Maple Leafs 4, Rangers 3 – Gameday Blog

So I thought I would try a different format to recap the game and give a much more in depth account of the game and give my opinions, thoughts and general musings while I watch the game unfold.  Something different for the readers to hopefully get a good sense of what transpired in the game, we’ll see how it comes out and if it is something people get value out of or just a total waste.  I’ll focus on big hits, saves, goals, fights and other observations and provide the final shot tallies as well as an end of period overall “Advantage/Momentum” recap as sometimes the shots really don’t tell the whole story.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3-0) at New York Rangers (1-1-0)

*First Period

-In goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs was JS Giguere while the New York Rangers countered with Henrik Lundqvist.

-Colton Orr is in the line-up tonight and I can’t help but wonder if he and super heavyweight Derek ‘The Boogeyman’ Boogard will have a tilt or if Orr will air on the side of caution after recently being kayoed (and possibly concussedagainst the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

-Dion Phaneuf has averaged over 23 minutes/game thus far being paired with Francois Beauchemin (21+ minutes/game) as the number one defence pairing.

-Leafs start with the 2^nd line against the Rangers top line centred by Chris Drury.

-Leafs kill off a questionable interference call on Kris Versteeg, at the end of the penalty kill Dion Phaneuf has a huge scoring opportunity but is stopped by King Henrik.

GOAL: RANGERS, Michal Rozsival at 7:58.  Leafs give up the first goal of the game for the first time this season on a bit of a softy given up by Giggy.

-Colton Orr and Derek Boogard square off to no avail as Mike Brown gets into a scrap and does his usual spin cycle while throwing wild rights and falling off his skates.  You tube Mike Brown’s fights and you will see this is a similar pattern for him, for such a great skater he has awful balance during his fights.

-HUGE saves by Lundqvist to rob the Leafs of a goal as Kessel sets up Versteeg right in front with about 6:00 minutes to play.

-The Rangers do showcase some huge size on their bottom two lines however they appear to be more plodding than the Leafs sand paper and not as a solid all around hockey players, making them less dangerous overall in my opinion.  Derek Boogard as always running around trying to cause havoc, this guy always finishes his checks, even if 5 seconds too late!

-Phil Kessel shows a great burst of speed and gets in alone on Lundqvist but is again foiled.

-HUGE hit by Steve Eminger against Freddy Sjostrom in front of the Rangers bench and gets 2 minutes for roughing with a big forearm shiver. 

-First power play for the Leafs on the night and they look very dangerous in the first minute with some good chances.

-Another penalty call against the Rangers as the horn blows for the end of the first period and the Leafs will begin the second period on the power play.

Score: Rangers 1, Leafs 0

Shots: Maple Leafs 16, Rangers 7

Overall Period Advantage/Momentum: Slight advantage to the Maple Leafs, they looked a bit sloppy in the first five minutes but really settled in and took it to the Rangers for most of the period.  Phil Kessel appeared to have all kinds of jump in that period, hopefully he can pop a couple home before the night is over.  Leafs were 75% on face-offs in the first period.

**Second Period

-Leaf’s start the period on the power play, failed to register a shot after some decent offensive zone possession and pressure.

GOAL!! LEAFS, Clarke MacArthur (5) with the easiest goal you will see, a nice tap-in after some great work by Luke Schenn and Nik Kulemin. 

-MacArthur becomes first Leaf in the history of the franchise to score a goal in his first four games.

-Leaf’s with another clutch penalty kill after Colby Armstrong took a bad one.  JS Giguere with one big save.

-Chris Drury and Marion Gaborik have not returned from the Rangers dressing room, undisclosed injuries.

GOAL!! LEAFS, Mike Komisarek (1).  Bozak provides screen on long point shot.

-HUGE save by Lundqvist as Kessel robbed again.  Moments later Grabovski robbed as the Leafs are ALL OVER THE RANGERS at the 13:00 minute mark, Rangers fans getting antsy.

-Coincidental minor penalties go to the Leafs Mike Brown (diving) and Del Zotto (cross-checking) at the end of major pressure for the Leafs, Lundqvist keeping the Rangers alive.

GOAL!! LEAFS, Phil Kessel (3).  Huge play and pass from Tyler Bozak to Phil the Thrill, who should have a hat trick already.

-Leafs continue to dominate the period in all aspects. 

-Colby Armstrong goats Sean Avery into a dumb penalty as Avery was ready to drop the gloves, Army doesn’t oblige.

-Derek Boogard is a massive, massive man and I bet Brian Burke was in on the off season bidding for the biggest tough guy in the game until Glen Sather gave him the silly 2+ million per season contract, voted the worst off season signing by a lot of GMs.

Score: Leafs 3, Rangers 1

Shots: Leafs 14 (30), Rangers 5 (12)

Overall Period Advantage/Momentum: Huge advantage Toronto, not even a question.  They were buzzing almost all period and looked like the only NHL calibre squad on the ice.  If it wasn’t for Lundqvist this game would be officially over.

***Third Period

-The Leafs appear to be going with 5 defenseman as I haven’t seen Carl Gunnarsson in quite some time and a few different defenseman rotated shifts with Mike Komisarek.

GOAL: RANGERS, Brian Boyle at 2:10.  A tough goal for Giggy.

-Colton Orr given an absolutely TERRIBLE penalty call, he literally shrugged a guy off him by the Rangers bench and was given a brutal and total reputation call. 

-Colby Armstrong draws another penalty, smartly.  This is the truculence Burkie is speaking of, take it to the other skilled players and get a response.  Army has played a big game, laying a big hit on Marion Gaborik which took him out of the Rangers line-up tonight.

-Mike Komisarek takes a vicious baseball swing slash by dummy Steve Avery, taking yet another stupid penalty as he’s really earning his cheque tonight. 

-Leafs with a 4 on 3 power play at the 4:00 minute mark.  Rangers kill it off and gain momentum as the crowd starts to get into the game.

GOAL: RANGERS, Brian Boyle (2^nd of game) at 6:19. 

-Brian Boyle is a bit of a player, I like his game.  Like a bigger, tougher version of our own Tim Brent.  He has helped turn the game around and the Rangers are pressing with about 12:00 minutes to go.  It’s been feast or famine for the Rangers tonight as they have either been completely awful or completely dominate, no in between. 

-The Leafs lack of size on the top line and down the middle is clearly evident in the third period and they look timid entering the offensive zone in the third.  Brad Richards would be nice about now.

-Mike Komisarek gets penalty for cross checking Steve Avery, who embellishes slightly.  Leafs with the biggest penalty kill of the short season right now with 10:00 to play.

-Steve Avery misses a gaping, wide open cage with 0:30 seconds left in the penalty, WOW.

-Penalty killed, 8:00 minutes to go and the Rangers are out shooting the Leafs 8-3.

-Leafs need to get back to their up tempo, pressure game and settle down.

-Steve Avery lays a nice hit on Mike Komisarek with 6:00 minutes to go, they have been back and forth at each other all night.

-5:00 minutes to go and we have a hockey game folks!

-Big LATE penalty to the Rangers for delay of game (puck directly over glass by Dan Girardi) giving the Leafs one last gasp to take this baby home on the power play with 3:07 to go.

-Rangers kill off the penalty, Leafs now 0-6 on the PP, some terrible ice conditions as the puck is jumping all over the place.

-Big late game save by Giggy on a tricky tipped point shot.

-Leafs gain one point, the game is going to overtime.

Score: Leafs 3, Rangers 3

Shots: Rangers 10 (22), Leafs 6 (36)

Overall Period Advantage/Momentum:  Clearly the Rangers dominated this period.

****Overtime

-Tomas Kaberle with a great show of skill and deked the entire arena out of its jock before getting stripped.

-Another late penalty as the Leafs will end the OT on the power play as Marc Staal takes a tough interference call, the Leafs with their seventh PP opportunity.

GOAL!!!! PHIL KESSEL OVERTIME VICTORY!!!!  Phil Kessel scores his 2^nd (4) at the 3:08 mark in the OT period (PP goal).

FINAL SCORE: LEAFS 4, Rangers 3 (OT)

Shots: Leafs 38, Rangers 24

Overall Game Advantage: Leafs.  Outside of about 10 minutes in the third where the Leafs were soundly outplayed they were the better team tonight and deserved two points.

So the seventh time is the charm for the Maple Leafs as they get there first power play goal on the seventh opportunity of the game with Phil Kessel scoring his 2^nd goal of the game in OT to give the Leafs there fourth straight win to start the season.

The Leafs power play went 1 for 7 while the penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5.

Hope you enjoyed the blog tonight and maybe we’ll do it again sometime!

WHAT ARE THE LEAFS BASHERS SAYING NOW??

Give The Kid A Break

Give Kadri time to develop, he'll be just fine.

With Leafs nation all abuzz with the pending preseason cuts and who will and won’t make the club out training camp I wanted to take this time to discuss Nazem Kadri again and basically to say, give the kid a break.  I am not going to feel sorry for him (or any pro athlete) as this is the life they chose and it is filled with amazing perks, monetary compensation and unfortunately in Toronto, a bit of additional pressure for a city starving for a hockey winner but I also feel it is time for a little perspective.

We have to face facts that while we wish he was ready for big league action and our supposed 2^nd line centre but reality is Nazem Kadri is still a kid, literally.  Kadri was raised in a big Arabic household in a tight family oriented environment and as a male being raised in such a situation (coupled with the fact he was a minor hockey star at a young age) he was likely treated like a king from birth all the way through until now.  Kadri is more of a kid that a lot of ‘kids’ his age, and I feel he will just take a bit longer to develop both mentally and physically, but the gifts and sheer talent he has been bestowed by the hockey gods are undeniably great. 

Like a lot of kids who don’t leave the nest prior to turning 20 years old I doubt Nazem has experienced much in the way of real life experience or hardship and is still very much reliant on his parents for support, both emotionally and mentally.  Kadri is still a kid adjusting to a very different (and hectic) lifestyle and is also likely away from home for the first time in his life.  He just added approximately 15 lbs of muscle to a very slight frame and likely put his body through an unaccustomed workout regimen that has left him looking slightly slower and less explosive. 

If Nazem Kadri were a baseball player (say Kyle Drabek) he would barely be above ‘A’ ball at this point in his career and there would be zero expectations for an immediate and drastic impact in his first year out of junior hockey.  Tyler Bozak was a rookie for the Leafs in 2009/10 (at the age of 24) and he showed a lot of improvement during the course of the season last year but there were still some things lacking overall from his game early in the year, and he has four years on Nazem, think about that.  Kadri has most of the necessary ingredients to be a solid professional, just needs the time for them to properly simmer and cook.

Only the rarest of rare talents can step out of junior hockey as a boy and play a big time role in a man’s game, although I think we erred when Luke Schenn was not sent back to junior after being drafted 7^th overall by the Leafs in 2008, Schenn unlike Kadri was basically a boy in a man’s body.  For every Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos there are countless others that are just not ready to step immediately into the world of professional hockey at the NHL level.

Brian Burke will bring Nazem Kadri into his office and explain to him that the Maple Leafs are happy with his progress thus far, he is coming off an exemplary  junior career and he should try his hardest to ignore the harsh media onslaught and go to the AHL with his head held high.  Work on improving the weakest facets of his game and get accustomed to playing against men and make the necessary adjustments as needed.  We’ll continue to monitor you closely and you are only a step or two away from returning to the big club but don’t worry about things you can’t control, just focus on playing hockey, a game you love.

Folks, Nazem Kadri is a fine young prospect I am hopeful that a bright and promising future lay ahead as a #2 playmaking/sparkplug centre but as Axl Rose said (or sang), what we all need right now is “just a little patience”. 

BRENT MAKING PLAY FOR 3^RD LINE CHECKING ROLE

Tim Brent has made noise in training camp for the Leafs in 2010 and the 26 year old is apparently leading the race for the wide open 3^rd line checking line centre role.  Brent signed with the Leafs in 2009 and played 33 games for the Toronto Marlies (13 goals, 15 assists in 33 games) and is known as a responsible defensive centre that can win some draws and chip in on the penalty kill.

A career minor leaguer since 2008/09 spanning 97 games Brent (6’0”, 200 lbs) has managed 33 goals and 57 assists, scoring at a 0.92 point per game clip.  He likely won’t be a big time scorer in the NHL but a career minor leaguer will absolutely work his tail off each and every night and it is possible that John Mitchell’s (the man who is most likely to be affected) Maple Leafs career is closer to coming to an abrupt end.

Mitchell has shown some promise but seems to lack ‘jam’ or the extra gear that would allow him to be a consistent and productive pro in the NHL.  It is possible he is one of the youngsters than Brian Burke and Ron Wilson refer to when they discuss the perceived ‘entitlement’ players sometimes feel because they play in a large market with constant attention from the media 24/7.

KEEP IT TO YOURSELF KRIS!

Among growing, disgusting and annoying trends, players who bite, chew and play with their mouthguards obsessively is something I could just as well go without!  I thought when Marco Belinelli (Raptors former swingman) was sent packing we wouldn’t have to endure a high profile player with his mouthguard on display all game, until Kris Versteeg came to town. 

Projected opening night line-up:

Versteeg-Bozak-Kessel

Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur

Sjostrom-Brent-Armstrong

Brown-Hanson-Orr

Phaneuf-Beauchemin

Kaberle-Komisarek

Schenn-Gunnarsson

Giguere/Gustavsson

Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

This seems to be the preferred line-up (see below) for Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson, at least early into training camp and preseason.  This line-up would not include John Mitchell, Marcel Mueller, Luca Caputi, Brayden Irwin, Jay Rosehill, Jeff Finger, Brett Lebda, Jesse Blacker and Matt Lashoff, among others.  I think it would be a real shame that Rosehill will not break camp with the team if this line-up holds as with the addition of the extremely effective Mike Brown he has become a bit redundant.

1 Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel

2 Versteeg-Kadri-Armstrong

3 Sjostrom-Grabovski-MacArthur

4 Brown-Hanson-Orr

1 Phanuef-Beauchemin

2 Kaberle-Komisarek

3 Schenn-Gunnarsson

Another player I feel could be AHL bound is London Knights standout centre Nazem Kadri.  He hasn’t looked himself (early) and barring a turnaround and some prolonged consistent play I think the AHL is just what he needs to continue his development physically and maybe more importantly, mentally.  It would be a good test for Kadri and the Leafs to see how we would potentially deal with the disappointment of beginning the year in the minor leagues.  Let’s face it Kadri isn’t Sidney Crosby (duh), he still has a long way to go and I think growing up a bit might actually be the first step and when I view him on most nights his overall body language to me screams ‘entitlement’.  Some of the top players in the game have honed their crafts in the underrated and valuable AHL.

So if Kadri is Toronto Marlies bound to begin the year, what are the Leafs options in terms of the most effective line-up?  I think the defence core remains the same until or unless one of the current “top six” either gets injured or is simply ineffective.  That is an extremely deep and promising group of defenders and with Luke Schenn appearing confident early, it will be a real area of strength for the team on the ice and in the front office should Brian Burke feel the need to address his weakness at the centre ice position by moving one of Kaberle, Beauchemin, Komisarek and depending if he gets blown away with an offer and he comes out of the gate strong, Schenn.

Here is my ideal line-up:

1 Kulemin-Bozak-Kessel

2 Versteeg-Grabovksi-MacArthur

3 Caputi-Mitchell/Kadri-Armstrong

4 Brown-Hanson-Orr

Honestly I do like the first line-up with Grabovski on the third line adding some solid scoring depth, but only if Nazem Kadri proves to be big league ready right off the bat, which so far (very early on) is just not the case.  So I moved Grabo up to the 2^nd line centre role between newcomers Kris Versteeg and Clarke MacArthur.  This could prove to be a solid goal scoring line with all three players capable of sniping up to 20-25 goals while adding a nice touch of speed and skill to the line-up.  We brought in both Versteeg and MacArthur to pick up the scoring slack so no sense wasting either in a lesser 3^rd line role. 

Speaking of the 3^rd line, this is John Mitchell’s chance to prove he belongs, likely his last opportunity to do so in the NHL.  He’ll be between Luca Caputi and Colby Armstrong, both players who can skate, hit and hopefully score a few while playing a sound defensive game.  Caputi has shown up to camp in tremendous shape and looks to be bigger, stronger and most importantly faster on his skates.  He has been a big prospect for a few years and he needs to start showcasing that potential this season.  We already know what Armstrong brings, and he will be a fan favourite for his rambunctious style of play.  This could be an effective, abrasive and solid checking style line with the chance to pop in a few goals and make some things happen down low and on the cycle.

The argument for keeping Kadri on the team and playing with the 3^rd line unit is simple, give him a chance to stay with the big club and hopefully simplify his game and improve his defensive shortcomings by throwing him into the fire.  It is doubtful the Leafs will want to do this and would likely prefer him starring in the AHL in a more prolific offensive role, but it’s a thought to ponder.

The 4^th line is a pure energy and momentum changing line with two solid skating big men (Hanson and Brown) who aren’t scared to get their noses dirty and of course the Leafs heavyweight (Orr).  Mike Brown could prove to be one of Burke’s best offseason additions with his tenacity, strong skating and hitting tendencies and a bonus that he is a great penalty killer.  I like Christian Hanson and I think he deserves to be on this team and I look for a breakout season and a potential move up to the 3^rd line depending on how Mitchell/Kadri performs.  Colton Orr brings his usual presence and huge right hand on a nightly basis and he could be the best pure fighter in Leafs history?

A lot of the Leafs success will clearly rest with the defence and as long as we stay healthy and each player plays up to his potential it should be one of the better groups in the NHL.  Goaltending will also be imperative to any potential playoff berth and I think I can safely say (knock on wood) that there is no way it can be any worse than what the sieve named Vesa Toskala provided us last season, especially early when we started so terribly.  JS Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson provide a pretty solid tandem and it finally appears we have a couple solid young tenders in the system in Jussi Rynnas, Ben Scrivens and Reimer.

We can make the playoffs a reality if:

-Phil Kessel stays healthy

-Tyler Bozak and Nik Kulemin play the entire season with Kessel and they continue building (and improving) on their success and chemisty from last season

-Dion Phaneuf scores 15+ goals and returns to the dominating (maybe slightly calmer) physical presence and power play star

-Luke Schenn forces Ron Wilson to play him 20+ minutes due to outstanding play, which in turn allows Brian Burke to move one of our excess defenseman (Kaberle) for a top notch centre

-Mikael Grabovski has a career year (60+ points)

-Nazem Kadri joins the Leafs half way through the season and starts to contribute at the big league level, consistently, adding much needed secondary scoring

-Versteeg, Armstrong, Brown, MacArthur, Komisarek, Beauchemin and Giguere simply play to their career norms, or slightly above

-Jonas Gustavsson’s play forces Ron Wilson to re-think the tandem due to extremely consistent performances

-Improved play from Hanson, Caputi, Mitchell and Kulemin

-Ron Wilson and the coaching staff improve the worst special teams in the history of the franchise, two years running

-We don’t start the year 0-7-1 and we drastically improve our putrid shootout record post lockout

What are your other keys to a successful Maple Leafs season?  What are you looking for from the team this year?  Who are you most excited, nervous, and anxious or worried about?