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Game Recap: Game #32, Los Angeles Kings 3 at Toronto Maple Leafs 1
The Maple Leafs played their best game of the season, but were dealt a taste of their own medicine with a sublime goaltending effort by Martin Jones, ultimately thwarting a plethora of fantastic chances and a game full of uncharacteristic sustained offensive zone time by the Leafs. 1st period The 1st minute of the game had the makings of another one of those games where Toronto...
Preview and GDT: Kings at Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m., TSN)
Deep breaths, everyone. No Dion Phaneuf and the 20-7-4 Los Angeles Kings are coming into town. The Kings are a heavy forechecking team and are going to seal the boards on the Leafs all night. The key to beating a good forecheck is going to be quick puck movement, effective use of the D to D pass, and available forward support on the breakout. Without...
Leafs Notebook – December 11
The Sunday game threw off the timing of the Leafs Notebook (along with life, work, and so on), so I apologize for the delay. Hope it was worth the wait at least. Notes - It’s nice to see the Leafs have a true first line and to watch them in action. When JVR-Kadri-Kessel are together as a unit, they are capable of dominating and they are...
Maple Leafs Systems – The Penalty Kill
There isn’t much I can add to the powerplay analysis that wasn’t in the write up by JP Nikota describing the Leafs use of the 1-3-1. They adopted this system in 2012-13 while more teams have incorporated the formation throughout the NHL. This may be the same reason Randy Carlyle has kept the penalty killing system intact for the last two seasons. More relevant...
Marlies Report: Marlies fall 2-1 to the Bulldogs
MLHS is pleased to have Daniel Kovalevsky, better known as Pent_House around these parts, contributing some Marlies writings going forward. A pivotal match against the Montreal Canadien’s AHL affiliate, The Hamilton Bull-Dogs, awaited the Marlies at the Ricoh on Saturday, as these divisional foes met up for their 5th of 12 regular season contests. Along with being the Battle of Ontario in the AHL, this game...
Dion Phaneuf suspended for two games
It's the first time since November of 2010 that we've even had to ponder the question of what the Maple Leaf blueline will look like without Dion Phaneuf. Alas, Phaneuf has been suspended for two games as a result of his hit from behind on Kevan Miller at the end of Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. It seemed like a game would suffice...
Maple Leaf Hangout Episode #21 with special guest Paul Hendrick
Honoured to have Leafs TV's Paul Hendrick join Michael and Michael to talk Leafs.
24/7 Episode 1 Preview – Coaches
NSFW - Hockey porn.
Dion Phaneuf facing possible suspension for Miller hit
The Maple Leafs haven't experienced a game without Dion Phaneuf since November of 2010. That may change on Wednesday vs. the Los Angeles Kings, as the Leafs' number one defenceman will have a hearing with the league discipline office tomorrow for a hit on Kevan Miller at the end of Sunday night's 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. It will be a phone hearing,...
Game in 10: Game #31, Bruins 5 at Leafs 2
The opposite of the typical Leaf game from earlier in the season. A decent even-strength performance by the Leafs, but the game was lost on special teams and an uncharacteristic bad goal on the Leaf netminder. The Leafs again played the Bruins pretty even, but can't find a way to beat this team. 1 - An excellent opening period of hockey from the Leafs. Toronto...
Game in 10: Game #30, Leafs 4 at Sens 3 (SO)
A game in Ottawa on a Saturday night. It brought the goals, the chippy-ness, the sloppiness, and the Leaf win we were all expecting. Bizarre stat - this was James Reimer's third 49+-shot win over the Senators in his career. 1 - 58 seconds into the game, Kadri did what he does better than anyone in the league, earning a powerplay for his team. After...
Preview and GDT: Bruins at Maple Leafs (7 p.m., LeafsTV)
The Leafs look to build on a two-game winning streak against a familiar adversary tonight at the ACC. The Bruins enter the game after an emotional, controversial win over the Pittsburgh in which Shawn Thornton pretty much committed assault on Brooks Orpik. Loui Eriksson won’t play due to the after effects of a perfectly clean hit he sustained from Brooks Orpik which led to the aforementioned...
Preview and GDT: Maple Leafs at Senators (7 p.m., CBC)
The Leafs return to Ottawa for the first time since April 20, 2013, the night of a 4-1 Leafs win that clinched their playoff berth for the first time in 9 years. Good times. And remember this angry drunk Sens fan from the Leafs' 4-0 win over the Senators a few weeks earlier? That was...
Maple Leafs Systems – Neutral Zone & Offensive Zone Forechecking
Unlike a singular rigid structure in the defensive zone, neutral and offensive zone systems fluctuate upon game factors including score, time remaining, and game situation (5v5 or 4v4). They also vary line to line and shift to shift. Varying conditions make it difficult to really pin down one specific system being applied as a core philosophy, while personnel and opposition systems further muddy the...
JM Liles called up, expected to play Saturday
Placing Tyler Bozak on Long Term Injured Reserve freed up the cap space to call up defenceman John Michael Liles on Friday. Trying out someone with his puck moving ability and experience on the backend couldn't hurt based on how the team has been struggling to get out of their zone. Liles has 13 points and is a plus-nine in 16 games in the AHL this...
Leafs and the World Juniors: First Thoughts
Team Canada has effectively named their roster for the World Junior Championships to take place in Malmo Sweden starting on Boxing Day. Having had a little bit of time to digest their decisions from a Leafs perspective, here are some of my thoughts. No Matt Finn The biggest surprise on Team Canada's roster from a Leafs perspective is Matt Finn's omission. Finn is an all-situations defenseman whose...
Game in 10: Game #29, Leafs 3 vs. Stars 2
Toronto welcomed the HBO crew with a 3-2 overtime victory at the Air Canada Centre. They came out with the appropriate amount of desperation and effort for a team that has been stumbling significantly. 1. The Leafs certainly came to play tonight. Maybe it was the HBO presence or an unheralded urgency in response to the squad's recent stretch of dismal outings. It could also...
Preview & GDT: Stars at Maple Leafs (7 p.m., Sportsnet)
The Leafs look to pick up their first win in five games tonight against the Dallas Stars. The Stars are 10th in the west with a 13-9-4 record, but some of below-average teams in the West would probably be good teams in the East. I caught parts of a couple of Stars games this season and this is a fast team. Jerry D’Amigo received his...
Morning Mashup: Stars In Town Tonight
The Leafs dropped their first December contest to extend the losing streak to five games, and six of the last seven. San Jose hurled 41 shots on the net and James Reimer was pretty good yet again, but it was another game where a poor first period meant that the Leafs were playing catchup all night. What really stood out on Tuesday night was the...
