Toronto Maple Leafs V Philadelphia Flyers Preview

Tonight October 24, 11 on Leafs TV at 7pm the boys in blue will be taking on the Broad Street bullies in the first of three meetings on the season. Actually, the next time the Flyers and Leafs face one another will be on February 9, 12.  Tonight’s meeting is also the regular season debut of the Schenn v Schenn clash as Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn takes on little brother Brayden Schenn.

Entering tonight’s action, Toronto finds themselves in a familiar situation to last weeks clash with divisional rival the Boston Bruins. That is to say, the Leafs will be taking on one of the top teams in the NHL, and a win could go along way at showing fans that they are ready to contend with the big boys of the Eastern Conference. At the same time, tonight’s game also features Toronto taking on a powerhouse that has lost its last two games. We’ll find out if Toronto has learnt anything from last Thursday’s defeat to the Boston Bruins.

One area of concern for the Leafs an in particular their fans, is that tonight’s game will be the third appearance for backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson. The heavily criticized Swede has become a whipping boy of sorts after disheartening performances first in the aforementioned game with Boston and then in relief of top goalie James Reimer on Saturday in Montreal.  Tonight’s start will be make or break for Gustavsson as a slew of media outlets are speculating that if he can’t show some consistency and win a few games, the Leafs may be forced to look at other options.

On the other hand, the Leafs coaching staff seems to have learnt something from Boston, as Ron Wilson and his assistant coaches have elected to go with the same lineup as Saturday night in Montreal. For those of you that missed that game, Toronto came out flying and was seemingly able to roll four lines the entire night. The fourth line of Mike Brown Philippe Dupuis and Jay Rosehill in particular were able to play defensively responsible in their own zone. As well Rosehill and Brown were each able to play around eight minutes, which is something the Leafs coaching staff has needed from their fourth line.

Looking at the standings, the season may be early, but if the Toronto Maple Leafs want to continue their push to the playoffs, they will have to come out with a win against Philadelphia tonight. As we noted earlier, the Flyers are coming off back-to-back losses, but Toronto would be best served adding to the misery rather then allowing the Flyers any opportunity to win. Toronto currently has 11 points, while Philadelphia has nine points. The Leafs special teams and defense will have to show up tonight, as despite the Buds being in third place in the Eastern Conference, they have given up 23 goals and scored only 24 this season.

Tune in to Leafs TV for the game at 7pm, before tuning into the best Damn POST GAME SHOW Online at Leafs Talk Radio.

Written by: Eric Freedlander (@three_2_lose)

LEAFS BEAT HATED HABS FOR SECOND TIME THIS MONTH

Well Leafs Nation, could that game have been any more exciting? The game was back and forth which is typical for a game featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

Both teams came out hard and gritty. Montreal came out flying dictating the early pace of the game. Early in the first a scary moment happened when Brian Gionta ran into James Reimer, forcing Reimer to lose his helmet. Reimer was shaken up and taken out of the game as a precaution at the end of the period. Gionta was given a two-minute penalty for goaltender interference on the play.

As the Leafs power play went to work they give up a shorthanded goal. The goal arose when two of the Habs players drove to the net and Reimer looked very tentative, (still shaking off the affects of the Gionta collision) and was forced way back. This goal allowed the Habs to take an early one to nothing lead, before Toronto would respond a short time later on another power play.

Jonas Gustavsson was in net to start the second period, leaving Leaf Nation gasping. After Gustavsson let in the first shot he faced, fans and management alike were left asking themselves what will we do if Reimer is injured for an extended period of time?  Luckily Leafs Nation, you won’t have to worry for long, as Reimer should be back Monday night to take on the Philadelphia Flyers.

 After trailing two to one after Gustavsson let in the first shot he faced, the man known as Phil the Thrill came back 37 seconds later to tie the game at two. The Leafs would then take their first lead of the game on a Dion Phaneuf blast from the point on another power play. Yes that is right fans the Leafs had two power play goals on the night.

Entering the third period the Leafs appeared to sit back for a short period of time. This in turn proved costly, as the Habs tied the game on a Mike Cammalleri rocket just in side the blue line. Then Travis Moen picked up his second goal of the game to let the Habs take the lead four to three. However, that is when Leafs Captain Dion Phaneuf took over the game, as he and the Grabovski line had an excellent rush, which ended with Nikolai Kulemin scoring the game-tying goal. After regulation the Buds and the Habs were tied at four.

The game came to an end quickly in overtime, as the previously mentioned Grabovski scored the game-winning goal. Grabo came out from behind the Habs net and made a nice spinning deke before depositing the game winner. Final Score Leafs 5 Canadiens 4.

Toronto’s victory over Montreal was also huge in the standings, as thanks to a Tampa Bay shutout over the Buffalo Sabres, the Leafs were able to take sole possession of first in the Northeast division. It is absolutely fantastic to see the Leafs contending early this season. However, with that being said, can the Leafs keep it up all season long and finally make the playoffs?

The next step in Toronto’s quest to make the playoffs will take place Monday October 24, 11 when they battle the new look Philadelphia Flyers. This is an important game, as the Leafs have been deadlocked in the standings with the Flyers on a couple of different occasions. You can watch the game on Leafs TV at 7pm and then tune in to the best damn post game show afterwards at Leafs Talk Radio.

Written by: Stephen Marshall (@hockeyman1929)

Edited by: Eric Freedlander (@Three_2_Lose)

Posted by: John Davis (@Hockeyman1981)

Everyday I’m Hustling Leafs V Habs Preview

Since the start of the season some two weeks ago, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have each struggled significantly. The one dilemma both teams share is their inability to get consistency through the lineup when it comes to scoring on their opponents. In each team’s most recent game on Thursday October 20, neither team could muster much offense against powerhouse teams. Montreal lost a three to one decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Toronto got lit up like a Cheech and Chong film by the Boston Bruins six to two.

What’s most intriguing about Canada’s most prolific teams losing, is that neither lived up to their moniker as teams that “hustle” and never give up. To quote the great Rick Ross, “It ain’t no coincidence that my age is kilo”. As two of the younger teams in the NHL, the Habs and Leafs have constantly struggled with consistency. In fact, you could make the argument that if neither the Habs nor Maple Leafs had amazing goaltending from starters Carey Price and James Reimer, neither team may have won a game by now.

Entering Saturday night’s action at the Bell Center in Montreal, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will need to get back to what’s made them each unbeatable in the past. That is to say, they have to hustle real hard and somehow anyway at all get off to a fast start. The Achilles Heel for the two original six franchises is they are each notoriously slow starters.  In their first encounter, to open the season back on October 6, neither team really got off to a fast start. With this being the case, that opening night game has dictated how each team has played thus far in the season.

In my opinion, Saturday night’s game on CBC at 7pm couldn’t be more important to either team. Entering Saturday’s game, Toronto has collected points in five of six games, while accumulating a record of four – one – one. At the same time, Montreal has only collected points in two games while going one – four – one in that stretch. If Toronto loses, it could start another long losing streak that the team may not recover from. Similarly, if Montreal continues to lose, they may need to hit the panic button, as building a hole early is never easy to climb out of.