Leafs Blog - LEAFS MINUS TUCKER/MCCABE MINUS STUPID PENALTIES PLUS TOSKALA = WINNING (Leafs 4 Rangers 1)

The Toronto Maple Leafs struggled terribly through their first 10 games of the season. Many of us pondered over and over again what the hell was wrong with them. They were scoring a ton of goals but were falling a part in the 3rd period, taking too many stupid penalties, turning over the puck, and Raycroft when he was in net was letting in many soft goals.

Looking at the stats the other day I think I figured out what Toronto's problem was,,, it was the penalties they were taking because otherwise they were +16 compared to the L.A. Kings who are the only other team to give up so many goals, who were a -44. So the big picture here is that the Leafs were playing +16 hockey even strength. The really funny thing is that the only notable minus players on the entire team were McCabe -6 and Tucker -4. Take that away and the Leafs were a +26 team even strength!

Last night, Sat, October 27/07 the Leafs came out with a solid performance over the Rangers defeating them 4-1. Great game! I'm very happy to see Toskala getting consecutive starts and this better be a pattern for the rest of the year! Ironically, Tucker and McCabe have been out of the lineup for two games straight as the Leafs win both.

Maybe that is the solution.

Rid of two underachievers, replace them with energetic and speedy rookies (Stralman & Tlusty), don't take stupid penalties, put Toskala in net and the Leafs have two wins in a row!

ta dah!

Nice to see Kubina with a goal (and an assist) to get the Leafs started in this game, I think he has 9 pts this year already and he is showing up each day looking more like the dman who is making 5 million a year.

Toronto with 3 minor penalties, 2 of which were phantom calls that should have never been called.

Top defense pairing for Leafs against the Rangers was Kubina and Kaberle who totaled 4pts and +5 for the night.

Toskala was great all night, 32 saves on 33 shots. (Lundqvist for the Rangers was also very impressive)

Tlusty had another good showing, no points on the scoresheet but led the team with 4 shots, was always in the right place in the offensive zone and was sound defensively. (He did however fail to clear the zone twice in a row in the first period I think it was but I'm sure Maurice talked to him about that!)

So thank goodness for Leafs fan,,, things are starting to look a little better. Of course, this is just two wins in a row and it is still just 12 games in to the season but at least we can make the following comparison to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks:

ANAHEIM 12GAMES 4W 7L 1OTL 9PTS 25GF 32GA
TORONTO 12GAMES 5W 4L 3OTL 13PTS 46GF 45GA

The Leafs have 4 points on the Ducks after 12 games and I would also say the Leafs have more positives and correctable issues vs the Ducks and many other teams around the league,,, so it could have been a lot better start for the Leafs but it is what is and it has been exciting so far and should be an entertaining season for Leaf fans as they battle for a playoff spot.

GO LEAFS GO!

Update: Oct 30th: Seems like the guys are up tight because the same lineup with momentum from the 2 wins on the road meant nothing as the Leafs were trampled and lost 7-1 last night to the Washington Capitals. It will be interesting to see the Leafs settle down again on the road. If yes, call in a shrink to help them play at ACC, if no, JFJ and team should start shaking things up!