Northeast Division
Perhaps there is more than meets the eye with this gritty fourth liner.
This evening's 3-2 loss was another tough one to swallow for a Maple Leafs team that largely outfought the Tampa Bay Lightning throughout the course of the game. There appeared to be only one real area where the Maple Leafs fell short in this one... star power. The Tampa Bay Lightning's Vincent Lecavalier pulled off a few moments of magic which proved decisive. Backstopped by a stingy Mike Smith, the Lightning were sturdy defensively, but on top of their 39 shots on target, the Leafs missed the 6x4 on an inexcusable 19 occasions (believe it or not, only 2 were off the stick of Jason Blake). [more…]
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After chasing down the Pittsburgh Penguins, making a substantial offer for a failing market team, and whispers of supporting the Buffalo Sabres, it looks as if Jim Balsillie may in fact receive the green light on a new buzzing project in the greatest hockey market in the world.
Alright guys, gonna be putting together an MLHSÂ feature article and we need your help!
In the article, we're gonna have two of the more prominent [more…]
Three games into the season and the Toronto Maple Leafs have already embarked on an up and down ride.
Since the turn of the new millenium, Leaf fans have grown accustomed to seeing a late twenties' Bryan McCabe take charge of what was predominantly a veteran laden defense core. We'd often see him bellowing out orders from the bench, sticking up for his teammates even when it probably wasn't in his best interest to do so (getting ragdolled by Chara comes to mind), or displaying a sense of passion and heart unmatched by any other Leaf blueliner. On the scoresheet, he was Toronto's lone all-star defenseman not named Kaberle in recent memory, a 25 minute a night workhorse, and the all-time leader in PP goals among Leaf defensemen. Since the lockout, the Leafs have gone a dismal 11-22-4 without Bryan. [more…]
Original post: http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=17231&blogger_id=48
Mixed results are often the signature of a re-building hockey club. Games one and two of the '08/'09 campaign could not have illustrated that truth any more patently for the in-flux Maple Leafs.
The confidence gained from Thursday's 3-2 triumph in Detroit quickly receded in the ACC last night, as the Leafs could only maintain their tight-checking, fast-skating aggression for a mere half-period before the impressive Canadiens took over and never looked back. [more…]
A week ago, several people, including the illustrious Howard Berger at Hockeybuzz, had written of not only the entire hockey season in Toronto, but certainly the first game, against the mighty Detroit Red Wings. [more…]
The approach entering the '08/'09 campaign from head coach Ron Wilson and general manager Cliff Fletcher is that performance is the primary measuring stick while results in the win/loss columns are only of secondary import. [more…]
Preseason has concluded for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After 9 games of juggling line-ups and testing their young guns, the Leafs have finished with a 2-5-2 record. However, this blog does not have the objective to bash the Leafs and bring the fan base to a heaving sigh. Instead, let's take a different approach. Let's go into the season with our heads high. Let's go into the season with an optimistic state of mind. Let's go into the season to watch some hockey!
I can hear the brassy intro in my head. Bah-bah bah bah Bah bah buh-buh-buh, and then the hook. “It’s the final countdown†rings in my ears.
Here we are with the 2008-09 NHL season fast approaching and the 1986 hit by the hair band Europe comes into my head.
