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Liles extended for four years

January 25, 2012 in Latest Leafs Updates 0

(Leafs defenceman is a key power-play asset)
Toronto announced on Wednesday the signing of defenceman John-Michael Liles to a contract extension.

The deal is believed to be worth $3.875 million a season.

Liles – who is in his first season in a Leafs uniform – has 21 points in 34 games this season, and has been on injury reserve since December 27 due to a concussion.

The move is speculated to be a precursor to a forthcoming Leafs trade involving a defenceman.

Links: TSN.ca | TMLfans discussion board

Grabovski has four-point night in Leafs win

January 25, 2012 in Leafs Game Recaps 0

Jan. 24: Leafs 4 at Islanders 3 (OT)

(Leafs centre had both good and bad luck)
Leafs scorers: MacArthur 2 (14) Gardiner (1), Grabovski (16)
Islanders scorers: Tavares (20), Bailey (5), Parenteau (10)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Bozak-Kessel, Lombardi-Connolly-Kadri, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Crabb-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win 62:06 minutes played, 29 saves, 3 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
It was anything but a conventional win for the Maple Leafs.

But with the team expected to be in the thick of a heated playoff race between now and the end of the season, Toronto will be happy with any result – no matter how inelegant – that ends in two points, such as the 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

In a game in which the officials appeared to give their whistles an early All-Star break, peculiar bounces seemed to go both ways. No player epitomized the extreme ends of the misfortune scale than Mikahil Grabovski, who was both a beneficiary and a victim of fate.
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Lombardi scores pair as Leafs blank Islanders

January 23, 2012 in Leafs Game Recaps 0

Jan. 23: Leafs 3 vs. Islanders 0

(Matthew Lombardi has first multi-goal game as a Leaf)
Leafs scorers: Lombardi 2 (6), Kessel (26)
Islanders scorers: (none)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Bozak-Kessel, Lombardi-Connolly-Kadri, Kulemin-Grabovski-Crabb, MacArthur-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win 60:00 minutes played, 25 saves, 0 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
For the second straight game, the Leafs faced an inferior opponent based on the NHL standings. In the wake of Saturday’s loss to Montreal, a win over the New York Islanders was expected, but certainly not guaranteed.

With a far more energetic effort than they exerted two days ago, the Leafs shutout the Islanders 3-0 at Air Canada Centre. The key challenge for the home team was to neutralize Long Island’s most potent scorer John Tavares, who entered Monday’s matchup with a 12-game point streak.

Coach Ron Wilson gave kudos to the trio of Mikhail Grabovski, Joey Crabb and Nikolai Kulemin for keeping Tavares in check. “They all can skate, and they’re all willing to get in the way of a shot,” said Wilson. “The most important thing is that they collapse down low.”
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Sluggish Leafs fall to Habs

January 21, 2012 in Leafs Game Recaps 1

Jan. 21: Leafs 1 vs. Habs 3

(Jonas Gustavsson takes the loss in goal)
Leafs scorers: Lombardi (4)
Habs scorers: Bourque (14), Diaz (3), Eller (10)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Kadri-Connolly, Lombardi-Bozak-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Crabb-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Loss 58:48 minutes played, 20 saves, 3 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
At the Saturday morning skate, the Leafs players vowed not to take their opponents too lightly.

To a man Joffrey Lupul, Cody Franson, and anyone who played in Tuesday’s loss to Ottawa swore that he wouldn’t make “the same mistake” in underestimating a team that played the previous night.

So what happened? How did the rested Leafs falter 3-1 against a Montreal Canadiens team that played in Pittsburgh just 24 hours earlier? “We let those guys hang around,” said Matthew Lombardi, who scored Toronto’s only goal. “I think we came out the way we wanted to, and then got away from it a little bit.”

Lupul named All-Star assistant captain

January 21, 2012 in Blogs, Blue And White Beat 0

(Leafs winger given “A” on Team Chara)

Take a breath, Phil Kessel.

The embarrassment of a last-pick selection in the NHL All-Star Draft wasn’t likely to repeat itself for Kessel this year, given his 25-goal output so far which is good for a third-place tie in the league.

But now that his long-time linemate (until last Thursday) Joffrey Lupul has been named an assistant captain to Team (Zdeno) Chara, it’s all but a certainty that Kessel won’t be the butt-end of an Alex Ovechkin cell phone photo.

“It’ll be fun, and we’ll try and make it as fun as possible for the fans,” said Lupul at the Leafs’ game-day morning skate at Air Canada Centre where the team will host the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

Leafs end losing streak with revamped forward lines

January 20, 2012 in Leafs Game Recaps 0

Jan. 19: Leafs 4 vs. Wild 1

Joffrey Lupul collects 3 points
Leafs scorers: Kadri (4), Crabb (8), Kessel (25), Grabovski (15)
Wild scorers: Johnson (6)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Lupul-Kadri-Connolly, Lombardi-Bozak-Kessel, Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur, Crabb-Steckel-Brown
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Schenn, Gardiner-Franson, Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win 59:55 minutes played, 20 saves, 1 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Recap
With their forward lines reshuffled, the Maple Leafs ended their three-game losing streak with a convincing 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Joffrey Lupul, playing with new linemates Nazem Kadri and Tim Connolly, had three assists.

All four Toronto lines had a goal, with Kadri, Joey Crabb, Phil Kessel, and Mikhail Grabovski each finding the net.

Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson didn’t have a particularly busy night in making 20 saves, losing the shutout bid on a bad-angle goal with 2:27 remaining in the third period.