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

Leafs Win In Pittsburgh, Lose Lupul

The Toronto Maple Leafs went into Pittsburgh Wednesday night to take on the high-flying Penguins in their home opener in the Steel City and came out with a solid 5-2 win. While there was plenty to be happy about with the victory, the Leafs suffered a big loss when Joffrey Lupul was hit by a Dion Phaneuf slapshot that resulted in a broken forearm for the Leaf winger. It has been reported that Lupul will be out 6 to 8 weeks.

Many were not giving the Leafs much of a chance heading into the game, but they received contributions from a number of players and as a unit appear to be accepting Coach Randy Carlyle's defensive style of play. Carlyle challenged Mikhail Grabovski and James van Riemsdyk to pick up their game and they responded. van Riemsdyk scored twice and Mikhail Grabovski also scored with their linemate Nikolai Kulemin getting three assists. Kulemin may have played his best game in 2 years as he was driving the net consistently and was his usually responsible defensive self. van Riemsdyk's second goal was a bullet that Penguin goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had no chance on.

James Reimer made his return to the Leaf net with a solid performance in his first game since last March. Reimer made saves when he had to and was especially solid during the second period when Malkin and Sidney Crosby were out on the ice together against the Leafs fourth line. Both Malkin and Crosby were stoned by Reimer, as a Penguin goal there may have changed the complexion of the game. While I'm sure he would like another chance at the 2 shots that beat him, Reimer met the expectation that Carlyle has for his 2 young goalies: they don't have to win the game for us, they have to give us a chance to win.

Tyler Bozak may have played his best all around game as a Maple Leaf. He was going into the corner after pucks, winning face-offs, killing penalties and was rewarded with a goal late in the third period which salted the game away. Dion Phaneuf played a solid game, once again logging the most minutes of any Maple Leaf. There seems to be a difference in the Captain's play, as he appears to be more responsible defensively and he was matched up quite a bit against Malkin and Crosby.

Clarke MacArthur replaced Lupul on the Bozak-Phil Kessel line and seemed to fit in. MacArthur's first goal of the season gave the Leafs a 3-2 lead which they never relinquished. While he didn't score, Phil Kessel once again played a solid all-around game. He was robbed by a great glove save by Fleury, as the Leaf right winger continues to be snake bitten. It's only a matter of time before the Leaf sniper finds the back of the net.

The Leaf penalty killing has been solid this year and last night was no different as they killed off 4 out of 5 penalties. Jay McClement has been a big reason along with solid play by Leo Komorov. Tyler Bozak and Nikolai Kulemin have also formed a nice PK unit. It appears that the system employed by Carlyle and his staff is much more aggressive in nature than that used previously by Ron Wilson. The Leafs are pressuring the points and are doing a good job in obstructing passing lanes.

The one area that still needs work is the power play. The Leafs seem to be looking to be too cute in passing the puck around looking for the picture perfect goal. The Leafs speed will continue to provide them with power play opportunities as team's are not able to match it. Carlyle's plea for his team to go to the front of the net must be adhered to on the power play if the Leafs are to capitalize.

With Lupul out for an extended period of time, it will be interesting to see who is called up as his replacement. I would think that Matt Frattin is the likely candidate and it remains to be seen how Carlyle alters his lines. Another thing to watch is whether Cody Franson gets back into the lineup and if Jake Gardiner gets more power play time.

While it has only been three games, it appears that the Leafs have bought into Coach Randy Carlyle's message of being defensively responsible as evidenced by giving up only 5 goals in 3 games. If they can keep this up throughout the 45 games remaining, the Leafs may be able to break their playoff drought.

They are back in action at the ACC tonight to take on the Islanders and John Tavares.