Der Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

[AustroLeaf]

Die Jungs sind derzeit anscheinend einfach nur geil drauf! 

Was mich verwirrt: Sundin ist verletzt, hab ein Bild gesehen wo McCabe und Kaberle beide mit dem A auf dem Trikot unterwegs sind. Wer trägt jetzt das C? Darcy Tucker?

Edit: es tragen drei Leute (der dritte ist Tucker) das A auf dem Trikot. Captain gibt es während Sundins Absenz keinen.

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Der Sieg gegen die Habs wird erst recht beim Blick auf die prominenten Verletzten bemerkenswert:

C Mats Sundin (Ellbogen)

G Andrew Raycroft (Leiste)

D Pavel Kubina (nicht verletzt, dzt. aus familiären Gründen in Tschechien)

Im Schlußdrittel mußte auch Peca aussetzen, der hat einen Puck ins Gesicht bekommen und ein paar von seinen (eh schon Ersatz-)Zähnen eingebüßt. Er wird aber kein Spiel versäumen.

Gottseidank ist nach dem heftigen Saisonauftakt (nur Atlanta hat bislang mehr Spiele absolviert als die Leafs [19], Boston 5 weniger, die Habs 4, Buffalo 3) erst am Donnerstag wieder ein Spiel, da werden mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit Razor und Kubina wieder zur Verfügung stehen.

Besonderes Lob von allen Seiten prasselte auf Ponikarovsky und Antropov nieder, deren Leistung in den letzten Spielen bemerkenswert gewesen sein dürfte.

Ganz abgesehen davon, daß Kaberle mit seiner 1G/2A-Vorstellung gegen die Habs die Führung in der NHL-Scorerliste unter den Defendern übernommen hat.

bearbeitet 13. November 2006 von AustroLeaf

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wir werden meister

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KUBINA BACK FOR BRUINS

TORONTO (CP) -- Pavel Kubina finally returns to the lineup and Jean-Sebastien Aubin gets a second straight goaltending start when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Bruins in Boston on Thursday night. A knee injury and a caesarean section complicated Kubina's life for the last five weeks, but now he's ready to play hockey again.

Kubina, a high-profile buy in the free-agent market last summer, strained a left knee ligament in only his fourth game. Leafs fans have barely had a chance to assess the big Czech, who helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004. "I'm looking forward to being back in the lineup on Thursday,'' he said after practice Tuesday.

Kubina was supposed to play last Thursday in Boston but got a call from his girlfriend in the Czech Republic that morning letting him know she had to have a C-section. He received a three-day leave of absence from the Leafs, chartered a 10-seater and flew to Ostrava. He arrived the morning after the birth, carrying seven-pound-one-ounce Teresa into Andrea's hospital room. "It was an amazing feeling holding her in my hands,'' he said.

The flight back to Toronto Monday took 10 hours. "I haven't got the bill yet but it's going to be worth every cent,'' he said. He hadn't seen his girlfriend since last summer. He hopes Andrea and Teresa will be able to join him in Toronto in about two weeks. First, there's the Bruins. "Pav is going to come in and play fewer minutes - probably around 18 minutes - than we expect he'll play in two weeks,'' said head coach Paul Maurice. "It's going to take him a little while - not the conditioning part of it because he's a hard-working guy - to get his timing and rhythm back.''

Aubin will be making a second straight start for the first time this season because Maurice wisely is declining to rush Raycroft back into action. His No. 1 goalie strained his left groin muscle last Thursday in Boston. "Even if he was 100 per cent healthy, I don't think he was playing Thursday - not in my mind,'' said Maurice. "We don't want any questions about groins with our goaltenders. We're going to leave him (out) until he's not only healthy but has had enough practice so he's strong. Right now, I'd suggest that's Saturday, at the earliest. If he can get through Friday full tilt, he might be all right (to face the Devils on Saturday).''

Maurice said Mikael Tellqvist likely will be the backup Thursday.

Aubin is happy for the work. "The team is playing well, 7-1 (in the last eight games), and we don't want to stop there,'' he said. "We want to keep it going.''

Raycroft is getting frustrated. "You try to stay positive,'' he said. "The normal skating is fine. If I was a right-winger I would have played yesterday. It's just some of the little things I have to do to be able to do my job. We'll get to that point.''

Meanwhile, Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe were 1-2 in scoring by defencemen in the NHL heading into Tuesday's games. "That's a huge asset for our team,'' said teammate Darcy Tucker. "We've pretty much become accustomed to them playing such good hockey, especially when they're out there together. They do such great things with the puck, and on the power play they're phenomenal.''

They make a contribution off the ice as well, teammates say. Kaberle, a Czech, is the quieter of the two D-men around reporters. "They're definitely two different guys,'' said forward Alex Steen. "Brian is a little more talkative. I don't know if that's because he's Canadian and has it a little easier in terms of the language than Tommy. Tommy is a funny guy though. Both of them really keep the atmosphere on the team loose and everybody in a good mood all the time.''

-> mapleleafs.com

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MAKING ROOM FOR KUBINA

The tandem of White and Hal Gill has proven to be a key ingredient in the success of the team. White and Gill aren't making it easy for Maurice to find a spot for star defender.

Pavel Kubina returns to the Leafs' lineup tomorrow night in Boston and head coach Paul Maurice has the luxury of easing him back into action in the third defence pairing. That's partly because the Leafs are as hot as a Fred Eisenberger campaign button, but mostly because the No. 2 rearguard tandem of Ian White and Hal Gill are performing so well.

And if you had predicted that at the start of the season, you're either psychic or insane. "We have played Ian and Hal more minutes (21-plus per game) than they probably thought when they got here," Maurice was musing yesterday. "But, again, that's their performance not my decision."

It was assumed that if White were to make the team this year, free-agent acquisition Kubina would be the baby sitter on the other side. If not, Kubina would likely have been paired with Gill, compensating for the big man's mobility issues. But after Gill struggled to acclimatize himself early, and Leaf defencemen started dropping like, well, leaves, the Mutt and Jeff pairing was created and they haven't been separated since.

Teammates refer to the unlikely couple as Fred and Barney. They are counter-opposed in almost every way. Gill, the 31-year-old American, stands 6-foot-7 and had 19 points over his last two full seasons in Boston. White, the 22-year-old Canadian, is charitably listed at 5-foot-10, and has 14 points in the first 29 games of his NHL career.

"Opposites attract," says White. "He's a big stay-at-home defenceman and I'm a smaller, more offensive minded player and those two go hand-in-hand. Obviously things are going really well for us as a club, and for me and Hal. We've been rewarded with some extra ice, and the more ice we get, the better we've been playing."

White made lots of youth-inflenced mistakes in the early going, but kept getting a regular shift. Fuelled by Maurice's faith in him, White gains steam every day and is learning the limits of his game, parameters he can stretch as time goes on. Whoa there, Maurice cautions. Necessity, not the coach, was the mother of this invention. "That almost makes it sound like we had an option," Maurice smiles. "It had nothing to do with me. Good for Ian. He's responsible for his own development. Yes, when he made mistakes we put him back out, because we needed him. But sometimes that puts even more pressure on. A guy could say, 'I never got my chance!' and the pressure's off in some ways. But he had to go back out, he had to get better, and he did."

Gill is slow afoot, but experienced and tough in front of the net, and in the art of plugging the passing lanes with his stick, so vital in the new NHL, he is a Master. White has the rashness of inexperience, but is a liquid skater and could stickhandle up an escalator.

So the basic equation is this: Gill guards the fort and White attacks the enemy. Gill is insurance if White errs with the puck, which he often has. White can fly back toward the net if Gill gets beaten wide, which he often has. The loose pucks are White's, the loose bodies are Gill's.

"We have that kind of understanding," White agrees. "You know if you make a mistake he's going to be behind you, covering up for you. He's a big body, sits at home and lets me try to make some plays. And you do have the confidence to try more, knowing he's there to help you out. That understanding comes with time and it's only going to get better."

What isn't understood by the layman is how much the solid play on the back end has contributed to the Leafs' success in the offensive zone. It's obvious how the No.1 pairing of Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe affect scoring, since they actually do it. But what Maurice wants from his defencemen in the Leaf end is to, first, break the cycle, and second, move the puck up.

Between them, Gill and White can do that more often than they cannot. That creates scoring chances two or three passes down the road, but doesn't result in a formal assist for the defence pair.

It doesn't mean that the duo will continue wearing the golden halo, or even that they'll stay together all season. Kubina has to get his minutes somewhere. But the Leafs are getting far more from these two, together and individually, than they dared hope.

"We keep getting put out there, and it shows that the coach has confidence to play us," White says. "And the team is winning. So confidence is at an all-time high."

-> Hamilton Spectator

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LEAFS A HAPPY BUNCH

Baby, what a week!

Nobody has ever proven that perfect locker-room Karma is a prerequisite for winning at professional sports. In fact, lots of teams steeped in tumult have ridden their talent and their professional work ethic into the winner's circle without subscribing to the peace-love-dove concept. But there's no arguing that harmony in the dressing room makes the ride a lot more pleasant.

It's hard to put your finger on any one reason but, for what it's worth, this seems like the most congenial Maple Leafs locker-room in years. It could be any of a half-dozen reasons or a combination of all of them. Who can tell? What's easy to identify is that there's clearly a more relaxed atmosphere this year.

Winning helps, but the Leafs often have been accustomed to winning (games, not championships) in the past. Maybe it's the absence of the Tie Domi dynamic, which may have rattled some young nerves in the past.

There's no question that Paul Maurice and Pat Quinn have very different approaches. Maybe Quinn's taciturn ways left his players, especially the young ones, feeling edgy and uncertain while Maurice's penchant for open communication, even when it's delivered at maximum volume, is more reassuring. "Some of the younger guys are probably more relaxed with me since I coached them last year," Maurice said. "They know that when I'm screaming at them it's really not personal."

Regardless how his team arrived at this happy state of mind, the atmosphere in the dressing room has been on the coach's mind ever since he took the job last summer. "It's something that you try to monitor early on," Maurice said yesterday after practice. "There's not a lot you can know coming in from the outside. That's something that took me a long time to learn. Even as the coach of a team you don't truly know what goes on in the room when you're not there. Like, the little chemistries of who gets along and where there's friction."

That said, there is reason to believe that Maurice made Domi's departure a condition of his employment when taking the Leafs job. Now that could have more to do with Maurice's assessment of Domi's on-ice decline than his Machiavellian nature in the locker-room but there's no denying Domi was a key locker-room force for many years.

In defence of Domi, he was once an important voice in the Leafs room, just as he was an important, if specialized, performer on the ice. But there's not nearly as much need for enforcement these days and it's difficult for a guy who is playing five or six minutes a game, none of them at crunch time, to command a lot of respect from his peers when he speaks up.

Perhaps an even greater reason for the relaxed atmosphere among the young players in the Leafs room is that there are a lot more of them now than even two years ago. The last time the Leafs made the playoffs, in April 2004, the average age on Toronto's post-season roster was 31.4 years. There were only three players -- Alexei Ponikarovsky, Nik Antropov and Matt Stajan -- under the age of 25 on that playoff roster.

The average age of the current Leafs team is more than four years younger, at just over 27 years. Nine of the 27 players listed on the roster right now are 24 or younger. It's easy enough to see how a young player, definitely in the minority, might have been a bit uncomfortable in the veteran-laden, pre-lockout Leafs locker-room. It's just as easy to see how, with so much company, the young players on the current roster seem comfortable as a group.

"I can tell you that these guys really seem to get along well," Maurice said, "and not just in the standard front we put up. You know, the circle-the-wagons type get-along. They really get along. They have fun, they laugh. They're not the loudest group but they seem to enjoy each other."

Leafs fans, separated from their most recent Stanley Cup party by 40 years, would like a few belts of this happy juice, too. Just win, baby.

-> Toronto Sun

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Boston Bruins - Toronto Maple Leafs 2:1 OT (1:0, 0:0, 0:1, 1:0)

1:0 (15.) Kessel 5 PP (Boyes, Mara)

1:1 (54.) McCabe 5 PP (Wellwood)

2:1 (61.) Bergeron 6 OT (Sturm, Boyes)

SOG: Bruins 36, Leafs 25.

PIM: Bruins 4, Leafs 8.

PP: Bruins 1/4, Leafs 1/2.

-> Recap

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LEAFS' RAYCROFT STILL NOT READY TO PLAY

Toronto — Injured Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft will miss his third consecutive game when the Leafs play the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening at the Air Canada Centre.

Raycroft practiced on Friday for the first time since suffering a groin strain on Nov. 9, and said afterwards that he wouldn't be ready for Saturday. "It's progressing," Raycroft said. "But I think I need another practice before I'll be ready."

That means that backup Jean-Sebastien Aubin will continue to tend goal for the Leafs, who have beaten the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 and lost to the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime since Raycroft's injury.

-> globesports.com

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WORK ETHIC KEY TO LEAF'S SOLID START

Toronto — The Toronto Maple Leafs have exhibited better discipline, picked up the pace of their game, shot more pucks at opposing nets, enjoyed improved goaltending and have displayed a more diligent work ethic in their opening quarter of the season.

But all these positives have the Leafs, who take on the New Jersey Devils at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, only slightly ahead of the 20-game pace of last year, a season that ended without a playoff spot. "There are no guarantees," said Leafs coach Paul Maurice, when asked whether his club would be able to persevere and qualify for the postseason. "Every team is going to go through [a difficult] stretch. It's a matter of how long that stretch is and that depends on how solid the foundation is. We're hoping on building that foundation."

To that end, Maurice is stressing that his players take more shots and stay disciplined, two areas that have greatly improved this season. The Leafs have fired a whopping 158 more shots on goal after 20 games and although they have scored two fewer goals at this point, the higher shot total has translated into better control of the play.

Last year, staying disciplined was a huge problem, and the griping after an infraction didn't do the Leafs any favours. They were the 11th-most penalized team after 20 games in 2005-06, and a much-improved 28th this season. Still, despite the team's strong start, the results are jarringly similar to last year. The Leafs are two points ahead of last season's pace after 20 games, but no closer to the top of the Eastern Conference standing.

Last season, the Leafs were fifth in the conference at the opening quarter, 10 points back of the first-place Ottawa Senators. Heading into action Friday night, the Leafs were in fourth spot, five points behind the front-running Buffalo Sabres. But the Sabres and the fifth-place Montreal Canadiens have played two fewer games than Toronto. With victories in their games in hand, Buffalo and Montreal could drop the Leafs into fifth place, nine points out of the Eastern Conference lead.

The Leafs also have gone through a stretch in the opening 20 games without captain Mats Sundin. Last year, Sundin suffered an eye injury seven minutes into the season opener and he missed the next 12 games. The Leafs went a solid 6-5-1 without their captain, and this season they have taken five out of a possible six points since he suffered an elbow injury three games ago.

Veteran Toronto forward Darcy Tucker, who leads the club with 11 goals, credits the team's improved work ethic as the biggest difference this season. "I'm not going to say it's better, but it has been more effective," he said. "When I say that, I mean that the few times we haven't played well, our work ethic has been a lot better in practice the next day and we sort of carry that anger into our next game."

Tucker also tossed accolades at goalies Andrew Raycroft and Jean-Sébastien Aubin. "Their play may be the biggest reason for the improved play," Tucker said. "They have given us a chance to win every night."

When Aubin arrived on the scene late last season, his goaltending was a big factor in the Leafs' 9-2-1 finish and the team has been able to build off that this season.

Take away defencemen Alexander Khavanov, Aki Berg and Luke Richardson and add Hal Gill, Brendan Bell and Pavel Kubina. Sub in Raycroft for backup Mikael Tellqvist, and Michael Peca and Bates Battaglia for Tie Domi and Clarke Wilm and you have a only a few roster adjustments from the team that finished so well last spring.

"What that finish did was give us a good read on what we could accomplish with our younger guys, and what areas we needed to address," Tucker said "We're just going to be a better team. We've done some good things, but we can find more within us to become a better club."

-> globesports.com

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THESE LEAFS MUST KEEP PACE

Since the Maple Leafs reported for training camp, the emphasis from coach Paul Maurice has been on pace; the hard, fast skating that would better allow the team to compete in the new NHL. Through the first quarter of the campaign, that speed has allowed the team — one that entered the season engulfed in questions about goal scoring and goaltending — to keep pace with last season's Leafs.

After 20 games, the Leafs under Maurice have an almost identical record to the team during Pat Quinn's final season behind the bench. In fact Maurice's squad is two points up on that of his predecessor. While both versions of the Leafs enjoyed solid starts, last year's group was ultimately undercut by a disastrous swoon that saw Toronto lose eight consecutive games in January and 15 of 18 by early March. The Leafs fell from sixth in the Eastern Conference to 11th and couldn't scramble back into a playoff spot.

Maurice said there are no assurances such a tumble can't happen again. "I don't think there's any guarantees that it won't," he said yesterday. "We're building a foundation that will help us get through those times but there's never a guarantee."

The building blocks of that foundation include the very elements Toronto was presumed to be lacking this season — secondary goal scoring and rock-solid netminding. Questions about who might score other than Mats Sundin have been answered emphatically by Darcy Tucker and Alexei Ponikarovsky, who are on pace for career years with 11 and seven goals respectively. Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe, as the highest-scoring defence tandem in the NHL, combine for another 12 goals.

Between the pipes, newcomer Andrew Raycroft has been very good on several nights and, when he's been injured, Jean-Sebastien Aubin has admirably held the fort. If those are the bricks, the mortar is the system Maurice has put in place which includes quick, smart puck movement out of the Toronto end and sending two forecheckers deep at the other.

That's produced a rather remarkable increase of 158 shots over 20 games compared to last year. (Though the current gang that can't shoot straight has three fewer goals than Quinn's group.) More importantly, the current team that many forecast would have difficulty making the playoffs is sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference.

"Our team has adapted to the new system better than anybody thought. We've got a lot of good skaters in here, a lot of good puck-moving defencemen. When you keep it simple and move the puck up quick and your transition game is good and you get good goaltending, you're going to win hockey games. We're getting a lot of shots on net. The games where we're not at our best, our goalies have been there to help us out," said Matt Stajan. "People can say what they want, before the season and now, we knew in here we could win on any given night and we just have to keep going with that mentality."

-> TheStar.com

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belak vs. janssen

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problem: toreschiessen - eine unnötige niederlage, nach dem ersten drittel hätts minimum 3:0 stehen müssen.

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

0:1 (47.) Langenbrunner 8 (Parise, White)

0:2 (53.) Elias 4 (Gionta)

1:2 (57.) Tucker 12 (McCabe, Kaberle)

SOG: Leafs 34, Devils 19.

PIM: Leafs 13, Devils 9.

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

-> Recap

[themanwho]

Toronto coach Paul Maurice is hoping to have Sundin back for this weekend's back-to-back contests against Boston on Nov. 25 and 28, according to the Toronto Star. The Maple Leafs' center has missed four games with a torn ligament in his right elbow, but looks to return soon. "I feel really good right now," he said. Sundin has been skating for the past nine days and has practiced with the team for more than a week now. He does, however, limit his participation.

If Sundin should return on Saturday, he would have required just 19 days to heal the injury that was supposed to keep him off the ice for 3-to-4 weeks. "I don't know why, but I have a tendency to heal quickly," he said. It would mark another ahead-of-schedule recovery for Sundin, who missed only 12 games with an injury last year, and 12 more with a broken wrist in the 2002 playoffs.

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Toronto Maple Leafs - New York Islanders 4:2 (3:1, 0:1, 1:0)

1:0 (3.) Pohl 2 (Belak, Stajan)

1:1 (6.) Simon 2 (Kozlov, Hill)

2:1 (7.) Wellwood 3 (Antropov, Battaglia)

3:1 (10.) Tucker 13 PP (Kaberle, McCabe)

3:2 (27.) Blake 11 PP (Yashin, Sillinger)

4:2 (59.) Ponikarovsky 8 PP (Wellwood, Antropov)

SOG: Leafs 33, Islanders 21.

PIM: Leafs 12, Islanders 12.

PP: Leafs 2/6, Islanders 1/6.

-> Recap

[AustroLeaf]

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bearbeitet 21. November 2006 von AustroLeaf

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