tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Leafs Win, But Gain No Ground

The Toronto Maple Leafs got what they were looking for: production from their top two lines and another solid goaltending performance from James Reimer as they did what they needed to do by defeating the reeling Minnesota Wild 3-0.  The frustration of it all is that both Buffalo and Carolina won meaning that the Leafs remain 5 points behind the Sabres and 3 behind Carolina.

While the playoff chase certainly is exciting, last night's results show the difficulty the young Leafs have in front of them.  However, as I've been saying for the last three weeks, what's more important is watching this team continue to grow and gain confidence.  Last night, James Reimer was outstanding stopping four breakaways and withstanding a furious onslaught by the Wild in the second period.  The calm and confidence that Reimer shows in the net is impressive for a 23 year old.  His continued play at this level will certainly make Leaf management's decision on whether to pursue a goalie such as Ilya Brzygalov a tough one.  It is certainly nice to hope that we are seeing the emergence of the Leaf goalie of the future similar to Felix Potvin.  It's been that long since the Leafs have made the right decision about a goaltender developed from within their system.

The top two lines provided the offense needed last night as Joffrey Lupul and Mikhail Grabovski scored for the Leafs on bullet shots that Niklas Backstrom had no chance on.  Lupul had a couple of other chances and has been a pleasant addition for the Leafs.  This guy can be a valuable player if he can stay healthy.

Once again I thought the young defense corp played well.  Carl Gunnarsson showed last night why I feel he can be a power play partner with Dion Phaneuf.  This kid has offensive upside while being solid in his own zone.  His goal was a pretty one as he wired a wrister past Backstrom as he pinched in while the Leafs were on the power play.  Earlier in the third period he made a nice play at the blueline in the Wild zone by not panicking and avoiding a Wild forward and slipping a nice pass to Lupul which set up a nice scoring chance.

While I was impressed by the young guys, including Matt Lashoff, the same cannot be said for Brett Lebda.  Not sure what his problem is but its hard to see how this guy was a plus 30-something with the Red Wings.  I can't see how this guy remains with the Leafs next season.

As an aside, I have really come to appreciate the Leaf braodcast team of Joe Bowen and Greg Millen particularly after watching last night's broadcast which featured the Wild broadcast team.  Complaining about calls and getting names messed up was really annoying.  It was as bad as listening to Howie Rose and Butch Goring who do the Islander games.

The Leafs continue the road trip on Thursday at Colorado against the Avalanche, another game where they need to get two points.  And hopefully some help from others.