What do you think?
Anybody still want to debate the wisdom of starting Gustavsson against the Penguins?
For my money, this was the right play.  Anyway you slice it, after a 2-0 start against two undermanned/terrible teams, tonight's game against the Penguins was set to be a measuring stick of sorts (despite the fact that they were somewhat undermanned themselves). If Wilson runs his number one guy out there and he gets torched, the Leafs' momentum comes to a crashing halt: we are measured, and found wanting. Instead, the coach pitches the Monster at a talented (and desperate for a home win) Pittsburgh team, and sends a message to the rest of the squad: bring your lunchpail and hardhat, it will be necessary to win the little battles along the boards and elsewhere on the ice to have a chance at two points in this game. [more…]
Given the early-season struggles of incumbent starting netminder Vesa Toskala, speculation is mounting that Jonas Gustavsson could receive his first NHL start as early as Tuesday night when the Leafs face their Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators.
Early speculation is Toskala may not be all the way back, mentally or physically, from the groin and hip surgeries he endured last season. While it is obviously far too early to annoint Gustavsson the starter for the rest of the season (he has yet to play a full game in the NHL), it is not unreasonable to expect that in the wake of Toskala's struggles he could receive an extended look, in the form of more early-season starts than were initially planned.
