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

Kessel, Reimer Leads Leafs In 3-0 Win

Phil Kessel and James Reimer led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames boosting the Leafs record to 3-0. After falling behind 2-0 in a first period which saw the Leafs look rather sluggish, the Leafs started their comeback on a goal from Joffrey Lupul who was set up on a nice pass from Phil Kessel. Kessel was not done as he scored at the 16:38 mark on a beautiful shot that beat Mikka Kiprusoff. And then early in the third, Kessel drove hard to the net and scored his second goal of the night which put the Leafs ahead to stay. Kessel picked up where he left off last week and was the most dangerous player on the ice.

After falling behind 2-0, James Reimer was solid in the net as he turned aside whatever the Flames threw at him. But the best save of the night was late in the third period with Phil Kessel in the penalty box and the Flames net empty, Alex Tanguay had a beautiful opportunity alone in front of the net and somehow Reimer stoned him preserving the victory. The Reiminister of Defense made 30 saves to post his third win of the season. Can't believe that some were questioning Reimer after the first period as he had no chance on the first Calgary goal.

There were a number of players who impressed me tonight. Tyler Bozak was very good tonight as he had two assists and was a dynamo on face-offs. He also made some excellent defensive plays particularly one on Jerome Iginla which ended up resulting in Kessel's first goal. Bozak's play has to make you wonder why the Leafs would move him off the first line when Tim Connolly comes back.

I was extremely impressed with Matt Frattin tonight. While he didn't score a goal, he was a force inside the Flames end and really uses his body along the boards. He had a couple of good scoring chances, including ringing one off the crossbar has he was coming to the end of a shift that he worked his butt off. I don't see how this kid can be sent down to the Marlies.

Joffrey Lupul also played very well tonight and he has 5 points in 3 games. Lupul seems to really have developed a chemistry with Phil Kessel and if he can stay healthy, the Beauchemin trade will even tilt more in the Leafs favor.

Carl Gunnarsson was very solid on defense tonight. There have been plenty of rumors that the Leafs were showcasing Gunnarsson and if he continues to play like he did tonight he could be a very marketable commodity. I've always liked Gunnarsson and I would be just as happy if the Leafs held on to him. The play of David Steckel and Matthew Lombardi certainly has made the Leafs penalty killing much better. Their ability to win face-offs gives Ron Wilson plenty of options when it comes time to take a big draw in their own end. I also thought Dion Phaneuf was solid as was John-Michael Liles.

The Leaf power play continues to sputter as it had a couple of two man advantages and came up empty along with an extended power play as a result of a four minute high sticking penalty against Oli Jokinen. The coaches need to come up with something different because what they have going is not working. I would love to see David Steckel on the power play. Put him in front of the net and it will be very difficult for their opponents to move him out. The other thing may be to put a Colby Armstrong or a Matt Frattin upfront to create space. I was really hoping with having a week to work on special teams that we would really see some progress with the power play however that was not the case tonight. This is an area that the Leafs must improve particularly when they face some of the Eastern Conference toughies.

The Leafs next game will be Monday against the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens tonight 6-5 in a shootout. It's a game that the Leafs can win but they will have to be on their game as the Avs have some offensive weapons. They need to have this effort every night if they are to make the playoffs. Until Monday night, GO LEAFS GO!!!!!

Leafs Hope To Keep Things Rolling vs Flames

Not having played since last Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will continue their extended early season home stand tonight against the Calgary Flames. The Flames are coming off a 4-1 Thursday night win over the Montreal Canadiens. It has been reported that the Leafs have worked extensively on special teams during the past week and hopefully we see the fruits of that work.

There will be lineup changes tonight as Clarke MacArthur returns from his suspension and Cody Franson will make his regular season debut. MacArthur will find himself back on the line with Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin as Matt Frattin will be shifted to the third line with Colby Armstrong and Matthew Lombardi. With Franson moving into the starting lineup, Jake Gardiner will be sitting out tonight's game. It is being reported that the Leafs will go with a 3 man rotation, Gardiner, Carl Gunnarsson and Mike Komisarek, for the 6th D-spot.

This week, Franson stirred things up a bit by expressing his disappointment with being in street clothes for the first two games of the season. The young defenseman that the Leafs acquired from the Nashville Predators was expecting a big role on the Leafs blueline. But, quite frankly I wasn't overly impressed with Franson in the pre season and maybe Leaf management wasn't either. Based on Franson's comments I wonder if Coach Ron Wilson didn't sense that Franson figured he had a spot on the opening night game roster locked up. Since Brian Burke has taken over as General Manager, we have heard over and over again about the need to eliminate the sense of entitlement that has existed on previous Leaf teams. Maybe that was the message that was being sent to Franson. He will have to be on his game tonight as I think the young defenseman has put a lot of pressure on himself.

How the message was delivered to Franson may leave a lot to be desired. According to the player, he found out about his demotion to the press box through the team's website. Ron Wilson has not confirmed or denied this which leads me to believe that Franson is telling the truth. I understand that Wilson wants to make it clear to Franson that he has to earn his keep but there may have been a better way to do it. This type of situation doesn't help Wilson's reputation in Toronto and don't be surprised if Don Cherry doesn't have something to say about it. Of course, I'm sure Wilson could care less what the fans, the media or Grapes has to say about the whole thing.

The Leafs will have to be on their game tonight and I don't think they can afford a third period breakdown like they had last week against Ottawa. With Mikka Kiprusoff in goal for Calgary, James Reimer will have to stand tall tonight to give the Leafs the opportunity to win another Saturday night contest. After a week's rest with plenty of practice time, the Leafs begin a stretch of 4 games in 6 nights: Flames, Avalanche and Jets at home and then their first road game on Thursday night against the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. The 3 home games are games the Leafs should win if they play to the best of their ability. Starting out 5-0 or 4-1 on this early season homestand would be a great start as they head out on the road for the Thursday game vs the Bruins and then road games in Montreal (next Saturday), Philadelphia and Madison Square Graden.

As usual I am fired up for the game as its Saturday night. Hopefully the Leafs can keep this train rolling the right way. Go Leafs Go!!!!