TMLsHockeyBlog

MacArthur celebrates after scoring on MontoyaPHOTO: mapleleafs.com After a tough couple of weeks and some brief time on the fourth line last game, Clarke MacArthur was told by coach Ron Wilson that if he moved his feet and played hard he would be rewarded. After the Islanders scored two goals through the first 30 minutes of the game, Wilson put MacArthur back on a line with Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. MacArthur would score late in the second period to cut the Islanders lead in half before eventually scoring the game winning goal in overtime. Shortly after the rumours swirled about MacArthur likely being traded from Toronto in the near future, he comes out and plays a hard game, and wins it for the Leafs. There's no question that he has a ton of chemistry with Grabovski and Kulemin, but sometimes his effort on the ice, or lack thereof, has led to a demotion to the third of fourth line. That second line was very effective for the Maple Leafs last season, the trio 177 points for the Leafs in the 2010-2011 season. If they can get back to that type of production, the Leafs would have quality secondary scoring that would open up some ice for the top line, who've noticed their stats decline as they have faced opposing teams top D-men shift after shift, game after game. Any thoughts Leafs management had towards trading MacArthur will likely be put on hold for a short while. With the trade deadline about a month away, the Leafs still have time to decide if MacArthur fits with the team or not. Either way MacArthur's value is going up with games like these. If Brian Burke does in fact decide to trade him, a few good games on the second line are sure to get a better return for the Leafs. The 26 year old has 14 goals and 10 assists in 42 games this season. The Ottawa Senators lost again tonight, their third loss in a row. They are currently in sixth in the East, but have played 52 games, while the majority of the teams in a playoff position have only played 47 or 48 games. The Winnipeg Jets lost again tonight, and have fallen to 22-22-6. Their hopes for the playoffs are dwindling. At the end of the night there is a five point difference between the Jets and the top nine. This is good news for the Leafs as they only have to concentrate on jumping a team ahead of them and don't have to worry as much about a team from behind them in the standings. That being said, the season is far from over and there's plenty of time for teams like the Jets or the Lightning, who have won their last four games, to make a playoff push. With the win the Leafs would jump to 55 points. This ties them with the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, and New Jersey Devils. However, Toronto has played 49 games whereas the other three have only played 48 games thus far. The Leafs head into the All-Star break on a good note, but have to carefully prepare for a home-at-home match-up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins are currently in fifth in the East with 60 points. They've been red hot lately, winning their last 7 games in a row.OTHER NOTES: MacArthur's overtime goal had to be reviewed as Islanders goaltender Al Montoya made a phenomenal glove save. Upon further review, Montoya's glove was in the net.Jake Gardiner scored his first NHL goal tonight.Mikhail Grabovski had a point on all four of the Maple Leafs goals (1G, 3A), including setting up MacArthur for his two goals.After Grabovski scored a lucky goal, which deflected off a stick over Montoya and into the net, the Islanders got a lucky goal themselves with just 13 seconds left in the game. Grabovski wrapped the puck around the boards when it took an odd bounce and came right to the slot. Parenteau made no mistake all alone on Gustavsson.The Leafs went the entire game without having to kill a penalty. The third time they have done that this season.Jonas Gustavsson played well again tonight making 29 saves on 32 shots.Source

Gustavsson makes 25 saves for his fourth career shutoutPHOTO: mapleleafs.com The Toronto Maple Leafs have only won one game of their last five, and their playoff aspirations were slowly slipping away. Monday night marked the first of their last two games before the all star break, a home at home series with the New York Islanders. The Leafs came out with lost of speed and energy in the first period, something that has been lacking in recent games. Matthew Lombardi got the Leafs to a 1-0 lead in the first, but the next period and half would be sloppy for both teams. The Islanders really picked up their game in the third period but Phil Kessel scored for the Leafs to give them the two goal lead. Matthew Lombardi would add his second goal of the game late in the third period. Toronto would win the game by a final score of 3-0, and Jonas Gustavsson picked up another shutout. Gustavsson, who didn't have much work in the first two periods, ended the game with 25 saves and his third shutout of the month. Toronto once again insulated the Maple Leafs netminder well throughout the game. They kept the Islanders to the outside, blocked shots and boxed out the front of the net. Also, the Leafs penalty kill is still perfect in the new year as they went a full sixty minutes without taking a penalty tonight. Last week Ron Wilson said that Matthew Lombardi will step up his play in the second half of the season as he eases back into playing in the NHL after injuries kept him out of action for quite some time. He has been rewarded with more ice-time over the last couple of weeks and scored twice to help the Leafs to a win tonight. Clarke MacArthur found himself on the fourth line tonight, with the least ice-time of any Leaf player. After a few games of sub-par defensive efforts his ice-time was drastically reduced, he played under ten minutes tonight. MacArthur, who showed last year that he can be an effective secondary scorer, is struggling this year in all three zones of the ice. His offensive numbers are down, and he is a minus-1 through 40 games this season. The two points the Leafs picked up tonight put them up to 53, which ties them with the Washington Capitals for that final playoff spot, and one point behind both the Panthers and the Devils. Toronto heads out on the road to face the Islanders tomorrow before the break and take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in another home-at-home series next week. The Penguins, led by Malkin, have 58 points coming off a six game win streak and will prove to be a big test for the Leafs. The Leafs need to take it one game at a time and look forward to Tuesday nights game in Long Island. Coach Ron Wilson stated that Gustavsson will probably get the start again.Source

Montreal wins in Kaberle's return to TorontoPHOTO: mapleleafs.com Leafs playoff hopes here high approaching the puck drop at the ACC on Saturday night. Both the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators lost their respective games in regulation earlier today. The bad news is that the Panthers play the Jets. Going into tonight Winnipeg sits two points behind the Leafs and the Panthers are one point ahead. A win for the Leafs tonight will put them back into the top eight. If the Panthers win they will jump back to third and a Leafs win will knock Washington to the ninth spot. The first eight minutes of the period went by quickly without much action until P.K. Subban took a bad roughing penalty as he punched Tyler Bozak in the head. On the Leafs powerplay Clarke MacArthur would cough up the puck to Lars Eller who came in on a breakaway but was stopped by Gustavsson, his first save of the game. Through the first period the Leafs weren't using their speed and seemed to be playing down the the level of the Habs. After some awful turnovers by the Habs, the Leafs were gaining momentum until Montreal came in on a 3-on-1 and scored. The original shot deflected awkwardly off the boards behind Gustavsson and bounced over the net and landed at the top of the crease on Bourque's stick, who scored his first as a Canadien. The Leafs would answer back quickly though. Tyler Bozak lobbed a great pass to Matthew Lombardi who scored on a breakaway to tie the game. The second period was a pretty quiet one, there was no change in the scoreboard. There was a ridiculous dive by Montreal's Kostitsyn. The ref that was ten feet away watching the play didn't call a penalty on the Leafs because he saw that Kostitsyn dove. The ref at center ice called a penalty and the Leafs had to kill another penalty. What makes the ref at center ice think the ref ten feet away missed the call and he should make it from 100 feet away? Also, once the ref at center calls the penalty can't the other ref say it was a dive and at least even up the calls? There's no reason the Leafs should have ever been short-handed on that play. We should've been on a powerplay because as far as I know there is no rule against calling a stand-alone diving penalty. I've said it before, and I'll say it until somebody actually happens, players will continue to dive because they know there is no consequences. They know that worst case the referees will only call even-up penalties, one penalty for a hook or trip and one for the dive. Apparently, you can't lose if you dive. Let's get some refs out here that actually call players on diving before hockey turns into a game of soccer. The Leafs started the third period much like the first two, very slow. Montreal took advantage of this and put a shot through a screen behind Gustavsson and the Leafs are down 2-1 early in the third period. They would end up losing the game 3-1 by a combination of questionable refereeing and playing without any urgency. The third goal was another one that Gustavsson should have stopped. That being said, he was hit off balance as Gardiner was pushed into him a few seconds before the goal went in. Much like the loss against the Senators earlier this week, the well-rested Leafs are beat by a team who played who played the night before. Clarke MacArthur didn't look good tonight. He wasn't really competing, he turned the puck over too many times, and in the second period he found himself taking a few shifts on the Leafs fourth line. I think he played his best hockey with Kadri and Connolly a few weeks ago, but now with Lupul playing so well for that line you can't put MacArthur back there. His numbers are still respectable, he has 12 goals and 9 assists in 39 games heading into tonights contest. His cap hit is managable for teams looking for some secondary scoring. There were more than a couple of pro scouts from around the league in attendance and maybe the Leafs can trade him as part of a package for something bigger. Tomas Kaberle returned to Toronto but looked pretty invisible tonight. He fit well with every player wearing blue. If Toronto wants to be a playoff team they have to be able to beat teams like Montreal who sit near the basement in the NHL. Something has to change in Toronto because they're losing their grip on playoff hopes. To make matters worse, the Panthers and Lightning game turned out to be a three-point game as it went into overtime and then a shootout.This may be another year that Toronto looks back on a few games like tonight where they did not come out to play and miss the playoffs by a few points. The Leafs have back-to-back games against the New York Islanders on Monday and Tuesday. They have to win both of those games just to keep pace. Source

New video is up. I'll admit, it's not my best work... I've been getting a little lazy lately. Source

 Joey Crabb celebrates after scoring a high-lightreel goal in the first period PHOTO: mapleleafs.com  The Leafs brush off a tough three game losing skid as they beat the Wild 4-1. Nazem Kadri scored early as he spin around and smacked the puck out of the air and into the back of the net just 50 seconds into the opening frame. Joey Crabb would also score in the first for a two goal lead. Phil Kessel and Mikhail Grabovski would also score for Toronto. Jonas Gustavsson didn't have much work, but was solid when he needed to be. He had the shutout going until the last few minutes of the game when he let in a goal from the icing line. It looks like the line juggling coach Ron Wilson made prior to the game worked out well for the Maple Leafs. Joffrey Lupul was moved to a line with Tim Connolly and Nazem Kadri, and they worked well throughout the game including scoring early into the game. Matthew Lombardi was moved up with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak and the second line of MacArthur, Kulemin, and Grabovski, that played so well last season, was reunited. At first I wasn't too sure about having Lombardi on the top line with Bozak and Kessel because I don't think Lombardi is capable of filling the offensive role that Joffrey Lupul occupied. Although it's true, Lombardi wasn't the offensive player that Lupul has been on that line, he helps out in the defensive zone and should keep some of those dreaded minuses off the stat sheet beside numbers 81 and 42. Though it didn't really make a difference on the scoreboard or in the points column, the bad goal that Jonas Gustavsson let in reminds the Maple Leafs of their goaltending struggles. Neither Reimer nor Gustavsson have really taken the opportunity to become the starting goaltender with stellar play. They both have a bad habit of letting in a bad goal in almost every game. It's not a big deal when your team is winning 4-0, but in closer games, such as Tuesday night, that soft goal can cost you the game. That being said, Jonas Gustavsson played well overall tonight and I would expect him to get the start Saturday night against the slumping Canadiens.Gustavsson is has 10 wins in his last 14 starts. Despite his uncommon demeanor in between the posts, including the fact that he might make a record for the most times a goalie has lost his stick in a regular season, he's been the one getting the job done. He looks more composed in the net and seems to be calm now with a few games under his belt as opposed to earlier this season when he wasn't playing as much. Keith Aulie was the odd man out on the defensive side of things for the Leafs. The young defenseman had such a promising end to the season last year, but this year has not been as good as he needs to be. Mike Komisarek found his way back into the lineup tonight. Since being sent down for a game with the Marlies, Jake Gardiner has played very well for the Leafs. With the news that John-Michael Liles is expected to return within a week, I suspect Keith Aulie would be the odd defenseman out and will likely be sent down to the Marlies. In other news around the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils couldn't hold their one goal lead over the Bruins. Boston scored four times in the third period to edge Brodeur and the Devils. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers 4-1 and the Winnipeg Jets also beat the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 4-1. Care to guess what the score was in the Islanders vs Flyers and Senators vs Sharks games? New York and Ottawa each won their respective games by a score of 4-1. So how does this look for the Leafs and their playoff hopes? The Devils loss is good news for Toronto but other than Toronto doesn't gain much ground. Neither the Capitals nor the Panthers played tonight, so the Leafs currently sit one point out of the top eight, but have played one game more than both Washington and Florida, who both play tomorrow night. With 36 games remaining for the Leafs, and the expectation for the playoffs being at least 93 points, Toronto needs to go at least 21-15 to close out the season. Not an easy task, but not out of the question for the Leafs. Toronto has three games before the All-Star break, each against opponents near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They host Montreal on Saturday and then have a home-at-home against the Islanders that starts on Monday.Source

Rosehill err... Mike Brown fightingPHOTO: mapleleafs.com I'm still very angry about the game, so this recap will have quite a bit of flare... Just a heads up.The Senators played last night and have to come into Toronto to play the Leafs. They obviously must be tired. The Leafs need to take advantage of that. They started off strong but as the third period came around the Leafs were exhausted. Why? Because Jay Rosehill gets to play. So that he can watch Mike Brown and Dion Phaneuf fight. That's some great coaching! Sorry Wilson, but he's a useless player and should never play a game in the NHL! Lombardi got the Leafs to a 1-0 lead after his shot deflected off the defender. Then on an awful giveaway by Cowan the leafs scored on a two-on-one, Lupul put it away on a pass from Kessel. The Leafs were all over the Senators, but the defensive mistakes began. With 10 seconds left in the period Keith Aulie chases a man behind the net with no chance of catching him. Stupid, stupid, stupid... I can't figure out how someone decides to do that. A professional NHL hockey player. So the pass goes in front and Lupul, the back-checking Leaf, takes down a player wide open in front of Reimer. As the player goes down he hits Reimer, throws him off position and the Sens score in the dying seconds of the period. In the second period all goes to hell... The Leafs still have tons of energy, and are all over the Senators. Anderson made some huge saves, and gets some lucky bounces and the Leafs are unable to get their third goal of the game. As the second period goes on Jason Spezza, who apparently bribed the referee in the first intermission, decides to go to the net, bump into Reimer, and then stand on his left pad for about 10 seconds. The puck then deflects wide to Daugavins who whiffs on it and kicks it towards the net. The puck is about an inch or two from the goal-line and Spezza, who is STILL standing on Reimer's pad, reaches over top of Toronto's goaltender and pokes the puck into the net. The ref on the ice called it a goal cause apparently he's smoking rocks. They would go upstairs to review if it was kicked it but because Spezza touched it just before it went it the goal counts... So now we have a tie game...On to the third period where the Leafs have no energy because they only played with three lines because plugs like Jay Rosehill are being paid nearly a million dollars to play hockey. I would rather wipe my ass with that money than see Rosehill on the ice playing hockey. He is a terrible hockey player, and gets played to fight and defend his team and didn't do either. Next up, cue the awful goal that the Leafs goalie, despite who it is, will inevitably let in. This time it was Reimer going down early and letting in a shot that flew over his glove... A really bad goal to let in but then again it's not like we would've had much better. Gustavsson's bad goal of the game is simply missing a shot that almost any goalie that's ever played an NHL game could save, excluding Patrick Lalime obviously. And while were at it, if Scrivens was in net, his bad goal would be playing the puck around the boards for a giveaway that goes into the back of the net... Getting back to the main topic, the Leafs blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2, in regulation to make matters worse. Other notes from the game include Foligno going low to clip Phaneuf. Phaneuf would then fight him a few minutes later after the Leafs failed to score on the power play. He didn't jump Foligno or anything and they both seemed to agree to fight, but the ref decided to give Phaneuf an instigator... Okay... What else... Hmmm... Tyler Bozak carries the puck up the right wing, drops it to Kessel at about the center ice line. Kessel carries the puck into the zone, but realizes its offside because Tyler Bozak was tackled at the blueline and ruled offside... Without an interference call... They would also botch a play where the puck deflected off the Ottawa player's stick about a foot inside their own blueline yet the refs ruled the faceoff outside the zone. Realizing their mistake they then called the Senators on a questionable icing call. On the plus side it was nice to see Bozak and Gardiner back on the ice. They both played well for most of the game. Bozak definitely helps the Leafs first line, they don't seem to work as well with Tim Connolly. On the injury front, Leafs expect both Liles and Armstrong to make their way back into the line-up in a week or so. The Leafs defense and powerplay have struggled with the absence of Liles, they're definitely looking forward to having him back. Bottom line, story of NHL referees are missed calls and make-up calls. I know its a fast game, but with four of them on the ice they should be able to get the call right. I like how they all gather when the puck is flicked over the glass to make sure its a penalty, they should really do that when the one ref realizes the other has made a terrible blunder. Next question for the Leafs is who do you start in net Thursday night? I prefer Reimer, but either way I don't think it matters much. What matters is being able to play four lines. Please Mr. Wilson, for the love of God, DON'T DRESS ANY PLUGS! Source

Every player should ask themselves these ten questions when on the ice. Being aware of your surroundings can help you prevent a concussion. So here, in no apparent order, are the questions: Is Matt Cooke on the ice? - Is Chara angling me into the ... ? (CRASH) ... Oh God - Has Chris Neil sucker-punched you in the face yet? (Watch him pretend he got hit in the face too... what a tool) - Did you recently take part in the Sports Illustrated "Most Over-rated NHL player" poll and are Dion Phaneuf and Chris Pronger standing on your porch? - SI.com linkWendel Clark doesn't still play hockey, does he? - Is David Steckel skating near you and pretending not to see you? - Did Milan Lucic just run over my goaltender? Should I jump in there and show him that here in Buffalo we don't roll over to physical contact? ... Whats that?... We do roll over? ... Good, I'll stay here then. - Is that Glenn Healy between the benches? Damn you Hockey Night in Canada! (beats head repeatedly on the boards.) - If I attempt to settle this bouncing pass with my head down, will I be crippled? - Video linkWayne Simmonds has the perfect NBA body type, he should be able to jump over me, right? - ... I guess that's why he's playing hockey and not basketball... I'll show him, I'll get some dumbass to throw a banana at him! - ... What's that ref? No, that wasn't a racist comment... I can't say "banana"? Barch article link ... Wait what? ... Wayne Simmonds is black? I never noticed... (the ref must be the racist one... tsk tsk...)P.S. For the record I don't condone fighting. At the same time, I'm not against it, especially in a league where you have guy running around taking cheap shots at other players. But there's a big difference between fighting at a stand still and skating full speed to hit a guy in the head.If you dispute my theory, I highly encourage you to participate in our final experiment. In this test we have you stand in front of one of you're friends as they punch you in the face several times... How do you feel? A bit woozy? ... Okay, now go stand in the middle of the road and have a friend drive a motorcycle at 50 km/h towards you. While he approaches, get him to stick his elbow out and drive it into your head... How do you feel now? Source

They may all look different and wear different numbersand names on their jerseys, but the Leafs came out as a eighteen Alex Kovalevs PHOTO: mapleleafs.com After a frustrating 3-2 loss last night against the Buffalo Sabres, the Maple Leafs were back at home in the ACC hosting the New York Rangers. Another loss tonight would put the Leafs back on the rim, fighting for a playoff spot. So the Leafs had to come out with some energy, but instead they came out flat. The Rangers also didn't have a great start but instead of the Leafs taking it to them early, they were content playing at the same slow pace. The difference is that for the last 40 minutes of the game the Rangers stepped it up and the Leafs fell apart. They were unable to make the simplest of plays such as getting the puck out of the defensive zone on many opportunities.The Rangers scored a pretty goal on a 3-on-1 tic tac toe play where Gustavsson had no chance to make the save. The second Rangers goal came off a shot where Franson unnecessarily screened Gustavsson and then jumped out of the way as the shot came. The third goal was once again off a partial breakaway, another one Gustavsson didn't have a chance to make the save on. I'm wondering though, why did Gustavsson start this game? I thought the Leafs were using a "win and you're in" philosophy, so why didn't we see James Reimer in goal tonight? Especially after the second goal Gustavsson let in against Buffalo, that was a pretty awful goal to let in. That being said, It didn't matter who the Leafs playing in goal tonight because there was nothing in front of the goalie. It was an all-around disaster. Jonas Gustavsson did play well tonight, I won't knock his performance, but I hoped and expected to see Reimer in the net. I would assume he starts next game. More on the bad side, Nazem Kadri was back to his old ways again. Forcing plays, getting pushed around, and showing no hustle or desire. I was very happy about his play in his first few games since being called up, but he's starting to play like he has in the past. He's playing like a player that doesn't belong in the NHL. Maybe someone should mention sending him down to the Marlies again. It seems the fear of being sent down is the only thing that strikes some fire in his game. I wonder if the Leafs can do that for the next 15 years of his career... Phil Kessel didn't look much better either. He was hit hard early in the game and found himself in shoving bouts with the Rangers. New York did a great job of taking him off his game. To make matters worse, Ottawa beats Montreal. Ottawa wins AGAIN! ... And so did the New Jersey Devils. I wish the Leafs could go on a big streak like this instead of constantly keeping Leafs Nation in suspense. It will likely go right down the wire in April, and Toronto might look back at some of these loses with some regret. I understand that its the second game in as many nights and the Leafs are justified in being tired, but losing two in a row in unacceptable for a team barely hanging on to a playoff spot. They have to find a way to beat Buffalo knowing the Rangers are coming into town the next night. On top of that, the Rangers start Biron against Toronto, and the Leafs hand the Rangers' backup goaltender an easy shut out. On the plus side, and I will probably mention this every game until the unimpressive streak is broken, the Leafs penalty kill was perfect. They killed off both Rangers power plays and did it rather effectively. The flip side to that argument is that the Leafs power play was awful again here tonight. They only had two opportunities, but not having John-Michael Liles really hurts the power play. You really notice it as Ron Wilson flips around who he plays on the point of that first unit. The Leafs are back at it on Tuesday night. They're facing the red hot Ottawa Senators in another "must win" game. I would expect James Reimer to get the start, and hopefully he plays well enough to hold the starting job. Gustavsson played well, but he lets a really bad goal every other game or so and the Leafs need lights out goaltending if they're going to be a contender. Source

  Gustavsson in net for the LeafsPHOTO: TMLsHockeyBlog  The Sabres started off with a quick goal against the Leafs. The puck was centered from behind the net and it deflected into the back of the net for a 1-0 Sabres lead. The Sabres would add another one just a few minutes later and suddenly the Leafs found themselves down 2-0 just five minutes into the game. Toronto would answer with two goals in the first to take a tie game into the second period but would ultimately lose the game by a score of 3-2. The second Buffalo goal was awful. It was definitely a save Gustavsson needs to make. Letting in one bad goal is what inevitably cost the Leafs the game tonight and has cost them too many already this season. The Monster did regain his composure as he made a few big saves to keep the Leafs in the game. The game winning goal was scored on a brutal defensive brain-fart as both Luke Schenn and Carl Gunnarsson were caught watching the puck instead of covering a man. The Sabres set up a cross-ice pass from the boards to the front of the net for an easy goal. The Leafs controlled the play for good portions of the game, but their inability to capitalize or even generate quality chances on the power play killed their own momentum. On the plus side they only took two penalties and killed them both off. So the Leafs PK is still perfect in the new year through five games. On the plus side, I really liked the Buffalo arena. This was my first Leaf game in Buffalo and I really enjoyed myself. The seats were great and the arena was packed with as many Leaf fans as Sabres fans. The constant struggle of cheers from opposing fans made the game much more entertaining. The atmosphere was amazing. Nazem Kadri didn't impress today. He did showcase his good hands, which he normally does, and controlled the puck as well as made a few shifty dekes to gain some space. The recurring problem, which may have been his biggest problem in previous seasons, is that he turned the puck over soon after and didn't manage a scoring chance. He also didn't make a conscious effort to hustle to get back into the play defensively. I had hopes that Kadri was a different player this season, and I won't sell him off just because of one game, but if he continues to play like this he won't have much success in the NHL. Grabovski was by far the best Leaf on the ice. He scored a goal and added an assist in the first period to help the Leafs back in to a game that seemed to be getting away from them early. Phil Kessel's line looked average, Kessel still had great speed through the neutral zone but was unable to convert it into many scoring chances. The Leafs head back to Toronto to host the New York Rangers tomorrow night. With the Capitals and Penguins winning, the Leafs find themselves barely hanging on to a playoff spot. They are just one point ahead of both of those teams. Source

Overrated?PHOTO: mapleleafs.com In a recent and anonymous poll by Sports Illustrated, Dion Phaneuf was voted the most overrated player in the Nation Hockey League. The poll was anonymous and was taken by 161 NHL players. Here's how the top fifteen rounded out: Dion PhaneufAlex OvechkinScott GomezRoberto LuongoDany HeatleyIlya KovalchukVincent LecavalierJay BouwmeesterRyan KeslerMike KomisarekChris ProngerJerome IginlaAlexander SeminOlli JokinenEd Jovanovski Leafs General Manager Brian Burke summed up the poll nicely. He said "Yes, players dumb enough to participate in polls designed to crap on fellow NHLPA members are not very bright... I am thrilled to have both player (Phaneuf and Komisarek) on my team." Is it just me or is this whole idea completely ridiculous? Regardless of who was voted number one, Sports Illustrated was looking to start something controversial in order to gain some exposure... And it worked... Most sports fan know or at least have heard of Sports Illustrated, so they're not a name that's trying to get out there, but I don't think I've mentioned their name once in the last 3 years whereas I've mentioned it about 30 times in the last 24 hours. The term "overrated" is another topic in itself. Its such a vague term that may hold different meaning to different individuals. How does one classify overrated? Is it league wide exposure? Is it stats vs. salary? In this case the poll could be entitled "Which NHL player do you hate playing against", with a few exceptions. There are too many inconsistencies with this list. Apart from a few of these players, the rest are some of the elite in the league. Mike Komisarek is definitely an overpaid player. He is a defensive defenseman with almost no offensive upside, but doesn't everybody know that already? Who around the league is rating Mike Komisarek in the same breath as Alex Ovechkin or Chris Pronger? You'd be hard-pressed to find someone that would. So why put him on this list? I have no idea... Of course, Alexander Ovechkin is the second most overrated player in the league. I don't think anyone would disagree with that... I'm being completely sarcastic of course. This is a player that came into the league as a 19 year old rookie and has pretty much destroyed the league. He has the most points and awards of any player since the NHL lockout. Last I checked, that makes you a damn good hockey player, far from being overrated. I do think Dion Phaneuf gets paid a little more than he should. Calgary gave him a large contract, that's not really his fault. If you were in his position would you have said "no thanks, that's too much for me"? There's a reason Calgary's management has been flipped upside down. You think Matt Stajan is running back with a cheque for the 3 million a season he's being overpaid? Then again, Dion Phaneuf has the sixth most points by a defenseman thus far this season. So I'm not sure I really have any ground to stand on when I say he's a little overpaid. He's in some pretty good company with similar contracts. Let's also not forget the intangibles such as his leadership qualities, his desire to win and so forth. Seriously, his face looks like its pregnant and he doesn't complain. He doesn't sit for a game or two. He comes back and plays big minutes, usually around 25 a game. The 161 players who participated in this poll should feel stupid. Nothing good can come out of calling out your peers to the media. And the list is so bizarre to begin with, I'm questioning whether they just asked Mike Sauer 161 times over and he's still a little confused and bitter after Phaneuf ran him over back in early December. But we'll likely never know who actually participated in the poll. I bet they wouldn't call those players overrated to their respectable faces. Something tells me Pronger would have something to say about that. They're cowards, and Sports Illustrated are cowards for making headlines with such a stupid list. Source

Gustavsson celebrates his second shutout of the yearwith Nikolai Kulemin PHOTO: mapleleafs.com The Maple Leafs were host to the Buffalo Sabres tonight in an important game for both teams. Buffalo, who are struggling to keep their playoff hopes alive came out flat against the Maple Leafs. Nikolai Kulemin would open the scoring on the powerplay in the first period just over eight minutes into the game. Then, with just over two minutes left in the opening period, Mikhail Grabovski places a beautiful backhand over the glove of Ryan Miller to lift the Leafs to a 2-0 lead. That would be the final score in a game where Jonas Gustavsson really wasn't tested too much.Buffalo's offense was almost non-existent in the game. This may be partly due to the fact that Vanek left the game after taking a hit from Dion Phaneuf. Derek Roy did not dress for the Sabres tonight, but it looks like he will make his way back into the line-up within the next couple of games. Jonas Gustavsson was solid again in goal for the Leafs as he picked up 32 saves for his second shutout in 2012. He wasn't too much, but his streak in goal for the Maple Leafs has continued. He is undefeated thus far in the new year. The Maple Leafs penalty kill also hasn't allowed a goal against in the new year. This is mostly due to the fact that the Leafs as a whole have been taking far less penalties. They didn't take a single penalty tonight, and only took one penalty in each of the two previous games. Late in the game Nathan Gerbe was getting into it with several Leafs, most prominently Joffrey Lupul. There was a scrum behind the Sabres net where Gerbe and Lupul were getting into it. Following that exchange the two of them got into it in front of the benches while both teams were changing lines for the faceoff. This may bring on some bad blood for Friday nights game in Buffalo. With the win the Leafs have jumped up to 6th in the Eastern playoffs race, with a total of 49 points in 42 games. The Sabres loss puts them down below .500 with just 41 points in 42 games. Another loss for the Sabres on Friday night will likely be the final blow to their playoff hopes. More good news for the Maple Leafs is that most of the other teams in the Eastern Conference lost tonight. Montreal, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg and Tampa Bay all lost tonight. New Jersey has also had a rough start against the Flames, they're down 4-0 at the end of the first period. The Leafs next game is Friday in Buffalo, followed by another home-stand that starts on Saturday as the New York Rangers come into town. Source

Gunnarsson is getting a lot of looks from around the league.Could he be traded out of Toronto for an elite forward? PHOTO: mapleleafs.com Toronto is one of the best places to play hockey. If you're a professional hockey player, how could you not want to play in Toronto? The city is always in a buzz about the Maple Leafs, whether they're doing well or struggling. Although sometimes playing in Toronto may bring a lot of heckling and grief your way (see Andrew Raycroft, Brian McCabe and many others) for the most part, this is the place to play. Another good thing about Toronto from a management perspective is that players don't often step into their GM's office and demand a trade. In fact, it's the exact opposite. Back in the John Ferguson Jr. era, where he threw around no trade clauses like they were pieces of candy, we saw many players veto possible trades that were orchestrated by Toronto's GM. The only players that usually want out of Toronto are the ones that get boo-ed every night and endure months of heckling from Leafs Nation. Those players, like Andrew Raycroft, usually haven't played well in a while and likely wont be much help to the Maple Leafs going forward, so trading them isn't a bad idea. So, we've established that most players would enjoy playing in Toronto. Since that is the case, Toronto always has the opportunity to hold on to players who's trade value may be lower at this time, because of their struggles on the ice. This affords the Leafs the opportunity to trade such a player at a different time when they are playing better and their trade value has increased. Why am I saying all of this? To dive right into it I'm referring to Nikolai Kulemin. His offensive struggles have been well documented this season. Coming off a break-out year last season, many expected similar numbers (60 points) from Kulemin. At the half-way marker of the season he only has 16 points in 41 games. He's on pace for only half the points he had last season. So, why trade him now? Sure, he isn't scoring as much, but he is by no means a liability on the team. He is one of the best defensive forwards on the roster and can easily play a defensive third-line role if his scoring slump continues. If the Leafs really want to trade Kulemin, now is not the time. I think we can all agree that a 32 point season for him would be well below average. I don't expect him to throw up 60+ points every season, but he's a very talented two-way player. I also think trading any first round picks is completely off-limits. The Leafs have traded enough top picks. It's too early to tell where this team will end up in April and if we drop to the bottom ten without a first round pick again, we're losing both in the short and long term. Another player that must be off-limits for Brian Burke is Nazem Kadri. At the start of the season I had almost given up all hope on Kadri. He looked too weak to play in the NHL, every time he took a hit, he would turn invisible for the rest of the game. So I was more than pleasantly surprised with his play since his last call up. He's playing a lot stronger, he's setting up plays in the offensive zone, and he isn't trying to make something out of nothing that ends up with the puck in the back of our own net. When the end of his shift is approaching, he dumps it in and heads off. There's no doubt that he's a really skilled player, but it was always some of the little things with Kadri that would bother me. He has cleaned up well in most of those areas.If the Leafs want to pick up a big player, they need to shed some salary first. I really like the speed of a guy like Lombardi, but when you look at the roster, he's simply not needed. He makes 3.5 million against the salary cap for both this year and next year, so he won't be an easy player to trade. But if the Leafs find a team that's interested in taking Lombardi and his salary from us, and also find a trade for one of those big named players that are being rumoured, such as Getzlaf, Ryan, and Staal, that fits with what the Leafs are willing to give up, then pull the trigger. Also, what's Joe Colborne's value in a possible trade? He's a former first round draft pick that is only a few years away from making it into the NHL in many people's minds. I would rather trade him than our next first round pick, and you would probably get more value for him. I wasn't impressed with his speed when he was called up and for a player with his size he was letting himself get pushed around. I haven't by any means given up on him as a player, he's definitely got the potential to become a good NHL player. Another name being thrown around is Luke Schenn. I can't imagine Burke honestly trading Schenn. Schenn is his kind of guy - a big defenseman who isn't afraid to throw his body around. His puck handling skills are definitely not as good as we would have liked to see from him at this point in his career, but I think once he regains his confidence, he could be a very talented defenseman. The only way you trade Luke Schenn is if you get a very good player in return without crippling the rest of the Leafs roster, or shipping off several prospects. That being said Schenn does make over 3.5 a season and trading him would free up some valuable cap space. How about Clarke MacArthur? He's at a reasonable 3.25 million dollar per year against the salary cap. He's proven he can score, but this year has fallen off a bit. He has 12 goals and 9 assists for 21 points in 34 games with the Leafs this season. He's the type of player many teams would look at for some secondary scoring. If I'm Brian Burke, he's a player that I'd be willing to trade to trade in a package to get something bigger in return. He would likely be more valuable than Nikolai Kulemin, and would free up more cap space. But please, oh please, don't trade Carl Gunnarsson. He's so calm and collected in the defensive zone. He makes his other defense partner look at least three times better when he plays with them, whether it was Phaneuf, or Schenn, or whomever. He's a good puck moving defenseman, and he's usually reliable in the defensive end. The one knock I have on him is that sometimes he doesn't wrap the puck around the boards as hard as he should and turns the puck over. That's not really a big problem when you look at all the good he brings to the team. What drives his value even higher is his attractive contract. He is set to make 1.325 this year and next year before becoming a restricted free agent. In conclusion, the Leafs already have a top scoring line and two good secondary scoring lines. If they are going to grab an elite forward, they should be looking at trading one of their secondary guys, mainly someone like MacArthur, who's value is still close to where it should be, as opposed to a guy like Kulemin who is really struggling. Keep your draft picks and keep your players who's value is much lower than it should be.Source

Kessel scores on a penalty shot in the first periodPHOTO: mapleleafs.com Say what you want about Jonas Gustavsson... He's too awkward in net. He always lets in the easy goals. He's flopping around everywhere... At the end of the day all that matters is whether or not he gets the win and he's riding a three game winning streak. The most recent win being tonight's game against the Detroit Red Wings, one of the best teams in the league. The Leafs started off strong in the first period scoring three unanswered goals. Phil Kessel was hooked on a breakaway and scored on the resulting penalty shot. Dion Phaneuf scored a powerplay goal a few minutes later and Joffrey Lupul would set up David Steckel for the third Leafs goal. At the end of one period not too many people would have expected the Leafs to be sporting a three goal lead, but things would change in the second period. The second period was all Red Wings. The Leafs could not get the puck out of the defensive zone as the Wings worked the puck down low shift after shift. The Leafs did manage to insulate Jonas Gustavsson for the majority of the first period and early into the second but things came apart when Todd Bertuzzi tipped in a shot for the Red Wings first goal. The ref ruled it a goal on the ice but his stick was at one point a foot above the crossbar so the goal was reviewed. Upon review the goal counted due to there not being sufficient evidence to overturn the ruling by the referee on the ice. Apparently the only angle CBC wanted to show the fans at home was from 20 feet above ice level behind the net. It's impossible to tell if a play is a high stick from that angle. You would think that in a sport where goals are reviewed for possible high sticks there would be a camera angle at the same height as the crossbar to have an accurate view of what's a goal and what isn't... Apparently that's not the case. So the Wings are on the board with a rather questionable goal in my opinion. Just a few minutes later, with Detriot carrying all the momentum, Jonas Gustavsson makes a big diving pokecheck to prevent a partial breakaway from materializing. The Leafs didn't get their first shot of the second period until over 13 minutes into the period. Detroit would score again in the second on a miscue of defensive zone coverage between the Leafs players. The third period was better for the Leafs, but just four minutes into the period Jiri Hudler scored the tying goal and the three goal lead that Toronto had built in the first period had evapourated. The Leafs were slowly getting their legs back and managed to hold off the Red Wings for the next few minutes. Then, Tim Connolly won an offensive zone face off forwards and the bouncing puck made it's was to Lupul, who pulled the puck to the front of the net and lifted it over a sprawled Howard. The Leafs would hang on to the lead and win their third game in a row. NOTES: The Leafs sent forward Matt Frattin and defenseman Korbinian Holzer back down to the Toronto Marlies. Jake Gardiner was a healthy scratch for tonight's game.Colby Armstrong had a set back in his recovery of a concussion... There is no timeline for his return.Dion Phaneuf played tonight despite his cheek being swollen to the size of a softball after taking a puck in the face in Thursday nights hockey game. Phaneuf scored the second goal of the game and didn't miss a beat despite his injury.Joey Crabb did not look too good playing on the second line with Kulemin and Grabovski. He's had his up and down shifts with that line but it just seems that the chemistry isn't there.There seemed to be a lot of chemistry between Connolly, MacArthur and Kadri, but since Tyler Bozak was injured and Connolly moved up to the first line, there hasn't been that chemistry with Matthew Lombardi centering that third line.Both Brown and Komisarek returned from their respective injuries to play tonight. They both played well enough in their first game back.Jonas Gustavsson picked up his third win in a row. He is getting great goal support from the Leafs who have scored 59 goals in Gustavsson's last 12 starts (nearly five goals for per game).I'd like to see a bit of line juggling when Tyler Bozak returns to the line-up. If Ron Wilson decides to keep Connolly on the first line, which is almost a guarantee, I'd slot Bozak to center the third line between Kadri and MacArthur. Joey Crabb would be the odd man out and I would move Matthew Lombardi up with Grabovski and Kulemin on the second line. I think Lombardi's speed will compliment the second line where as Bozak's passing will work nicely with Kadri, who has great vision, and MacArthur, who would be the trigger man on that line.The Leafs finish their current home-stand on Tuesday night as Buffalo comes in to town. Then on Friday the Leafs will make the short trip into Buffalo to complete the home-at-home series before heading back to Toronto for five more games at home over the next two weeks. I'd imagine Jonas Gustavsson will get the start again on Tuesday as it seems Ron Wilson could be running a "win and you're in" coaching philosophy regarding the starting goaltenders. I like the idea as it will push both Gustavsson and Reimer to improve their game, though when the dust clears I would assume James Reimer would be the starting goaltender. He plays in a very calm manner that seems to be contagious to the rest of the Leafs line-up and for the most part they play better in front of him. If Reimer was getting the kind of goal support Jonas Gustavsson has been getting the Leafs would have put up a few more wins in the month of December. The Leafs are at the half-way marker of the season and currently sit in sixth spot in the East. If they keep up the hard work and determination, Toronto fans will be delighted to see playoff hockey return to the city for the first time in nearly a decade. Source

In a late surge of votes Ottawa fans managed to stack the starting line-up with Senators players. Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Speeza, Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson were all voted in as starters for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. They even managed to out-vote Phil Kessel who led the race for the majority of the voting period. Had this not occurred, here's my take on how the all-star game player fantasy draft would have gone. Hosted by none other than... Darryl Sutter! Source

Leafs win 4-0 but Dion Phaneuf leave the gameafter taking a puck to the face PHOTO: mapleleafs.com The Leafs climb back into a playoff spot with a convincing 4-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg, who lost last night to Montreal, were no match for the Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson earned his first shutout since December 19, 2009. Gustavsson didn't have to make very many saves, but when he was called upon, he was perfect on all of the 24 shots the Jets put at Toronto's net. The biggest improvement about Jonas Gustavsson's game is that he looked confident. There have been far too many games this year where he looked really shaky and lacked the confidence that a good NHL goaltender needs, but after tonight I am pretty optimistic to see what he can do on Saturday nights game against the Red Wings (I would assume he would be the starting goaltender). James Reimer sits at the end of the bench, on the outside looking in. It's not that he has played really bad, the results are what matters and with Gustavsson earning two wins in as many games in the new year, how do you justify starting Reimer? The Monster will really press Reimer and it will be nice to see some improved goaltending, from both goalies, knowing that one bad game could have you on the bench for a week or two. Just five minutes into the first period the Leafs opened the scoring. Phil Kessel tucked the puck in for his 23rd goal of the season. In the second period Tim Connolly had the lone goal for the Maple Leafs and Grabovski and MacArthur each scored in the third. The win tonight puts the Leafs back into a playoff spot just one game away from the half way point of the season. The Leafs were perfect on the PK again tonight, although they only took one penalty. With the improvement on the penalty kill and the fact that they aren't taking as many trips to the penalty box, the Leafs are giving themselves a much better chance at winning games, and ultimately making the playoffs. Colton Orr cleared waivers and report to the Toronto Marlies. Orr has been a healthy scratch for the Maple Leafs for all but five games this season and was send down due to the return of Mike Brown. He has been on the IR for quite some time now and the Leafs feel that he will be ready to return within the next couple of games. There's some bad news on the injury front though. Dion Phaneuf took a puck to the face in the third period and did not return to the game. The Leafs had already built a solid lead and Winnipeg showed no signs of making a come back, so he could have been kept in the back for precautionary reasons. Ron Wilson did not have an update on his condition as he spoke to the media following the game. It didn't appear that Phaneuf lost any teeth during the play but he was bleeding on the ice. Hopefully the injury to the Leafs captain is not a major set-back and it would be nice to see him on the ice as the Leafs host Detriot on Saturday night. If you missed the game, here's a video of the puck hitting Phaneuf in the face... Dion Phaneuf hit in the face with the puck Saturday will be the third game of the Leafs current four-game home stretch. They will also host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. On Friday the Leafs head into Buffalo to complete the home at home, which is divided by a two day resting period. They will return home to square off against the Rangers next Saturday night as they open a five-game home swing. The Leafs have been much better at the Air Canada Centre than they have been on the road. Stacking a few victories this month may prove to be very useful down the stretch run as they search for the post season.Source