The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be scratching their heads this morning and wondering what they have to do to win a game in the NHL this year. All season long, the Leafs have had their share of problems like goal-tending, which they got last night….not having Phil Kessel, who played last night….and shots on net, which they definitely had last night…..61 to be exact, which tied the team record. So how could they have lost? Bring in Rollie the goalie. Continue reading »
Nov 242009
The NHL has finished the first quarter of the season. The theme so far this season seems to be injuries, swine flu and hits from behind to name a few. Credit to the NHL as they have clamped down on the vicious hits to a degree. The latest injury goes to the Red Wing’s Niklas Kronwall as he was the recipient of a leg check from Montreal’s Georges Laraque on Saturday night. Although the trip was called by the officials, the Red Wings are calling it a dirty hit. The NHL agreed with Detroit and suspended Laraque early Monday evening for 5 games. Continue reading »
Nov 162009
Another week in the NHL and just like every week, I am here to give you the highlights and the things you may have missed over the last week. Look for this segment at Stick to Hockey every week as I recap the weeks stories all in one article.
Streaks
The New Jersey Devils extended their road win record to 9-0 on Thursday night by beating the slumping Penguins 4-1. The Penguins had a streak of their own, losing 5 straight before Christmas coming early on Saturday night as Tim Thomas and the Bruins hand them a gift in OT. Continue reading »
If you read the rumor mill and see all the reports it is heavily rumored that Jean-Sebastien Giguere may be heading to Toronto for Vesa Toskala. I have hinted around with this for almost a week and to me the Ducks are going to get the better deal if this happens.
It’ no secret that Vesa Toskala is having and off season but you need to look at the cast of characters that was in front of him for his 0-2-2 start. Don’t get me wrong, Jonas Gustausson was very solid as he made 35 saves in his first real challenge of the season when the Leafs beat Wings over the weekend. But 2 of his 3 wins came when Phil Kessel returned. For the time being Gustausson has earned #1 spot in Toronto which brings me to my point. Continue reading »
Nov 082009
Every week I do this column to help you stay up do date with what’s happening in the NHL. This week we had streaks broken, players injured, trade rumors and some goaltender controversy. In case you missed anything, let me get you caught up.
Warm weather not good for the Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins went into the week with a 7-0 record on the road and the LA Kings took care of that Thursday night by scoring 4 unanswered goals in the third period as they went on to a 5-2 Victory. The Stanley Cup champs then went into San Jose Saturday night to a place they haven’t won at since October 22,1997. Evgeni Nabokov made sure that San Jose kept that choke hold on the Pens by stopping all 27 shots and shutting them out 5-0. Sidney Crosby has been held point-less in the last 4 games. Continue reading »
The Toronto Maple Leafs hit rock bottom early on this season waiting for their newly acquired superstar to debut in the line up. Being a Bruins fan, it it tough to write anything about Kessel but I have to be impartial so I will give credit, when credit is due.
The Leafs were off to a dismal start not winning until their 9th game and since Kessel’s return, they are 2-0-1. Kessel had a goal(game winner) and an assist last night when they hosted the Detroit Red Wings giving the Leafs their first home win of the season. Kessel also assisted on Jason Blake’s goal Friday night in their win at Carolina pushing The Canes to the cellar of the League.
Is Phil the answer to this team? I personally do not think it is but for the time being, they psychological presence is boosting the Leafs. Toronto line up is thin on the dept chart and they have major goaltender issues at the moment. There is rumors flying about the possible move of Vesa Toskala, yes again and I will talk about that in my next article.
