The Monster returning to form, Leafs veterans return for win

Though Jonas G has backstopped the Leafs to many victories this season, the vast majority of them were helped by a barrage of Maple Leafs goals whenever Monster was in front of the twine. It didn't bode well for the playoffs, when things tighten up and leaky goalies start golfing.

Well, I will be the first to admit that I have not been a fan of Jonas Gustavsson ever since the two heart surgeries appeared to take away his confidence and vitality. Perhaps we can call this the "Jason Blake Syndrome" as JB never regained his scorer's touch / hunger for goals after he got hit with cancer, and it seemed top me that JG was at risk of never reverting to the form he displayed in his rookie year.

With The Monster scaring opponents, Rynnas needs to be moved soon

Okay... I sit corrected yet again. Jonas won last night's game for the Buds, and I am grateful for that, and am also grateful for the patience and trust shown in Jonas by Leafs management, as I would likely have moved him months ago. My belief is that the Leafs currently have at least 4 NHL-calibre goalies (Optimus, Monster, Scrivens, Owuya), with the potential for 5 to 6 if Rynnas and Sparks continue to improve. With Gustavsson clearly rounding into top form, the time to move Rynnas is fast approaching.

Owuya's promotion a key to Marlies' Calder Cup aspirations

Mark Owuya lead the Swedish elite league in save percentage last year, as a rookie! As of now, he has the best GAA and the second best save percentage in the entire American Hockey League however he just dropped off the chart as he only has ten games and there is now an 11 game minimum. Considering that he is statistically one of the top two goalies (the other is Cedric Desjardins) in the AHL, it is crucial for Mark Owuya's progress and value for him to be back in the AHL soon. He's an NHL goalie, so having him ride the buses in the ECHL may have been a good character-building exercise, yet now the Marlies can use his winning ways and he is showing every indication he and Scrivens can lead them to a Calder Cup.

"Yo-Yo" Kadri to face Big Bad Bruins in Boston

Mere hours after being sent down to the Toronto Marlies, injuries to Colby Armstrong and Clarke MacArthur in last night's win over Winnipeg resulted in Nazem Kadri getting called back up to the Buds. He is in Boston with the Leafs now, and is expected to play tonight against the Bruins.

Gotta love the depth Burkie has built into the 2011-2012 Toronto Maple Leafs!

Maple Leafs call up defenceman Matt Lashoff for playoff run

AHL Marlies' Lashoff a key defender in team's success

According to an article written by Lance Hornsby and posted to the Toronto Sun website at 2.08pm this aft March 14, 2011:

The Maple Leafs are adding some blueline insurance as their playoff run hits the critical stage.

Defenceman Matt Lashoff, a key performer for the Marlies in their second-half success, was expected to clear recallable waivers at noon Tuesday, in time for the back-to-back road games in Carolina and Florida. Since trading Tomas Kaberle, and before him, Francois Beauchemin, the Leafs had been relying on Brett Lebda and Mike Komisarek as their fifth and sixth defencemen. But they don’t want to be caught short-handed on the road as the games pile up and injuries become more of a risk.

Lashoff could stay the balance of the Leafs’ 13 games, as he represents the second of their four American Hockey League call-ups, permissable while the Marlies are active. But even if claimed before Tuesday, the New York state native can’t be utilized by another club this season as the NHL trade deadline has passed.

Lashoff was acquired from Tampa Bay last summer in a trade for minor leaguers Alex Berry and Stefano Giliati. He had some NHL experience with Boston and Tampa, so it was thought he might crack the Leafs at camp. But the former first rounder of the Bruins from 2005 has put in a season of tutoring under coach Dallas Eakins and has been getting good marks of late.

The 6-foot-2 Lashoff had 28 points in a team-high 69 games and was a plus four, as well as leading the Marlies with 137 penalty minutes.


Toronto Maple Leafs' Matt Lashoff related links:

NHL waiver rules after trade deadline, Mark Lashoff callup

Matt Lashoff wikipedia info page

Matt Lashoff statistics on Hockey DataBase - HockeyDB.com