A Leaf Fan On Strike until April 9, 2011

I have been a loyal fan for many years following the Maple Leafs through thick and thin.  My loyalty to the team has allowed me to accept in previous years the team would not make the playoffs but still watch and hope for better things in the future.  The end of last season gave hope that things were going in the right direction after many player trades.  This year I had a strong sense the team had turned the corner and would compete for a playoff spot.  After 20 games into the 2010-11 season, it is clear that this Maple Leaf team will not challenge for a playoff spot.  Improvement over last year is noticeable but far more is required to make this team competitive.
I have given two months so far this season to my beloved team and now I realize this team is not worthy of my loyalty for now.  I can think of far too many things to occupy my time than be stressed out watching my beloved team roller-coaster to the end of the season only to finish out of the playoffs again.  I do believe in Burke and Wilson, but the overall talent on the team is not at the level required to compete for a playoff spot.  I have pledged myself to boycott the season until the Maple Leafs can prove to me worthy of my time and loyalty.  Until then, I look forward looking at the final standings after April 9, 2011 to see if my loyalty can be won back.

Good Luck Leaf Nation
See you next year!

Next Blog entry, April 9, 2011

Luca Caputi Assigned To Marlies

The Hockey News is reporting that Luca Caputi has been assigned to the Marlies in the AHL.

Rest In Peace Pat Burns

Former NHL coach Pat Burns dies at 58

Read more: http://nationalpost.stats.com/nhl/story.asp?i=20101120022750190000201#ixzz15mpqHzxO

Lost In Translation - Pressball Interview With Mikhail Stefanovich

Just when the AHL Marlies are moving in a positive direction, news leaks out from Belarus that some friction exists within the Marlies.  Rookie forward Mikhail Stefanovich is not happy with the playing time he has received during the two week road trip (no games) when he was promised he would get some playing time.  He directed some criticism towards rookie German forward Marcel Muller for taking playing time but not performing.  Brian Burke wanted to eliminate any sense of entitlement within the organization and this applies to the Marlies players.  Dallas Eakins has managed to get the team winning again recently and having players compete for jobs with the Marlies is positive.  Mikhail is a young player, and it could be possible that the interview in Belarus could have been lost in translation when read in english.  Many rumours are floating around that the player wants to quit the Marlies and play in the KHL.  Until an official statement is released confirming the previously stated claim, it would be safe to assume the interview with Mikhail simply expressed frustration over lack of playing time.  When a team is winning, a coach is less likely to change the lineup which is unfortunate for Mikhail but a lesson he will learn quickly.

Leafs Need To Forget This Game Ever Happened

How many times have you seen this start to a game before?  Leafs down 3-0 to the visiting team in the first period.  After the third goal, I am certain most of Leaf Nation were tempeted to turn away from the game or even exit the building.  If you stuck around, you are thanking yourself because this game turned out to be a wild one not seen at the ACC ever.  Four power play goals in one period, a new record for the Maple Leafs.

Grabo backhands pass and misses unsuspecting Kessel.  Grabo also bumps into Komisarek after pass.

Beauchemin and Komisarek let both Nashville players sneak behind them leading to Nashville goal

Tootoo skating hard to get open.

Nashville supporting the puck very well.

Tootoo has excellent speed and hands and puts on a display.  Lebda put himself out of position earlier.  Aulie played the puck rather than the man and missed.

(Giguere lets in soft goal, despite defensive blunder)

Grabo will bring the fans to their feet on many nights...

Grabo gets assist on Nashville goal.

Lebda is the more offensive minded player with Aulie, but that is no excuse to get beat clean by Nashville player.  Especially when that player is Steve Sullivan!  Giguere make huge save!

Schenn showing more confidence with the puck.  If Schenn can improve his offensive game he will be a force in Toronto.  Schenn is already very solid on the defensive side most nights.

Lebda is a high risk, high reward type player.  The problem Leaf Nation have seen more risk than reward.

Give Wilson credit for using Versteeg on the point for the Power Play.  Versteeg is good defensively and better than any Leaf defender on the PP.

Using Versteeg on the point for the Power Play was brilliant.  Versteeg can shoot from the slot with accuracy when he played in Chicago.

Love the point shot by Aulie.  Very impressed with Orr stick deflection.  Unfortunate that the ref caught Brown interference on Rinne.

Grabo needed this goal to redeem himself.

MacArthur behind the net is proving lethal.

Nice awareness by Kulemin.

Great save by Gustavsson, despite going into the game cold.

Rynnas AHL Player of the Week ending Nov 14, 2010

Rynnas earned the top honour in the AHL being named player of the week by stopping 101 of 104 shots with a  3-0-0 record, GAA 1.00 and  .971% in winning all three road games.  It did not take long for Rynnas to adjust to the North American rink and style of play.  Many are not surprised by his success and are looking for good things this year from both Reimer & Rynnas.

Leafs Need To Raise The Bar

What does the phrase "Raise the bar" mean?  Simply put, it means to break the normal standards in order to obtain a higher standard.  For the Leaf team, the normal standard has been 

• Give up the first goal in a game, 
• Play a non aggressive PK and allow shots from the point.
• Slow puck movement on PP resulting in no goals
• No support for puck carrier leading to turn over
• Failure keep feet moving at all times
• Make weak, predictable passes
• Play positionally poor defense (forwards & defensemen) resulting in failed block shots
• Not using active sticks to block passes attempts
• Using sticks to block shots
• Allowing players unchecked at high scoring places in defensive zone

It is almost impossible to play a mistake free game in the NHL thus making it important to minimize the mistakes that will cost your team.  Winning teams will make fewer mistakes than the opponent.  How many times have we heard coaches say things like "attention to detail" or "playing 60 minutes".  The object of the game is pretty simple, execution is not.  The game against Vancouver showed the leafs corrected many of the "mistakes" that have plagued the team but they still find ways to make more mistakes than the opponent.

Many Positives In Loss To Vancouver

The Leafs played their best game but in the end found a way to lose.  The Leafs got the first goal of the game and scored a power play goal and were leading by two goals early.  To their credit, they effort was present all night and Giguere was very good.  Even after giving up three goals, they managed to tie the game up and make it interesting.  Vancouver took a  harmless looking shot that managed to squeak in for the game winning goal and with the empty net goal put the game away.  It would be easy to point to Giguere for the loss but that would inaccurate.   The goals by Vancouver were generated by shots from the point that managed to get past shot blocking forwards.  With better shot blocking, many of the scoring chances for Vancouver would have been eliminated and the outcome possibly very different.  Aside from the poor shot blocking, it was a very good game by Toronto against an excellent Vancouver team.  Aulie did not look out of place and could be an excellent shut down guy if he stays with the team.  Kadri seemed to inject lots of creativity that seemed lacking all year from Toronto.  With time, Kadri could take some of the pressure off Kessel who did managed a goal.  Lots of positives to take away from this loss, as it appears the Leafs are starting to turn the corner.  The lesson learned is that defensive mistakes need to be minimized to give this team a chance to win every night.  I would welcome a change on the penalty kill that employs the defenders taking away the point and rushing the puck carrier to make quicker decisions at the same time have active sticks that block passes and not shot attempts.

Young Maple Leaf Team Gets Schooled By Tampa

As the defense for the Maple Leafs continues to wane, so does the team record.  Blocked shots are a telling sign of how effective the team is playing in front of the goaltender.  With only 16 blocked shots last night for Toronto compared to 22 for Tampa, it is not hard to imagine which team wanted to win more.  If Toronto had managed to block more shots and reduce the shots Tampa had from 25 to under 20, it could have been a much different game.  Tampa Bay will scare you with the group of forwards rather than the defense core that will not bring fear to opposition teams.  If your core players such as Stamkos (3 BS), Ohlund (3 BS), Kubina (4 BS) and Hedman (2 BS) are sacrificing their bodies for the team, it motivates the entire team.  Only three Toronto forwards were successful at blocking shots, Versteeg (1 BS), Brown (1 BS) and Orr (1 BS) with Lebda (3 BS) and Schenn (4 BS) leading the way.  A better team effort is required and hopefully the Leafs will adjust against Florida tonight.

Not one goal last night could be faulted on Giguere.  The first three goals were in part the fault of the Leaf forwards not take the late man or covering the points.  Compounding the issue was the Leaf defense not blocking the shooting lane or not taking the man but rather the puck and getting beat in front of the net.  Overall, it was a sloppy defensive game that cost the Leafs two valuable points.  Tampa could have scored more goals if not for Giguere making amazing saves.

And here is a summary of last night's game.

Nowhere To Go But Up

As the Maple Leafs prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, both teams have been struggling recently.  The difference is Toronto has shown signs of breaking out of this losing streak, and Tampa has shown glimpses of greatness but still making many mistakes.

Keys to the Game:

1. So far this season, when Tampa Bay is awarded 5 or more power play opportunities, they have won the game except the Phoenix game on Oct 30 when the Lightning had one power play and still managed to win the game.  The Leafs can not afford to let Tampa / Stamkos take over the game with the man advantage.  Conclusion: Limit Tampa to under four power play man advantages.
2. In the Buffalo game, both Leaf goals were created on turnovers in the offensive zone.  Buffalo could not defend simply because when they did turnover the puck they are not in position to defend.  Kulemin, Grabovski and McArthur were effective on the fore check and created the turnovers by Buffalo.  Only Kulemin is a big body on the second line, however speed is what Grabovski and McArthur use to their advantage to create the turnovers. The first line with Versteeg, Kessel and Bozak needs to use their speed to pressure the Buffalo defenders and create turnovers like the second have successfully done.  Conclusion: Use speed on the fore-check to create turnovers in the offensive zone.
3. On the rush, teams know that the Maple Leafs do not play the dump and chase and have lined up high on the blue line pressure the puck carrier and stifle the offensive rush.  On the flip side, the dump and chase is not suited well to the first two lines since they are not big enough to challenge for the puck physically.  The Leafs need to employ another type of offensive rush that does lend itself to be easily read by defenders.  I would suggest the first man on the rush make their way to the center line or blue line if possible and look for the trailing forward or defender to take the puck into the zone.  By using the late man on the rush, you have more options for entry into the zone and it keeps the other team from simply parking themselves on the blue line waiting for the puck.  On the flip side, by pausing and looking for the late man on the rush, the other team will have to stop also leaving them flat footed and susceptible to the rushing late man.  The other team will realize that the late man is going to skate by and will be forced to take a penalty or miss the check entirely.  Either way, using the late man on the rush keeps the other team guessing and can create more offensive opportunities.  Conclusion:  Have a different look to the rush by using the late man to create more offensive opportunities.

A Recap from the Previous Game.

Listen to Toronto Maple Leaf Games Live on your Android phone.

A company called Streamtheworld has developed an android application that will stream media from many sources.  It just so happens that Corus Entertainment has teamed up with Streamtheworld and made available the Toronto radio station AM640 among others.  The radio station AM640 just happens to broadcast all Maple Leafs games, so if you are not in the Toronto Area but have access to your mobile phone with data connection, you can listen to Toronto Maple Leaf Games live.