Leafs Pound Canadiens 6-0
Some where Brian Burke has to be smiling. Phil Kessel had a goal and 2 assists, Dion Phaneuf a goal and an assist, James van Riemsdyk a goal and an assist and James Reimer pitched a 37 save shutout. All four of these players were in Burke's mind the building blocks for turning things around. On top of them, the truculence that Burke talked about was on full display last night as the Maple Leafs pounded the Canadiens physically and on the scoreboard with a 6-0 win at the Bell Centre.
From start to finish the Leafs were the better team and the outcome of the game should put to rest the ridiculous talk on Toronto radio earlier in the week when it was stated emphatically that the Canadiens were so much further ahead of the Maple Leafs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning the parade down Bay Street. But the big difference between the two teams is goaltending. However, last night Reimer outplayed Carey Price and the way Reimer has been playing the best move the Leafs made may be not giving up young assets for Roberto Luongo.
The Canadiens whining over the rough stuff in the third period is interesting. If they wanted to play out the string, why was Brandon Prust out on the ice?? Prust going after Mikhail Grabovski is what started the brawl in which Max Pacioretty had Grabovski by the back of his neck with his arm over Grabovski's mouth. Was there a bite?? I didn't see it but what else would you expect from the Canadiens but to complain. Maybe what they should do is look in the mirror.
The key for the Leafs will be to have a strong performance Monday at home against the Flyers. Their 6-1 road record is outstanding but the 1-4 record at home is abysmal. Improvement at Air Canada Centre might ensure a playoff spot for the second youngest team in the NHL and if Reimer & Company are leading the way, Brian Burke will know his plan is starting to come to fruition.
Leafs Bounce Back With 3-2 Win
The Toronto Maple Leafs bounced back from a disappointing home loss against Carolina with a 3-2 win in Washington over the Capitals. The win bumped the Leafs road record to 4-1 while they are 1-4 at the Air Canada Centre. James van Riemsdyk led the way with 2 goals for the Leafs while Korbinian Holzer scored what proved to be the game winner.
Ben Scrivens was in goal for the Leafs and while he looked shaky at times, he made some big saves in the third period to preserve the win. Scrivens flopped around quite a bit in the crease and had Leaf fans nervous throughout the game. What should have Leaf fans more nervous is the continued dismal power play and the sudden demise of the penalty killing units.
The power play had another 0-fer night and I still believe that there needs to be a shake-up in personnel. Maybe have Dion Phaneuf go down low in front of the net or use a big body like David Steckel or Colton Orr. How about giving Matt Frattin some power play time?? How about a line with Phil Kessel-Mikhail Grabovski-JVR and a second line of Matt Frattin-Nazem Kadri-Jay McClement. Change is necessary because the current set-up is not working with the big problem being there is too much perimeter passing which allows the opposition to stay in their box.
The Leafs penalty killing units have abandoned staying in the box as evidenced by the last two games. Both Capital goals were on the power play and both times all four Leaf penalty killers were chasing the puck. The same was true against Carolina on Tuesday. Prior to Tuesday's game, I felt that Randy Carlyle had made strides in improving what had been an achilles heel for the Leafs throughout the Ron Wilson era. But it seems the Leafs are getting overly aggressive and need to be more disciplined. With limited practice time it may be difficult for the coaching staff to make corrections but this could be a big problem if not corrected soon.
The Leafs head to Winnipeg for a game against the Jets tomorrow night at 8pm. Almost a year ago, Toronto dropped a 2-1 decision to the Jets which started their dismal run over the cliff which ended the season and resulted in the firing of Ron Wilson. Will see what happens tomorrow as James Reimer should get the start in goal.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering how often Punxsutawney Phil is right in predicting the weather, here is what's on my mind this morning:
* The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their losing ways on home ice dropping a 4-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes last night. The power play was once again dismal going 0-4. The Leafs have only scored twice in their last 26 power play chances. Coach Randy Carlyle really needs to shake things up by maybe giving the Nazem Kadri-Matt Frattin-Leo Komorov line power play minutes. I also think that John-Michael Liles should be paired with Dion Phaneuf on the first power play unit.
* It might also be a good idea to shake up the team's first 2 lines. What about having Mikhail Grabovski center a line with Phil Kessel and JVR? That would leave Tyler Bozak to center Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur.
* The Leafs really miss Carl Gunnarsson and Jake Gardiner. Was not impressed with Korbinian Holzer last night. He looked very tentative. Leafs should leave Mike Komisarek in the lineup and may want to consider pairing Mark Fraser with John-Michael Liles.
* I have never been a Joe Flacco fan but I have to give him credit for a remarkable playoff run that was capped off with being the MVP of the Super Bowl. Going through the playoffs without throwing an interception is an accomplishment that is rarely met.
* Jim Harbaugh is really getting to be annoying. His sideline histrionics are a bore and his claim that the refs stole the game from his team is more befitting of a Pop Warner coach. Maybe it's time to worry about your porous defensive secondary as opposed to the referees.
* So glad that the Ray Lewis Idolization Show has come to an end. Lewis hardly distinguished himself in the big game as he could not keep up with Niners tight end Vernon Davis. For my money, the Raven defender who deserves star honors for his play in the Super Bowl was Ed Reed.
* Kudos to Boomer Esiason for not backing down to CBS co-host and resident loud mouth Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe interviewed his good friend Ray Lewis and did ask Lewis about the double homicide 13 years ago. Lewis gave his usual answer, invoking God and blaming the authorities for not getting answers for the families. Esiason flat out said that Lewis was involved with a double murder and didn't give answers that the public was looking for. Way to go, Boomer.
* Let me go on record as saying I will not watch whatever network hires Ray Lewis for its pre or post game shows.
* Many were raving about the Beyonce half-time show. Quite frankly I thought I was at a strip club.
* Kudos to New York Knicks All-Star Center Tyson Chandler for his third straight game with 20 rebounds which ties a franchise record with none other than Willis Reed. Chandler could break the record Wednesday when the Knicks take on the Washington Wizards.
* The Knicks are on a roll having just completed a 5-0 homestand. Full marks have to go to Knicks Head Coach Mike Woodson. He has really taken hold of this team by making everyone accountable for their play, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. This is rare in the ego-driven NBA.
* I've never been a big Tim Tebow fan but the New York Jets have ruined this kid's career. How can a quarterback go from leading his team to the playoffs, including a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on wild card weekend, to now having to wonder if he will play in the NFL again. Here's hoping the kid can get a chance to re-establish himself in the NFL.
* The NY Daily News is reporting today that ARod is believing that there is a conspiracy involving the Yankees and Major League Baseball to bring him down and end his career. Of course, this is coming from the public relations firm and lawyers that ARod has assembled to defend himself from the recent allegations reported in a weekly Miami newspaper. It's becoming more and more painful for this guy to continue to be a Yankee.
* Last night I saw the Yankeeography on Whitey Ford and in it Ford says how he was honored to have the opportunity to wear the Pinstripes and understood the pride and tradition of the uniform. I wonder if the same can be said about ARod.
* I can't think of hockey fans that are more smug than Buffalo Sabre fans. There is the belief by many of them that their team is so much better than they are playing. Really??? Does the team have a true number one center?? What about the defense corp?? The fact is that the Sabres will be one of the teams that will be hovering between 8th and 13th place.
* Listened to WGR550 afternoon Gasbags, Mike Schopp and the Bulldog yesterday. The big question was whether they believed that Sabre owner Terry Pegula is actually evaluating Lindy Ruff's performance as head coach in lieu of the team's recent troubles. At one point, Schopp said that he feels that this team has good players and that they should be playing better. Really???
* As far as Pegula goes, he made a huge mistake by extending Darcy Reiger. As long as Reiger is GM, I find it hard to believe that Lindy Ruff would be fired. While I think Ruff is a good coach, the time has come for a change. If Pegula says its all about winning the Stanley Cup, then look at Ruff's record: 0-15.
* How well are Pegula's big free agent signings playing?? Ville Leino may be out for the season and Christian Erhoff is hardly worth what he's getting paid. While the GR Gasbags love to get on Goalie Ryan Miller, I hardly hear them talk about the lack of performance from the pair of free agent signings that had Sabre fans all a flutter in the summer of 2011.
* So much for the Sabres added grit leading to winning results.
* By the way, has anyone seem John Scott??
My Take On ARod, Yankees
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report in a couple of weeks, it is a good time to look at the upcoming season for the New York Yankees. Tied to that is the blockbuster story that has come out linking Alex Rodriguez, once again, with performance enhancing drugs. When the Yankees acquired ARod in 2004, it was believed that the Yanks were set up for another run of multiple championships. But here we are in 2013 and the boys from the Bronx have only added one championship and along the way ARod has caused plenty of controversy.
We all remember the reported feud between ARod and Derek Jeter. But that paled in comparison when it was reported in 2009 that ARod had used performance enhancing drugs. ARod, at the time, admitted using steroids but indicated that it was during the time period of 2001 through 2003. He stated that he was clean since then. At the time, I wasn't enraged at ARod. In fact, I felt like he was singled out because of who he was as there were a number of players who were named in the report but their names were never published. He was contrite and was committed to educating young baseball players about the ill-effects of steroids.
The Yankees won the World Series in 2009 and ARod seemed to be on his way to having a place in Yankee history as he led the team, particularly in the division series against the Minnesota Twins. However, if last week's reports are true, as far as I'm concerned ARod will go down as one of the biggest embarassments in the history of this storied franchise. You see, as long as Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association refuse to police itself, the whole argument about these guys being cheaters doesn't fire me up. But what does have me boiling is if these allegations are true, then ARod flat out lied to all of us. He said his use of PEDs was between 2001-2003. The recent reports allege that he was using PEDs in 2009 and beyond. In essence, he was taking us all for suckers.
How much more can this franchise take from ARod? The feud with Jeter, flirting with women in the stands during the playoffs and his much publicized dalliances with a stripper in Toronto are all incidents that the team has had to put up with but are not situations that were earth shattering. After all, there are many stories about teammates not getting along and players' extracurricular activities. But if you lie about taking a substance that enhances your ability to perform then you not only make yourself look bad but it also looks bad for the organization you work for. One has to wonder, what did the Yankees know and if they knew anything, when did they know it.
What makes it worse for the Yankees is the amount of money that they have tied up with ARod. With Hal Steinbrenner's self-imposed $189 million salary cap, the ARod contract is a killer particularly in that they don't know how he is going to recover from the recent hip surgery and if these allegations are true will he be suspended and for how long. As has been mentioned before on this blog, what compounds the problem is that the Yankee farm system is probably 2 to 3 years away before it will bear any fruit for the big club. And at the end of the 2013 season, the Yankees will have to decide what they are going to do with free agents Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson.
The Yankees still don't have a legitimate right handed hitting outfielder unless you consider Matt Diaz the answer. The signing of Travis Hafner as your left handed DH is questionable based upon Hafner's health status over the past several years. The pitching staff needs to hope that over 35 year olds, such as Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, stay healthy.
The 2013 season looks to be a very difficult one for the Pinstripers. Many question marks and the never ending soap opera surrounding ARod. It will all begin soon enough and I can hardly wait.
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