NHL
The Leafs second half surge was in large part the result of unexpected play from several Toronto Marlie callups in James Reimer, Keith Aulie, Darryl Boyce and Joey Crabb. Looking to take his first step towards graduation, Joe Colborne has been recalled from the farm while he was in the midst of an impressive 18-game stint with the Marlies, scoring eight goals and adding seven assists. If Colborne manages to perform half as good as he did in his debut with the Marlies - a two-goal performance - the Leafs would be ecstatic. Expectations in check, it's a one-game wetting of the feet that we shouldn't read too far into either way.
Same goes for 23-year old college senior Matt Frattin, who signed a two-year entry level contract with the Leafs on Friday and will join Colborne in making his Leafs and NHL debut. The product of North Dakota won't play a top six role, but will form an intriguing third line alongside Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.
It was a relatively uneventful off day for the Leafs, with the only noteworthy news being the report from AM640 that J.S. Giguere will undergo a sports hernia surgery this summer. The team is back on the ice today to prepare for tomorrow's game when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens. Just like the Leafs final game one year ago, they will be playing for pride and would like nothing more than to finish off their season series with Montreal by defeating their original six rivals in front of the hometown fans at the Air Canada Centre.
There are only ten returning Leaf players from the team that defeated Montreal 4-3 in overtime on April 10th of last year. Among those players includes a strong trio of defenseman in Dion Phaneuf, Luke Schenn and Mike Komisarek. Up front, Tyler Bozak, Tim Brent, Mikhail Grabovski, Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and Fredrik Sjostrom were all members of last year's team. One key player in last season's finale against the Canadiens was Christian Hanson, who scored two goals and added an assist in the win. Fellow Marlies teammate and recently acquired centre Joe Colborne is expected to be recalled by the Leafs prior to the game, so he can get a taste of NHL action before heading into the off season.
Colborne has had an impressive stint since joining the Marlies, exhibiting a real scoring touch with eight goals, seven assists and 15 points in 19 games. If Leafs brass decides to bring him up, he could be sampled in various spots in the lineup, perhaps spending some time centering Kessel or Marlie teammate Nazem Kadri. It should be a nice taste of NHL action at the very least and at most his first step in making the case for full-time NHL duty as early as this fall.
Despite a late third period rally with quick goals by Phil Kessel and linemate Tyler Bozak, the Leafs weren't able to mount a comeback over the Devils in their final road game of the season. The Leafs looked a team understandably disheartened by the realization they were no longer playing meaningful hockey. Hopefully the final game against an arch rival on Saturday provides a better send off in front of the home crowd.
James Reimer had a strong start to the night, with several impressive stops through the opening frame, but appeared to show signs of fatigue after surrendering three straight goals, including a snipe by Ilya Kovalchuk on the powerplay. Reimer was replaced by Giguere to open the third period, who fared much better in his first appearance in several weeks.
As the Leafs prepare for their final game of the regular season on Saturday against Montreal, Ron Wilson and the rest of the coaching staff will evaluate the roster and likely recall a forward from the Toronto Marlies. All signs point to Joe Colborne, who was expected to replace Armstrong in the lineup after he went down to injury, but was sidelined with a head injury of his own. It will be an excellent stage to audition for a full time spot on the Leafs next season.
The Marlies will get a new arrival of their own in near-50-goal-man Greg McKegg after the elimination of his Erie Otters from the OHL playoffs was followed quickly by a three year entry level contract with the Maple Leafs. McKegg is eligible to play out the season in the AHL given his junior season is finished but as an 18-year-old he cannot play there until the same juncture next season.
Alexander the Great comes to Toronto with a win in mind. In our case tying the season series against the Capitals means prolonging what little is left of our playoffs hopes. However, even a win tonight can’t win the war against numbers. If Buffalo manages to beat Tampa, or even if that game goes into overtime the Leafs will officially be eliminated from the playoff race. Grab your voodoo paraphernalia, tarot cards, whatever other mumbo jumbo you might have and hope, just hope.
Well, the luck continued yesterday for the Blue and White. With their monumental collapse in the playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers last season still fresh in the minds of the Boston faithful, the Bruins once again committed a major defensive lapse by surrendering five unanswered goals to the Rangers yesterday and putting the post season further out of reach for the Leafs. Hopefully the hockey gods have the decency to balance out the Leafs' misfortunes eventually because we haven't seen much fall their way since the lockout.
At the end of the day, the Leafs playoff aspirations rely solely on their performance throughout the entire season. While a late stretch created excitement for the city of Toronto, this team must get over the hump and learn to win on a consistent basis without that major, season-killing slump that has had them fighting such a deficit the past few seasons. All Leaf fans can ask for is an honest effort and demand no excuses for mid-season mediocrity. It has been well-documented that the Leafs have put together one of the best records in the NHL since the All Star break. None of that matters if the team is one of the worst through October and November.
With three important games left on the schedule, starting with tonight`s game against Washington, the Leafs will look to finish the year strong to leave no doubts that they finally jumped over the hump. Although the playoffs are still a mathematical possibility, the Buffalo Sabres must lose the rest of their games in regulation while the Leafs need to go three straight in either regulation or overtime. If the Sabres manage to record a point, Toronto will be officially, mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Hey, stranger things have happened, right? I think?
"Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong"
-Murphy's Law
It's obvious now this Murphy character was a prescient Leafs fan. After the Leafs continued to do their part by dispatching the Senators on Saturday, the worst possible scenario transpired on Sunday as the Rangers beat the Flyers before the Sabres and Hurricanes put the icing in the shitcake by taking their game to overtime. The Hurricanes and Rangers are now 7-2-1 in their last ten while Buffalo is 6-2-2. The Leafs handed Buffalo one of their regulation losses while the other came from the Hurricanes. One of two Hurricane losses came from the Leafs. One of two Rangers losses came from Buffalo. It all adds up to the Leafs taking care of their must wins but receiving practically no help from teams not involved themselves in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Credit to the Sabres, Rangers and Canes for playing really good hockey that hasn't allowed the Leafs to catch up after a horrible first half of their season.
For those maintaining hope until the math says there isn't any, the Leafs would have to win out with three regulation/overtime wins while two of the three below scenarios would have to play out for them to make it: [more…]
The sixth and final chapter of this season's Battle of Ontario gets underway tonight in another must-win game for the Leafs, who are five points back of the eighth place New York Rangers with four games left on the schedule. The 14th place Ottawa Senators will look to play a spoiler role against their arch rival in hopes of putting an end to their remaining playoff aspirations. Although the Senators have struggled as of late, they have managed to stay competitive in games due to the impressive goaltending display from Craig Anderson, who was recently re-signed by the team to a four year contract. The playoff chances may be remote, but the last way we want them put to rest is at the hands of the Senators. [more…]
It appeared as though the Leafs received a lucky break when the Sabres announced that Ryan Miller was listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury as a result of being hit in the chest by a Dion Phaneuf slapshot on Tuesday. As Leafs fans, we should know better by now. With Miller out, the Sabres started a relatively unproven and undersized goalie in Jhonas Enroth, who had only appeared in nine NHL games prior to starting last night. He made 23 saves to earn the victory and his first career shutout. Buffalo's win puts the Leafs seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with only five games remaining.
Toronto is back in action tonight against their division rival Boston Bruins, who have struggled against the Leafs this season, winning only two of the five previous matchups. However, the Bruins enter the game on a hot streak, winning three straight, their latest a 3-0 shutout performance over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
It certainly felt like the Leafs allowed their final playoff hopes to slip with their loss to Detroit on Saturday. The Sabres won and the Leafs failed to keep pace, but really it has been Buffalo and New York's red-hot play since the calendar turned March that has provided the nails to the coffin on the Leafs season. Estimates at one stage had the eighth placed team in the East finishing below 90 points. Now, the Sabres would only need to play at .500 through their final seven to make it to 92. We could be seeing the final team in the East at 94 points come mid April.
With 78 points through 76 games, the Leafs are sitting 21st in the league and could realistically climb as high as 19th, bumping the Bruins' draft choice out of the top ten. They could surpass Carolina and Minnesota with a good final six, while staying ahead of St. Louis, Columbus (both at 77 points & each with a game in hand) and Atlanta (76 points). A poor final six could drop the Leafs as low as 23rd and put the Bruins as high as seventh in the draft order. [more…]
The Leafs entered last week with the hope of winning at least two of the three games on their Western road trip. They were successful in accomplishing that goal, however last night's loss to the Detroit Red Wings put the team into a very difficult position heading into the final stretch of the regular season. In order to have a realistic chance of making the post season, Toronto will likely have to win all six of their remaining games and pray that the Buffalo Sabres hit a dead end and win two or fewer of their games.
Considering the season-long brilliance displayed by Ryan Miller, and major offensive contributions from Thomas Vanek and sophomore forward Tyler Ennis, the Sabres will have to suffer a significant blow such as an injury or losing streak to lose hold of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Brian Burke stated prior to the start of the season that the primary goal was to make the playoffs. With yet another season set to wrap up in mid April, the city of Toronto is not filled with negativity and frustration, but rather a sense of optimism and promise that the Leafs have made significant strides towards building a contending team in the very near future.
Links after the jump.
The Maple Leafs visit the Joe Louis Arena in the only meeting of the season against an original six rival in the Detroit Red Wings. Coming off their third-straight win after a victory in Colorado on Thursday, tonight's game is the next step in the attempt to more or less run the board and climb into the top-eight of the Eastern Conference. Despite being second in the West, the Red Wings have struggled in the month of March, going 4-4-3 in their last 11, including two losses in regulation and an overtime loss, in their last three games.
Toronto is looking to capitalize on the Red Wings glut of injuries. Detroit will be without leading offensive forwards Pavel Datsyuk (lower body), Todd Bertuzzi (back) and Johan Franzen (groin). With a 16-7-4 overall record and a 12-3-1 road record when James Reimer is between the pipes, the Leafs have been one of the top three teams since the all star break, behind only the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils. In order to prove up to making the playoffs, let alone to competing in them, Toronto needs to be able to beat the best. Let's hope the continued lack of outside help hasn't taken some of the wind out of the Leafs' collective sail, as the state of Florida failed the Leafs last night with Carolina and Buffalo wins over Tampa Bay and the Panthers.
Follow the jump for today's Leaf Links.
With a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche last night, the Leafs have moved into a tie with the Carolina Hurricanes for ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 78 points, putting them three back of the Buffalo Sabres, who sit in eighth with two games in hand. Based on the past few seasons, the minimum number of points needed to qualify for the playoffs falls between 90 and 92 points. In order to reach that mark, the Leafs must win at least six of their final seven games. The goal heading into this west coast road trip was to collect four out of a possible six points, which has already been accomplished, so earning at least one point in Detroit on Saturday will be a major bonus for the team.
James Reimer is clearly the engine that drives the Leafs’ success, however there is one player in particular who hasn’t garnered nearly the amount of attention that he deserves based on his play this season. With spotlight shining on Clarke MacArthur, Mikhail Grabovski and of course Phil Kessel, there has been less talk of Nikolai Kulemin and his under the radar performance. With two goals last night, he has moved within two tallies of the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. The 25-year old forward has not only set a career high in goals (28), assists (26) and overall points (54), but he has also been one of the team's best penalty killers.
Check out your Leafs Links after the jump.
