, Wellwood Likely To Play Canadian Press Nov 5, 2007, 2:13 PM EST
Bell TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs debut Mark Bell has spent countless hours thinking about and waiting for finally comes Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.
And what a time to make his return from a 15-game suspension stemming from a drinking and driving incident in San Jose last year - the Sens are off to a 12-1-0 start this season and will be seeking a club-record eighth-straight win when the teams clash at Scotiabank Place.
``That's the best way to do it, play against the best team in the league and the fastest team, I think,'' a relieved-looking Bell said after practice Monday. ``I'm really looking forward to it, going against the best in my first game back.''
Bell might not be the only reinforcement for the Maple Leafs, trudging along at 6-6-3 so far this season. Slick centre Kyle Wellwood is also likely to see his first action of the season following surgery for a sports hernia.
A final decision on his status will be made following Tuesday's morning skate.
``Everything's been going great and I haven't had any setbacks, I definitely want to play,'' said Wellwood. ``To get to play (against Ottawa) would be a treat. They're the top dogs in the league and the Eastern Conference right now so they're a team we'd like to beat.''
The Senators have been rolling ever since sweeping Toronto in a home-and-home series to open the season while their bitter arch-rivals have alternated between good and bad from night to night.
The Leafs played well Saturday in a 3-2 road win against the Montreal Canadians and hope to become the second team, after the Carolina Hurricanes, to beat Ottawa this season.
``You can't get a better test than that, we should really be excited to go in there,'' said Leafs captain Mats Sundin. ``It's a great challenge to play in their building and with the record they have, they're the team to beat right now in the league.
``We're trying to get to the level they are, we're not there yet. It'll be a good measuring stick for us.''
The creative Wellwood should help boost a terrible power play that ranks 26th in the NHL with just nine goals in 67 chances, while Bell should give head coach Paul Maurice a smooth-skating big body who can kill penalties and finish his checks.
``(Wellwood's) hands are spectacular and he does some things on the ice and he moves into places that he's not expected to go,'' said Maurice. ``(Bell's) got good hands, he's a big man, he can bang a little bit, he's got a huge shot.
``I'd like to see a real simple game but mostly I hope he has some fun.''
Maurice plans to start them both off slowly, with Bell and John Pohl playing the wing alongside Wellwood if he's OK to go.
Wellwood is likely to play 8-12 minutes in all, mostly on the power play.
``We're ready to contribute,'' said Wellwood. ``Spending a lot off time together in the training room and being roommates on the road there, we definitely want to come back and contribute something and find a way to help us win.''
For Bell, Tuesday's game will mark another important step in leaving his troubles of last season in the past. His suspension came after he pleaded no contest to criminal drunk-driving charges stemming from his arrest last September.
He is due to serve six months in a California county jail at the end of the season. Bell hasn't had a drink since the incident and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.
``This hasn't gone fast for me. It's been a long time since I've played a game, since training camp it's been a long time,'' said Bell. ``I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.''
The Maple Leafs acquired Bell from the Sharks in June along with goaltender Vesa Toskala and are eager to see what he can do. Maurice expects Bell to try and make an impression in his first few shifts and is happy to let him go.
``I'm not going to try to take any of his enthusiasm for playing in this game away,'' said Maurice. ``This man has been through as much as any of us can handle and he's handled it about as well as I think could possible be done.''
Wellwood, meanwhile, hopes his physical problems are also a thing of the past. He had surgery last January and thought the problem was solved until it flared up again in training camp, requiring a second operation.
Starting, stopping and shooting were particularly tough on the groin but he now has enough confidence that he can play without questions in his mind.
``I definitely had that when I came back last year and even going into this year, playing in exhibitions and training camp, I was really worried about getting hurt,'' he said. ``They were waiting for the point that I wasn't worried that I'd get hurt and that's where I'm at now.''
Notes: Both Darcy Tucker (knee) and Bryan McCabe (groin) skated on their own before practice and Maurice hopes they might be ready to return this weekend. ... Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) has had two tough workouts on his knee but Maurice wouldn't hazard a guess on when he might return. http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=342287
London 2005
Toronto 2011 night 2
Hamilton 2011
London 2013
Sens keep rolling with win over Leafs
Phillips beats Toskala
The Canadian Press
11/6/2007 11:23:19 PM
OTTAWA - Each and every player on the Ottawa Senators got a phone call from John Paddock last summer shortly after he was named head coach.
His message was simple. Look at what happened to 2006 Cup finalists Edmonton and Carolina last season. Don't let it happen here.
"We were challenged, the talk of a Stanley Cup hangover really pushed us even more," said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.
Tuesday night's 5-1 win over the rival Toronto Maple Leafs improved Ottawa to a mind-boggling 13-1-0, making the Senators the fastest to 13 wins of any team in NHL history.
Even a bolstered Maple Leafs lineup was no match for the high-flying Senators on Tuesday night. Andrej Meszaros, Chris Kelly and Patrick Eaves each had a goal and an assist and Martin Gerber collected his NHL-best 10th win of the season as Ottawa cruised past Toronto.
"You look around the room, everyone is enjoying it," said Gerber. "But it doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of work."
Alfredsson and Chris Phillips also scored for the NHL-leading Senators, who set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive victory.
"Guys are working really hard," said veteran Ottawa blue-liner Wade Redden. "No one is getting lazy here."
Nik Antropov potted his ninth goal of the season for Toronto (6-7-3), which dressed forwards Kyle Wellwood (sports hernia) and Mark Bell (NHL suspension) for the first time this season. It didn't matter.
Antoine Vermette had two assists as the Sens continued their domination of the Leafs, improving to 15-2-2 in the regular season since the lockout ended - including 3-0-0 this season.
The Leafs were buoyed by their recent play on the road, winning three of their last four away from home with solid defensive play. But on this night they had trouble handling Ottawa's speed early on, turning the puck over and giving up odd-man breaks.
"You don't want to give up five odd-man breaks a game - we gave up five in the first four to five minutes," said a clearly disappointed Paul Maurice, Toronto's head coach.
A lively crowd of 19,613 featured a healthy dose of Leaf jerseys, but they were quieted in a hurry.
"We got off to a good start and our fans took over," said Alfredsson.
Phillips opened the scoring 2:59 into the first period, pinching in from the point and beating Vesa Toskala top corner on the stick side after a nifty cross-ice feed from Dany Heatley.
It was 2-0 just 47 seconds later when Eaves finished off a 2-on-1 break by patiently waiting out Toskala before flipping the puck over him.
Alfredsson collected his 10th goal of the season 1:21 into the second period after finding the open side on another 2-on-1 - this time short-handed. Meszaros made it 4-0 on a Sens power play with a screened shot that beat Toskala, chasing the Finnish goalie from the net.
The goalie change seemed to spark the Leafs, who carried the play for the rest of the middle period and finally got a goal when Antropov rifled a wrist shot in the top corner over Gerber's stick side on a Toronto power play at 14:23.
But there would be no comeback on this night. The Senators re-asserted themselves in the third period, Kelly finishing off yet another 2-on-1 break after a pass from Eaves to make it 5-1 at 6:25.
Toronto had plenty of chances to make this a game, getting nine power-play chances on the night but scoring only once. Ottawa got three man advantages and scored once.
Wellwood and Bell started the game together on a line with John Pohl but later found themselves with Jason Blake as head coach Paul Maurice shuffled the deck. Wellwood also saw time on the first power-play unit.
Toronto actually outshot Ottawa 31-21 - a prime example of how the shot clock can be misleading.
Notes: With Wellwood and Bell returning, Simon Gamache paid the price. The Leafs put the winger on waivers Tuesday for the purposes of sending him back to the AHL Marlies . Star centre Jason Spezza missed his fourth consecutive game for the Senators with a groin injury . Defenceman Bryan McCabe (groin) and forward Darcy Tucker (knee) remained out for Toronto . Gerber has only lost once in regulation in his last 23 starts (20-1-2) dating back to last season . The Battle of Ontario was missing its biggest brawlers - tough guys Wade Belak of the Leafs and Brian McGrattan of the Senators were healthy scratches . The Leafs next play Friday at Buffalo while the Senators host Washington on Thursday . The Senators were 5-1-2 against the Leafs last season and 7-1-0 in 2005-06.
Maple Leafs-Sabres PreviewNov 9, 2007, 7:30 PM ET
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Little more than one month into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres already face large Northeast Division deficits. Merely making the playoffs could be difficult if the teams can't shake their early season struggles.
The Maple Leafs are expected to get a pair of key players back in the lineup Friday night as they try to post a rare road victory against the Sabres.
Residing in the same division as defending conference champion Ottawa figured to make it very hard for Toronto or Buffalo to finish first. The Senators have played even beyond expectations, winning 13 of their first 15 games to take firm control of the division in November.
The Maple Leafs (6-7-3) could find themselves out of the playoffs for the third straight season if their defense and goaltending don't improve. They have allowed a league-high 62 goals, as neither Vesa Toskala nor Andrew Raycroft has played well enough to seize control of the No. 1 goaltending role.
Toskala allowed four goals on 13 shots before he was replaced by Raycroft at 8:08 of the second period in a 5-1 loss Tuesday at Ottawa.
Nik Antropov scored his team-leading ninth goal to provide the only offense for Toronto, which has lost three of four.
"They really took the game away from us right away and after that it was just a matter of them coasting right through the rest of the hockey game," said center Kyle Wellwood, who made his season debut after having surgery for a sports hernia.
Although it may not help them become better defensively, the Leafs will be happy to get rugged forward Darcy Tucker and defenseman Bryan McCabe back on Friday.
Tucker has missed seven games with a knee injury while a sore groin has sidelined McCabe for six contests.
"I've tried to take this time to get my mind fresh and clean and ready to play," Tucker said. "I can play far better than I was earlier in the year. That's my main goal, to come back and be hungry and be very gritty for the hockey club."
Tucker and McCabe should help on the power play, where the Leafs have scored only 10 goals in 76 opportunities while allowing an NHL-worst five short-handed goals for the opposition.
While a porous defense is Toronto's biggest problem, Buffalo (6-7-1) has had trouble scoring with only seven goals in its last four games.
The Sabres ended their second three-game skid of the season Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory over Boston on Clarke MacArthur's goal 3:16 into the extra period.
"It wasn't our best game, but it wasn't our worst either," Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell said. "Wins are important. We have to be able to take advantage of these points and start climbing."
Getting production from an unexpected source like MacArthur is important because the Sabres are without five injured regulars, including centers Adam Mair and Tim Connolly, who both missed their first game after being hurt in Monday's 2-0 loss at Montreal.
The Sabres defeated the Leafs 5-4 on Oct. 15, when Ales Kotalik scored a power-play goal with 3.7 seconds left in overtime. Buffalo improved to 15-5-2 with one tie against Toronto since the start of the 2003-04 season.
Razor Sharp, Sundin Hot In Leafs Win
Recap | Scoresheet | Stats | : Pre-Game | Game In Six | Post Game
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Bryan McCabe and the Toronto Maple Leafs were determined not to have history repeat itself.
Andrew Raycroft made 30 saves for his sixth career shutout, Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist, and McCabe redeemed himself for a past gaffe in Toronto's 3-0 win over the slumping Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
In the last meeting in Buffalo between the two teams in mid-October, the Maple Leafs blew a two-goal, third-period lead and lost in overtime when McCabe inadvertently swatted the puck into his own net. McCabe again scored the winner, but this time it was in the right goal.
``At least one was for our team, so that's a bonus this time around I guess,'' McCabe kidded.
Raycroft, meanwhile, put his team in a position not to waste another lead. Making his first start after two relief appearances, Raycroft made 15 saves in a scoreless first period, including a diving stop to his right on Nathan Paetsch's rebound attempt with 55 seconds remaining.
He was also helped when Sabres centre Jochen Hecht hit the goal post with 14 minutes left in regulation. Raycroft needed to turn aside only six shots in the final frame, thanks to a suffocating defence that neutralized the Sabres pop-gun offence.
``To win games you have to have breaks,'' said Raycroft, whose last start was Oct. 20, when he surrendered five goals in a loss to Chicago. ``We had a busy first, but we didn't give them anything in the third. That was the best third period we've played in a really long time.''
Boyd Devereaux also scored to help the Maple Leafs, last in the NHL in goals against entering the game, win for the second time in the last three games.
``Andrew had a great game in net, but we played a great game defensively,'' said Sundin, who moved to within one goal of tying Frank Mahovlich for 27th on the all-time goals list, and one point of tying Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time points list. ``We've scored enough goals but for some reason we've struggled with our defensive play.''
The Sabres, the highest scoring team last season, were shutout for the third time this season, and second in the last three games. They've now lost seven of their last 10 games, and have scored just seven times in their last five contests.
``I don't know what the team is thinking collectively,'' said goalie Ryan Miller, who made 20 saves. ``It was a frustrating kind of game.''
Miller kept the game scoreless in the second period, when he made a clutch save on Toronto defenceman Pavel Kubina's breakaway with 8{ minutes left.
Toronto finally broke through with just 36 seconds left in the second period. With a faceoff to the right of Miller, Sundin cleanly beat Buffalo's Clarke MacArthur, drawing the puck back to McCabe 10 feet inside the blueline in the middle of the ice. McCabe's slap shot went off Buffalo forward Paul Gaustad and knuckled past Miller.
McCabe was playing in his first game after missing the last six because of a groin strain.
Sundin made it 2-0 with his ninth of the year three minutes into the third period, and Devereaux capped the scoring with his second goal with just 59 seconds remaining in the third.
The Maple Leafs' lineup was bolstered by the return of not only McCabe, but also forward Darcy Tucker. Tucker missed seven games because of a knee injury.
``We're hitting posts, we're hitting legs and we're missing open nets,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. ``I'm disappointed the puck isn't going into the net.''
Notes: McCabe earned his 400th career NHL point on his goal. ... Sabres D Jaroslav Spacek returned after missing eight of the last nine games because of a shoulder injury. ... These two teams don't meet again until Jan. 19, in Toronto. ... Buffalo forwards Tim Connolly (abdomen) and Adam Mair (ankle) both missed their second games. Connolly was tied for the team lead in points heading into the game. ... The last Toronto shutout in Buffalo was by Ed Belfour on April 2, 2004. ... Sundin moved within one goal of tying Frank Mahovlich for 27th on the all-time goals list, and one point of tying Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time points list. He now has 532 career goals and 1,266 points.
Associated Press
Three star selections:
1st: ANDREW RAYCROFT
2nd: MATS SUNDIN
3rd: BRYAN MCCABE
Winning Goaltender:
Andrew Raycroft
Rangers 3, Maple Leafs 2, SO
Box | Stats | Pics | Ceremony | : Video
November 10, 2007
TORONTO -- The New York Rangers finally have a road win.
Marcel Hossa's decisive shootout goal gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game Saturday night.
The Rangers had been without a win in their first six games on the road (0-5-1), and with this win they were the last NHL club to get a win in an opponent's arena.
Nik Antropov took the first shootout shot and Stephen Valiquette made the save. Brendan Shanahan was the first New York shooter and beat Vesa Toskala high on the glove side. Mats Sundin shot high and wide before Hossa got his chance. He deked twice to confuse Toskala and buried the puck behind the Finn to end it.
Sean Avery, alias ``The Pickering Pest,'' set up Shanahan for a goal and scored one himself for the Rangers during regulation time.
Valiquette got the goaltending win in his first start after Henrik Lundqvist played every minute of the Rangers' first 16 games.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored both of Toronto's goals in regulation. Toskala was the hard-luck loser in front of a season-high Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,530.
There was a group stare-off involving all players on the ice at the boards between the benches after Avery and Darcy Tucker _ both wear 16 _ exchanged words during the warmup, and the two were yapping again in the 12th minute. Tucker dropped his gloves, Avery did not, and both were sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. They were back on the ice for eight seconds before the gloves came off and they were going at each other with their fists.
The Rangers jumped ahead 2-0 with goals 42 seconds apart from the line of Shanahan, Avery and Scott Gomez early in the second period.
Gomez won a faceoff in Toronto's end and passed to Avery, who took the puck behind the Leafs' net. A backhand pass sent the puck to Shanahan at the front of the crease and the puck was instantaneously behind Toskala at 1:43.
Avery dodged Pavel Kubina to get to the rebound of a Toskala save off Shanahan and score at 2:25.
Ponikarovsky's two goals in two minutes tied it 2-2.
The six-foot-four Ukrainian blasted a slap shot from the circle to the left of a kneeing Valiquette into the top short-side corner of the net at 16:54. Ian White's pass to Antropov at the blue-line should have resulted in an off-sides whistle, but play continued and the goal counted.
Ponikarovsky then slammed a rebound past a kneeling Valiquette at 18:54. The point Sundin got for assisting gave him 1,267 in his career, tying him with Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time list.
Valiquette kept the Leafs from seizing the lead when he made a fantastic leg save on a Mark Bell bullet with nine minutes remaining in the third period.
Toskala made as equally important a save with seven minutes left in regulation when he induced Gomez to shoot into his chest from point-blank range.
The Leafs' Boyd Devereaux was sent off for hooking with 3:27 remaining in regulation. The Rangers would try to remove the power-play doughnut served up by both teams, but they couldn't do it.
Hold on.
Tucker hooked Hossa as Hossa nearly scored in the closing seconds of regulation time, and the Rangers started overtime with another manpower advantage. They came up empty again.
It would go to a shootout.
Notes: Toronto had a 34-27 shots edge . . .The Leafs, 0-for-4 in this one, were 28th in the league in power-play efficiency (12.8 per cent) coming in. The Rangers also went 0-for-4 with manpower advantages . . . New York entered the game with a league-best 1.67 goals-against average, while Toronto's 3.53 GAA was 29th in the 30-team league . . . Pre-game ceremonies were held to mark Remembrance Day and to introduce Mark Messier, Al MacInnis, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens and Jim Gregory, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night . . . Sundin's next goal will be his 533rd and will lift him even with Frank Mahovlich for 27th place . . . Jaromir Jagr, who scored 54 goals in 2005-2006 and slipped to 30 in 2006-2007, has only three in the Rangers' 17 games . . . The Leafs' healthy scratches were John Pohl, who sat out a second straight game, Wade Belak, idle for a third consecutive game, and Bates Battaglia, deleted for a fifth in a row . . . Toronto plays at home against Montreal on Tuesday, is in Boston on Thursday and is back home next Saturday against Ottawa.
Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: BRENDAN SHANAHAN
2nd: ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY
3rd:
Winning Goaltender:
Stephen Valiquette
Comments
Canadian Press
10/29/2007 11:19:24 PM
TORONTO - The home schedule for October is in the books for the Toronto Maple Leafs and it's far from pretty.
Three wins out of nine home dates - and a chorus of boos to cap it off Monday night following a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Washington Capitals.
"Just collectively, for some reason, we're very fragile at home," Leafs captain Mats Sundin said following the latest loss at Air Canada Centre.
Alexander Ovechkin scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season as the Caps pounded the enigmatic Leafs before an angry crowd of 19,316.
"We played very well tonight, all four lines played well, everybody scored and our goalie played well," said Ovechkin, who now has nine goals in nine career games against the Leafs. "I think we deserved tonight's win."
No argument there, Alex.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Leafs (5-5-3), who looked nothing like the squad that picked up impressive victories in Pittsburgh and Manhattan heading into Monday's game. Instead, it was the defensively challenged edition of the Leafs that re-surfaced, featuring poor defensive zone coverage, sloppy play and stupid penalties.
"How do I explain it? I can't," said Sundin. "Just too many breakdowns all over the ice . We did a lot of good things on the road but it seems we're tight at home, we try to do too much."
That's exactly what Leafs head coach Paul Maurice also offered up, criticizing his players for trying to make too many difficult plays when the simpler ones were there instead. Why not chip it off the boards instead of trying a perfect pass up the middle, for example?
"Clearly there's still difficulty in accepting to play a simple game," said Maurice. "We just continued to try and make plays that weren't there."
The Leafs have now given up an NHL-high 51 goals on the season while offering up their worst play at home (3-4-2) where they now have a pair of 7-1 homes losses on their docket, also getting routed by Carolina on Oct. 9.
"It we're going to be a playoff team we need to win at home," said Sundin.
The home fans didn't hide their disappointment, soundly booing the Leafs as they left the ice both at the end of the second period and at the final buzzer and several times in-between. They also gave goalie Andrew Raycroft, who replaced starter Vesa Toskala after Washington's fourth goal, several mock cheers after easy saves in the second and third period.
By the time the third period started, at least one third of the Air Canada Centre was empty and one small section could be heard chanting "Let's Go Raptors!". The NBA season starts Wednesday for Toronto's club.
Perhaps a return to the road is what's needed for the Leafs and that's just what's on tap, a four-game set starting Friday at New Jersey followed by Saturday at Montreal, next Tuesday at Ottawa and Friday, Nov. 9, at Buffalo.
"We just have to bounce back and play like we did the last two games on the road," said Toskala.
It got ugly right in the opening period Monday. Gordon, standing alone in front of the net, re-directed a Bradley pass to make it 1-0 at 3:19. Ponikarvosky gave the home fans some false hope when he tied it 1-1 just 31 seconds later, only to see Pettinger give the Caps the lead for good at 5:26 when he flipped a rebound over Toskala on a Caps power play.
Ovechkin made it 3-1 at 11:57 when he rifled a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle right through Toskala's glove side. Schultz was then allowed to skate into the slot untouched two minutes later and ring a shot off the post and in. The boos began and chased Toskala to the bench, His night was over, but he was hardly the worst player on the ice, his team outshot 13-3 at this point.
Bradley beat Raycroft with a slap shot while short-handed 8:57 into the second period to make it 5-1 and by now it was clear there would be no Leafs comeback on this night. Ovechkin made it 6-1 at 11:09 when his power-play blast from the point beat Raycroft five-hole - the Russian star's ninth goal in nine career games against the Leafs.
Sutherby skated in alone at 6:17 of the third period and deked out Raycroft to complete the massacre.
Notes: Both teams were missing key components. Caps Captain Chris Clark sustained a severely lacerated left ear when he was struck by an Ovechkin shot last Friday night. Star winger Alexander Semin is day-to-day after aggravating his sprained right ankle against St. Louis on Saturday. Defenceman Tom Poti (groin) was also out . Forwards Kyle Wellwood (groin) and Darcy Tucker (knee) and defencemen Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) and Bryan McCabe (groin) remained out for the Leafs.
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=221716&hubname=
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Were you booing, too?
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Nice.
You oughta get those little foam footballs you can throw at your TV when you're watching home games.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
TV Information
National TV:
RIS
Local Home:
FSN-NY (HD)
Local Away:
SNET-O
The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. Being the league's worst defensive team is not going to help them get there.
The Maple Leafs look to win their third consecutive road game Friday night when they play the first of four straight away from home against the New Jersey Devils.
A weak defense and suspect goaltending have been issues for Toronto the past two seasons, and those problems were not corrected in the first month of 2007-08.
The Maple Leafs (5-5-3) have allowed a league-high 52 goals while neither Vesa Toskala nor Andrew Raycroft have played well enough to seize control of the No. 1 goaltender's job.
Toskala has four of the team's five wins but his 3.73 goals-against average ranks 41st in the NHL. Raycroft, meanwhile is 1-1-2 with a 3.67 GAA.
Injuries also have contributed to the team's poor defensive play. Defencemen Bryan McCabe (groin) and Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) are currently out of the lineup, as are forwards Darcy Tucker (knee), Kyle Wellwood (groin) and Mark Bell (suspension).
Although they already have a pair of 7-1 losses this season, the Leafs have remained mostly competitive due largely to their play on offense, as they rank among the league's best with 47 goals.
Captain Mats Sundin is off to an impressive start with six goals and a team-best 19 points, while center Nik Antropov is on pace for a career season with eight goals and seven assists.
Free-agent acquisition Jason Blake has two goals and 11 assists in his first season with Toronto.
"We've got to play better," said Blake. "We're a .500 team right now and we had nine games in October at home. What does that tell you? It's not very good."
After beating Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers on the road, the Leafs returned home Monday and fell 7-1 to a Washington team that was missing three of its top players.
Toronto had the luxury of playing nine of its first 13 games at home but only went 3-4-2 in that span.
"Just collectively, for some reason, we're very fragile at home," Sundin said. "How do I explain it? I can't. Just too many breakdowns all over the ice. We did a lot of good things on the road but it seems we're tight at home, we try to do too much."
This will be just the third home game of the season for the Devils (4-6-1), who played their first nine contests on the road while construction of their new arena was completed.
New Jersey ended a four-game losing streak and recorded its first win at the Prudential Center on Thursday, getting a hat trick from defensive specialist Jay Pandolfo in a 6-1 victory over Tampa Bay.
The six goals matched a season high and were two more than the Devils had during their four-game skid.
"It's nice to get confidence," Pandolfo said. "We've obviously struggled this year. If we can keep doing that, and gain some confidence by scoring goals at home, it will be fun."
Martin Brodeur, who recorded his 497th win Wednesday, is 12-14-1 with seven ties and a 2.48 GAA in 35 starts against the Maple Leafs. They are one of only two teams (Vancouver) against which he has a losing record.
Toronto is 7-1-1 in the past nine meetings overall, recording at least one point in seven straight visits to New Jersey.
Associated Press
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=182&gameType=2&page=Preview&season=20072008&service=page
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: Leafs Nation Pre-Game | Game in Six | Post-Game | Photos | Stats | Box
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - John Madden would have handed out a lot of assists on his go-ahead, short-handed goal late in the third period for the New Jersey Devils.
Every teammate either on the ice or on the bench who screamed at him to break into the Toronto Maple Leafs' zone and score would have been rewarded after the Devils 3-2 win on Friday night.
Until the screams, Madden was ready to dump the puck into the Toronto zone and end his penalty-killing shift.
``When I was racing for the puck, I knew it was (Jason) Blake on my shoulder and I had all intentions of clearing it down the ice,'' Madden said after scoring his 14th career short-handed goal and first in two seasons. ``Then I heard someone on the bench say: `You got him.'''
Zach Parise, who added what proved to be a much-needed goal less than two minutes later, said everyone on the bench was yelling for Madden to challenge Toronto goalie Vesa Toskala.
``You could definitely hear the bench yelling for him to go because he is such a great skater,'' Parise said.
Madden took their advice after picking up defenceman Andy Greene's pass in centre ice. He skated in on Toskala and beat him with a shot over the glove to break a 1-all tie with 4:12 to play.
``I thought Kabby was coming over,'' Blake said. ``But he (Madden) was there and got the puck. I really don't think it would have mattered.''
The goal was the sixth of the season for Madden, who is now tied with linemate Jay Pandolfo for the team lead. In recent years, they have been the two key members of New Jersey's checking line.
``What can I say about that guy,'' Parise said of Madden. ``This year he has been on fire. That's a huge goal shorthanded in a 1-1. That's a backbreaker for the opposing team.''
Parise added what proved to be the game-winner 97 seconds later on a rebound.
``It seemed like I had five (cracks) at it,'' Parise said. ``One shot was blocked by the D, then another, a third and the fourth one went in.''
David Clarkson added a goal and Martin Brodeur stopped 26 shots and picked up an assist as the Devils won consecutive games for only the second time this season.
Alex Steen scored a spectacular goal and Mats Sundin banked in a flukey one with 32 seconds to play for the Maple Leafs, who lost their second straight game.
Coming into the game, the Maple Leafs had one of the worst power plays in the league. They converted on 1-of-5 chances but they also gave up the go-ahead goal by allowing their fourth short-handed goal of the season.
Sundin made the final minute interesting, scoring his seventh goal by banking the puck off Brodeur from behind the net with Toronto on a power play and their net empty.
There were only two goals scored in the first two periods and both were set up by long passes off the sideboards by defencemen.
Steen's game-tying goal was highlight reel material.
Kaberle started the play with a pass from his own defensive circle up the left boards to Jiri Tlusty. The rookie carried the puck into the Devils' zone and dropped it back. Steen collected the puck, put it between his legs to get past defenceman Vitaly Vishnevski and then beat Brodeur with a backhander with 9:04 left in the second period.
Devils defenceman Mike Mottau set up Clarkson's first goal of the season with an angled cross-ice pass from his own end to the right blue-line. Clarkson got around Maple Leafs defenceman Andy Wozniewski as the puck bounced off the boards and beat Toskala one-on-one with a backhander.
Notes: Brodeur's assist was the 28th of his career. ... Devils D Karel Rachunek missed his second straight game because of a groin injury. ... Toronto D Bryan McCabe missed his fifth straight game due to a groin injury. ... Maple Leafs F Mark Bell will be eligible to play on Tuesday against Ottawa. He was suspended for the first 15 games by the NHL for a drinking and driving incident. ... All five of the Devils wins this season have come in games where they scored the first goal.
Associated Press http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20072008>ype=2&gnum=182
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Bell, Wellwood Close | Box | Stats | Pics : Pre-Game | Game In Six | Post Game
(MONTREAL) (CP) -- The sound of puck hitting metal at the back of the Montreal Canadiens net was music to Matt Stajan's ears.
The Toronto winger drilled a shot that went off defenceman Mark Streit's stick and beat Cristobal Huet with 1:34 left to play as the Maple Leafs earned a hard-fought 3-2 NHL victory over rival Montreal on Saturday night.
``I just wanted to get a shot on the net and go for a line change,'' said Stajan after his fourth of the season. ``Then I heard it hit the metal bar and the light went on.
``You can't describe the feeling you get when you hear that sound.''
Tomas Kaberle and Mats Sundin also scored for Toronto (6-6-3), which was kept in the game by a big effort from goaltender Vesa Toskala, who made major stops on Tomas Plekanec, Mathieu Dandenault and Guillaume Latendresse with the score still tied in a tense third period.
Toronto ended a two-game losing run.
Mike Komisarek and Chris Higgins scored for Montreal (7-3-3), which lost in regulation time for the first time in seven games.
``The difference in this game was Toskala,'' said Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau, whose team outshot the Leafs 34-31 in an end-to-end game. ``We had excellent chances and didn't score.''
But while Toskala shone, Huet had had trouble with tips and bounces.
``They got a lucky bounce on one goal (by Sundin), but I think Cristobal would like to have the others back,'' added Carbonneau.
Indeed he would _ at least Stajan's winner.
``You try to see the puck off the stick, but it slowed down and caught me off guard and got through me,'' Huet said. ``It definitely was not a great goal.''
It was Toronto's second win in as many games this season over their oldest rival, after their 4-3 overtime win Oct. 6 at the Air Canada Centre. Last season, Toronto went 0-3-1 in Montreal.
As usual with Montreal-Toronto match-ups, the crowd was raucous, with the many fans in Leafs blue-and-white sending up competing chants for their team against the locals.
Kaberle and Pavel Kubina logged 27:02 and 28:36 minutes of ice time respectively as the Leafs battled fatigue in their second game in as many nights after their 3-2 loss in New Jersey a day earlier.
But they came out flying and by the 10-minute mark of the first period, held a 1-0 lead and a 10-1 shots advantage.
Dandenault was called for tripping Sundin 44 seconds into the game and 34 seconds later, Kaberle took a harmless looking swipe at the puck from the left point and saw it beat Huet to the glove side.
The Canadiens got back in the game late in the period and Komisarek tied it on a point shot that went through a cluster of players in front of Toskala and may have hit Alexei Ponikarsovsky before going into the net.
The second period was the reverse, as Sundin was sent off early and, after Boyd Devereaux joined him in the box, Higgins banged in Andrei Markov's rebound with the two-man advantage at 2:33.
But Sundin got it back at 6:04 as he threw the puck in front and saw his eighth of the season go in off Dandenault's skate.
Coach Paul Maurice joined in the applause for Toskala, who made his sixth straight start and put together back-to-back strong efforts in New Jersey and Montreal.
``We're very happy with how he played,'' said Maurice. ``We played two good road games this weekend but unfortunately, we only got two points,'' said Toskala. ``But I like how we played. I felt pretty good. I got a little lucky a couple of times. They made some cross-ice passes and I was able to get to them.''
The Canadiens dropped struggling winger Michael Ryder to the fourth line in the third period and promoted Tom Kostopoulos to the first, but Carbonneau said Ryder skated harder and played better after the move.
Carbonneau used a checking combination of Dandenault, Steve Begin and Bryan Smolinski against Sundin's line and it seemed to work. The opposing trios scored a goal each.
The Leafs conintue their four-game road trip Tuesday in Ottawa and Friday night in Buffalo. Montreal ends its four-game homestand Monday night against the Sabres.
Notes: Wade Belak dressed and Bates Battaglia was a healthy scratch for Toronto. ... Bryan McCabe missed a fifth game with a groin injury and Darcy Tucker (knee) missed a sixth game. ... Montreal scratched Mikhail Grabovsky while Francis Bouillon (shoulder) and Garth Murray (ankle) remain sidelined.
Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: MATS SUNDIN
2nd: CHRIS HIGGINS
3rd: TOMAS KABERLE
Winning Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala
Losing Goaltender:
Cristobal Huet
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20072008>ype=2&gnum=188
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Of course you were entertained by it, you won.
I was telling Toronto to score every time Montreal did something stupid (which was often) but Toronto needed to put together a decent chance (which wasn't often) so it was up to Huet to let 'em in, which was semi often.
Montreal was coming off a good game against Phillie, and you guys off a mediocre game against Jersey, and neither team played like they wanted to be there...
Well it is good to get frustrations out sometimes lol
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hehehe, my TV is expensive though...
Nope, tards came at 10 after 12. No digi cable yet again.
Bell TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs debut Mark Bell has spent countless hours thinking about and waiting for finally comes Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.
And what a time to make his return from a 15-game suspension stemming from a drinking and driving incident in San Jose last year - the Sens are off to a 12-1-0 start this season and will be seeking a club-record eighth-straight win when the teams clash at Scotiabank Place.
``That's the best way to do it, play against the best team in the league and the fastest team, I think,'' a relieved-looking Bell said after practice Monday. ``I'm really looking forward to it, going against the best in my first game back.''
Bell might not be the only reinforcement for the Maple Leafs, trudging along at 6-6-3 so far this season. Slick centre Kyle Wellwood is also likely to see his first action of the season following surgery for a sports hernia.
A final decision on his status will be made following Tuesday's morning skate.
``Everything's been going great and I haven't had any setbacks, I definitely want to play,'' said Wellwood. ``To get to play (against Ottawa) would be a treat. They're the top dogs in the league and the Eastern Conference right now so they're a team we'd like to beat.''
The Senators have been rolling ever since sweeping Toronto in a home-and-home series to open the season while their bitter arch-rivals have alternated between good and bad from night to night.
The Leafs played well Saturday in a 3-2 road win against the Montreal Canadians and hope to become the second team, after the Carolina Hurricanes, to beat Ottawa this season.
``You can't get a better test than that, we should really be excited to go in there,'' said Leafs captain Mats Sundin. ``It's a great challenge to play in their building and with the record they have, they're the team to beat right now in the league.
``We're trying to get to the level they are, we're not there yet. It'll be a good measuring stick for us.''
The creative Wellwood should help boost a terrible power play that ranks 26th in the NHL with just nine goals in 67 chances, while Bell should give head coach Paul Maurice a smooth-skating big body who can kill penalties and finish his checks.
``(Wellwood's) hands are spectacular and he does some things on the ice and he moves into places that he's not expected to go,'' said Maurice. ``(Bell's) got good hands, he's a big man, he can bang a little bit, he's got a huge shot.
``I'd like to see a real simple game but mostly I hope he has some fun.''
Maurice plans to start them both off slowly, with Bell and John Pohl playing the wing alongside Wellwood if he's OK to go.
Wellwood is likely to play 8-12 minutes in all, mostly on the power play.
``We're ready to contribute,'' said Wellwood. ``Spending a lot off time together in the training room and being roommates on the road there, we definitely want to come back and contribute something and find a way to help us win.''
For Bell, Tuesday's game will mark another important step in leaving his troubles of last season in the past. His suspension came after he pleaded no contest to criminal drunk-driving charges stemming from his arrest last September.
He is due to serve six months in a California county jail at the end of the season. Bell hasn't had a drink since the incident and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.
``This hasn't gone fast for me. It's been a long time since I've played a game, since training camp it's been a long time,'' said Bell. ``I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.''
The Maple Leafs acquired Bell from the Sharks in June along with goaltender Vesa Toskala and are eager to see what he can do. Maurice expects Bell to try and make an impression in his first few shifts and is happy to let him go.
``I'm not going to try to take any of his enthusiasm for playing in this game away,'' said Maurice. ``This man has been through as much as any of us can handle and he's handled it about as well as I think could possible be done.''
Wellwood, meanwhile, hopes his physical problems are also a thing of the past. He had surgery last January and thought the problem was solved until it flared up again in training camp, requiring a second operation.
Starting, stopping and shooting were particularly tough on the groin but he now has enough confidence that he can play without questions in his mind.
``I definitely had that when I came back last year and even going into this year, playing in exhibitions and training camp, I was really worried about getting hurt,'' he said. ``They were waiting for the point that I wasn't worried that I'd get hurt and that's where I'm at now.''
Notes: Both Darcy Tucker (knee) and Bryan McCabe (groin) skated on their own before practice and Maurice hopes they might be ready to return this weekend. ... Carlo Colaiacovo (knee) has had two tough workouts on his knee but Maurice wouldn't hazard a guess on when he might return.
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=342287
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Tor 15 points
Buf 11 points
They are not sharing the bottom with Buffalo
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=StandingsPage
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Phillips beats Toskala
The Canadian Press
11/6/2007 11:23:19 PM
OTTAWA - Each and every player on the Ottawa Senators got a phone call from John Paddock last summer shortly after he was named head coach.
His message was simple. Look at what happened to 2006 Cup finalists Edmonton and Carolina last season. Don't let it happen here.
"We were challenged, the talk of a Stanley Cup hangover really pushed us even more," said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.
Tuesday night's 5-1 win over the rival Toronto Maple Leafs improved Ottawa to a mind-boggling 13-1-0, making the Senators the fastest to 13 wins of any team in NHL history.
Even a bolstered Maple Leafs lineup was no match for the high-flying Senators on Tuesday night. Andrej Meszaros, Chris Kelly and Patrick Eaves each had a goal and an assist and Martin Gerber collected his NHL-best 10th win of the season as Ottawa cruised past Toronto.
"You look around the room, everyone is enjoying it," said Gerber. "But it doesn't come easy. It takes a lot of work."
Alfredsson and Chris Phillips also scored for the NHL-leading Senators, who set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive victory.
"Guys are working really hard," said veteran Ottawa blue-liner Wade Redden. "No one is getting lazy here."
Nik Antropov potted his ninth goal of the season for Toronto (6-7-3), which dressed forwards Kyle Wellwood (sports hernia) and Mark Bell (NHL suspension) for the first time this season. It didn't matter.
Antoine Vermette had two assists as the Sens continued their domination of the Leafs, improving to 15-2-2 in the regular season since the lockout ended - including 3-0-0 this season.
The Leafs were buoyed by their recent play on the road, winning three of their last four away from home with solid defensive play. But on this night they had trouble handling Ottawa's speed early on, turning the puck over and giving up odd-man breaks.
"You don't want to give up five odd-man breaks a game - we gave up five in the first four to five minutes," said a clearly disappointed Paul Maurice, Toronto's head coach.
A lively crowd of 19,613 featured a healthy dose of Leaf jerseys, but they were quieted in a hurry.
"We got off to a good start and our fans took over," said Alfredsson.
Phillips opened the scoring 2:59 into the first period, pinching in from the point and beating Vesa Toskala top corner on the stick side after a nifty cross-ice feed from Dany Heatley.
It was 2-0 just 47 seconds later when Eaves finished off a 2-on-1 break by patiently waiting out Toskala before flipping the puck over him.
Alfredsson collected his 10th goal of the season 1:21 into the second period after finding the open side on another 2-on-1 - this time short-handed. Meszaros made it 4-0 on a Sens power play with a screened shot that beat Toskala, chasing the Finnish goalie from the net.
The goalie change seemed to spark the Leafs, who carried the play for the rest of the middle period and finally got a goal when Antropov rifled a wrist shot in the top corner over Gerber's stick side on a Toronto power play at 14:23.
But there would be no comeback on this night. The Senators re-asserted themselves in the third period, Kelly finishing off yet another 2-on-1 break after a pass from Eaves to make it 5-1 at 6:25.
Toronto had plenty of chances to make this a game, getting nine power-play chances on the night but scoring only once. Ottawa got three man advantages and scored once.
Wellwood and Bell started the game together on a line with John Pohl but later found themselves with Jason Blake as head coach Paul Maurice shuffled the deck. Wellwood also saw time on the first power-play unit.
Toronto actually outshot Ottawa 31-21 - a prime example of how the shot clock can be misleading.
Notes: With Wellwood and Bell returning, Simon Gamache paid the price. The Leafs put the winger on waivers Tuesday for the purposes of sending him back to the AHL Marlies . Star centre Jason Spezza missed his fourth consecutive game for the Senators with a groin injury . Defenceman Bryan McCabe (groin) and forward Darcy Tucker (knee) remained out for Toronto . Gerber has only lost once in regulation in his last 23 starts (20-1-2) dating back to last season . The Battle of Ontario was missing its biggest brawlers - tough guys Wade Belak of the Leafs and Brian McGrattan of the Senators were healthy scratches . The Leafs next play Friday at Buffalo while the Senators host Washington on Thursday . The Senators were 5-1-2 against the Leafs last season and 7-1-0 in 2005-06.
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=222312&hubname=
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TV Information
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RIS
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MSG (HD)
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Little more than one month into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres already face large Northeast Division deficits. Merely making the playoffs could be difficult if the teams can't shake their early season struggles.
The Maple Leafs are expected to get a pair of key players back in the lineup Friday night as they try to post a rare road victory against the Sabres.
Residing in the same division as defending conference champion Ottawa figured to make it very hard for Toronto or Buffalo to finish first. The Senators have played even beyond expectations, winning 13 of their first 15 games to take firm control of the division in November.
The Maple Leafs (6-7-3) could find themselves out of the playoffs for the third straight season if their defense and goaltending don't improve. They have allowed a league-high 62 goals, as neither Vesa Toskala nor Andrew Raycroft has played well enough to seize control of the No. 1 goaltending role.
Toskala allowed four goals on 13 shots before he was replaced by Raycroft at 8:08 of the second period in a 5-1 loss Tuesday at Ottawa.
Nik Antropov scored his team-leading ninth goal to provide the only offense for Toronto, which has lost three of four.
"They really took the game away from us right away and after that it was just a matter of them coasting right through the rest of the hockey game," said center Kyle Wellwood, who made his season debut after having surgery for a sports hernia.
Although it may not help them become better defensively, the Leafs will be happy to get rugged forward Darcy Tucker and defenseman Bryan McCabe back on Friday.
Tucker has missed seven games with a knee injury while a sore groin has sidelined McCabe for six contests.
"I've tried to take this time to get my mind fresh and clean and ready to play," Tucker said. "I can play far better than I was earlier in the year. That's my main goal, to come back and be hungry and be very gritty for the hockey club."
Tucker and McCabe should help on the power play, where the Leafs have scored only 10 goals in 76 opportunities while allowing an NHL-worst five short-handed goals for the opposition.
While a porous defense is Toronto's biggest problem, Buffalo (6-7-1) has had trouble scoring with only seven goals in its last four games.
The Sabres ended their second three-game skid of the season Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory over Boston on Clarke MacArthur's goal 3:16 into the extra period.
"It wasn't our best game, but it wasn't our worst either," Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell said. "Wins are important. We have to be able to take advantage of these points and start climbing."
Getting production from an unexpected source like MacArthur is important because the Sabres are without five injured regulars, including centers Adam Mair and Tim Connolly, who both missed their first game after being hurt in Monday's 2-0 loss at Montreal.
The Sabres defeated the Leafs 5-4 on Oct. 15, when Ales Kotalik scored a power-play goal with 3.7 seconds left in overtime. Buffalo improved to 15-5-2 with one tie against Toronto since the start of the 2003-04 season.
Associated Press
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=228&gameType=2&page=Preview&season=20072008&service=page
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Close enough.
It was Buffalo.....
Recap | Scoresheet | Stats | : Pre-Game | Game In Six | Post Game
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Bryan McCabe and the Toronto Maple Leafs were determined not to have history repeat itself.
Andrew Raycroft made 30 saves for his sixth career shutout, Mats Sundin had a goal and an assist, and McCabe redeemed himself for a past gaffe in Toronto's 3-0 win over the slumping Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
In the last meeting in Buffalo between the two teams in mid-October, the Maple Leafs blew a two-goal, third-period lead and lost in overtime when McCabe inadvertently swatted the puck into his own net. McCabe again scored the winner, but this time it was in the right goal.
``At least one was for our team, so that's a bonus this time around I guess,'' McCabe kidded.
Raycroft, meanwhile, put his team in a position not to waste another lead. Making his first start after two relief appearances, Raycroft made 15 saves in a scoreless first period, including a diving stop to his right on Nathan Paetsch's rebound attempt with 55 seconds remaining.
He was also helped when Sabres centre Jochen Hecht hit the goal post with 14 minutes left in regulation. Raycroft needed to turn aside only six shots in the final frame, thanks to a suffocating defence that neutralized the Sabres pop-gun offence.
``To win games you have to have breaks,'' said Raycroft, whose last start was Oct. 20, when he surrendered five goals in a loss to Chicago. ``We had a busy first, but we didn't give them anything in the third. That was the best third period we've played in a really long time.''
Boyd Devereaux also scored to help the Maple Leafs, last in the NHL in goals against entering the game, win for the second time in the last three games.
``Andrew had a great game in net, but we played a great game defensively,'' said Sundin, who moved to within one goal of tying Frank Mahovlich for 27th on the all-time goals list, and one point of tying Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time points list. ``We've scored enough goals but for some reason we've struggled with our defensive play.''
The Sabres, the highest scoring team last season, were shutout for the third time this season, and second in the last three games. They've now lost seven of their last 10 games, and have scored just seven times in their last five contests.
``I don't know what the team is thinking collectively,'' said goalie Ryan Miller, who made 20 saves. ``It was a frustrating kind of game.''
Miller kept the game scoreless in the second period, when he made a clutch save on Toronto defenceman Pavel Kubina's breakaway with 8{ minutes left.
Toronto finally broke through with just 36 seconds left in the second period. With a faceoff to the right of Miller, Sundin cleanly beat Buffalo's Clarke MacArthur, drawing the puck back to McCabe 10 feet inside the blueline in the middle of the ice. McCabe's slap shot went off Buffalo forward Paul Gaustad and knuckled past Miller.
McCabe was playing in his first game after missing the last six because of a groin strain.
Sundin made it 2-0 with his ninth of the year three minutes into the third period, and Devereaux capped the scoring with his second goal with just 59 seconds remaining in the third.
The Maple Leafs' lineup was bolstered by the return of not only McCabe, but also forward Darcy Tucker. Tucker missed seven games because of a knee injury.
``We're hitting posts, we're hitting legs and we're missing open nets,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. ``I'm disappointed the puck isn't going into the net.''
Notes: McCabe earned his 400th career NHL point on his goal. ... Sabres D Jaroslav Spacek returned after missing eight of the last nine games because of a shoulder injury. ... These two teams don't meet again until Jan. 19, in Toronto. ... Buffalo forwards Tim Connolly (abdomen) and Adam Mair (ankle) both missed their second games. Connolly was tied for the team lead in points heading into the game. ... The last Toronto shutout in Buffalo was by Ed Belfour on April 2, 2004. ... Sundin moved within one goal of tying Frank Mahovlich for 27th on the all-time goals list, and one point of tying Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time points list. He now has 532 career goals and 1,266 points.
Associated Press
Three star selections:
1st: ANDREW RAYCROFT
2nd: MATS SUNDIN
3rd: BRYAN MCCABE
Winning Goaltender:
Andrew Raycroft
Losing Goaltender:
Ryan Miller
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20072008>ype=2&gnum=228
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Box | Stats | Pics | Ceremony | : Video
November 10, 2007
TORONTO -- The New York Rangers finally have a road win.
Marcel Hossa's decisive shootout goal gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game Saturday night.
The Rangers had been without a win in their first six games on the road (0-5-1), and with this win they were the last NHL club to get a win in an opponent's arena.
Nik Antropov took the first shootout shot and Stephen Valiquette made the save. Brendan Shanahan was the first New York shooter and beat Vesa Toskala high on the glove side. Mats Sundin shot high and wide before Hossa got his chance. He deked twice to confuse Toskala and buried the puck behind the Finn to end it.
Sean Avery, alias ``The Pickering Pest,'' set up Shanahan for a goal and scored one himself for the Rangers during regulation time.
Valiquette got the goaltending win in his first start after Henrik Lundqvist played every minute of the Rangers' first 16 games.
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored both of Toronto's goals in regulation. Toskala was the hard-luck loser in front of a season-high Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,530.
There was a group stare-off involving all players on the ice at the boards between the benches after Avery and Darcy Tucker _ both wear 16 _ exchanged words during the warmup, and the two were yapping again in the 12th minute. Tucker dropped his gloves, Avery did not, and both were sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. They were back on the ice for eight seconds before the gloves came off and they were going at each other with their fists.
The Rangers jumped ahead 2-0 with goals 42 seconds apart from the line of Shanahan, Avery and Scott Gomez early in the second period.
Gomez won a faceoff in Toronto's end and passed to Avery, who took the puck behind the Leafs' net. A backhand pass sent the puck to Shanahan at the front of the crease and the puck was instantaneously behind Toskala at 1:43.
Avery dodged Pavel Kubina to get to the rebound of a Toskala save off Shanahan and score at 2:25.
Ponikarovsky's two goals in two minutes tied it 2-2.
The six-foot-four Ukrainian blasted a slap shot from the circle to the left of a kneeing Valiquette into the top short-side corner of the net at 16:54. Ian White's pass to Antropov at the blue-line should have resulted in an off-sides whistle, but play continued and the goal counted.
Ponikarovsky then slammed a rebound past a kneeling Valiquette at 18:54. The point Sundin got for assisting gave him 1,267 in his career, tying him with Jean Ratelle for 32nd place on the all-time list.
Valiquette kept the Leafs from seizing the lead when he made a fantastic leg save on a Mark Bell bullet with nine minutes remaining in the third period.
Toskala made as equally important a save with seven minutes left in regulation when he induced Gomez to shoot into his chest from point-blank range.
The Leafs' Boyd Devereaux was sent off for hooking with 3:27 remaining in regulation. The Rangers would try to remove the power-play doughnut served up by both teams, but they couldn't do it.
Hold on.
Tucker hooked Hossa as Hossa nearly scored in the closing seconds of regulation time, and the Rangers started overtime with another manpower advantage. They came up empty again.
It would go to a shootout.
Notes: Toronto had a 34-27 shots edge . . .The Leafs, 0-for-4 in this one, were 28th in the league in power-play efficiency (12.8 per cent) coming in. The Rangers also went 0-for-4 with manpower advantages . . . New York entered the game with a league-best 1.67 goals-against average, while Toronto's 3.53 GAA was 29th in the 30-team league . . . Pre-game ceremonies were held to mark Remembrance Day and to introduce Mark Messier, Al MacInnis, Ron Francis, Scott Stevens and Jim Gregory, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night . . . Sundin's next goal will be his 533rd and will lift him even with Frank Mahovlich for 27th place . . . Jaromir Jagr, who scored 54 goals in 2005-2006 and slipped to 30 in 2006-2007, has only three in the Rangers' 17 games . . . The Leafs' healthy scratches were John Pohl, who sat out a second straight game, Wade Belak, idle for a third consecutive game, and Bates Battaglia, deleted for a fifth in a row . . . Toronto plays at home against Montreal on Tuesday, is in Boston on Thursday and is back home next Saturday against Ottawa.
Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: BRENDAN SHANAHAN
2nd: ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY
3rd:
Winning Goaltender:
Stephen Valiquette
Losing Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=236&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20072008&service=page
Toronto 2011 night 2
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