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

Scrivens Saves As Leafs Win 4-1

Coach Ron Wilson pulled the old switcheroo on the Toronto media yesterday as all reports indicated that Jonas Gustavsson would be in the net for the Maple Leafs. All of the gameday focus was about James Reimer. But, lo and behold Jonas Gustavsson was the back-up and Ben Scrivens was the starter. Scrivens was arguably the best goalie in training camp this year and some were suggesting that Scrivens should have made the team. Well, last night Scrivens showed why some felt that way as he was solid in goal making 38 saves leading the Leafs to a 4-1 win over the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Leafs who played the night before only managed 18 shots themselves and seemed to be sluggish particularly in the third period. As a result, Scrivens had to be sharp and he made some big saves when he needed to. Scrivens was positionally sound and looked more steady in net than Gustavsson. Not sure if it's style or size but I just felt more confident with Scrivens in net than the Monster. At the very least, Scrivens' performance illustrates another area of the Leaf roster where the team has depth. With Gustavsson in the last year of his contract, the Leafs will have a decision to make as to whether or not to retain him. While it is only one game, Scrivens certainly impressed and gives the Leafs some options.

The Leaf penalty killiing unit had a good night as they killed off four penalties. Hopefully, they can build on this as they head into their game Saturday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. The Leafs were aggressive on the PK and Scrivens did come up with some big saves while the Leafs were shorthanded. Once again the Leafs received balanced scoring as Joey Crabb once again opened the scoring on a beautiful pass from Joffrey Lupul and Clarke MacArthur continued his hot streak scoring 2 goals. John-Michael Liles notched his 1st goal as a Maple Leaf early in the second period.

As Coach Ron Wilson indicated in his post-game press conference, the Leafs will need to pick up their play as they certainly were helped by some weak goaltending as Steve Mason was pulled after the 4th Leaf goal. However, the coach is also accurate in saying that the Leafs need to "make hay while the sun shines". Padding points now will help later on in the season when things are bound to get tougher. It's worth noting that the Leafs did not get their 19th point last year until December 4th. They have beaten the teams they need to beat and but for the game in Boston they have been in every game that they lost. An interesting stat that reflects this team's "never say die attitude" is the fact that the period in which the Leafs have scored the most goals has been the third period.

Saturday night the Leafs have an opportunity to avenge their loss to the Bruins. The puck drop is 7pm at the ACC.
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Later today, NFL Week 9 Picks.

Lupul Leads Leafs to 5-3 Win

Joffrey Lupul became the second Maple Leaf to score a hat trick this season as he led Toronto to a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. The Leafs were able to overcome poor penalty killing once again as the Devils first two goals were on the power play. The first power play goal was scored with 5 seconds remaining in the penalty. While it's hard to quibble with a win, the Leafs need to turn this around as they have now fallen to be the worst penalty killing unit in the league.

It seems that the time has come for Coach Ron Wilson to give Luke Schenn some time in the press box. The big young defenseman has struggled throughout the first 12 games of the season. Last year it seemed that the banishment upstairs turned Schenn's season around and with Cody Franson available it would make sense. While Jake Gardiner had a couple of defensive lapses, his offensive flair helped set up two goals and further illustrates this kid's potential.

While the first two periods was loaded with defensive lapses, the Leafs did an excellent job in the third period clamping down on the Devils with an aggressive forecheck. This gave the Leafs some scoring chances including one by Phil Kessel that was thwarted by a brilliant save by Martin Brodeur. Kessel chipped in with two assists and his line was dangerous most of the game. Once again the Leafs received scoring from 3 lines as Mikhail Grabovski scored on a nice feed from Gardiner and Joey Crabb notched his first goal since being called up from the Marlies.

The Leafs head to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets tonight at 7pm. The Blue Jackets have the worst record in the league but have been playing better as of late including a recent victory over the Red Wings. Last season when the Leafs were on their late season run, they played down to their opponents and they need to guard against that tonight. It's a game that they need to take hold of right away so as not to give the Jackets any confidence. Still not clear if James Reimer will play tonight. If he is not ready to go Jonas Gustavsson will get the start. The Monster played well last night and bounced back from the soft goal he gave up against Ottawa.

Friday morning Leafs-Jackets post and in the afternoon my weekly NFL Picks (9-3 over last 4 weeks!!)

Pens Win Streak Snapped at 5 As Leafs Win 4-3

Last year the Toronto Maple Leafs had a middling record at home. Moreover, their Saturday night Hockey Night In Canada was terrible. But this season the Leafs are unbeaten at home and last night defeated a hot Pittsburgh Penguins team 4-3 snapping the Penguins 5 game winning streak. Jonas Gustavsson notched his second victory in a row and seems to be gaining confidence as he plays more games. He made a big save on James Neal late in the third period to preserve the Leafs 4-3 lead. The Monster made 34 saves as the Leafs were outshot 37-29.

The defense pair of Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson were outstanding and Ron Wilson seemed to try to pair them against Evgeni Malkin's line. Mike Komissarek had one of his stronger games and the defense corp in general played well and made plays when they had to. With Gustavsson playing better and the defense playing well, things are certainly looking up when you consider that they have been doing this without their number 1 goalie James Reimer.

Brian Burke's plan to have a solid corp of bottom six and top six lines really seems to be in place at this point. The fourth line of Dupuis-Steckel-Brown handled Malkin's line really well last night when they were out there against them. They forecheck extremely well and create scoring chances. The Leafs have not had this luxury from a fourth line in years. Matthew Lombardi's line is solid and I thought Tyler Bozak played well last night. It would be nice to see Matt Frattin get on the scoresheet with a goal.

The top two lines are rolling. Last night we saw what the possibilities can be if Tim Connolly stays healthy as he made a nice pass(while on his butt) to Phil Kessel who one-timed it with a bullet passed Brent Johnson that proved to be the game winner. Connolly also scored a beauty on the power play on a nice feed from Kessel. The Mikhail Grabovski line seems to have found its scoring touch as Grabovski scored a power play goal and Clarke MacArthur scored his second goal of the season. MacArthur now has two goals in his last two games.

While the power play seemed to click, the penalty killing unit did allow 2 goals in four Penguin opportunities. To be fair, the last Pittsburgh power play goal the Leafs were down 2 men and two of their best penalty killers (Steckel & Dupuis) were in the box. I really think that the penalty killing unit is doing better than the stats show and hopefully their numbers will look better.

There has been much made out of the fact that the Leafs had an easy schedule to start the season. But they went on the road where they were only outplayed in the Boston game and beat the Rangers and the Canadiens. They beat a very good Penguin team last night. There is something different with this team than last year's squad. They are more determined. Dion Phaneuf was interviewed during the Rangers game and what really struck me was how often Phaneuf reiterated that they need to continue to work hard and that they are building something special.

Tonight they face an Ottawa Senators team that is hot right now. This game will not be easy but its a game that the Leafs can win. Puck drop is at 7:30pm in Kanata, Ontario.

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Tomorrow's post will critique the Browns-49ers game and some notes on Leafs-Senators.

Leafs Impressive In 4-2 Win

Surviving a 1st period when they were out shot 16-10, outscored 1-0 and saw the New York Rangers score 2 goals that were disallowed, the Toronto Maple Leafs roared back in the final 2 periods to earn a 4-2 win to spoil the Rangers home opener at the newly refurbished Madison Square Garden. The first period the Rangers strategy was to fire as many shots to the net as possible. Jonas Gustavsson made 15 saves in that 1st period but looked bad on Dan Girardi's goal that should have been stopped. Two times in the period Ryan Callahan interfered with Gustavsson causing the puck to go into the net and both times the goals were disallowed. Give Callahan credit. After the game when he was asked about the two disallowed goals, Callahan owned up saying that he hit the goaltender and he made no excuses. No penalty was called on either play because a Leaf player was in contact with Callahan.

The Leafs came out a much more determined squad in the second period. Matthew Lombardi scored the Leafs' first goal beating Henrik Lundqvist on the short side. I'm sure Lundqvist wishes he could have that one back. Phil Kessel had another strong game as his line was dangerous all night. Kessel had two break aways in the second period but Lundqvist stoned him both times. The other highlight in the second period was a mismatch fight between Mike Brown and former Leaf Kris Newberry. Brown ended the fight really quick as he put Newberry down to the Madison Square Garden ice.

The Leafs took the game over in the third period with 3 unanswered goals and played a textbook road third period. What was impressive was that even with the lead the Leafs continued to aggressively forecheck and limited the number of shots for the Rangers. Mike Kommisarek had one of his better games as he was strong defensively and made a nice play that resulted in Mike Brown's goal which made the score 4-1. As mentioned above, the Kessel-Connolly-Lupul line was a threat all night. It may have been Lupul's best game as a Leaf as he was a physical threat and scored early in the third when he went hard to the net and pounced on a rebound that gave the Leafs a lead they would never relinquish.

Defensively, the Leafs played really well after the first period. The pair of Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson led the way with solid play. Luke Schenn had one of his better games of the young season. Hopefully, Clarke MacArthur's goal in the third period will get him and his linemates going as his goal proved to be the game winner. Nikolai Kulemin had a really strong third period and was a physical force.

Jonas Gustavsson had no chance on the Rangers second goal and made saves when he had to the biggest one with 47 seconds left in the game off the stick of Brad Richards. I thought Gustavsson was a little shaky and actually thought he played a better game in the Philly loss but he did what a back up needs to do and he gave the Leafs a chance to win particularly in the first period.

The long awaited debut of Tim Connolly was a good one. Connolly made some nice plays and hopefully he can stay healthy. It was easy to see that this guy has the ability to be the playmaking center that the Leafs have longed for to pair up with Phil Kessel.

The Leafs came out of this four game road trip with 2 wins, both against teams that they will need to beat in order to get into the playoffs and were only outplayed in the loss at Boston. They were able to do this without James Reimer in three of the games. And now with a complete line up, the Leafs have an opportunity to put last year's collapse behind them. Hopefully, Reimer is back in the line up on Saturday when the Leafs take on Pittsburgh. The puck drop is 7pm at the ACC.

Later today Week 8 NFL Picks

Leafs Visit The New MSG To Take On Rangers

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are to make the playoffs for the first time since the lockout, the New York Rangers are one of the teams that they will need to beat. Tonight in the Rangers home opener at the newly renovated Madison Square Garden the Leafs will have an opportunity to take that first step. It will also allow them to end this 4 game road trip on a high note with a 2-2 record.

They should have James Reimer back in net along with the return of Tyler Bozak and the debut of Tim Connolly. It will be interesting to see if Coach Ron Wilson puts Connolly on the big line right away though it was reported that he did practice with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. With the return of Bozak and Connolly, it would seem that Nazem Kadri will be going back to the Marlies. I don't think that is a bad move since Kadri still needs to refine his game. Not sure what the Leafs can do but Kadri still seems to be easily knocked off the puck as was the case in the third period when he was placed up on the first line.

Some in the Toronto media are questioning the Leaf start since their wins have come against the likes of Montreal(2), Winnipeg, Ottawa and Calgary. But what if they would have lost??? You know they would be roasted for that. The fact is that in order to make the playoffs you need to beat the teams you are suppose to and try to split against those higher in the standings. Before the beginning of the season a big question was: If the Leafs are to make the playoffs, which team(s) that made it last year will they have to beat out?? Well, last time I checked the Canadiens made the playoffs last year and the Leafs are 2-0 against the Habs. Tonight the Rangers are another one of those teams.

The key tonight will be for the Leafs to withstand the first 10 minutes of the game as I'm sure the Rangers will come out flying for the home opener. They will also need to limit the number of penalties as that was one of the problems in their 4-2 loss to the Flyers. This game won't be easy but it is a game that the Leafs can win and need to win. I'll be posting after the game tonight.

Upcoming Schedule: Tomorrow - Week 8 NFL Picks, Saturday - Yankee Rumblings, Saturday Night - Leaf/Penguins Recap and Sunday - Browns/49er Preview.

Leafs Head To Boston With 4-3 Shootout Win

Things did not look good going into the third period for the guys in blue and white as they trailed the Winnipeg Jets 3-1. Not only were they trailing, but it was probably the worst two periods of the young season. But once again, the duo of Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel pulled the team up by its boot straps by scoring a power play goal each as the Leafs tied the game sending it to overtime. After a scoreless extra period, which saw the Leafs dominate in the first half of the extra frame and James Reimer saving the day in the latter half, the Leafs won the shootout 2-0 as Joffrey Lupul and Matt Frattin scored and Leafs closed out the home stand with a 4-3 win.

Positives:

* What can you say about Phil Kessel. The Leaf right winger has been on fire and he has developed a great chemistry with Joffrey Lupul. The two of them have been in effect the total offense of the team. Kessel is really playing with a lot of confidence and every time he has been on the ice he has been a threat. Lupul has been a great pick up for the Leafs as he has been a very good compliment for Kessel.

The other player the Leafs received in the Francois Beauchemin trade was Jake Gardiner. Last night, the young 21 year old defenseman was arguably the best blue liner for the Leafs. Gardiner was very cool inside his own zone last night and was an offensive threat all night setting up Phil Kessel a couple of times. There is no way this kid can be out of the line up.

David Steckel continued his dominance as the Leafs face off specialist winning 16 out of 18 and was a key factor in the Leafs comeback when he was placed on the power play. I have been suggesting this for the last two games. Steckel's ability to win face offs and his size make him a great asset on the power play and it was borne out last night. It will be interesting to see if Ron Wilson keeps Steckel on the power play especially tonight when they go up against the Boston Bruins and Zdeno Chara. Steckel may be the only player on the Leafs who can physically match up with Chara.

Carl Gunnarsson also continues his steady play on the Leafs blue line.

Negatives:

Despite winning, there are plenty of things to be concerned about as the Leafs head out on the road for the next 4 games. They desperately need the Grabovski line to start scoring. Due to injury, Matt Frattin was moved up to this line and I hope that Ron Wilson keeps him there with Nikolai Kulemin and Grabovski. This line had more chances in the first two games of the season when Frattin was playing on the line and Clarke MacArthur has looked extremely rusty. Frattin has scoring ability and could be a good source for some offense. In addition, he's solid physically along the boards and could really compliment Grabovski and Kulemin.

Luke Schenn had a terrible game last night and quite frankly has not played well at all in the first 5 games of the season. He obviously lacks confidence and seems terrified when the puck lands on his stick. With the glut of defenseman it would seem that based on his play, Schenn should be the one relegated to the press box.

If not Schenn, then another candidate should be Mike Kommisarek. Last night was one of the worst games that he has had as he looked extremely slow and took two penalties in a row in the second period. While Kommisarek is the Leafs most physical defenseman, if out of position he does not have the speed to recover and it usually results in a penalty or a good scoring chance for the opponent.

The Leafs begin a four game road trip tonight in Boston, which has been typically a tough place to play for them though they did win a couple of games there last year in their late season run. We all know that the Bruins will shadow Kessel with Chara which may make it more imperative that someone else start scoring besides Kessel and Lupul. It will be extremely interesting to see how Kessel reacts tonight.

The power play also needs to get its act together consistently. The insertion of David Steckel on the power play should continue. I also think that if Frattin plays with Grabovski and Kulemin this could help the second power play unit. If that doesn't work, maybe you need to give Mike Brown some power play time to stir things up. Another option could be to get Dion Phaneuf in front of the net and have either Gunnarsson, Liles, Franson or Gardiner at the point.

The road trip takes the Leafs to Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia and Madison Square Garden, traditional hockey markets where the fans will be into to it from the opening face off. We will learn a lot about this young team. If the Leafs were to grab 4 points out of the four games I would consider it a success. We will see what happens tonight. Jonas Gustavsson is reportedly going to be in the nets tonight for Toronto. It's a big game for The Monster and the Leafs brass will be watching closely. If The Monster looks bad tonight, Leaf management will be roundly criticized for not bringing in a veteran goaltender to back up Reimer.

The puck drops tonight at 7pm at the TD Center.