The One Game To Rule Them All
Vesa Toskala and his fellowship of the underachievers will be entering Saturday night’s game with the pressure of Leafs Nation bearing down on their shoulders.
If the Finnish netminder is expecting the Toronto Maple Leafs’ fanbase to support him from the onset, he’s in for quite the surprise. After 24-year-old rookie Jonas Gustavsson provided the Leafs with its first display of actual goaltending, it’s hard to imagine how many fans remain who are willing to give the Toskala the benefit of the doubt—again.
I may be setting myself up for an epic failure, but I’m willing to give Toskala one last shot before hopping aboard “the Monster” bandwagon.
Before you scoff, hear me out.
I got two words for you (and no, it’s not “Suck It!”): Sidney Crosby
Crosby has 3 points in 4 games entering Saturday night’s match-up. Not bad, but he can do a lot better—and I put strong emphasis on A LOT. Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime, and guess who didn’t record a single point? Yup, you guessed it. The perennial superstar is not prone to producing zero points even in a two-game stretch, so he’ll firing on all cylinders. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the gentle sobbing of the soft-spoken Toskala.
Simply put, tomorrow night will serve as the ultimate test for Toskala, who is quickly becoming the whooping boy of the Leafs. If he manages to shut down the Pens’ high-octane offense—not to mention Sidney Crosby exclusively—he will undoubtedly, at the very least, gain a smidgen of trust from Leafs fans. And that’s a start for a goaltender who has been abysmal to mediocre during the past year.
While Gustavsson’s groin injury has probably got Toskala choir singing in the shower, he shouldn’t feel too secure with goaltender Joey MacDonald breathing down his neck. Macdonald isn’t a starting goaltender in the National Hockey League, but he did manage to post a save percentage above .900 on the New York Islanders last season—yeah, and we all thought it was impossible. Also, he was quite impressive in his limited time with the Leafs during pre-season.
Should Toskala falter against the Pens, it is likely Macdonald will get the nod against the New York Rangers on Monday. But if he manages to play his first good game in God knows how long, he’ll have the chance to play in three consecutive games in a four day span—the third team being the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
All this to say one simple thing: No more excuses for Toskala. It’s put up or shut up. All or nothing. Do or die. Whatever ridiculous saying you can come up with, apply it here.
Let’s see how Toskala responds.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, that Evgeni Malkin guy is not bad either.
You stay classy, MLHS.
ronguillet@gmail.com
October 9th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
@HMB
Nonsence, they need to win every single game until we win the cup….by shutout….in overtime
October 9th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
@Leafsfan
Wallin SHOULD be a 4th line center with alot of PK time. He is good on the PK but he seriously has ZERO offence. No way I want to see him on the 3rd line. I actually really like that Blake-Mitchell-Mayers line. Lets hope Mayers can play some inspired hockey for us so he can stay here
October 9th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Not sure why Wilson would say Toskala has the next 4 games with nobody breathing down his neck. Wouldn’t it make alot more sense to put some pressure on Vesa, in the hope that he finally realizes his job is on the line and decides to start earning his $4.0 million contract??
October 9th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Jordan
Yeah that’s right…maybe RW is actually a blogger on here to? LOL
I’m certainly no coach but I feel pretty good with these lines and I hope if RW is reading these (lol again) that he recognizes if we need an extra spark to move Rosehill and Orr up some shifts to filter the toughness and beligerence around and not just keep them as a line and nail them to the bench all night.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
@Schenn
well it sure didnt work against the Caps lol
October 9th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
@lons
ya Im a little pissed when I see that he hasnt played Orr and Rosehill more. They dont seem too bad defensivly so I dont understand sometimes
October 9th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
@jordan
ya I don’t even say play the whole 4th line just use Rosehill and Orr on different lines when it is obviuos some of our forwaqrds are dragging their asses and we need a spark. So if Blake is floating then sit him for a couple of shifts and put Rosehill in to replace him . this does 3 things, sends a message immediately to blake, adds a spark to the line and the team and finally it causes the opposition to keep their heads up.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
@Schenn
It hasn’t occurred to you that the pressure of realizing just how much his job is on the line is why this guy is presently so mentally paralysed that he can’t catch a simple opening shot?…
October 9th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
OK, PPP i’ll give you the Matts deal the Dave A deal and the other Gilmore deal but Mccabe and Tucker I don’t know if I would call them good let alone great.I guess my opinion of the player and how they left here have me not liking those trades. Bathgate he was a leaf all of 1.5 seasons they did win the cup the year he came he had great playoff so I guess you can call the trade decent.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I’d go for a Bathgate trade this year for sure. 1.5 years and a cup sounds pretty sweet. lol
I actually do remember that trade too.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
re Gus groin injury
my wife is a highly experienced nurse–she is saying that since the current groin issue is related to the tube being inserted for the angiogram a few weeks ago, in her view he more realistically ‘should’ be out around 6 weeks–much longer than the 2 weeks folks seem to be counting on !
October 9th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
@ionsys
.
I read somewhere on mapleleafs.com that the groin problem has nothing to do with his surgery, he just pulled it.
October 9th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Kadri just scored the goal of the year tonight against Plymouth
October 10th, 2009 at 3:56 am
[...] The One Game To Rule Them All [...]
October 10th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I like those lines. About time RW started reading along with this blog. Now if we can only get Burke to start reading our content this team would get fixed. There is lots of content on here I absolutely disagree with and lots I completely agree so Burke needs no advisers any longer he can come here for every idea and pros/cons.
October 10th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Nevermind playing the next 3 games…can he make it out of the first period without being pulled. I for one really hope he rebounds and proves everyone, including myself wrong. On another note why didnt anyone take some retribution on any sens player when Volchenkov takes out your most promising training camp prospect…so much for being a nasty building to play in and being tougher all around this year. The hit that left Stahlberg on the shelf for at least a week happened in the first period and with over 40 minutes of play no retribution whatsoever from the blue and white, BRUTAL !!
October 10th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eklund/Quick-Hits-LeafsSharks-RumorPreds-Lightning-lead-Kostitsyn-Sweeps/1/23572
I know its EK, but I’m bored and broke down for anything new.
October 10th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
@ Ron Guillet, not to be that guy, but in response to your first sentence..i really dont know if we are underachieving..more-so as to just playing worse than our overachievment last year (in terms of our returning forwards, not anybody else).
October 10th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
@ Dannyleafs247…sorry man, but commas and periods..you gotta breathe homie, this leafs stuff is buggin u too much, take a vacation, roll a few of those sticky icky leafs, and fill your brain with THC, its the only way you’ll get over it. Kessel is a leaf, he’s a stud, so we gave up some value, we also gained alot of it, once again, breathe, strap the electric massage to your favorite chair, and enjoy the game tonight.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:43 am
ipcc variability beta reports…
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November 10th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
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