Even Toskala Can't Save The Leafs Now

If you told the team at the beginning of the season to lose as many games as possible in the third period, they wouldn't have as many third period collapses as they do. There was a point in the season when these third period collapses frustrated me as a fan, but now I'm all about them. It's actually kind of impressive. I don't know how many they have (no idea where I'd find a stat like that) or what the all-time record is, but if they don't smash it, I'd be very surprised. Of 29 losses this year, my conservative estimate of 3rd period collapses is 12.

Their penchant for losing in the third is one of the most bizarre stats in the NHL. The team competes in - and often leads - every game until the third. Then, it's 9/11 time. Complete fucking collapse. For every fan that still wishes the team would make the playoffs - cause, you know, anything can happen, man - think about the amount of losses have come from third period bedshittings. The team constantly loses games when they count. Now, extrapolate those losses into the playoffs, when every minute counts. The team is incapable of playing when it's all on the line. It does this team no good to make the playoffs, they'd get murdered. 'Tis better to miss them altogether; the team will be better for it going forward.


Last night it was powerplay goals that did them in. Marleau scored at the end of a Boyd Devereaux slashing penalty. Then Rivet scored on a 5 on 3 while 5 on 3 boner maker Hal Gill was in the box. After the Sharks tied it up in the third, you had to see the loss coming. I mean, the Leafs' third period losing skillz aside, the Sharks are a really fucking good team that was playing at home with all the momentum.

Dominic Moore played his first game as a Leaf in place of Rock n Roll Johnny Pohl. Moore didn't really impress but had limited icetime. I really like him in the lineup over Pohl as the 4th line centre. Pohl has some offensive upside but has shown none of it this year. Moore can contribute the same offense as Pohl (i.e. almost none) but is ridiculously better defensively.

It seems the ridiculous Alex-Steen-as-a-powerplay-point-man experiment is over. Thank fuck. Alex Steen is a waste of a uniform on the point. Pavel Kubina offers so much more that I almost poisoned Paul Maurice's dog for trying Steen out in his place. Maurice's thinking was that Steen's left-handed shot is better suited to play with Kaberle. That much I understand, but if it's a shot he wants, has he forgotten that Chad Kilger has the hardest slapshot in the history of the NHL? I'm not condoning Kilger on the PP, but why pick Alex Steen over the several players with better shots? Moreover, why didn't this experiment happen earlier, when Mark Bell was still in the lineup? Bell has a wealth of experience on the point and his shot makes Steen's look vegetarian.

Kubina on the point gives the Leafs an amazing option. He can sneak in from the point as well as anyone in the game. Not only that, sometimes he'll just stay there, which is something no Leaf forward does all that well. Kubina on the right side is a boner in the making. With him there, the Leafs powerplay can feature only 1 d-man (Kaberle) up high and 4 players down low, overloading the penalty killing unit. The defence thus can't cover Kaberle, who becomes free top dish the puck around.

Maybe my ideas won't work - I'm not suggesting anything ground-breaking - but when your powerplay is 27th ranked at 14%, aren't changes necessary? I can't even begin to understand why Maurice isn't using Kubina's PP talent.

Post Script: Justin Pogge didn't suit up for the Leafs, as Andrew Raycroft backed up Toskala. I'll say it again, why call him up? Was/is there something on the table that would see Raycroft's tenure with the Leafs end? I fuckin' hope so.

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Tomas Kaberle is an All-Star, and Mats Sundin is Not

How the fuck did that happen?

I can't understand how Scott Gomez (10G 30A +2), Marian Hossa (16G 22A -9), or Eric Staal (23G 18A -4) are more worthy of an All-Star roster spot than Sundin's 20G 28A +10. I can't understand it because there is no reasonable excuse for it. Hell, even Mike Richards' 19G 28A +12 is no better than Sundin's totals.

The Hossa selection bothers me in a big, big way. How do you select a guy with 10 fewer points , 19 fewer +/-, and absolutely no leadership skills over Sundin? It's ridonkulous. I mean, even from a league standpoint, isn't it much better to have the classy veteran - thought by many to be the best Swede to ever play hockey - present at the All-Star festivities? Isn't it better to have Sundin's face and well-spoken English on camera rather than that troll Hossa? Every word the guy speaks sounds like he is reading an eye chart.

Make no mistake, this is a kick in the nuts for one of the best players in the game.

Congrats to Kabbie though! It's gotta feel good to be an All-Star based on your worst year in a few years. Hopefully Tommy will attend many more All-Star games.

Raycroft lost his job, and is going on Pogge:
Apparently, the conspiracy theorist in me went too far. Justin Pogge's call-up came as the result of Vesa Toskala tweaking his groin. Or so the Germans would have us believe.

So, I was right when I said that Andrew Raycroft's latest horrible game not only cost the Leafs the game, but could potentially cost the team tonight's game against San Jose. Thinking back, I can't recall a goaltender so bad that his bad play in one game cost his team more than that one game. Raysoft is setting records! Nicely done, Andy, nicely done.

I still don't see the point to the call-up. Why Clemmensen wasn't recalled I don't know. I just can't see know what there is to gain by Pogge playing in the NHL this season. The Leafs have signed Vesa Toskala for two more years at 4 million per year. They didn't sign Toskala at $4M to back-up anyone. When the Leafs signed Toskala, management determined that Pogge was 3 years away from being a #1 starter. He's played well this season, but surely his development isn't being considered 2 years ahead of schedule.

The fact is that no matter how Pogge performs he'll be back in the AHL soon. Toskala is the #1 guy in Toronto. If Pogge plays better than Raycroft or Clemmensen have - not totally tough to do - and is elevated to #2 on the depth chart, he'll still be back with the Marlies, as playing as many games as possible is the best thing for his development.

I think Pogge's call up was more of a side show move than anything else. The team sucks nuts lately, rumours are swirling not only about trading captain and best player Mats Sundin, but about replacing the general manager and coach. Calling up 'the saviour' takes some of the focus off the current state of the team and places it on the future potential of the team.

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Mr. Bone - Something IS Up..

There is a reported board meeting scheduled for either tomorrow on in the next week.

Metaphorical scene of what is going on with the Leafs. They're gonna blow it up!

Richard Peddie is on the road trip with the team, and has experienced first hand how bad the Leafs are playing right now. This is some interesting lines on the TSN story:

"Ferguson didn't want to discuss the future of head coach Paul Maurice, but Peddie pointed out that it's a decision that would have to go through the Board."

"Meanwhile, the Leafs GM says he continues to have discussions with other GMs around the league and those discussions continued Friday. TSN's Darren Dreger reported in his blog on Friday that the Leafs were actively shopping winger Jason Blake.

Will anything happen on the ice, behind the bench or in the front office? At this point, Leaf fans are almost begging for it, something Peddie admitted he was hearing - even in California."

Jason Blake is being shopped? Of all the players on the Leafs lineup, trading Jason Blake would mean good-bye JFJ. You sign a 40-goal scorer, he comes to Leaf Land and becomes a huge flop - trading Blake right now should not be an option, no matter how bad he is playing.

Those words coming from Peddie and Fergie-Ferg regarding Paul Maurice don't sound too pleasing, and it sounds like the possibility is definitely being talked about. I understand John Ferguson has made bad decisions (ie. Rask for Raycroft), but Paul Maurice should not be the issue right now. According to the players, Maurice is a great character guy in the dressing room and away from cameras, and he is the biggest joker on the team. I think that is exactly the kind of coach the Leafs need in a city like Toronto with all of the media. Keith Acton should be first one rid of if the Leafs clean house and are changing around the scenery off the ice. JFJ is not the problem of the Leafs game-to-game struggles, and Maurice seems to be doing OK with the guys, so who do you look to? The same loser that was around in the Pat Quinn era, your assistant coach.

Now, for on the ice- as Mr.Bone has already said, Justin Pogge was called up from the AHL Marlies and Dominic Moore was claimed off waivers. I absolutely love the fact that they have such little confidence in Raycroft to fill in for Toskala if he is not ready by the SJ game, that they have to call up young goalie prospect Pogge from the Marlies to play. From all the rumours swirling around, I think they will first try Raycroft on waivers - while Pogge is already up. If someone takes him, fantastic. If nobody takes him, we are in the same position we are already in, so they have no reason not to try, as they have lost absolutely all confidence in Raycroft. There are many teams suffering bad goalie situations and could really use a backup goalie with lots of potential, and I would be surprised if he cleared re-entry waivers, seeing how if a team took him it is only half his salary.

I would personally rather have half of Raycroft's contract count against the Leafs, then to have such a brutal goalie that we can really NEVER count on. I say try the waiver wire, if it works let Pogge play one out of every 8 games to relieve Toskala, until he becomes the goalie he was projected to be. Ideal backup for the Leafs.

Justin Pogge Called Up, Dom Moore Claimed

Interesting.

The Leafs - perhaps after reading about my declining interest in the team due to the lack of roster movement in the face of their own shittiness - have called up Justin Pogge and claimed Dominic Moore from waivers.

The Moore move is an attempt to bring in a defensive presence to the defensively vacuous forwards on the team. Moore comes to the Leafs from Minnesota, far and away the best defensive system in the league. There's a chance he will make an improvement, but he was waived by the Wild for a reason: he is a 4th line player.

The Pogge move really intrigues me. Scott Clemmensen was sent back down to the Marlies on Thursday, so Pogge's addition gives the Leafs 3 active goaltenders. Why call up Pogge now, while halfway done a west coast road trip? Calling him up during a home stand - to play second fiddle to Vesa Toskala - doesn't really make too much sense, nevermind a road trip across the continent. If Pogge isn't going to play on Saturday, why fly him all the way out to California? Why even call him up at all? Is Andrew Raysoft getting the axe? Did Toskala's forced play against Los Angeles last night re-injure his groin?

As a young goaltender, Justin Pogge needs as much playing time as possible. It is for thatreason that Montreal recently sent phenom Carey Price to the minors. It is game experience that matures a young goalie. Being that Justin Pogge isn't currently ready for the NHL - and that he is the Leafs' best (and only decent) goaltending prospect - I don't see how this move makes sense. I suppose time will tell.

Something is up. Something has to be up.

The Raddest Articles of 2008
I haven't linked to any rad articles lately - mostly because I haven't read any - but there were two written recently that deserve mention. Jim Kelley, flat out one of the top hockey writers in the world, talks of trading Sundin. Meanwhile, Eric Duhatschek wrote a novel discussing whether the Leafs need to rebuild. Check them out.

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Remember Kids: When You Take an Andrew, Don't Forget to Wipe Your Raycroft!

Jesus ShitChrist.

Coach Maurice gave Andrew Raycroft the start last night so as to rest Vesa Toskala for Saturday's match against his former team, the SJ Sharks. The result? 4 goals on 11 shots in the first period against the worst team in the league. Raycroft didn't return for the second. Translation: not only did he let his team down last night - giving them an insurmountable lead to overcome - he also kinda fucked them over for Saturday, as Toskala (fresh from a groin injury) isn't as rested as the team wants him to be.

What a failure.

Andy, it's one thing to Raycroft yourself, your #1 status, and your career in general, but please, please don't Raycroft the team anymore. Take your molester moustache and head for the mountains. No, seriously; head for the mountains.

I am both PO'ed and happy about the current state of the Leafs. The last month has been just brutal to witness. Nobody on the team is playing great hockey. Some are playing decently, sure, but no one is tearing it up. The team is 2-7-1 (2-8) in their last 10 games, and to be honest, it has seemed a whole lot worse than 2-8 while watching the games. The team has been outscored 19-6 during its latest four game losing streak.

Now the good. The team is obviously not built to compete in (or make, for that matter) the playoffs. The team's terrible play may be their natural defense against being stuck in Leafs limbo; being an average team that is never built to win, nor bad enough to land quality draft choices. Being terrible by accident (i.e. during a season in which the team thought they'd compete) is probably the best thing for the team. Management is quite obviously unwilling to voluntarily change its strategy, but the collective mediocrity of the team is effectively making the decisions for them lately.

The Leafs will not make the playoffs this year (tear). And, keeping that in mind, isn't it far better to finish as low as possible in the standings? Lower in standings means higher in draft order in July's entry draft. High draft picks are how good teams become good in a salary cap world. Newly drafted players make terrible money for their first 3 seasons, and most experts believe these to be the key to icing a quality team. Veterans that are free to chase the highest contract are often too expensive. Quality noobs are the way to go.

In Pittsburgh, all of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Kris Letang - still on their entry level contracts - make less combined than Penguins' highest paid player, Sergei Gonchar. Or, if you'd rather have Leafs examples: Bryan McCabe, Mats Sundin, Pavel Kubina, Jason Blake, and Tomas Kaberle all make more this season that the Pens' core of four noobs do. Chicago is another good example: Pat Kane, Jonathan Toews, Cam Barker, and Dustin Byfuglien all add up to less than any of the abovementioned Leafs.

Drafting high both rewards a team with high-end talent - something the Leafs haven't seen in a very long time* - and low salaries. It's a win/win situation for the Leafs...assuming they continue to lose. But let's be honest with ourselves: it's the Leafs. They are to losing what the maker of this sign is to genius.

* - Players such as Kyle Wellwood, Alex Steen, Matt Stajan, Jiri Tlusty, and Justin Pogge are all recent examples of average to slightly above average talent that has been presented to Leafs Nation as high end talent. None of the forwards listed have ever had first line potential, and the jury is still out on Pogge's potential. Leafs fans are so used to being excited about average talent that the concepts of drafting the best player in his age group, or owning the best player in the league are totally foreign.

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Fuck My Ass, This Team Is Bad.

Watching the Leafs' latest drubbing...they're on a 5 on 3 powerplay and Darcy Tucker has just missed two empty nets from beautiful feeds from Mats Sundin.

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS BUM STILL PLAYING ON THE POWERPLAY?

Take him out back and shoot him, he is finished.

May or may not have a post later. Why celebrate mediocrity any further?

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Mats Sundin, According to the Three Stooges

So I was doing my morning reading today, and found that all of Damien Cox, Steve Simmons, and David Shoalts wrote basically the same article. Each wrote of the possibility of trading Mats Sundin, and the hurdles and potential gains associated with such a deal. Of the three, Simmons was the only one to do his job and offer some biting opinion - that the Leafs should get rid of whatever assets they can in hopes of receiving a lottery pick this year or next...or both. Kudos to Simmons for that. Cox and Shoalts were on the fence - giving facts but not much else. These men, I will remind you, are paid largely for their opinions on all things hockey. Anyone will opposable thumbs can sputter out fact. Even I do that, most of the time.

Cox did print an interesting quotation from JFJ and that quotation inspired this here post.

Part I

"(Trading Sundin is) not something we're looking for,"

I doubt that, Johnny. The decision to trade Sundin is a very simple one to make. He must be traded. There are only two scenarios in which trading Mats should not happen: [1] The Leafs make the playoffs, and [2] Mats vetoes any trade. I've already given up on [1], and you should have, too. I'll talk about the reasons why a little later, but I really have to question the mental health of anyone that is still clinging to the Leafs' playoff dreams this season.

Absolutely anyone in charge of managing assets would trade an asset with a limited shelf life - his most valuable asset or not - to secure larger gains in the future. The fact that the more valuable asset is not currently adding value (ie. leading the team to a Stanley Cup) only furthers the argument. Mats has been the Leafs for over a decade, but Mats must go. His departure will surely breathe desperately needed new life into the stale organization.

As for [2], I really can't see Mats barring the Leafs from trading him. Every athlete wants to win the ultimate prize; Mats has his Olympic gold medal, and a Stanley Cup is the only thing left for him to accomplish in his probable Hall-of-Fame career.

He will never win a Cup in Toronto, and he is smart enough to know it. He has a couple of seasons left in him, and being a rental player for a good hockey club is his best bet to accomplish the NHL's ultimate goal. Mats is sticking to his guns about not wanting to go anywhere but Toronto, and says that he wants to win a Cup with (for) the Leafs. This may be true - Mats' desire to win in Toronto isn't being contested - but at some point he must realize it won't happen during his tenure in Toronto. His will to win will inevitably supercede his desire to win in Toronto.

Mats is the captain of the Leafs and as such, would never, ever publicly discuss his desire to join a contender. But let us all use some common sense here - that desire is there. Moreover, his no-trade clause means he will be able to hand-pick the team he will join.

Part II

[2] "We've got 40 games left, and let's face it, we've got to win 25 (to make the playoffs)."

This quotation came directly after the above. So, this was meant to reinforce his stance that trading Mats Sundin isn't on his radar. I think that realistically, the Leafs need 53 points in the remaining 40 games to take 8th spot and make the playoffs. The 8th place team as of today is Philadelphia, on pace for 92.51 points. As such, I've used 93 points as the benchmark for entrance in the playoffs. JFJ's 25 win prediction might be a little high, especially considering that 20% of the Leafs points thusfar have come from overtime or shootout losses. They need 53 points, however earned, not necessarily 25 wins.

I will concede that the Leafs can not gain 53 points in their remaining 40 games if Mats is traded. But I'm not convinced they'll hit that target - or even be within a reasonable margin - if Mats stays with the team. It is really not worth the risk of keeping him past the February 26 trade deadline on the outside chance the team makes the playoffs? Because even if they take 8th place (and I think it's foolish to think they'll land any higher) they match up against a superior Ottawa team, and will quickly make a first round exit. Is one round of playoffs (2-3 home gates) worth losing the most valuable asset the team has had in a decade? Fuck no!

The stats back my no playoff claim up. The team has 40 points in 42 games (0.95 PPG) and must increase that to 53 in 40 (1.33 PPG). Not easy to do. Moreover, the Leafs are 13th in the Eastern conference. They must climb over 5 teams in order to take a playoff spot. Gaining points in the standings is one thing, but jumping over teams is a whole 'nother animal. If you're still not convinced, try this: the Leafs are 4-6-4 (4-10) against their own division. They play an additional 18 games against divisional opponents and would need a huge turnaround in fortune in order to take the number of points necessary. Incidentally, they are the currently worst team in the division, so expecting them to regularly better their division is a tall order.

Really, the team is counting on die-hard Leafs fans that don't know when to say uncle. MLSE banks that their followers will always believe there is a decent chance at success, when that chance is actually about as realistic as the Bible being true.

Let's trade Mats, stockpile assets, and make a go of it. Keeping him flat-out makes no sense.

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Steve Downey - Scumbag Extraordinaire

Blehh. The Leafs lost again. A recap is unnecessary. Losing is a way of life for this team lately. 2-6-2 (also known as 2-8) in their last 10, the Leafs desperately need Vesa Toskala back. He is expected to return for the upcoming west coast road trip. Maybe I'll have something to write about when he returns. Until then,

Random Game Notes:
- Steve Downey's sucker-punch on Jason Blake was pretty much the worst thing I've seen in awhile. Even Don Cherry called him a cheapshot artist. Ouch. It takes a lot for Cherry to denounce a non-French Canadian. I dunno whether the NHL will suspend Downey, but the fact that he is only 4 games removed from a 20 game suspension should be a factor in his case. The guy is a fuckin' loser, flat out. The next time the teams play, he should be targeted.

-Matt Stajan had a great game. When his team was busy firing 56 shots at Antero Niittymaki, he had 0 of them...and won only 3 of 19 faceoffs. Stajan had 6 points in his first 5 games (1.2 PPG) and has 12 points in his last 37 (0.32 PPG). He is dead weight.

- Carlo Colaiacovo - you played 4 games this year...all in a row! But now you're back where you belong: in the pressbox, injured. You're like Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Fuck! You were hit accidentally after the whistle at half speed - cowboy up!

- I don't agree with Tucker playing the powerplay, nevermind playing centre on the powerplay. He has 9 points this year. 9 fucking points!!! Since when is that powerplay worthy? He centred a unit with Blake and Steen and they were cycling the puck fer fucksakes! Who does that on the powerplay? Nobody that makes the playoffs, thats who.

- The Leafs and Flyers were fairly even tonight, despite the Leafs' 56 shots (many of the Leafs' shots were from beyond the circles). The same Flyers that played just last night were the Leafs' equals. I'd be embarrassed if that were me.

- Andrew Raycroft literally didn't move on Mike Richards' game-winning goal. Where I come from, if the other goalie out duels you all night, you at least make the effort. Fuck, Raycroft may not have saved the puck, but he needs to be making a case for his job. Pulling a statue won't cut it.

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Gamache on Waivers

Toronto Marlies forward Simon Gamache was called up to the Maple Leafs and he cleared waivers today. This surely is the result of the injury to Mark Bell, but doesn't make sense as Kyle Wellwood also makes his return to the lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch for two consecutive games.

Being a healthy scratch for those two games will do wonders for Wellwood, as his production on the team has greatly decreased from last year. Methinks it is not the injury that is affecting Wellwood's game, but rather the fact that he was a shoe-in for the #2 centre role from the beginning of the season, so he has nothing to play for. Now that he knows that the coach is noticing his poor play of late, he takes him out of the lineup for a couple games and makes him realize he has to step up.

Last year, Wellwood missed much of the season with his sports hernia injury, but still managed 42 points in 48 games, averaging .875 points a game. This year so far Kyle has average .417 points a game, disappointing for a young forward whos 07-08 season was supposed to be his breakout year, and become the Leafs #2 centre.

In any event, it is great to see Gamache back in the lineup, as he has so much energy and speed out there, and that will help the Leafs rebound from their slump.

Also, Toskala resumed skating, but Raycroft will get the start tonight. Toskala should be ready for the three-game road trip out to the west starting Wednesday where the Leafs play 3 games in 4 nights, facing Anaheim, LA, and San Jose.

Bellerina

According to Sportsnet, Mark Bell requires surgery on a broken orbital bone. It seems that when Bell left the ice after the fight, 'twas more than just the cut reported at the time.

Translation: Ryan Malone caved his face in. Yeah, that Ryan Malone.

Seriously.



I wish I could say the team would miss him, but Bell's 4 minutes per game are easily replaced. I was really hoping for big things from Bell when he was acquired, but it doesn't seem like he has any big things left to give.

That's what she said.

There used to be a time - not too long ago in fact - when it was Bell going out breaking orbital bones. Hell, he even scored goals regularly and showed a high upside as a power forward. The Mark Bell that the Leafs acquired last summer is the listless, candy ass Mark Bell that played for the Sharks last season. The gritty, determined, Gordie-Howe-Hat-Trick Mark Bell of the Chicago Blackhawks has withered away.

Rest In Peace, Mark Bell's career.

The Nightmare After Christmas

Three goals, 0:48 apart. Ouch.

'Twas a typical night for the Leafs. They led early, lost that lead through blatant poor play, and couldn't regain the lead against a back-up goaltender.

The only real positive was that Jason Blake scored twice for the Leafs, including his first goal on the road all year. Thats one of the more ridiculous stats I've heard all season. It is the second half of the season fer fucksakes!

The Leafs fired anything and everything at Conklin, especially in the first period. It wasn't a bad strategy considering how bad Ty Conklin is. Don't let his recent run fool you, this guy is barely good enough to be a reserve goaltender. The Leafs made him look decent tonight with poor play, pretty much all around.

I have to wonder - why the fuck hasn't the coach done something about the third period meltdowns? I think there is a very simple solution to the problem, illustrated step-by-step below.
Step 1 - Cut a hole in a box.
Step 2 - Put your junk in that box.
Step 3 - Make her open the box.
Step 4 - Play the fucking 4th line more than four minutes per game and maybe your other players will have something left in the tank come the third. Do some fucking coaching Paul - it sure beats looking at the scoreboard in disbelief every time your team fucks up. You'd think you'd be used to that by now.

Random Game Notes:
-Add Greg Millen to the list of misguided hockey men that would rather jerk off Sidney Crosby than give his game an objective analysis. Millen praised his intensity and work ethic well before Crosby had any impact on the game. A direct quote from Millen, "the National Hockey League is so lucky to have him...". Fuck, Greg, how's his dick taste? You work for the fucking Leafs, not Crosby's publicist.

- Darcy Tucker got some time at centre on the powerplay with Steen and Blake. I wonder why Steen wouldn't have played there, considering he came into the league as a centre.

- I really like that the team is allowing Pavel Kubina to go to the front of the net on the powerplay. He did this a lot in Tampa Bay - where he was a legitimate top pairing defenseman - and it worked well. Toronto seems content to keep their d-men up high on the powerplay, despite it being near the bottom of the league.

-Tucker/Ruutu was the best fight of the Leafs' season. Well done by both players.

- It was great of Paul Maurice to take a time out...after Pittsburgh's 5th goal. Is there a point to that, Paul? Do you think the team will make a comeback down 4 goals in the 3rd period? That timeout should have been taken well before the 5th goal was scored.

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Enough is Enough.

*EDIT* Sorry for using the same picture as Mr. Bone, I wasn't sure he was going to do his post tonight, as he usually does them the next day, and he would realize that I already used the picture. My picture is better though, because I added a caption, and published my post first. Copyright laws of Danno, change your picture. Haha

The Leafs went down in horrible fashion to the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, losing a 6-2 walloping.

C'mon Jarkko, you know I hate noogies!

I only caught the first period, so I am not going to give a game re-cap, but I just want my thoughts heard on the Leafs mediocre first 41 games of the season, and their recent slumping.

The first thing that has to be said is that the team is really missing Vesa Toskala playing behind them. They just seem to be lost defensively, as the players have gotten really comfortable having a solid goaltender in Vesku backing them, so their defensive skills - even the forwards - have to react to playing in front of a lesser, unfamiliar goalie, as in Raycroft or Clemmensen. Tonights game against Pittsburgh was the 41st of the season, also the half way point of the season.

Good on Jason Blake for resurrecting his reputation of being a 40 goal scorer. Tonight he scored his first road goal of the season, along with his first powerplay goal of the season, finishing the game a +2. Also, this is right after his game against Tampa Bay where he had 1g,2a,+2, and 9 shots on goal. Nine shots on goal is above average for any player, but thats what you like to see in a former forty goal-scorer, and thats who the Toronto Maple Leafs signed in the offseason, not the 20 point, 8 goal pace he was recently on to finish the season with. Looks like Jason Blake has really turned his game around, and rejoining Mats Sundin will do that to you.

I just wanna run this fact by you, relating to the goalie situation. In the Leafs last 10 games, they have gone 3-5-2, which should be stated as 3-7. Clemmensen's last two starts have been a 6GA loss, and a 3GA win. Raycroft started three games before that, letting in 13 goals in three losses, with Clem coming in on the most recent and letting in one goal. The five games before that (when Toskala was playing, but going through a slump) were 10GA total, dating back to his shutout against Atlanta. Even though the Leafs went 2-2-1 through Toskala's last five games, they kept the goals against down, resulting in the team being less angry with losses than they are now. I've been hearing a lot more "Leafs suck" since Toskala has been injured, and it's not because the Leafs are losing, because we have not been an average team, or even a playoff contending team all this year. It's the fact that the goalies that need to step up for the Leafs in a time like now are letting in large amounts of goals scored on them. It shouldn't be expected for the back up, or even the third string goaltender to win continuous games while the #1 is injured, nor is it uncommon or unsatisfactory to see 3 or 4 goals against. The fact that the Leafs in their last five games let in TWENTY-FIVE goals in Vesku's absence is absolutely disgusting, and it is also the reason why you are starting to hear rumours about Raycroft going on waivers, Maurice being upset, and fans once again calling for JFJ's head.

It makes me so god damn frustrated watching the Leafs lose two games out of their last three in this fashion (ie. letting in six goals). I wouldn't mind if the Leafs had losing streaks along with winning streaks, and sometimes balanced, as every team experiences the same things, but it makes it hard to cope with when the whole season revolves around being a sub-par, incredibly inconsistent hockey team.

How fucking ridiculous is it to hear that a huge hockey fan and a die hard Leafs fan in myself watches a good first period of the game, goes out public skating and returns to see the Leafs down 5-1 in the third, and they displayed such a lack of interest in the game, and they made the game boring and frustrating for me to watch and I decided I couldn't watch the rest of the game. I've sat through a lot of bad losses. I know what it is like to be a life long fan of a 9th/10th place team that is too much of a respected franchise so it will never settle for last place, get a good draft pick and rebuild, but when the team goes out and loses 6-2 just five days after losing 6-1, it's time for an action plan.