Leafs November/ Bruins-Leafs home and home

So it's been awhile since I wrote a blog entry… So I’m going to try and make this one a good one! There is a lot to talk about right now in Leafs Nation, with a quarter of the season gone and an important part of the schedule coming up for the Leafs. Today I want to talk about injuries, upcoming home and home against the Bruins, the Leafs record so far in November, and goaltending( as per usual lol).

Ok so lets start with injuries, we all know that the Leafs are banged up right now and have been for awhile, however the real story is the Leafs play despite being injured as well as what is Ron Wilson going to do when the injured Leafs start to comeback. The Leafs are 4-1 in their last 5 games with call ups Joe Colbourne and Joey Crabb playing well on the third line, further complicating matters is the play of Tyler Bozak on the First line and Tim Connolly on the 2^nd, Connolly is a point per game player in the games he has played this season. Grabovski came back into the lineup last night and was slotted into the 4^th line... which lets face it can’t continue. So do the Leafs send Colbourne back to the Marlies to make room for Grabovski on the 3^rd line or does Grabovski go to the second line Connolly to the first and Bozak back to the third? Somehow I don’t think Bozak or Connolly will be moved right now those 2 lines are playing too well, however moving Grabovski to the 3^rd line and sending Colbourne back to the Marlies is entirely possible. Actually makes sense if David Steckel returns to the lineup on Wednesday. That’s the forwards now on defense the Leafs have 2 injuries Komisarek and Gunnarsson. Now Komisarek is a ways away from returning and Cody Franson has played well in his place IMO. The major concern for me is Gunnar hopefully he can return for the Bruins game as he has been if not the best one of the Leafs best defensemen this season! His calm play will be missed greatly against a team like the bruins if he is unable to play. So my last point on injuries has to do with the last thing I want to talk about in this blog so I will touch on goaltending a little bit further along. Basically the Leafs management and coaches have some decisions to make in the next 2 days … do they play what has worked for the last 5 games or do they send some guys down?

Let’s face facts the 2 games the Leafs have played against the Bruins this season have been… ugly I think that’s the best word to use. 13 goals against and 2 goals for does not give Leafs Nation confidence going into this back to back especially with the Bruins playing their best hockey of the season. If the Leafs are to win either of the games in this home and home they need to come out strong, and yes this is a recurring theme in my blogs but in this case it is imperative on home ice after a successful road trip if the leafs can control play early and get a goal or 2 past Tim Thomas they have a chance in the game. Following this if the Leafs can pull out a win in the first game it gives them an increased chance at a win in the second game, getting the Bruin monkey off their back so to speak. In all honesty I would like to see 3 out of 4 points in these next 2 games.

The Leafs are having a good November by Leaf standards they are 7-5-1 with one game remaining in the month. Now at the beginning of this month I said that in my opinion the Leafs would need 8 wins in November to remain at the top of the division, well that seems to be pretty solid prediction and with one game remaining the Leafs can reach that total. With the injuries that the Leafs have sustained as well as the usual type of record the Leafs have in November, this year has been a pleasant surprise. This leads me to my next topic goaltending!

The Monster is back! 8-4 so far this year but most importantly he is 4-0 in his last 4 with a .941 save percentage and 1.75 GAA these numbers have allowed the leafs to win 3 straight. It also helps the Leafs with Reimer’s injury because as Monster plays well there is less pressure to rush Reimer back and furthermore Reimer can even sit on the bench for a few games before he returns to the Leafs net. Now many people may not agree with this however as long as Monster is playing well he should get some starts and when Reimer is ready he will play.

GO LEAFS GO!

*Monsters stats; http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8475361

Leafs this Week/ Toronto @ Nashville

This is my first entry of the week and there is a reason for that, I needed a break from the Leafs. It was a 3 day break but I needed a break especially after their game against Ottawa. One which I spent most of the game yelling at the TV, I felt a few days off would be good for me. So I’m back and ready to talk about the Leafs again, tonight they play Nashville, Franson and Lombardi make there return and with 7D in tonight ill be interested to see Gardiner play some forward time!

Now I want to talk goaltending, I’ve played net for going on 13 years now, and although I will never be close to the NHL level I do have a general understanding of the position. Having said that I am very impressed with Ben Scrivens, not only has he stolen games for us he has shown mental toughness not only within games (phoenix), but between games. Not only has he been mentally tough, but his style of play is very fitting for the NHL; he is in position, a good blocking goalie and can make some athletic saves when needed. Obviously I’m not the only one who sees this as he gets his 4^th straight start tonight!

So what do I think Leafs need to do to win tonight? The answer is simple, or not so simple as the Leafs have struggled doing it this year; they need to score first, and early and often, they need to carry the play for 60 minutes. Now a lot of people will throw out the “they need to play for 60 minutes” im talking more than that, there have been games where it is obvious the Leafs have played 60 minutes yet failed to carry the play or win. Against a really good defensive team like Nashville with a good goalie the Leafs need to get on them early hopefully get a lead and then continue to put the foot to the floor so to speak.

It is important to note that the Leafs will have a different look tonight with Grabovski and Macarthur out of the lineup, hopefully Connolly and Kulemin can fins some chemistry and provide some much needed secondary scoring tonight GO LEAFS GO.

Leafs vs Sens HHOF Night

Tonight is the Third meeting of the season between the Maple Leafs and the Senators, both teams have won a game. This game is also the hockey hall of fame induction ceremony which adds an extra dimension to the game with 3 former leafs being inducted as well as the ceremony before the game which can throw some players off a bit.

There are many questions coming into this game, can Kessel keep his scoring streak going, who will start in net for the Leafs, what Ottawa Senators team will we see tonight? So far the Sens season has been one of 2 teams a slow start followed by a long winning streak now followed by a 5 game losing streak. With the Sens playing last night in Buffalo and Craig Anderson getting pulled early the only fresh player on the ice for the Sens might be their goalie, but if he plays like he did last night he could be leaving early again.

It is imperative that the Leafs come out of the gate with some offense similarly to the game against the Blues, however the Sens despite being a poor team have an explosive offense and the Leafs cannot sit back like they did in the second 2 periods of the Blues game. The Leafs got great goaltending from Ben Scrivens on Thursday night hopefully whoever is in net for the Leafs tonight (I’m hoping for Scrivens) can play just as well.

The Leafs need to get 2 points tonight, they are playing a team who is desperate for a win and is a bitter rival so this game will not be easy. If the Leafs are to make the playoffs however they need to win division games especially against the teams who are supposed to finish below them. GO LEAFS GO

Blues vs Leafs

            Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the St. Louis Blues for the first and only game this year. The Leafs are looking to break their first losing streak of the season while the Blues look to get their first win streak of the season after defeating Chicago 3-0. While both clubs are 2-3-0 in their last 5 games the Blues are playing their second game with new head coach Ken Hitchcock and are looking to be more consistent with their play.

The Leafs need their offense to show up tonight in St. Louis, despite having the leading scorer in the league the Leafs have only managed 1 goal in their 2 game slide. Phil Kessel scored last game and hopefully he can get a streak going with some points tonight, his 11 goals and 11 assists put him far ahead of the Blues leading scorer T.J Oshie who has 4 goals and 6 assists.

The most important thing for the Leafs tonight however is stability in net, whoever starts this game the Leafs need them to finish it. In this game the goalie does not need to be spectacular just give the Leafs a chance to win stop the stoppable shots and come up big at key times.

The second biggest thing for the Leafs has to be coming out of the gate flying too often this year the first period has been a momentum sapper for the Leafs, if they want to get the W tonight they will need to create some offence in the first period and give themselves some confidence. At home it is hard to come back after a soft first period, on the road it is next to impossible.

So in summary the Leafs keys to winning are a strong start, their offense showing up and some consistency in the net.

*all stats from NHL.com

Leafs Goaltending Issues

The fears of leaf fans during the summer are coming to pass, Reimer has gone down to injury and the backup goaltending has broken down. Now some may argue that it’s not just the goalies; the forwards aren’t scoring, the defense has been poor. While this may be true the game last night was a prime example of goaltending being a let down. Its 1-0 early in the first while the Leafs had a poor first period they seem to be gaining momentum in the 2^nd suddenly Monster loses control of the puck behind the net then proceeds to slowly get back into , Florida scores. The next shot they score again, now the leafs are down 3-0 and they become deflated despite dominating for the better part of the rest of the game they never get back into it.

So what are the options to try and improve the goaltending? There are a few options; first bring in a free agent, second trade for a good backup, or try and ride Scrivens until Reimer is healthy. According to Cap Geek the Leafs have 1.175 million in cap space would this be enough to draw a free agent goalie like Marty Turco. Bringing in a goalie could create problems once Reimer is healthy with 3 goalies, however the Monster experiment may be over and therefore it may not be an issue to put him on waivers if it is necessary to improve goaltending.

A trade could also be a possibility the depth at defense and bottom 6 forwards could allow the Leafs to acquire a solid backup goalie, the Leafs could also try and go for a goalie like Bernier or Schneider though this would cost quite a bit more.

Finally keep the team they have and ride Ben Scrivens, while I do not think this is the best option (I believe Ben needs more time in the AHL) he certainly has the talent to play at the NHL level depending on how long Reimer is expected to be out keeping the status quo may be the route the Leafs go.

Tomorrow night the Leaf visit the Blues I hope to do a preview blog in the morning, any feedback is appreciated as I try to improve my blogging skills

New Blog/ Leafs Week 6

This is the first entry of my blog on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL. Now I know starting a blog a month into the season is odd, but I have been considering this for awhile and figure I cant wait for the next season so here we go!

Now this week the leafs have 3 games 2 at home and one trip to St. Louis… with the Panthers and Senators coming to town the Leafs have a good chance at 6 points. However in order to achieve this they will have to overcome the pounding they received at the hands of the Bruins as well as now an injury to Tim Connolly.

All of the teams the Leafs play this week are average the Panthers have played well but aren’t expected to make the playoffs, the Senators record is better than they have played and the Blues just fired their coach. If the loss to Boston has inspired the Leafs to play harder and tighter defensively I believe that all of the games this week are winnable.

There are a few personnel questions this week with the Leafs;  first how will Monster respond to backing up Scrivens for 2 games, and secondly who will be brought up form the marlies to fill the void left by Tim Connolly?

Firstly I believe that the Monster will play the majority of games this week, though I don’t like Monsters style of play I believe he will get the job done for the Leafs.

Secondly who will the Leafs call up? Well this is a bit more difficult; they just sent Frattin down so I doubt he gets the call, Colbourne has been playing lights out in the AHL but it might hurt his development to bring him up too soon. Kadri is always an option he played well at the end of last season for the Leafs in a third line role; I believe he is the most likely option.

Well that’s my thoughts on the Leafs for now , I hope to write at least once a week for this blog  on my thoughts and reactions to the Leafs and Leafs Nation.