Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

kenshunt

Leafs Look To Make It Two Straight Oct 9, 2007, 7:00 PM ET
TV Information

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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

even flow?

They ain't goin' pitch an 0 for this season Kenny.

How dare Ry post after that threat of a Montreal loss.

NY PJ1

canes leafs tonight eh??

o baby i love the nhl package

kenshunt

NY PJ1 wrote:

canes leafs tonight eh??

o baby i love the nhl package

I'm hoping for 2 in a row

Red Lukin

Do the Leafs ever stink tonight..I wish they had some players who can actually skate and want to play.

even flow?

:eek:

You are like a hurricane, there's calm in your eyes, do do do, and I'm gettin' blown away........

NY PJ1

yikes,,,best to forget last night

Rygar

even flow? wrote:

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.

Good follow up last night, Laffs.

kenshunt

Leafs Can't Slow Down Hurricanes


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&gtype=2&gnum=39

kenshunt

Well i have nothing to say except the Leafs got there asses kicked.

Rygar

Speaking of injuries, when Tucker went feet first into the boards I said to my gf, "I've done that." only I did it with a lot more speed and couldn't walk right for 2 months or so. Did he play last night? I figured he bruised the bone in his foot.

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

Speaking of injuries, when Tucker went feet first into the boards I said to my gf, "I've done that." only I did it with a lot more speed and couldn't walk right for 2 months or so. Did he play last night? I figured he bruised the bone in his foot.

Yes he played, but not affective.

Steve Dunne

looked like the canes were playing a mite team last night there in the 2nd period.

kenshunt

Steve Dunne wrote:

looked like the canes were playing a mite team last night there in the 2nd period.

That's what fast teams against a slow defense can do, Gill looked like a big tree that got caught standing still, Kubina isn't very mobile, McCabe looked like shit, except his pp goal, White trys to stick handle through people to much, i dunno the fowards didn't help the defence much either, and by the end Toskala look like he gave up on the last 2 goals.

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

That's what fast teams against a slow defense can do, Gill looked like a big tree that got caught standing still, Kubina isn't very mobile, McCabe looked like shit, except his pp goal, White trys to stick handle through people to much, i dunno the fowards didn't help the defence much either, and by the end Toskala look like he gave up on the last 2 goals.

If you already let in 5 you'd probably give up too

Hawkshore

Hey Ken there is always next year in leaf land

..............and besides another shitty year is a small price to pay to seal the fate of JFJ!

even flow?

kenshunt wrote:

That's what fast teams against a slow defense can do, Gill looked like a big tree that got caught standing still, Kubina isn't very mobile, McCabe looked like shit, except his pp goal, White trys to stick handle through people to much, i dunno the fowards didn't help the defence much either, and by the end Toskala look like he gave up on the last 2 goals.

Gill always looks like a planted tree. I surprised he dosen't wear number 23 to remind fans of another bum named Gill.

Rygar

Hawkshore wrote:

Hey Ken there is always next year in leaf land

..............and besides another shitty year is a small price to pay to seal the fate of JFJ!

Honestly JFJ is NOT that bad (other than the eternity contract for Antropov). It's more the retarded fans and media that make him look bad.

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

Honestly JFJ is NOT that bad (other than the eternity contract for Antropov). It's more the retarded fans and media that make him look bad.

Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Pavel Kubina, Hal Gill, Jeff O'Neil, Re-Signing MCabe to huge money, Trading Tuuka Rask for Andrew Raycroft, missing the playoffs 2 out of 3 seasons as GM, i think he has done a terrible job.

even flow?

Rygar wrote:

Honestly JFJ is NOT that bad (other than the eternity contract for Antropov). It's more the retarded fans and media that make him look bad.

The guy looks like he came from Boston to be the GM. The guy hasn't had one good signing since he has been here. Any fan could be a better GM then he is. The guy plays by MLG rules. The place is full and we lose. You don't need to put a winner on the ice. Somewhere Harold Ballard is laughing and saying, "don't fix what ain't broke".