Antropov burns Leafs in Thrashers win

Leafs scorers: Stalberg 2 (7)
Thrashers scorers: Afinogenov (23), Artyukhin (8), Antropov (24)
Links: Game Summary | Stats | Discussion boards

Forward lines: Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel, Grabovski-Mitchell-Caputi, Stalberg-Hanson-Sjostrom, Wallin-Orr-Lundmark
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Beauchemin, Kaberle-Schenn, Exelby-Gunnarsson
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Loss, 58:48 minutes played, 22 saves, 3 GA), Giguere(0:00),
Noteworthy:
-Nik Antropov’s goal gave Atlanta the win, officially eliminating the Maple Leafs from the playoffs. It is the 5th straight season without playoff hockey in Toronto.
-Viktor Stalberg’s two goals matched a career high that he set earlier this month, March 11 vs. Tampa Bay

Blue And White Beat: Phaneuf’s contributions go beyond scoresheet

Phaneuf’s contributions go beyond scoresheet

It would be reasonable to expect a player mired in a 20-game goal scoring drought to be called out by his coach, and by the paying customers that fill the arena seats.

If that same player had yet to find the net since being acquired in a blockbuster trade by the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose fans are as fickle and as rabid as they come, a person couldn’t be faulted for watching for swirls of angry mobs to approach the Air Canada Centre with lit torches.

Yet Dion Phaneuf, four years removed from his Calder Trophy nominated season in which he scored 20 goals, not only escapes the wrath normally reserved for players who don’t find the net, he is lauded for his intangible contributions.

“Dion leads by example,” observed Leafs coach Ron Wilson. “He’s kind of taken charge of our dressing room.

He’s very vocal in practice and during games. Everything about Dion is very loud. It’s having an impact, especially with the young guys on our team, the enthusiasm he brings every day.”

Through 20 games played as a Leaf, Phaneuf has vaulted into team’s leader in ice time at 26:23 per game. His durability on special teams has also propelled him into the top spot in per game ice time in both power-play and shorthanded situations (4:36 and 3:16 respectively).

When the Leafs and Calgary Flames consummated the seven-player swap on January 31 that brought Phaneuf to Toronto, the Leafs penalty-killing efficiency was a pathetic 70.1%. The figure was not only dead last in the NHL, but was on pace to become one of the worst PK ratings in league history since the benchmark became an official statistic.

Since Phaneuf’s arrival, Toronto’s penalty kill is operating at just over 85% (10 power-play goals against in 57 opportunities in 20 games).

With his positive impact perpetuating throughout the dressing room, Leaf Nation is more than willing to overlook his lack of goal production. His coach doesn’t appear too concerned either, for the time being.

“If you ask Dion, he says: ‘I get two points every night we win,’” said Wilson. “That’s the most important thing.”

Phaneuf is likely to earn a berth on Team Canada’s entry at the World Championships in Germany in May after having been overlooked for the Olympic team. Also, it would be to no one’s surprise if the bright orange “C” that was crested prominently on his sweater during his time in Calgary evolves into blue and white “C” – for captain – next fall.

The Leafs highest-paid player ($6.5 million US per year) is far from their most offensively productive.

However the 24-year-old certainly appears to be the most influential, if not the loudest.

“He apparently must be paid by the word,” jabbed Wilson

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Crosby burns Leafs as Penguins rally for win

Leafs scorers: Orr (3), Kessel (30), Gunnsarsson (3), Bozak (8)
Penguins scorers: Kennedy (11), Crosby 2 (47), Cooke (15), shootout winner – Crosby
Links: Game Summary | Stats | Discussion boards

Forward lines: Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel, Stalberg-Grabovski-Caputi, Mitchell-Hanson-Sjostrom, Wallin-Orr-Primeau
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Beauchemin, Kaberle-Schenn, Exelby-Gunnarsson
Goaltenders: Giguere (Shootout Loss, 64:56 minutes played, 33 saves, 4 GA), Gustavsson (0:00),
Noteworthy:
-Sidney Crosby ended a seven game goal scoring drought by scoring a pair of goals.
-Phil Kessel reached the 30-goal plateau for the second consecutive season, becoming the first Leaf other than Mats Sundin to reach the mark since Alex Mogilny (37 goals, 2003-04).
-The loss ended Toronto’s run of winning 7 straight games after regulation dating back to March 6th (4 OT, 3 shootout).
-The game marked Toronto’s final game at Mellon Arena. Pittsburgh will move into their new rink, Consol Energy Center, next season.

TMLfans.ca Marlies Report – March 28

By Rob Del Mundo

With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Marlies are in tough to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in 3 years. After back-to-back losses on Friday and Saturday – to Syracuse and Rochester respectively – Toronto failed to gain ground on the Manitoba Moose, who remain five points ahead of the Marlies for fourth place in the North Division. The Moose, who eliminated Toronto in the first round last year, also have a game in hand.

The setback of the past 48 hours has slowed a wave of momentum for head coach Dallas Eakins’ club, who had won five straight games prior to this weekend. Eight days ago against Hamilton, Joey MacDonald stopped all four shooters in a shootout against the Bulldogs as Toronto edged their QEW rivals 2-1.

The following day, 6,756 fans were in attendance at Ricoh Coliseum to watch the team steal two points from the Abbotsford Flames in a game that was broadcast nationwide on CBC. Ryan Hamilton scored with 48 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. For an encore, the Whitby native connected on a shorthanded breakaway to give his team a 2-1 win. “We grew up watching Hockey Night In Canada, so it’s a pretty neat day,” reflected Hamilton following the game. “I’m from the GTA area so I knew I had a lot of family and friends watching. It was a really neat experience.”

Eakins was more than pleased with the effort of his left winger, who had played in only 37 of the team’s games to that point. “He’s had a tough season. He started off really well, he was injured for quite a long time and has really come back up to speed. He’s such a big kid and dedicated, and you can only cheer for him.”

The Marlies used five different scorers in a 5-2 victory over Binghamton on Wednesday, for a fifth straight win.

Toronto will be looking to avenge yesterday’s loss to the Americans as they travel to Blue Cross Arena in Rochester for the second game of the home-and-home series. Ultimately the team’s post-season fate will be decided on Easter weekend. After a matchup on Thursday, April 1 in Copps Coliseum against the Western Conference leading Bulldogs, the Marlies host the Moose for back-to-back games on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.

Quick Hits:
• The Marlies are sixth in the North Division with a record of 30-32-6-5 (71 points),
• The top scorers are Andre Deveaux (14 goals, 23 assists, 37 points), Viktor Stalberg (12-21-33) and Christian Hanson (12-19-31). Greg Scott (29 points) and Kyle Calder (28 points) round out the top five.
• Of the players currently in the Leafs lineups, Luca Caputi, Hanson, and Stalberg are listed on the team’s clear day roster, which determines eligibility for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Quick Quotes:
• Eakins assessed the play of new acquisitions Simon Gysbers (signed to Amateur Try-Out on March 10) and Jesse Blacker (Owen Sound, OHL, signed with Leafs on March 20). “Simon is very calm with the puck, and I think his thought process is a little deeper, whereas Jesse is full of energy. They’ve both come in and played very well. They’re physical and they’re taking the necessary steps. It’s going to be baby steps going forward, but they’ve both had really good starts.”
• “We’re just all coming together here. We know that the only thing that we can control is us winning games, and we’ll see what happens.” Hamilton, on the team’s push for a playoff berth.

Next four games:
• Sun. Mar. 28 at Rochester, 3:00pm
• Thu. Apr. 1 at Hamilton, 7:30pm
• Fri. Apr. 2 vs. Manitoba, 7:00pm
• Sat. Apr. 3 vs. Manitoba, 4:00pm

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of the TMLfans.ca Marlies Report, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Another game, another OT win

Leafs scorers: Mitchell (6), Kaberle (7), Kulemin (16)
Rangers scorers: Parenteau (2), Dubinksy (18)
Links: Game Summary | Stats | Discussion boards

Forward lines: Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel, Stalberg-Grabovski-Caputi, Mitchell-Hanson-Sjostrom, Wallin-Orr-Lundmark
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Beauchemin, Kaberle-Schenn, Finger-Gunnarsson
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win, 60:39 minutes played, 36 saves, 2 GA), Giguere (0:00),
Noteworthy:
-The Leafs won for the first time this season when trailing after two periods (1-30-7). Jonas Gustavsson extended his personal winning streak to seven games.
-Since March 6 the Leafs have won seven straight games that have gone to either overtime or shootout.
-Toronto has won 4 consecutive overtime games since March 9 after losing ten consecutive OT games to start the season.
Tomas Kaberle ended a 16-game goal scoring drought.

Grabovski wins game in overtime

Leafs scorers: Kessel (29), Grabovski (10)
Thrashers scorers: Bogosian (10)
Links: Game Summary | Stats | Discussion boards

Forward lines: Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel, Stalberg-Grabovski-Caputi, Mitchell-Hanson-Sjostrom, Wallin-Orr-Lundmark
Defence pairings: Phaneuf-Beauchemin, Kaberle-Schenn, Exelby-Gunnarsson
Goaltenders: Gustavsson (Win, 60:39 minutes played, 19 saves, 1 GA), Giguere (0:00),
Noteworthy:
-Jonas Gustavsson extended his personal winning streak to six games since the Olympic break.
-Atlanta’s Zach Bogosian was paired with 48-year-old Chris Chelios on defence. Chelios is 28 years older than Bogosian.

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