Leafs Continue Journey... Of Mediocre Play

Well, with all guns blazing and ready for the big Habs game on Tuesday, we came out quite good actually. We out shot Montreal 40-25 and we generated some decent D, decent goaltending and decent offense. Hulk Hogan, otherwise known as Bryan McCabe ( love his handlebars) had something to up his sleeve however. Shortly after overtime began, McCabe, with his head down, passed the puck to Nik Antropov. Actually, scratch that. He passed the puck to Mike Komisarek who got a break-away from his OWN blue-line and scored a 5-hole game-winning goal on Andrew Raycroft... who was out of luck.

So off we go, another tilt with another northeast division rival. The Boston Bruins, the Big Bad Bears, an original six foe. After losing a close game, which the Leafs should of won against the Habs, they will surely show up for a great tilt. Not! We lost 5-2. Raycroft was terrible. Defense was terrible. Offense was terrible. Not ONE forward standed out to me... and that's a scary thought.

These recent events, which have been on-going since the beginning of the season, tell me one thing. We have no character. We can't bounce back after tough losses and we can't get the job done. Win or lose, we're always the same. Mediocre.

I had enough of this, either clean house or just fire JFJ. I don't care, do something, because this is embarrassing and this kind of up and down play will get us no good picks, no playoffs, no nothing.

It has to end.

Rant over.

The Week That Was And Preparing For An Old Foe

Well, after stating that this week would be crucial for the Leafs. They came out... exactly the same. They started 6-6-3 and ended 7-7-4. But this can be viewed as a positive for this inconsistent and mediocre club. After being destroyed by the Sens 5-1 they rallied back with a 3-0 win over the struggling Sabres ( it'll turn around, Max) and salvaged a point against the surging Rangers and one by the name of Sean Avery, we'll get to him later. Let's re-cap the recent turn of events in Leaf-land shall we?

The week began with an important match-up against the Sens, one that would potentially turn this Leafs club around. But what skated the ice... is a different story. A few players were ready, specifically Vesa Toskala, who tried his best to cover up the massive mistakes from the Leafs D. In the end, he just couldn't do it. These mistakes aren't your ordinary gaffes... these are mistakes that the goaltender would have to pull a Jesus-like save from his hat...which is not happening, by any goaltender. Jada, Jada, Jada, score here, score there and we got a 5-1 score for the Sens.

On we go to the Buffalo Sabres, a club that I thought would ignite against their divisional foes and turn their club around, who I still believe, will do so! To the Sabres credit, they played solid. The offense was generating shots but, very surprisingly, our D was good. And Raycroft took advantage by getting the goose egg. A great accomplishment with our D, truly a rare feat. So things were turning around, one team left for the week that was and it ended with the New York Rangers and thug-boy Sean Avery.

Hockey Night in Canada, Saturday night, game against an original six foe. Doesn't get much better right? Well apparently Sean Avery thought it could, and he started by trolling Darcy Tucker and then Jason Blake who came to his defense. Classy move, Avery... you are not surprisingly taking this to far. I await the day you get clocked and pay for your tom-foolery. Excuse my un-classiness, I suppose. The game was a good one, the Rangers showed up, and so did the Leafs. Our D helped Toskala who played a solid game but unfortunately for us... the game went to a shootout. Yup, the shootout. A skills competition that our club can't handle it seems. Our forwards have a tough time scoring, really tough actually, and our goaltenders can't seem to make the save ( Toskala looks horrible in the shootout, maybe his height is in play?) . So we lose 3-2 but garner a point for our efforts and move on to a new week. One that begins with the Montreal Canadiens.

It will be a Tuesday night battle. Leafs vs. Habs. Original-Six showdown with two teams who create the one of the biggest and best in sports today. But this time, a twist! Carey Price will face the Buds rubber rather than Cristobal Huet, a goaltender who clearly struggles against the Blue and White. Although I'd love to see Justin Pogge in the cage facing future superstar Carey Price, we'll see either Toskala or Raycroft. And my guess is Raycroft after a spectacular start against the Sabres. But something to keep in mind is that Toskala has stolen the W for us both times with the Habs so the better choice, IMHO, is Toskala. We'll have to wait and see.

All this and more in the next installment of... Toronto Maple Leafs Mediocricy, starring JFJ and MLSE!