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 2nd, 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 4th 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 3rd 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 3rd 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!
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