Eastern Conference
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the 2009-10 season with lofty expectations set by the General Manager, Brian Burke, which fueled a widespread notion that, despite the team's penchant for mediocrity, the Leafs would at the very least be in the mix for the eighth and final playoff seed.
With the World Junior Championship gold medal game taking centre stage tonight (7:30pm, TSN), Leafs' fans can be forgiven for overlooking tonight's matchup against an inconsistent Florida Panthers squad (7:00pm, Sportsnet).
Coming off a disastrous mini-road trip out West, featuring losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, the Maple Leafs will look to inject some confidence into their lineup with a victory against the visiting Panthers, who sit only 4 points ahead of the Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings.
After an abysmal start at home, the Leafs look to string together four wins in a row at the ACC for the first time in almost two [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs are ranked third in the Eastern Conference during the last 10 games with a 6-2-2 record, and while that is no major accomplishment, it's an indicator that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Update: During post-game media scrum, Wilson says Komisarek's injury not serious. [more…]
Not a whole lot of news coming out of the NHL ranks these last few days, as the few free agents still available are playing the waiting game (kind of surprising to note that Alex Tanguay's still out there). As we try to make it through the last work day before the weekend, let's touch upon more trade speculation out of Chicago, Leaf prospect Mikhail Stefanovich, early playoff predictions and the Leafs' second annual Coca Cola Fans First Game. [more…]
In October 2008, a reporter set the Barilkosphere into a tizzy with a certain writing. The intention was simple, a deliberately cruel finger pointing at Leafs Nation.
The backlash was tremendous, and it inspired Pension Plan Puppets to trigger a massive response to the piece. It shows the unifying force behind the internet, allowing fans the opportunity to voice dissent.
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The Leafs goaltending issues at the NHL level have opened the door for some of their young goaltending prospects to strut their stuff and show everyone what they can do.
With Toskala resting a "sore groin" (that's probably code for .881 save percentage) and Joseph looking like he should have retired, we saw the much talked about Justin Pogge get his first NHL win on Monday night against Atlanta.
Months of uncertainty and speculation are likely to come to an end in the next week when Brian Burke and his associates meet with Richard Peddie and the MLSE. The groups have already spoken albeit lawyer to lawyer last weekend to confirm the Anaheim Ducks had signed papers allowing their former GM to talk with other teams and if reports are to be believed, groundwork was laid on the forthcoming negotiations.
In the ultimate act of callousness by league schedulers, the Maple Leafs will open their regular season account inside the Joe Louis Arena, where they will endure the pre-game banner raising ceremony for the Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings. [more…]
