The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs started in a calendar year with 4 wins was 1962, the year Bill Barilko's body was discovered at the plane crash site 100km north of Cochrane, ON. Nobody is predicting 3 Cup wins in a row (with parity and 30 teams, highly improbable relative to early 60s), however with the NHL's youngest team skating in Toronto, a few consecutive years in the playoffs may be in the cards. In this new concussion-concussed NHL, a team needs to have 3 or 4 NHL goalies, plus about 30 NHL-calibre players. The Buds have this type of depth, and as the season wears on our youth and vigor wear down opponents, and one can only hope that the Boston Bruins have peaked too early.
Showing posts with label leafs news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leafs news. Show all posts
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Crabb, Colbourne and Boyce power Marlies to 3-2 AHL opener
Victory over champs led by Toronto Leafs late cuts
Even though the Leafs pulled last night's game out of a rabbit hat in the end, they did dominate Ottawa for long stretches, and Brian Burke must be smiling today. As the Leafs enter a week of practice, the Toronto Marlies are showing the depth the Leafs GM can benefit from. When Connlly and Mac Arthur return, both Kadri and Frattin could also find themselves on the Marlies, strengthening this club even further.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (CP) - Darryl Boyce scored the power-play winner with one minute left in the second period as the Toronto Marlies defeated the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators 3-2 in American Hockey League action Saturday.
The Marlies scored three times in the second period to earn the win. Joey Crabb got Toronto (1-0-0) on the board at 3:24 of the period, then Joe Colborne and Boyce scored power-play goals to give the Marlies their first lead of the game.
Kaspars Daugavins and Eric Gryba scored in the first period for the Senators (0-2-0).
Ben Scrivens made 23 saves for the Marlies, who went 2-for-7 on the power play.
Mike McKenna made 35 stops for the Senators, who were blanked on four power-play chances.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
NHL Ottawa vs Toronto Preview
With Game 2 of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2011-2012 season just a couple of hours away, here are some notes regarding tonight's game versus Ottawa Senators, who opened their own season with a 5-3 loss in Detroit last night (courtesy of mapleleafs.nhl.com):
Season Series: It's the first of six editions of the Battle of Ontario, a series that ended with each team winning three times last season. The Senators have won their last two trips to the Air Canada Centre.
Team Scope:
Senators: You can be sure this was not how Paul MacLean had planned to start his NHL coaching career. In his first game as the boss, MacLean watched in horror as Ottawa fell behind 5-0 in Detroit on Friday night before scoring three times in a 5-3 loss that looked closer than it was.
"It looked a lot like it did when I was on the other bench from this bench," said MacLean, who was hired in Ottawa after six seasons as an assistant to Mike Babcock with the Wings. "For me, I felt comfortable being here at Joe Louis Arena, I've been here before. But we made a few mistakes."
Maple Leafs: Optimism reigns in Toronto, where the Leafs got their season off to a satisfying start by blanking the archrival Montreal Canadiens 2-0 on Thursday night. James Reimer stopped all 32 shots he faced and made goals by Matthew Lombardi and Dion Phaneuf stand up.
Not that coach Ron Wilson is ready to declare his team a powerhouse as it tries to end a playoff drought that dates to 2004. After all, the Leafs started last season by going 4-0-0, then collapsed with 11 losses in their next 12 games.
"We're still going to be a work in progress," he said.
Who's Hot: Reimer is now 21-15-5 since joining the Leafs on Jan. 1. … Newcomer Dave Steckel didn't hit the scoresheet Thursday night, but he more than did his job by going 18-7 in the faceoff circle. Steckel led the NHL in faceoff percentage last season.
Injury report: The Senators are without center Peter Regin (shoulder). Jesse Winchester (shoulder) and Matt Carkner (knee) are on IR. Center Zenon Konopka missed Friday's game with a back problem but hopes to play against the Leafs.
Toronto is still without one of its big offseason signings, center Tim Connolly, who's out with an upper-body injury. The Leafs hope he'll be back in a week or so. Forward Nazem Kadri is out with a knee injury.
Stat Pack: Reimer went 2-0-1 with a 0.98 goals-against average against the Senators in 2010-11, including a 2-0 shutout on Feb. 19. … The Leafs, among the NHL's worst penalty-killing teams during the past few seasons, held Montreal scoreless in five tries on Thursday and scored a shorthanded goal.
Puck Drop: No one is happier to be in the lineup than Lombardi, whose shorthanded goal on Thursday came in his first NHL game since he sustained a concussion last Oct. 13, when he was playing for Nashville. He couldn't even skate for 10 months and was only cleared for contact last week.
"It just goes to show that if you want it enough and you want to push yourself you can do it," said Lombardi, who played about 11 minutes on Thursday. "You've just got to believe in it."
Season Series: It's the first of six editions of the Battle of Ontario, a series that ended with each team winning three times last season. The Senators have won their last two trips to the Air Canada Centre.
Team Scope:
Senators: You can be sure this was not how Paul MacLean had planned to start his NHL coaching career. In his first game as the boss, MacLean watched in horror as Ottawa fell behind 5-0 in Detroit on Friday night before scoring three times in a 5-3 loss that looked closer than it was.
"It looked a lot like it did when I was on the other bench from this bench," said MacLean, who was hired in Ottawa after six seasons as an assistant to Mike Babcock with the Wings. "For me, I felt comfortable being here at Joe Louis Arena, I've been here before. But we made a few mistakes."
Maple Leafs: Optimism reigns in Toronto, where the Leafs got their season off to a satisfying start by blanking the archrival Montreal Canadiens 2-0 on Thursday night. James Reimer stopped all 32 shots he faced and made goals by Matthew Lombardi and Dion Phaneuf stand up.
Not that coach Ron Wilson is ready to declare his team a powerhouse as it tries to end a playoff drought that dates to 2004. After all, the Leafs started last season by going 4-0-0, then collapsed with 11 losses in their next 12 games.
"We're still going to be a work in progress," he said.
Who's Hot: Reimer is now 21-15-5 since joining the Leafs on Jan. 1. … Newcomer Dave Steckel didn't hit the scoresheet Thursday night, but he more than did his job by going 18-7 in the faceoff circle. Steckel led the NHL in faceoff percentage last season.
Injury report: The Senators are without center Peter Regin (shoulder). Jesse Winchester (shoulder) and Matt Carkner (knee) are on IR. Center Zenon Konopka missed Friday's game with a back problem but hopes to play against the Leafs.
Toronto is still without one of its big offseason signings, center Tim Connolly, who's out with an upper-body injury. The Leafs hope he'll be back in a week or so. Forward Nazem Kadri is out with a knee injury.
Stat Pack: Reimer went 2-0-1 with a 0.98 goals-against average against the Senators in 2010-11, including a 2-0 shutout on Feb. 19. … The Leafs, among the NHL's worst penalty-killing teams during the past few seasons, held Montreal scoreless in five tries on Thursday and scored a shorthanded goal.
Puck Drop: No one is happier to be in the lineup than Lombardi, whose shorthanded goal on Thursday came in his first NHL game since he sustained a concussion last Oct. 13, when he was playing for Nashville. He couldn't even skate for 10 months and was only cleared for contact last week.
"It just goes to show that if you want it enough and you want to push yourself you can do it," said Lombardi, who played about 11 minutes on Thursday. "You've just got to believe in it."
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