Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

NY PJ1

not taking nothing away

but toronto did nothing last night

nyr just decided not to step onto the ice

but a win is a win

xavier mcdaniel

i don't know about nothing, scoring five of your six goals on tip-ins, deflections and rebounds is something and doing it on 16 shots is pretty good also.

NY PJ1

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

i don't know about nothing, scoring five of your six goals on tip-ins, deflections and rebounds is something and doing it on 16 shots is pretty good also.

dude when hal gill is skating thru your team

the team isnt even there

16 shots ? nothing to say WOW

all goals on slopppy shitty nyr play

except the last one

xavier mcdaniel

NY PJ1 wrote:

dude when hal gill is skating thru your team

the team isnt even there

16 shots ? nothing to say WOW

all goals on slopppy shitty nyr play

except the last one

that's how you win games some of the time by taking advantage of shitty play by your opponent. any NHL coach will say the same thing and on all of their goals it was a result of shitty plays by the rangers but they did get in front of the net which is something any NHL coach wants to see his team do no matter how few or how many shots the team gets.

Rygar

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

that's how you win games some of the time by taking advantage of shitty play by your opponent. any NHL coach will say the same thing and on all of their goals it was a result of shitty plays by the rangers but they did get in front of the net which is something any NHL coach wants to see his team do no matter how few or how many shots the team gets.

The Habs beat the Boourns last night (4-0 this year, always good for 2 pts :P) and were outshot 16-3 in the second period....

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

The Habs beat the Boourns last night (4-0 this year, always good for 2 pts :P) and were outshot 16-3 in the second period....

And the Leafs will make 5 straight wins against the Bruins on Saturday.

Hawkshore

4 Wins in a row!!! Oh my JFJ is the greatest GM ever ....do we have the stanley cup pararde route finalized yet???

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

And the Leafs will make 5 straight wins against the Bruins on Saturday.

Just like last time?
Wait, meant the time before that.
Dang!
Sorry!

Bathgate66

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

he is on the seating chart for media, don't know if he's here.

MSG showed Avery sitting in the crowd.
Imaggine these 2 ran into one another in the hallways.

whats everyone getting excited about
the road team only wins these games.
its part of the original 6 " agreement"

:rolleyes:

kenshunt

TV Information

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National TV:
CBC (HD)
Local Away:
NESN (HD)

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to extend their season-high winning streak to five games, they might need to generate more shots. A meeting with the Boston Bruins at Air Canada Centre on Saturday might help them do just that.

The Maple Leafs (12-11-6) have scored nine goals on just 31 shots in their last two victories, including a 16-shot performance in a 6-2 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Toronto now gets to face Boston (14-10-3), which has allowed 51 goals on the road compared to 19 at home.

On Thursday, Nik Antropov scored on all three of his shots for his second career hat trick, two days after Toronto had 15 shots in beating Nashville 3-1.

"Obviously, we'd like to get more than we had these last two games," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin, who has three goals and four assists in the last five games. "We've got to produce more shots than 16 if we want to be successful, but at least we're not giving up the high quality scoring chances. Not too many, anyway."

Toronto, which had won two in a row just once before this spurt, last won five straight from Jan. 27-Feb. 6 - its longest winning streak last season.

Vesa Toskala has been a key factor during the Leafs' current run, posting a 1.75 goals-against average and starting all four victories. His outstanding play is welcome after he went 6-8-3 with a 3.16 GAA in his first 18 games.

Toskala struggled in his last start against the Bruins on Nov. 20, allowing three goals on 24 shots in a 4-2 defeat.

That loss was Toronto's third in a row to its fellow Original Six opponent. The Leafs have dropped seven of their last nine overall meetings against Boston, going 1-4-0 at home while being outscored 14-4 in those defeats.

The Bruins, meanwhile, continue a difficult stretch of nine of 10 games on the road after losing 4-2 to Montreal on Thursday in the lone home contest over that span. Boston was coming off a 3-2-1 record during its season-high six-game road trip.

"You can't complain about the schedule," captain Zdeno Chara said. "We are a better team than that but we have to put this behind us because we have another tough road trip ahead."

Boston, which makes stops in Buffalo and Atlanta before opening a four-game homestand next Thursday, is 7-7-2 on the road.

The Bruins might give rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask his second consecutive start after he allowed all four goals on 30 shots to the Canadiens. The 20-year-old Rask was thrust into the starting role Thursday after starter Tim Thomas suffered an apparent groin injury in a 4-3 overtime loss at New Jersey on Wednesday.

Rask was impressive in his first career start against Toronto - the team that drafted him 21st overall in 2005 - on Nov. 20, stopping 28 of 30 shots.

Boston may also decide to give veteran goaltender Alex Auld his first start after acquiring him from Phoenix on Thursday in exchange for minor league forward Nate DiCasmirro and a fifth-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Auld was 3-6-0 with a 3.54 GAA and one shutout in nine games with the Coyotes this season. He is 1-2-1 with a 2.14 GAA in four games against the Leafs.



Associated Press
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=421&gameType=2&page=Preview&season=20072008&service=page

kenshunt

TORONTO (CP) -- Alex Auld's new Boston Bruins teammates barely know him, but they cheered loudly when, with sweat dripping off his brow after his winning performance, he made his way into the dressing room.

Auld won his first start for the Bruins, 2-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, two days after they acquired him from Phoenix.

``That's the great thing about hockey,'' said Auld. ``All the players know what different players go through and how tough it can be when you get bounced around.
``Everyone has been so welcoming. I didn't know many guys on this team but everyone has made me feel right at home, and that's great.''

Boston traded for the 26-year-old native of Thunder Bay, Ont., after Tim Thomas was injured. He was the backup in a 4-2 home loss to Montreal the day of the trade. To get his first start for the Bruins in Air Canada Centre was a treat.

``Coming from Ontario, it was the team I grew up watching,'' said Auld. ``It's pretty special to come in here and get the win, and getting my first win with my new team feels great. It's an awesome feeling.''

The six-foot-five goalie became expendable in Phoenix when the Coyotes acquired Ilya Bryzgalov from Anaheim last month. They sent Auld to the AHL team in San Antonio, Tex. His wife, who is 8 1-2 months pregnant, remains there.

The last 18 months have been frustrating, to say the least, for Auld.

``It's been crazy pretty much, in all honesty, since I was traded to Florida (by Vancouver),'' he explained. ``It's been so up and down''.

``You've just got to keep battling and believe in what you can do. That's probably the biggest thing. You keep getting pushed down but you've got to bounce back up and keep showing what you can do.''

He was a healthy scratch in an AHL game last Sunday.

``It's crazy the way things can go,'' he said. ``It's great to be back in a league I believe I belong in.

``This is an opportunity I want to take full advantage of and prove to everyone that I belong here.''

Auld's goaltending, suffocating checking and goals from Chuck Kobasew and Dennis Wideman earned the Bruins the victory.

``It was our best checking effort of the season,'' said assistant coach Craig Ramsay.

Auld was told by the head coach during their initial briefing that he'd get plenty of checking support.

``That's one of the first things Claude Julien told me when I joined the team, that it was going to be a system that was conducive to goaltenders,'' said Auld. ``That's great''.

``There's very little scrambling in our end. Even when we get hemmed in, we stay really poised. I felt good. I felt that I was seeing the puck well. That's so important. Our system in our end makes it that much easier.

``The guys really collapse in front of the net and pick up the rebounds. That makes my job a little bit easier in that regard.''

Jason Blake scored the game's first goal but that's all the Leafs could muster. They outshot Boston 26-20 and might have beat the Bruins had their power play not gone 0-for-6.

It's been a continuous problem for the Leafs, who entered the game ranked 28th in the league on manpower advantages. Boston was 1-for-4.

Vesa Toskala played well but was saddled with the goaltending loss. Toronto had won four in a row.

``It's obviously frustrating,'' Blake said of the loss. ``We had some chances but (Auld) played great.

``We can't let this loss linger too long. We've got a tough game against Tampa Bay on Monday night, and we've just got to get right back at it.''

The Bruins entered the game one point ahead of the Leafs and they're three up now.

Every time a Leaf touched the puck, there was a Bruin all over him. With the Leafs trying to match the Bruins' defensive diligence, there wasn't much for the 19,441 eyewitnesses to cheer about.

``They're a very defensive hockey team,'' said Toskala. ``They just sit back and wait for those turnovers.

``There were long periods where I didn't touch the puck.''

Alexei Ponikarovsky couldn't get a shot on Auld.

``That's what the Boston team is all about,'' he said. ``They're always trying to frustrate you and when they get the chance they just burst and go the other way and try to get odd-man rushes. They're playing trap like (the) New Jersey Devils. It's hard to get through in the neutral zone.''

It was Boston's third straight win over Toronto this season. The Leafs haven't beaten the Bruins since last Jan. 4.

``We knew what to expect,'' said Kyle Wellwood. ``They'd beaten us twice already playing that style, so we were really focused on beating them.

``We thought we played okay but the power play just didn't come through. We weren't skating fast enough and, when we were getting the puck, we were making bad decisions. We really need to start getting open for each other.''

Mats Sundin's club-record points streak from the start of a season ended at 16 games.

Notes: Toronto finished 0-for-6 and Boston 1-for-4 on power plays ... Toronto lost its two previous games against Boston this season and hasn't beaten the Bruins since last Jan. 4 ... C John Pohl and LW Bates Battaglia were healthy Leaf scratches ... The Leafs' average age is 29.4 years, and average size is six-feet-two and 209 pounds ... Nik Antropov's natural hat trick in the win in New York was the first by a Leaf since Sundin did it November 1998 ... The Leafs stay home to play Tampa Bay on Monday. They then play seven consecutive road games beginning in Atlanta on Friday.

Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: DENNIS WIDEMAN
2nd: JASON BLAKE
3rd: CHUCK KOBASEW
Winning Goaltender:
Alexander Auld

Losing Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20072008&gtype=2&gnum=421

kenshunt

TORONTO -- Was it only two weeks ago that Toronto Maple Leafs fans jammed phone lines on sports talk radio and demanded that heads roll?

Since a 5-1 loss at Phoenix on Nov. 24 and the subsequent rumours of possible firings in the front office and behind the bench, the Maple Leafs have gone 5-1-1 to quiet Canada's largest hockey market.

``Sometimes you need an absurd amount of pressure to get things going,'' Leafs head coach Paul Maurice said after the latest victory Monday night, 6-1 over Tampa Bay. ``So absurd that you think the entire game of hockey will be called off based on the way the Leafs are playing. It helps put things in perspective.''

Jason Blake ignited a four-goal explosion in the second period Monday as the Leafs blew away the Lightning to catch the Montreal Canadiens at 32 points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

``The confidence level on this team is high,'' said Leafs forward Kyle Wellwood, who had two assists.

And they've done it with much better defensive play, cutting down on turnovers and shots against, as well as getting top-notch goaltending from Vesa Toskala.

``Vesa has settled down and is playing outstanding,'' said Leafs forward Nik Antropov, who had a goal and an assist. ``We're feeding off it. He's playing amazing right now.''

Chad Kilger had a pair of goals while Matt Stajan and captain Mats Sundin also scored for the Leafs (13-12-6), who play their next seven games on the road.

Michel Ouellet scored for the Lightning (13-14-3), who bring an NHL-worst 2-11-1 road record into the Bell Centre in Montreal on Tuesday night after another loss away from home.

``Let's call a spade a spade, it was a good old-fashioned (expletive) kicking,'' said a steaming John Tortorella, Tampa's fiery head coach.

League-leading scorer Vincent Lecavalier of the Lightning was kept off the scoresheet for the first time since a Nov. 29 game against Detroit.

``It's very disappointing, not the game we wanted to play,'' said Lecavalier. ``We played well in the first period but after that we couldn't keep the play in their zone.''

A scary-looking injury to star Lightning centre Brad Richards at 7:32 of the second period seemed to completely take the wind out of the sails of the Lightning, who at the time were very much in the game at 0-0 and playing well. Richards crashed into the corner boards and left the game favouring his left leg. The team said the injury wasn't too serious and that Richards could possibly even play at Montreal.

It looked worse at the time and his teammates were obviously shaken and stopped skating while the Leafs took full advantage.

Blake, Sundin, Antropov and Kilger scored in a span of 4:32 a few minutes after the Richard injury to break the game open, an angry Tortorella yanking starting goalie Johan Holmqvist after the fourth tally in favour of Marc Denis. Holmqvist gave up four goals on 21 shots but it was hardly his entire fault as his team stopped playing in front of him.

Blake got things going at 10:09, re-directing a Wellwood shot. Sundin made it 2-0 at 12:32 with a beauty of a backhand deke on a breakaway on a Leafs power play, Antropov knocked in a rebound on another rebound at 14:07 and Kilger capped the carnage with a long wrist shot that beat a screened Holmqvist at 14:41.

For Sundin and Antropov it was their 15th goals of the season, tied for the team lead. Toskala got his 11th win of the season as he made his seventh straight start in goal for Toronto.

The Leafs' 29th-ranked power play went 2-for-3.

Ouellet re-directed Filip Kuba's point shot with one minute to go in the middle period to make it 4-1. Stajan finished off a nice set-up at the side of the net from Boyd Devereaux 5:15 into the third period. Kilger completed a nearly identical scoring play from Antropov at 12:12 to make it 6-1.

Notes: Tampa went 0-for-5 on the power play ... The Leafs put forward Bates Battaglia on waivers Monday ... Toronto next plays Friday at Atlanta followed by a game Saturday in Montreal. They next play at home Dec. 29 against the New York Rangers ... It was the first of four games between Tampa and Toronto this season. The Leafs won all four last season ... Top defenceman Dan Boyle (left wrist) remains out for Tampa, as is forward Ryan Craig (left knee) ... Leafs defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo (right knee) is hoping to play his first game of the season before the end of the month.



Canadian Press
Three star selections:
1st: NIK ANTROPOV
2nd: BOYD DEVEREAUX
3rd: KYLE WELLWOOD
Winning Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala

Losing Goaltender:
Johan Holmqvist
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=437&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20072008&service=page

Rygar

Why do they still call it Canada's largest hockey market?

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

Why do they still call it Canada's largest hockey market?

What is Canada's largest hockey market ?

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

What is Canada's largest hockey market ?

They should measure it by highest attendance, then we'd know the REAL market.

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

They should measure it by highest attendance, then we'd know the REAL market.

Well i do know they make the most money of all the Canadian teams.

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

Well i do know they make the most money of all the Canadian teams.

No surprise there.
Slightly east of you you'll find the NHL's best attendance ->not that it matters seeing as they've booed their own team off the ice 3 games in a row (four after tonight!)

kenshunt

Rygar wrote:

No surprise there.
Slightly east of you you'll find the NHL's best attendance ->not that it matters seeing as they've booed their own team off the ice 3 games in a row (four after tonight!)

But some arena's are smaller then others, the Leafs sell-out every game.

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

But some arena's are smaller then others, the Leafs sell-out every game.

I'm just busting your balls Kenny.
My point is the Leafs suck.

Hawkshore

Rygar wrote:

I'm just busting your balls Kenny.
My point is the Leafs suck.

I'll second that .....and add Leaf fans suck also ....especially the really winy ones!!! .....Laugh Nation yeah right :rolleyes: