Say hello to my little friend!The Leafs lost to an average team - that played its back-up goaltender - in their own building. Games like this are the ones the team really shouldn't lose. The Rangers were 0-5-1 with only 6 goals scored on the road previous to last night. The difference between winning and losing such games is the difference between a playoff team and a non-playoff team.
The Rangers didn't beat the Leafs; the Leafs found a way to lose.
Pavel Kubina played only 15:49, down 10 minutes from his average icetime. He was partly responsible for Sean Avery's goal and didn't play much afterward. I like that Paul Maurice is beginning to sit players that shit the bed defensively. Now, I don't think that Kubina played especially badly, but benching him after a bad play creates a culture of accountability within the team. I've said it before, but punishing players for poor play is something that good coaches do - and that Paul Maurice usually doesn't. I really like the idea of letting a player know that poor play won't be tolerated. At the very least, going this route is the opposite of what wasn't working. Logic dictates that the opposite of what doesn't work is what works.
*EDIT: Just read Eklund's latest post, and he noted the following about Kubina:
"The Ducks may have interest in Kubina. There were two scouts in Toronto last night, and Kubina NOT playing in the third period sent all sorts of rumblings through the press box."
So, if Kubina is traded in the next couple of days, we'll know that Maurice didn't bench him for poor play after all. If not, disregard Eklund's jibba jabba.
Lest We Forget...Those Teeth
This may be offside, as it happened during a Remembrance Day ceremony, but what was up with that soldier who sang the national anthems? He was definitely Christopher Walken's double in Sleepy Hollow. And, like the Horseman, his teeth will haunt me for several weeks. If you missed the ceremony, picture this grill singing the anthems:
Ughhhh.
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