It is their second meeting this year, and the first played a big part on blinding fans for both teams in the belief that each were elite competitors. Since that opening night, the Habs have on 5-7-0, while the Leafs have gone 1-7-2. But there are always upsides, and tonight marks to start to capitalize on those specifics.
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The Buffalo Sabres are first in their division with a 7-1-1 record, first in the league with average shots per game (36), and have won every game in which the opposition out-shot them. Ryan Miller also holds the best goals against average (1.60) and save percentage (0.944) in the NHL. The Leafs visit them tonight in an effort to try and ruin many of those stats.
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It’s a pre-Halloween edition of Stick Work featuring discussions on the road swing, Jiri Tlusty, in .. Victor Stalberg out, along with Joey MacDonald.
Vesa Toskala, in … sort of.
We’ll talk about Team Canada and Marc-Andre Fleury’s position, and how Roberto Luongo’s injury affects that.
And we introduce a new weekly feature called the Torontosaurus Rex … a title bestowed to the exceptional Leafs player of the Week.
All this and more in a backdrop of Halloween in conjunction with the Michael Jackson movie This Is It, stay tuned folks, it’s going to be a thriller ride …
katshockey@mapleafshotstove.com
Ron Wilson was interviewed today after the Leafs practice, and he revealed the plan moving towards the weekend concerning the goaltenders and the return of Vesa Toskala, as well as what we have all been waiting to hear about – the return (or rather arrival) of Phil Kessel to the Leafs lineup.
Update: Tlusty Up, Stalberg Down, thanks to “canucksnaphook” and “Leafsfan87″ for info.
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The Maple Leafs deserved better in tonight’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. It was frustrating to see another strong effort come up short. The Leafs really need to start pulling out some of these close games if they want to get back into contention.
They can’t afford to lose those games “that they deserved to win,” because it doesn’t seem like they are good enough to win the games “they should have lost.” Take a look at the Montreal Canadiens; 5 of the their 6 wins this have come in overtime or shootout. Instead of being 6-6-0, the Habs could easily be 1-6-5. However, they’ve found ways to pull out those close games. I hate to say it, but it’s a sign of a better team. +Continue Reading
No truer words ring out to the ears of the throng of fans and particularly management of the Leafs victory over the current GM’s former organization.
And it took Alice in Chains to create them.
Cali, you’re alright …..
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I know, I know. It’s just one win.
But you have to admit, it still feels good. Somewhat of a sense of relief is sweeping through Leafs Nation today. A sense that, although there is still a long way to go, things are not at a total loss. This team can find ways to win, and appears to be rounding into the sort of form envisioned by GM Brian Burke during a busy and much-hyped (over-hyped?) offseason.
Big thank you to Mark Seidel, Chief Scout of North American Central Scouting and contributor to The Hockey News, for taking the time to chat about the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft. His agency’s latest rankings can be seen here on THN. This time around, Leaf fans won’t be having the opportunity of watching one of the draft’s elite youngsters, such as projected top pick Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall, fall into their lap. But nonetheless, the draft is always a hot topic in the hockey world.
With many thanx to the wonderful work of Bloge Salming, who made a valiant attempt to clean up the audio files from the inaugural Stick Work podcast.
We’re continuing to look for improvements in technology for the sound quality. The intro segment follows the interviews for anybody who missed it:
katshockey@mapleleafshotstove.com
The Leafs are set to visit the Anaheim Ducks as they continue to search for their first win of the season, and while one awkward stat is starting to creep up on them, it seems Gustavsson is ready, but possibly not completely game ready.
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