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Nonis’ best deadline moves were the ones he didn’t make

April 3, 2013 in Blogs, Off The Post 0

(pictured: Ben Scrivens – still a Leaf)

Were there really 45 kilometre per hour gusts of winds in Toronto on April 3? Or was that simply the collective sigh of relief among Leafs fans that general manager Dave Nonis refused to bite on potential deals for either of the two highest profile goalies at the trade deadline – Roberto Luongo or Mikka Kiprusoff?

The Leafs head into the final quarter of the NHL season with James Reimer and Ben Scrivens as their tandem between the pipes. And with optimism abound regarding Toronto’s chances of finally appearing in the playoff for the first time since 2004, there seemed little reason to tinker with the team’s chemistry.

Neither Reimer nor Scrivens will be nominated for this year’s Vezina Trophy. But they have played consistently well enough to give the team a chance to win on most nights (yes, even against Boston). Such confidence in the Leafs was not evident a year ago at this time.
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Leafs need to stay sharp during long break

April 2, 2013 in Blogs 0

By Pamela Yap – guest writer

With this year’s shortened NHL season, most teams find themselves playing four games in 7 nights on more than one occasion. The Leafs will have played on back-to-back evenings on 9 occasions by the time this season is over. But this week, they won’t play again until Thursday, April 4th, the end of a five-day layoff. With the Leafs currently sixth in the East and only 12 games remaining, what could a long stretch between games mean for the team?

The Leafs have had been on an impressive run as of late and have not had a regulation loss since March 14th against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have had only one day off in between each of their last 7 games. But with such little time between games, the Leafs have not shown any real signs fatigue. It seems as though the NHL’s compressed schedule has actually benefited the team. The frequent games have helped them develop a rhythm that has seen them beat both Boston and Ottawa, two teams that they are chasing in the standings.
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TMLfans.ca Stats Plus – Apr. 1

April 1, 2013 in Blogs, Stats Plus 0

STATS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM…….

  • When Tyson Barrie scored in overtime to give Colorado the 1-0 victory over Nashville on Saturday, it was only the third goal by an Avalanche defenceman this season. Barrie now has two of the three and both came against the Predators.
  • If the Flyers miss the playoffs, it will mark the first time since 1991 that all of the city of Philadelphia sports teams missed the post-season at the same time.
  • Anaheim and Los Angeles should be a better rivalry than it is but the problem is that in the Ducks 20 years in the league, they and the Kings have never played against each other in a playoff series and amazingly made the playoffs in the same year just one time and that was in the 2010-11 campaign.

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It’s a fantastic four-point night for Kadri and Lupul

March 30, 2013 in Blogs, Leafs Game Recaps 0

(Nazem Kadri gets second career hat-trick)

Mar. 30: Leafs 4 at Senators 0

Leafs scorers: Lupul (8), Kadri 3 (17)
Senators scorers: (none)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines: van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Kessel, Lupul-Kadri-Kulemin, McClement-Grabovski-Frattin, McLaren-Hamilton-Orr
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Gunnarsson, Liles-Kostka, Franson-Fraser
Goaltenders: Reimer (Win, 55:14 minutes played, 31 saves, 0 GA), Scrivens (0:00)

It’s not often that a YouTube video that is four years old goes viral on Twitter.

But within seconds of Nazem Kadri’s third goal on Saturday night – the Leafs final tally in a 4-0 cleansing of the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place – fans with long memories and quick fingers were posting links to the famous exchange between Sens general manager Bryan Murray and then Leafs president/GM Brian Burke at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

“Kadri is the guy we’re going to take, is that the kid you want?” asked Burke rhetorically, not in any mood to negotiate with Murray, and firmly entrenched in the seventh draft position.

“Yeah,” said Murray.

“Well we’re going to take him,” replied Burke, effectively ending the conversation.

Burke no longer holds the post that he did on that summer evening in Montreal. But the seeds planted in that draft were in full bloom as Kadri leaped into sixth place in the NHL scoring race, adding an assist to the second three-goal output of his career for a total of 17 goals and 39 points.
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Leafs win on Lupul’s coast-to-coast goal

March 28, 2013 in Blogs, Leafs Game Recaps 0

(End-to-end rush results in game winner)

Mar. 28: Leafs 3 vs. Hurricanes 6

Leafs scorers: Bozak (10), Franson (3), Phaneuf (7), Lupul (7), McClement (6), Kulemin (6)
Hurricanes scorers: E. Staal (15), Semin (9), J. Staal (8)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines: van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Kessel, Lupul-Kadri-Kulemin, Hamilton-Grabovski-Frattin, McLaren-McClement-Orr
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Gunnarsson, Liles-Kostka, Franson-Fraser
Goaltenders: Reimer (Win, 60:00 minutes played, 19 saves, 3 GA), Scrivens (0:00)

Midweek games at Air Canada Centre, particularly against non-marquee opponents, are usually attended by indifferent crowds. For 57 minutes of play on Thursday night, those in attendance watched nonchalantly as the Leafs were engaged in a 3-3 deadlock with Carolina.

And then came the goal.

The 195-foot traversal of the ice by Joffrey Lupul that sent the crowd at 40 Bay Street into pandemonium.

Did you miss it? Here it is again

There were 19,236 spectators in the building that watched Lupul’s game-winning effort as Toronto potted a pair of empty-netters on route to a 6-3 win.

19,237 if you count Carolina defenceman Joe Corvo.
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Lupul leads Leafs over Panthers

March 26, 2013 in Blogs, Leafs Game Recaps 0

(Joffrey Lupul has scored in all 4 games played in March)

Mar. 26: Leafs 3 vs. Panthers 2

Leafs scorers: Phaneuf (6), Lupul 2 (6)
Panthers scorers: Fleischmann (7), Matthias (10)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines: van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Kessel, Lupul-Kadri-Kulemin, Hamilton-Grabovski-Frattin, McLaren-McClement-Orr
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Gunnarsson, Gardiner-Kostka, Franson-Fraser
Goaltenders: Scrivens (Win, 59:14 minutes played, 40 saves, 2 GA), Reimer (0:00)

Tuesday’s game at Air Canada Centre appeared to be a mismatch on paper with the Leafs – coming off back-to-back games against Boston in which they earned 3 points – hosting the lowly Florida Panthers, the residents of the basement of the 30-team NHL.

Surprisingly the underdogs remained in the game, and may have skated away with a point or not had it not been for Joffrey Lupul, who lead a third period charge with a pair of goals on route to a 3-2 Toronto victory.

A sluggish start saw Randy Carlyle’s squad outshot 16-7 in the first period after which they faced a 1-0 deficit. The Leafs were showing the lethargy of a team that had played 5 games in the past seven nights.
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