Apparently, the Winnipeg Jets disagree with this theory, and while they allowed fewer and didn’t turn a Danish prospect and opponent into an instant religious figure, the team as a whole somehow played worse overall tonight and left the Leafs to feast on the results.

The night started with a bang, with the prototypical new Leafs play – Lupul and Kessel working together on a goal. This time, it was Kessel’s goal off a slick Lupul feed to give the Leafs the leafs the lead. And then….uhh.. nothing else really happened? Saves were made, but the period went on without penalties.

Moving on from the first period, Tim Connolly started the second period with a bang. Just a minute and a half in, Connolly took a pass from Joey Crabb, and snuck it by Chris Mason for his seventh of the season. Oddly enough, the Jets had not one, but two delayed penalties on the play. As such, Tanner Glass was the only one to head to the box after the goal. Toronto would be unsuccessful on the ensuing powerplay, and the one that followed courtesy of Mark Stuart a few minutes later.

The third period would start just as quickly as the others. Mikhail Grabovski was the lucky forward this time, firing a wrist shot to give the team a 3-0 lead. Andrew Ladd went to the box for roughing five minutes later, giving the Leafs one more opportunity to score on the powerplay. Clarke MacArthur would make no mistake, scoring his 12th of the season. Matthew Lombardi was busted for tripping shortly after, givin the Leafs their first penalty kill of the game. Don’t hyperventalate too much – nothing came out of it, the Leafs slowed down the pace to finish the game, and the Leafs took this one 4-0.

Other Notes

Jonas Gustavsson had a 24 save shutout. I wasn’t happy with starting him tonight, but he found a way to prove me wrong, that’s for sure. Not a lot of spectacular play, but enough to get it done for the second goose egg of his career.

Tim Connolly and Mikhail Grabovski both had multi-point games. Centre depth at work right there.

Phil Kessel now has an absurd 23 goals and 23 assists in just 40 games this season. I think it’s time to say that he’s the real deal this year.

Dion Phaneuf was in a bloody mess late in the game, blocking an Andrew Ladd slapshot. No word on his status just yet. He lead the team in ice time, with 23:35 played.

Carl Gunnarsson, Jake Gardiner, and Keith Aulie all also played 20 minutes.

I give up. I give up. I give up.  The Jets fans, they’re just too loud to try to give you an intro paragraph. I mean, I know they just got a team back in town this year and all, but can you at least be litt- TRUE NORTH! Oh, come on. It wasn’t even the national anthe- BOOOOOO. Guys. For one seco- REIIIIIMERRRRRR. Screw it.

The first period didn’t get off to the best of starts. Just three and a half minutes in, Keith Aulie headed to the box for hooking. Amazingly, the Leafs survived it. Astonishing, I know, a penalty killed off by this team. Trust me when I say there was plenty of the left in this game. Keeping with the penalty theme, Andrew Ladd earned himself a high sticking minor on Cody Franson with about six minutes to go in the period. Toronto had their first attempt at the powerplay, and just ten seconds in, Clarke MacArthur took a gorgeous pass from Carl Gunnarsson, turned it into a one-timer, and gave the Leafs the 1-0 lead that they would take into the second period.

Lets move on to the third period. There wouldn’t be any scoring, and just one penalty giving the Leafs the 1-0 win and James Reimer the shutout!

Apparently, we can’t do the selective memory thing for recaps, and as such, I have to tell you the real story. Oh well, I liked mine better. Dion Phaneuf went to the box for hooking just a minute in, leading to a Zach Bogosian powerplay goal. To continue everybody’s fears, Cody Franson was next to go in the box 30 seconds later, but the Leafs killed that off. By kill that off, I mean that Franson skated on the ice for about 3 seconds as Jets captain Andrew Ladd scored the goal ahead goal for the Jets. To ease the pain, Phil Kessel tied the game a minute and a half later with his 21st of the season, but the MTS centre crowd decided that Joey Crabb was deserving of a penalty, which the referees were happy to make happen, and Blake Wheeler was happy to celebrate the benefits of shortly after. Nazem Kadri was called for a hook, and Alexander Burmistrov for a hold, but neither would lead to anything and the period ended at 3-2 Jets.

By the way, I wasn’t kidding about the third, making this paragraph really awkward. Nothing really happened other than everyone cringing every time Phil Kessel limped off the ice, still feeling an accidental shot block on his foot.

Other Notes

James Reimer was way better than the Jets fans were giving him credit for (if you haven’t figured it out, they chirp every goalie and boo one or two star players a game. Apparently, they also think the Leafs suck. Also, that their ownership group is the greatest thing to exist on this planet). 31 saves on 34 shots is pretty solid, don’t let yourself get fooled. Some people I’ve seen have blamed him for this game. Don’t be one of them.

The powerplay was a solid 1/3, and lets not talk about the penalty kill. It’s too depressing, and I don’t want to give a team that’s 85th in the NHL in the penalty kill percentage anymore discussion.

The team as a whole looked relatively solid in the third period, after what may have been the worst second period in recent memory.

The Leafs are now out of a playoff spot. No comment either way, they’re still higher than I thought they’d be, but I’m just throwing that out there.

I really hope Phil Kessel is okay. He was clearly playing through the pain in the third.

The referees really let the crowd get to them this game, in that it was extremely biased. I hate criticizing the refs, I’m notorious for defending them at their worst, but in brutal honesty, there were calls that were because of how loud the crowd booed, and there’s no denying that.

Speaking of the crowd, I’m hearing a lot of “why can’t the ACC be more like that?”. I have a response article to this coming next year. In other words, tomorrow or Monday.

(By the way, the Marlies also lost today, to the Jets affiliate in St. John’s. Check out MarliesHQ for a bit on that)

Seriously, I get that the idea that having an alternate jersey brings in extra money, don’t get me wrong, and I’m not against the idea of the Islanders having one, especially for that reason – this isn’t a team that pcokets a lot o of change. But I don’t think that there’s much worse they could’ve done in the design process. Swap the Blue and Orange on the home jersey? Cool,  do it. Change the Blue for Black? Still pretty weird, but why not. Do one of those oh so common faux-back’s with the shoulder patch logos? That would be fine too. Instead, they created a unfiorm so bad that it makes the Fisherman jerseys forgivable (though honest confession: They remain my all time favourite Isles jerseys).

It’s almost a disgrace to the NHL. Some jerseys have had bad elements, but these take all of them and combine them into one of the single most ridiculous articles of clothing I’ve ever seen. Anyway, that’s a really long introduction for a photo, so lets get to the hockey game.

Tonight saw the Leafs facing a weak New York Islanders roster, that’s currently 14th in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs, of course, shouldn’t be picking on standings, seeing as they’ve gradually slipped from first to sixth, and could’ve actually fallen into 9th tonight with a loss in addition to a Winnipeg win, but as it turned out, they would open things quickly and not entirely look back to win the game 5-3.

The first period opened up just the way you’d want it to. Tim Connolly, after getting the puck from Dion Phaneuf, would make a gorgeous pass to Clarke MacArthur, who scored his tenth of the year just two minutes in. Less than a minute later, the Leafs would earn their first powerplay of the game on a Marty Reasoner trip, leading to Nazem Kadri scoring his second goal in as many games to bring the lead to 2. Seven minutes later, the Leafs would extend it further, courtesy of a Carl Gunnarsson slapper, which gave Connolly and MacArthur their second points of the night, and Kadri his third consecutive goal to be on the ice for. The period wasn’t all brilliance, though – Keith Aulie would take two penalties in the next 8 minutes, and Kyle Okposo would score a nifty wrister to bring the game within two.

On to the second period, the Leafs wold start off on a poor note – yet another powerplay goal against for a team that continues to struggle on the penalty kill. Frans Nielsen would be the one to score it, and suddenly, the Islanders were in striking distance. A high sticking call to Cody Franson didn’t help this cause either, and while he was in the box a goal was scored. Thankfully, it was a Leafs shorthanded goal, and Joey Crabb would be the one to provide it.

The insanity wasn’t quite over yet, though. John Tavares, midway through the third period, brought the game back within one goal. The Islanders would continue to push, getting close a few times, but the wheels would finally start to fall off in the final few minutes, with three cross checks and a dive leading to two coincidental minor incidents in 41 seconds. Towards the end of the 4 on 4′s, the Leafs had an empty net to work with, Phil Kessel set up an Alley-oop for Joffrey Lupul, and the last goal of the game was scored for the Leafs.

Other Notes

James Reimer made 30 saves on 33 shots, which was good to see. Another strong night for him, and he gets a few nights off. I think he’s finally completely recovered from the concussion and the Leafs are getting consistency from him once again.

Clarke MacArthur and Tim Connolly both had multi-pont nights, but Nazem Kadri’s game can’t be underestimated either. The entire line is working great together, and I hope they stay together for a while.

Darryl Boyce and David Steckel were both a -2. And neither played particularly fantastic either in their approximately 9 minutes either. Not a huge concern as long as it doesn’t last.

John-Michael Liles didn’t play tonight to rest his neck. Jake Gardiner came back into the lineup in his place, and got an assist.

For an empty net goal, that Kessel assist was awesome. Small plays like that separate him from what we saw last year.

The Leafs, for now, remain in 6th in the Eastern Conference. This is the first time in years the Leafs have been in a playoff position near Christmas, so while its not how the season started – it’s still great to see when you consider everything.

Overall, this was a game that had a great start, a questionable rest of the game, but ultimately worked out in the end. The slip isn’t a process I’d really like to see repeated.

Tonight will be a night devoted to attempting to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, who as of late, haven’t really been a challenge to the rest of the NHL. Despite playing more games than any team in the league so far, the Hurricanes are a horrid 28th in the league. Which really, isn’t a position we as Leafs fans can make fun of, seeing how bad the team was just two years ago. But it’s one the team must take advantage of.

Carolina is 9-18-4 on the year, compared to Toronto’s 15-11-3. Offensively, they could be worse, at 17th in the NHL with 79 goals. To put into perspective how that’s still not something to quite pick at – the first overall Minnesota Wild have the same amount of goals with an extra game played. Toronto sits 6th in the league with 91. Where Carolina has its issue is in the goals they allow, being dead last in the league at 108 against. To defend them again, Ottawa averages more against per game, and the 2nd overall Blackhawks are 23rd in the league. Combine the fact that the Leafs are 25th, and I can’t really insult the stats individually as much as I wish to.

But combine two of those – that 30th in goals against on Carolina’s behalf, and Toronto’s 6th in goals for, and that’s where I get my optimism for tonight’s game. It’s a team that can score goals versus a team that can’t stop pucks at the moment. Also, the Canes being 30th in goal differential isn’t exactly something for them to be proud of.

Before I get to roster specifics, a few more team stats for you – the game is at the ACC, where the Leafs are 6-4-3, good for 20th in the league. Carolina 4-9-2 on the road, 27th in the NHL in that regard. On special teams, Toronto has the #2 powerplay in the league at 21.7%, a staggering 8.6% better than the 26th ranked Canes. Both teams are weak on the penalty kill, Carolina raking 26th at 78.7%, Toronto 29th at 74.3%. The combination of Toronto’s strong powerplay and Carolina’s weak penalty kill gives me more optimism for this game.

Sophomore sensation Jeff Skinner leads the Hurricanes in goals and points at the moment, with 12 goals and 12 assists in 30 games, making him the main player to watch. Jussi Jokinen leads the team in assists with 13. Plus minus is an odd one. Jaroslav Spacek leads the team with a +1, but has only played a single game with the team. Anthony Stewart is the only 0 player on the entire roster who has played more than half the team’s games. Eric Staal, who normally would’ve been mentioned as a positive in almost any of these stats, is having a terrible year – dead last in plus minus on the team with a -18, and he has just 7 goals and 12 assists in 31 games so far. Of course, you have to always keep your eye on him because he’s a player with so much natural talent, but it’s not the same story as it’s been in previous years.

In net for the Hurricanes will likely be Cam Ward, who’s also having a disappointing season. In 26 games, Ward is a 9-13-3, with a 3.37 goals against average and 0.896 save percentage.

Getting to the Leafs – the roster will look pretty much the same as it did on Friday, maybe with some line shuffling. Where the real discussion is, is between the pipes. Jame’s Reimer will be getting the start. Honestly, I’m torn on how to feel about this.

On one hand, you have the snubbing of Jonas Gustavsson, which is a little spotty. After all, he’s definitely the hot hand of the two, being 5-1 in his past 6 games. Why wouldn’t you start your best goaltender as of late? Especially when he’s had a few days off and can’t possibly be tired at the moment. It seems illogical to me. However, consider the other side – Carolina is a terrible team, and Reimer’s been stellar against them in his career (0.984, 0.55 in 2 games). This could be the recovery game he needs to get himself back on track. For that reason, it evens things up, and really becomes a judgement call, which ultimately went in Reimer’s favour to Wilson.

Personally, I’ll take the Reimer start, but at the same time, I’d be very, very quick to pull him if he looks the slightest bit shaky. This is a must win game in the sense that good teams don’t often lose games this mis-matched. The desperation isn’t there, but realistically, Toronto really can’t drop the ball on this game. I don’t think they will though, and expect a win, along the lines of 5-2, give or take a goal either way.

Oh, by the way

LeafsHQ live will be coming to you from Shoeless Joes once again! The King and Duncan location, this time. If you’re bored and want to tell me how wrong my opinions are in person, come by! It’s fan appreciation night, meaning if the Leafs win tonight, you get a burger or wings next time you show up. If you can’t make it, you should at least come by the live chat and talk during the game.

Well, it’s not exactly the result we all hoped for, but you know what? All things considered, I’ll take tonight’s loss and run. After all, its not that often that the penalties seem completely in the oppositions court, the other team grabs a two goal lead as a result, and you turn it into a point. Lets break this down a little bit.

The first period started off with John-Michael Liles headed to the box for a high stick just three minutes in. Now, I know the Devils powerplay hasn’t been exactly lights out, and that Ilya Kovalchuk hasn’t exactly played to statistical expectations lately, but it’s absolutely absurd to leave him open to have a chance at anything, ever. Especially when he’s the one with the point shot on the powerpl- too late. The hundred million dollar man showed us that absolutely lethal shot that has burned so many people before, and gave the Devils a 1-0 lead just five minutes in. Fast forward a few, and Tim Connolly would put the Leafs back on the penalty kill once again. Just like the last one, this wouldn’t end well, and David Clarkson would widen the gap. The period would end as it began, with a Liles penalty, this time for interference.

Moving onto the second, Petr Sykora would take the Devils first penalty of the game for a hook, but the Leafs could do no damage. By the midway point, we’d have our solution there. Phil Kessel tied up the scoring lead he just recently lost with what NHL.com describes as a snapshot. What it really was was him skating towards the net and angling his skate in just the right way to score and not get waived off. Not the prettiest goal of his career, in fact possibly the worst, but he’ll take it and so will the team and their fanbase. Kulemin would get a questionable holding call with six to go in the period, but nothing would come from it. The period ended with a questionable knee on knee collision between Mark Fayne and Joffrey Lupul, which left Loops in pain, though he returned to start the next period.

The third period was opened with Matt Frattin’s best goal to date. The rookie breezed passed fellow first year (albiet a much younger one) Adam Larsson, then showed Toronto the quick release that he was hyped up to have. It’s not quite Phil Kessel’s shot, but it’s definitely a nice one, and one that would tie the game for the Leafs, who would put on pretty solid pressure for the rest of the period. They would get a last minute powerplay courtesy of Patrick Elias, but did nothing with it either and the game would have to be solved in overtime.

The Leafs started overtime with some solid pressure, but in the end, it wouldn’t work out – David Clarkson would score the winner for the Devils midway through the extra period. The Leafs would end the game at 10-5-3,  good enough to remain 6th in the east and within reasonable distance of the other teams ahead.

Other Notes

James Reimer made 26 saves on 29 shots. Statistically, not the greatest performance, but he looked better than his game on Saturday night. A few awesome saves were made, so I’m not going to scream from the hills just yet, and neither should you.

Frattin’s goal was the icing on the cake for arguably the best game he’s had in the blue and white. A factor over the course of the game, he’s really beginning to hit his stride.

Speaking of stride hitting, Nikolai Kulemin’s just begging for one to happen soon. He’s playing just fine, but the goals aren’t coming. It’s almost getting worrying, until I realize that this is a cold streak, and if the Leafs can do well in spite of it, this will work out when when it’s contract extension time.

Carl Gunnarsson was the team’s only minus player tonight – not on for either of the Leafs goals, but on (and realistically, the cause with that failed shot attempt) for the Clarkson OT winner. Just thought I’d point that out.

Nobody played 25 minutes or more tonight. Jake Gardiner was the highest at 24:44, which is odd considering I didn’t think he had the most amazing of nights today. Not bad, but not like him.

Luke Schenn had an astonishing 10 hits tonight in 23 minutes. On top of getting an assist. An absurd night for him on the stat sheet, and a solid overall game played anyway.

Speaking of defencemen, Cody Franson had a solid game too. One assist, a +2, and a huge hit early in to shift the momentum.

Phil Kessel is still amazing, and still on a 50G, 53A, 103P pace. Just felt like pointing that out.

If you wanted me to touch on refereeing…you’re going to have to wait for the next article, which will come Wednesday evening most likely. The Leafs play their next game Friday night in DC against the Washington Capitals.

On one hand, this move reeks of abosolute confusion and stupidity. I mean, your goalie has been gone for the majority of the season so far due to an injury you’ve continuously played down as not serious, but in reality, was as close to a concussion as you can get without actually having one. In theory, you ease in a goalie in a situation like this, giving him a game or two to back up, followed by a start against a weak team that won’t shoot a lot. Wilson logic? The team we’re facing is 12-0-1 in their past 13 games. They score 6 or 7 a game when they face the Leafs. And as Milan Lucic taught Ryan Miller, they’re not afraid of messing with the goaltender. Lets start him.

On the other hand, this could prove geniu. What if Reimer puls a Crosby and stuns the bruins? What if he’s actually been 100% for longer than we thought, and he felt this was the best way of bringing him out, by surprise? What if he’s the solution to the Boston problem? There’s so many factors here.

Argh.

You know what? All I have to say is this – don’t expect much tonight. He’s just coming back and this is a situation so heaviliy against him that you’d be stupid to make a judgement call if it goes bad. If he gets shellshocked, don’t go declaring this the end times of James’ career just yet. If he looks a little lost out there 40 shots into the night, don’t start dropping him in your pools. If the Leafs lose this game, don’t start making trade proposals. Now, if he takes at 386 mph shot from Zdeno Chara to the mask and is out for another month, I’ll allow you to pull out the pitchforks.

At the same time, if he has an amazing night, don’t go declaring him the greatest ever just yet. It could be pure adreniline and problems can arise the next. If after a bit games he’s still at his top form? I’m not oppoed to the James Reimer Centre as an arena name.

It’s an odd situation. Just don’t make too much out of tonight for him, is all I’m asking.

Game Notes

The Bruins come into tonight as the hottest team in the NHL right now – 12-0-1 in November. Not a typo – they played nearly once every two days last month and still managed to go without losing in regulation. I can’t even stress how insane that is. I understand that they’re the defending champions, but wow.

Tyler Seguin, who is just some guy who has no association with the past, present, or future history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, leads the team in scoring with 24 points in 23 games. To compliment this, he’s first on the team in goals (12) and second in assists (also 12). As well, he’s first in plus minus at a plus 19. Zdeno Chara has the lead in assists with 13, and Shawn Thornton leads the team in penalty minutes. Tim Thomas will likely start, but I’m going to spare you your innocence and not tell you his stats. They’re too good and will merely make you nervous.

The Leafs are going to have to play a strong physical game, pour shots on from everywhere (seriously, Thomas doesn’t let many by AT ALL), and hope that Reimer is ready. I can easily see this being another loss. If it is? Not the end of the world, but a win would be idea, you know?

Puck drop for this Saturday night game is at 7, as always, on CBC, also as always.

Lets start with the first period – Joffrey Lupul would get a penalty just four minutes into the game for hooking Jesse Winchester. But wait! You thought that Winchester sold it a little? Yeah, so did the referees, so it became a coincidental minor with Winchester getting a diving call. Nothing materialized out of the 4 on 4, though. Six minutes later, Zenon Konopka felt like messing with the beaut himself, Mike Brown, and a fight broke out. Check it out here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I call it a draw, personally. Both threw some solid punches, and I have to give Brown the extra credit for being the little guy of the two and still holding on. Moving on. The play would stay stagnant, that is until Tyler Bozak had enough of his goal-less drought and would snipe Craig Anderson to give the Leafs the lead.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What I love about this goal is Joffrey Lupul’s yoga stretch to keep the play on-side. One of the better little plays that I’ve ever seen from a Leafs player. The snipe was pretty nice too, and gave Phil Kessel yet another point, his 24th which doubles as his 12th assist. A Stephane Da Costa roughing penalty later, and the period was done. Something solid for the leafs to build on, right?

Haha. Please, don’t make me laugh, because that would make too much sense. They couldn’t let that happen, instead we need someone to score that would make even Sens fans scratch their head! Oh, what’s Sergei Gonchar doing her- oh. Tie game.

But fear not! It wouldn’t be a tie game for long, as that issue was solved 8 minutes later. However, it wasn’t in the way you’d want it to be – Philippe Dupuis felt like showing his inner fencer to Nick Foligno’s face, and promptly got a double minor for high sticking. Foligno was so grateful for this that he turned it it into a goal of his own with just over two minutes left in the second period, sending the Leafs to the dressing room down a goal.

Obviously, a statement had to be made to start the third period, correct? And boy, was there one. Dion Phaneuf rushed in to try to tie the game up right off the bat. His rush was good, very good, and almost successful, but left Zack Smith to get his third of the season and second point of the night going the other way. After the Leafs couldn’t capitalize on two Chris Phillips inspired powerplays, Joffrey Lupul would bring the game within one with three minutes to go.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It wouldn’t be enough though, as Nick Foligno would score his second of the night to bring it to 4-2. That’s it for the goals though right?

Enter Clarke MacArthur, with the Leafs first long distance goal of the year. An absolute snipe. 10 out of 10. Only one problem though.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The game would end at 5-2 for the Senators.

Other Notes:

Mikhail Grabovski has no idea how to make a decision at the moment. He’s seriously mixing up when to shoot and pass, and it’s getting concerning.

Phil Kessel continues to confirm that he is a point producing robot.

Ed Belfour’s leather jacket instead of a suit was beyond awesome. The ultimate signifier of not giving a damn.

Plus players for the Leafs – Tyler Bozak and Luke Schenn. Minus two club: Grabovski, Kulemin, MacArthur.

Most minutes: Dion Phaneuf, as always with 25:17. Fewest: Mike Brown, with just 7:34.

Joey Crabb was taken off the powerplay, which was an interesting change of pace.

Speaking of the powerplay, as usual, it was awful. They need to improve on it sooner than later, performing at 0/5. The penalty kill was a just as bad 23/3.

The Leafs were dominant on the draws, winning 33 of 52.

Physically, the Sens were more willing to throw their bodies around – out hitting 36-20, and out shot blocking 29-9.

Ben Scrivens wasn’t horrible,but certainly wasn’t good. That last goal he allowed was especially weak.

The Leafs had the shot momentum, taking 33 to Ottawa’s 22.

Standings update: The Leafs are still 1st in the division and 2nd in the conference, though it may not last much longer if they keep up this pace of 5-5 in their last 10, and a goal differential of -7.

The Marlies lost too. Check out the post game at MarliesHQ for more info on that.

In conclusion, here’s an awesome pic to get your mind off the loss:

But, Wilson’s mindset was clearly different form mine, as he started Scrivens, who played an amazing game and lead the Leafs to a 3-2 victory. I must say – if we can get more of this Scrivens than the one that played in the Boston and Florida games, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him more often this year. After all, 38 saves on 40 shots when the Leafs took slightly more than half of that at St. Louis? That’s huge. The thing is, that’s a HUGE if. I wouldn’t go declaring him anything just yet – though in the name of having at least one goalie who’s not being mentally broken down by coaches decisions, I’d give him the next two games, no matter how bad he may play next time around. On to the game though.

Despite ending the game by leaving Scrivens to his own, the Leafs actually came out really strong, outshooting St. Louis 14-8 in the first period, and being on the man advantage three times before Dion Phaneuf would head to the box in the last minute of the period. The most amazing part about those powerplays though? The Leafs actually scored on two of them. Yes, I’m as shocked as you. John-Michael Liles would score his second goal of the year at 11:27, and Phil Kessel would continue his superhuman start with his 12 goal and 23rd point (in sixteen games!), at 17:02.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure after the second period, the Leafs forgot that they still had a game to play. Phaneuf would take his second penalty of the game seven minutes in, leading to a Jason Arnott powerplay goal. A few more penalties would go down, including a third Dion minor, but the second would stay uneventful.

The third looked like a game of foosball with the table tilted, as it was all St. Louis. I mean really, how do you get outshot 17-3 yet still squeak out a win? Welcome to the Leafs in the third. Mind you, it didn’t work out in the way they planned – with Patrik Berglund tying the game in the dying minutes, sending the game to overtime. Overtime was even less eventful, minus a hillarious penalty to Ben Scrivens for missing a save and shoving Jason Arnott in the process.

The shootout was a 1-0 affair, with Phil Kessel deking out Halak, Mikhail Grabovski not scoring and Ben Scrivens standing tall against Steen, Oshie, and D’Agostini to win the Leafs the game.

Other Notes:

It’s kind of sad when you call a 3/4 penalty kill progress, but it is, technically. The 2/3 powerplay gives you optimism, though – hopefully we see more of that from the team in coming games. Something I noticed – they actually took shots. Now, if they could take some shots even strength to go with it, we’d be gravy. It’s like they’re only allowed to shoot during one element of their game, per game – god help us if they make shots penalty kill exclusive next time around.

Thanks to the goals coming on the powerplay, the Leafs won but had nobody with a positive plus minus. It’s kind of weird to see on the stat sheet, but that’s how it works.

Kessel, Liles, Lupul, and MacArthur were the only players to take multiple shots. Komisarek and Schenn surprised few by not taking any, but the lack of them from PHanuef and Frattin had me a bit intrigued.

Dion Phaneuf played 25:31, more than any other player on the team. Mike Brown was the only one to play less than 11 minutes, playing 8:54 (Joey Crabb played less even strength, but had 2:53 on the powerplay).

Alex Pietrangelo was amazing for St. Louis, I must say. I hate to talk about what if’s, but what if the Leafs traded up one more spot than they did in 2008? I like Luke Schenn, don’t get me wrong, but having someone who is that good all around would’ve been fantastic.

I lost count of how many sticks broke last night. Perhaps using Tim Connolly’s bones was a bad idea.

The Leafs are still first in the Northeast division at 10-5-1. I think we can halt the panic until that changes.

The first period was an interesting one – the Leafs had the shot count to themselves, outshooting Boston 7 to 5. However, games aren’t decided on how many shots you take, especially when Tim Thomas is on the other team. Tyler Seguin, also known as the guy who will haunt Leafs fans who don’t speak in logic for his entire career, would fire a snapper past Ben Scrivens. The period would remain relatively calm from that point on – nothing significant happening on the score board, nothing happening in terms of penalties.

The second period wasn’t so friendly. Just 34 seconds in, Seguin would score his second of the night, off a wicked tip. The Leafs had to recover from this quickly, which was accomplished by Milan Lucic score a goal just eight seconds after. Great.

The game would stay quiet for another 14 minutes, when Seguin would score his third of the night and the city of Toronto would collectively weep. Apparently the Leafs would do the same, because just 14 seconds later David Krejci would add insult to injury and make the score 5-0.

The third would be of absolutely no help. With Jonas Gustavsson between the pipes now, the Bruins would score both shots they took even strength in the period at 5:44 and 6:12. The game would end at 7-0, with the city stuck in between screams of agony and loud boos.

Other Notes

The Leafs looked lazy shortly after the first goal, seemingly giving up right from the get go. Kind of depressing, really. Defeatist attitudes tend to lead to blowouts, and that’s exactly what we saw.

I’m actually kind of happy that Ben Scrivens was proved to be human in his second game. He’s going to be a good goalie, but two big nights would’ve put the pressure on him too quickly. However, he flew his parents in for this one, so it’s kind of sad.

Even with the terrible game, lets not jump to conclusions. This is still a team that’s 9-4-1. And Boston always has our number. The season isn’t in panic mode until we start losing consistently, not mixing wins with losses to Boston. You’d think the team was in 29th overall, not second. Let’s just move on to next game. This goes to the team, and yourselves, the fans. Panic is useless.