Der Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

[Lichtgestalt]

Tampa Bay Lightning - Toronto Maple Leafs 3:2 SO (1:1, 0:1, 1:0)

0:1 (17.) Kilger 10 (Tucker, Sundin)

1:1 (20.) Richards 16 (Fedotenko, Sarich)

1:2 (31.) Tucker 21 PP (Kaberle, Allison)

2:2 (45.) Craig 7 PP (Boyle, Lecavalier)

3:2 (SO) Lecavalier

SOG: Lightning 37, Leafs 27.

PIM: Lightning 8, Leafs 10.

PP: Lightning 1/5, Leafs 1/4.

-> Recap

[Lichtgestalt]

Washington Capitals - Toronto Maple Leafs 4:1 (1:1, 1:0, 2:0)

0:1 (16.) Sundin 11 (Tucker, Steen)

1:1 (16.) Green 1 (Ovechkin, Clark)

2:1 (21.) Laich 6 (unassisted)

3:1 (50.) Clymer 10 (Sutherby, Pettinger)

4:1 (59.) Clark 12 (Witt, Clymer)

SOG: Caps 30, Leafs 26.

PIM: Caps 21, Leafs 25.

PP: Caps 0/4, Leafs 0/2.

-> Recap

[Lichtgestalt]

Toronto Maple Leafs - New Jersey Devils 4:2 (3:0, 0:0, 1:2)

1:0 (1.) Ponikarovsky 13 (Antropov)

2:0 (10.) Kaberle 6 PP (Allison, McCabe)

3:0 (12.) Ponikarovsky 14 (Allison, Kaberle)

3:1 (41.) Gionta 31 PP (Langenbrunner, Rafalski)

3:2 (42.) Madden 9 (Langenbrunner, Hale)

4:2 (60.) Kilger 11 EN (Antropov, Wozniewski)

SOG: Leafs 19, Devils 38.

PIM: Leafs 8, Devils 8.

PP: Leafs 1/3, Devils 1/3.

-> Recap

[Lichtgestalt]

LEAFS GET THE MESSAGE, WIN

The Maple Leafs required two loud wake-up calls last night, one from Pat Quinn, the other from the New Jersey Devils. Both got their undivided attention in a 4-2 win that will see them hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into the week before the Olympic break.

Quinn yanked slumping winger Jeff O'Neill out of the lineup to underline his displeasure with the team's 4-1 stinker the night before in Washington. The Leafs responded by surging to a 3-0 first-period lead. The second alarm was sounded early in the third period when the Devils scored twice in the first 1:03.

"We were in disarray for awhile, squeezing our sticks and thinking too much, but we snapped out of it," captain Mats Sundin said.

That was largely down to Ed Belfour, who made 36 saves, including a stop on a Viktor Kozlov penalty shot in the second period. "We had to get some points, no way about it," said Quinn, whose team came in with 10 losses in its past 11 games. "It's fine to go along and say we're getting better here and there, but the bottom line is we weren't getting results."

Twelve points now separating eight teams on either side of the playoff divide. Montreal and Atlanta also won yesterday, while Tampa Bay moved into a seventh-place knot with New Jersey, five up on Toronto. The Leafs had blown the game in Washington, leading Quinn to make an example of O'Neill, minus-17 despite 30 points in 51 games. "It could have been anyone of us," Sundin said. "A lot of us have gone through tough stretches."

Quinn rarely uses the last resort of benching unproductive veterans, but if it nets three goals on eight shots on a goalie of Martin Brodeur's calibre, he might shake things up again. "I don't know how it affected the dressing room," Quinn said. "You could have really taken three or four fellows out. You do it with the hope it has a positive effect not only on the team, but on (O'Neill)."

The Leafs, who have managed to score first and still lose a lot of late, added a second and third goal by the 11:12 mark of the first. Alexei Ponikarovsky beat Brodeur 33 seconds in, Tomas Kaberle scored on a 5-on-3 and Ponikarovsky added his 14th of the season to make it 3-0.

But, typical of recent fickle Leafs fortune, he was in the box in the third when Brian Gionta scored for the Devils, followed by John Madden, stunning the Leafs and 19,413 at the Air Canada Centre. "Not letting them get the third was huge," Quinn said of the team he now has bested three times this year.

Once again, Quinn received steady play from rookie defencemen Staffan Kronwall, Jay Harrison and Andy Wozniewski, as Ken Klee (ankle) joined the injury list the night before. Wade Belak dropped back from the wing to help out on the blue line last night.

REPORT CARD

C+ Forwards: Quite a first-period explosion, but couldn't keep pouring it on. Stopped checking as game progressed.

C Defence: Finished game with all six players intact. Plenty of blocked shots and broke up many passes.

B+ Goaltending: Belfour stopped a pair of breakaways and for two periods was rebounding nicely from an off night.

-> Toronto Sun

[Lichtgestalt]

KLEE INJURY COULD BE SERIOUS

A badly limping Ken Klee has no idea when he'll be back in the Maple Leafs lineup, but Alexander Khavanov has an outside chance of playing in the pre-Olympic break series against the New York Rangers. Klee couldn't have an MRI done on his twisted left ankle during the weekend, but of the tests conducted to date, general manager John Ferguson said last night that "first impressions are not encouraging."

Klee hurt himself Friday night in Washington, the fifth Toronto defenceman to be injured since Jan. 7 and the fourth now out of the lineup. Coach Pat Quinn doubted he would have any of his injured players back before the two-week hiatus: Klee; Khavanov (cracked foot); Aki Berg (ribs); Carlo Colaiacovo (concussion); and Eric Lindros (wrist ligaments). Colaiacovo has not even been cleared to exercise. Berg will be on the ice today, but Quinn said that doesn't mean he'll be rushed back to play in Tuesday's match here against Atlanta or for the Rangers series.

The crack in Khavanov's foot runs horizontally, which is the best-case scenario, though if he comes back too soon, he risks a four- to six- week setback. "When I'm able to put weight on it, I'll be ready to try skating," he said. "It can be as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll need at least two days of practice, so I can't say anything about playing (against the Rangers)."

Wade Belak filled in on defence last night, working 12 minutes despite having played all this regular season as a right winger. The Leafs took a lot of heat last summer for re-signing Belak and committing $665,000 US of precious salary-cap space. But with Toronto defencemen falling faster than Liberal leadership candidates, Belak is able to justify his place. "He did really well," Quinn said. "He did what Wade should do as a guy using his best assets. He finished off his check well and he moved the puck quickly."

-> Toronto Sun

[Lichtgestalt]

MAPLE LEAFS FANS AND GM JOHN FERGUSON HAVE TO REALIZE THAT IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING AROUND THE KIDS

The Maple Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 last night thanks to a two-goal effort from Alexei Ponikarovski and just so you know, this is what the future looks like. Ponikarovski is 25 years old. The Leafs have been waiting for him to blossom since they drafted him seven years ago. And wouldn't he, all of a sudden, start flashing the makings of a 30-goal guy.

"It's all about hard work and dedication and stuff like that," said Ponikarovsky. "It all comes with experience." He can stay.

Three rookies manned the Leafs' blueline an Kronwall, Jay Harrison and Andrew Wozniewski. Between them, the trio has 43 games of NHL experience and Kronvall has 31 of those. "Just the experience and the speed of going up against the best players in the world every night," said Wozniewski. "There's nothing better for your development." They can stay.

In the wings and soon to return, 23-year-old Carlo Colaiacovo. For now, they can stay too, all of them.

The Leafs most active line was a combination of Darcy Tucker, Alexander Steen and Kyle Wellwood. Tucker is the greybeard of the group at 30. The other two are 21 and 22. Wellwood, like another kid, Matt Stajan, has been mostly inert this season. There's time. They can stay.

Out of the picture, for now at least, Eric Lindros, dominant at turns this season but 32 with a history of injuries that figures to get longer. The great Mats Sundin, 35 in 10 days, Tie Domi, 36, Jason Allison, 30 and out of step with the speed game, are all on the periphery. Add defenceman Ken Klee, 34 and slowing down, to the list.

As he has all season, Leafs' goalie Ed Belfour was at turns excellent and erratic. The Devils second goal, scored by Brian Gionta on the short side was typical of the one poor goal Belfour has given up on too many nights. But Belfour's most important statistic is his age. He is 40. The trade deadline is March 9, a little more than a month away and the league shuts down for two weeks of that time.

And so it falls to Leafs GM John Ferguson to see the truth. Last night offered a perfect illustration, a window into the future of where the Leafs must go. They must ride the kids. This is not a playoff team. Take a look at the standings, where the Leafs are nip and tuck to squeak into the final Eastern Conference spot.

It's tempting to think that when the injured, Lindros and Ken Klee and Alexander Khavanov come back, a nice team can be patched together for the spring. Look again. The Leafs aren't good enough, aren't fast enough, or tough enough and if the video from last night tells you otherwise, two wins in the club's last 12 games should straighten you out pronto.

Ferguson needs to recruit offers for Sundin. The Leafs captain has been a magnificent performer, but he deserves better. Better wingers. A new city. Should he like, he could return as a free agent the season after next. In return, the Leafs could garner prospects and a draft choice.

The return will be less for Belfour, a free agent at year's end, but playoff hungry teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver and perhaps Colorado would upgrade their goaltending with him.

Allison would fetch even less but he can control the puck and play the power play with anyone. He has value.

In a new setting, Domi might rekindle his game and give a fledgling contender extra swagger. He can still play a limited role and while his skating seems to have deteriorated, he could be effective if used strategically.

Tucker you build around. Same with Steen and perhaps goalie Mikael Tellqvist.

The notion that Toronto fans won't accept a team out of the playoffs is a whopper. They endured it four times in the 1990s and four times in the 1980s. They're smart enough to see the difference between smudge and shinola. Now, is the general manager?

-> Toronto Sun

[Bushwhacker]

MAPLE LEAFS FANS AND GM JOHN FERGUSON HAVE TO REALIZE THAT IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING AROUND THE KIDS ...

954629[/snapback]

[AustroLeaf]

956139[/snapback]

everybody's talking about the kids

kids got funky soul and groove emotion

but if you don't give the kids the chance to use it

well they're always more than likely to abuse it

bearbeitet 7. Februar 2006 von AustroLeaf

[AustroLeaf]

Toronto Maple Leafs - Atlanta Thrashers 4:1 (0:0, 2:0, 2:1)

1:0 (34.) Ponikarovsky 15 unassisted

2:0 (37.) Tucker 22 (Allison, Sundin) PP

2:1 (41.) Hossa 28 (Kovalchuk, Modry) PP

3:1 (44.) Wellwood 9 (Steen, Kronvall)

4:1 (58.) McCabe 16 (Steen, Domi)

SOG: Leafs 28, Thrashers 34

PP: Leafs 1/5, Thrashers 1/5

--> Recap

bearbeitet 8. Februar 2006 von AustroLeaf

[pironi]

Will ja ned motzen, aber gleich zwei Threads zum selben Thema ... Könnte man ja in den NHL Thread integrieren.

[Lichtgestalt]

damit sich dann über den maple-leafs-flood aufgeregt wird? no way.

[pheips]

damit sich dann über den maple-leafs-flood aufgeregt wird? no way.

956795[/snapback]

Dann wär vermutlich auch ein "Vanek/Sabres-Liveticker"-Thread keine schlechte Idee

[XSCHLAMEAL]

Gibt ja in den einzelnen "Insel" bzw Italien Spanien channels auch eigene Vereinsthreads insofern denke ich ich nicht, dass die 2 threads hier zusammengeschoben gehören.

[pheips]

Gibt ja in den einzelnen "Insel" bzw Italien Spanien channels auch eigene Vereinsthreads insofern denke ich ich nicht, dass die 2 threads hier zusammengeschoben gehören.

956818[/snapback]

Jepp, und ein Sabres-(Liveticker-)Thread wär zu Gunsten der Übersicht auch nicht das Schlechteste. MMn zumindest

[AustroLeaf]

In der Nacht von Samstag (11.2.) auf Sonntag zeigt Premiere das Spiel

Toronto Maple Leafs - N.Y. Rangers

live ab 00:05!

Sehr würdige Auswahl für die letzte Übertragung vor dem olympic break.

bearbeitet 9. Februar 2006 von AustroLeaf