Game In 10: Game 62, Leafs vs. Caps

by Mislav Jantoljak on February 25, 2012 in Post Game - 946 Comments

Boxscore | Ice Time | Recap

The ACC welcomed the Caps in a major points battle, but more importantly – our organization honored the 1962 Stanley Cup winning team which featured such gems as Tim Horton, “Red” Kelly, George Armstrong, Johnny Bower, Dave Keon, Frank “Big M” Mahovlich (proud to say he is a Croat) etc. They say history is the best teacher and we can all learn a thing or two from those guys. I’m proud to be able to celebrate a vital period in our team’s history.

1 – The Leafs are 29-26-7 and you can’t fall this flat in the biggest game/stretch of the season and not get a trade shake up. It sends the wrong message (that whole Blue and White disease thing). Check for point 10 for more (also, if you want to skip the negative, check out point 4).

2 – Wraparound goal 30 seconds into the game, Reimer overplayed the right post, and couldn’t recover in time when he realized a wraparound was coming.

3 – Schenn with the giveaway after Reimer makes the initial save, but gives up a rebound which goes to Schenn. Luke coughs it up and Semin shoots it past Reimer who, again, probably should have had that one. Even with the giveaway, he had time to get set and get square. A question for other teams – would you guys be up for goaltending free hockey for the rest of the regular season? No? Ok, just thought I throw it out there, no reason really.

4 – I really liked Frattin’s game tonight. Simplicity is gold. He brings a lot of energy, is strong on the boards, and his kind physical play is exactly what we’re lacking right now. A breath of fresh air out there.

5 – Huge save by Reimer in the middle of the 2^nd period to keep the game close.  Don’t know about you but I’m kind of sick of saying our goalies started to make big saves after they let in one or more bad goals… A thing to note – NHL winning percentage for teams that score first is a whopping number (around 70%). That would certainly suggest that “settling in” after that doesn’t count for a damn thing.

6 – Jeff Halpern scores after another lost board battle, also – no boxing out, two Caps in front of Remier and Halpern gets to it and scores. On the other side, Neuvirth keeps making insane saves. Worth mentioning that Washington’s goaltending wasn’t very good for a while now and here we have Neuvirth starting his first back to back in a while aaaaand he shines. Figures.

7 – Keith Aucoin shows a fair bit off skill on his goal made by Ovechkin on the rush. No. 8 in white passes to Johansson who feeds Aucoin, the AHL star kicks the puck on his stick and finishes it off.

8 – Ineffective power play didn’t offer the boys much chance tonight.  Besides Frattin’s game, Gardiner was once again the shining light for out team. Poise beyond his years.

9 – Good for Armstrong for getting that goal, but Brown made that goal with a little pick which cleared traffic for Colby’s shot. His first goal in 364 days! Connolly makes a smart play to cut the deficit to 2 but it was all she wrote.

10 – Don’t look now, but many of our questions regarding the short term and the long term future will soon be answered. I fully support Burke’s adamant attitude not to mortgage the future. Question is, after tonight, can he afford not to make a significant deal? It’s tough to balance the need to shake up the dressing room and send the right message with not getting bent over the barrel at the trade deadline as your team struggles.

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