Leafs' Play Stinks Like a Dirty Vag

You've already been updated on the biggest news to come out of last night's game, that being Bryan McCabe's broken wrist. In other, slightly less rough news, the Leafs were beaten handily last night by the Montreal Canadiens; final score 4-1.

Tomas Kaberle: Vesaaaa, I didn't get an enema for nothing, hurry up and put it in!

There weren't many positives to come from last night's game. The Leafs played exactly like a team that had played the night before. Scratch that - the Leafs played like a team that had taken on Spartan Warriors the night before. Beat Atlanta on Friday, then dine in hell on Saturday. The team looked sluggish almost from top to bottom.

I won't do too much analysis from the game. The team performed badly, and there isn't much else to say about it. I will say, however, that Vesa Toskala was hung out to dry like the morning wash. Two of Montreal's four goals were tipped in. Another one was one of the worst defensive breakdowns in league history. So, blame not Mr. Toskala for this game.

CBC showed an interesting stat about Vesa last night. During his first 12 games with the Leafs, his save percentage was 0.875. I know that isn't technically a percentage, but that's how it's written in hockey. I have no idea why 0.875 is considered any better than a true percentage of 87.5. Whatever. In his last 13 games (not including last night), his save percentage was 0.943.

This may not seem like the hugest swing to someone not totally familiar with the stat, but a save percentage of 0.900 is generally considered the benchmark for an NHL-calibre goaltender. That is, save 9 shots of every 10 and you're OK. The difference between 0.875 and 0.943 is the difference between a career minor league goaltender and a superstar NHL goaltender. In other words, the difference is fucking huge.

As for the abovementioned defensive breakdown, I think it merits some discussion. Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle were the culprits. Kubina lost his stick, forcing Nik Antropov to give him his. With Antropov stickless, Montreal was effectively on the man advantage. They controlled the puck in the Leafs' zone and sustained pressure. Somehow, both Kubina and Kaberle - apparently mesmerized by the puck movement - abandoned the front of the Leafs net...with Saku Koivu there. Koivu got the puck not too soon after, and deked a helpless Toskala for the eventual game winning goal. Seriously, that kind of shit doesn't happen in peewee hockey. Just. Fucking. Brutal.

The McCabe Injury
Paul Maurice's reaction:
"He's got three broken bones in his hand, it's bullshit."
"He's too good a player to lose that much time on a bullshit play like that."
My reaction:
The play looked fine. It sucks to lose the player that plays the most for you, but that's the way she goes sometimes. I really don't think the play was dirty - maybe a little illegal, but I'd be really surprised if Kostitsyn was suspended over it. The good news of it all is that Staffan Kronwall is likely to be called up to replace McCabe on the roster. Kronwall was sent down recently despite having outplayed Andy Wozniewski by a great deal. Hopefully this latest stint will see him stay with the Leafs at Woz's expense. Bones it!