I mean, Tyson Barrie said it best. The guys skating around in Leafs sweaters on Thursday night sure looked different than the guys skating around on Saturday. It was a totally different team, from the tactics, to the body language on the bench, to the post-game scrums. The Maple Leafs won a game. And they…
The Maple Leafs roll into Pittsburgh tonight with both teams playing the second half of a back to back with travel and coming off losses on Friday night. Toronto played at home, while Pittsburgh played in New Jersey, so both are on a relatively level playing field. Here are five things to watch for: 1)…
Another day, another loss to the Bruins. The difference? You could make a legitimate argument that the Leafs were the best team on the night. The Maple Leafs dominated for long stretches against the Bruins and were undone by mental lapses. There are a ton of positives in the Leafs play, but that’s just not…
As they say in the dressing room, the boys are buzzing! The Maple Leafs enter the final game of their homestead on a three-game win streak, which happened to start against these very Flyers. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope tonight’s game doesn’t require an 11-round shootout where only three goals are scored. According to DailyFaceOff,…
The Maple Leafs playing the LA Kings on Tuesday nigh–zzzzzzzzzzz! This was one of the most boring Leafs games in a long while. Through the first 50 minutes, both teams COMBINED for 35 shots. People complain that it’s quiet in Scotiabank Arena, but the game was so boring, you could’ve taken a nap and not…
The Maple Leafs…started on time last night?! Is that allowed? Apparently it is, and they did. This is NOT a drill, people! Well, I suppose that’s progress, right? Auston Matthew showed up to play tonight with two high-quality goals and a brilliant back check(?!) to nullify a breakaway. Another positive is that the Leafs, including…
Much has been made about the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending situation thus far. It seems as if we can’t go a single back-to-back without falling into an argument on Twitter — the kind which universally take the form of backhanded slaps directed at Mike Babcock. So, here’s the sitch: having worked in an NHL office,…
On the second game of a back to back, it seemed like the Leafs gave up an odd-man rush or breakaway every 5 minutes. The much-discussed defence struggled tonight — particularly Barrie, who gift-wrapped multiple goals on the evening. I think Andersen stops the first two goals, but anytime you’re asking your goalie to stop…
Well, the Leafs got a point…on the back of Freddy Andersen. In a game that some would argue he shouldn’t have played, he gave up two early ones, could’ve been pulled, but ended up being the reason the Leafs got a point tonight. The Leafs, to no one’s surprise, didn’t start on time – and…
The Leafs came into Washington on the second night of a back to back and played 22 minutes of hockey — the first period and the last two minutes of the third. That isn’t going to win you many games, if any, and certainly not against Washington. For some reason, Rielly played almost 28 minutes…
On Monday morning, the Maple Leafs Leafs announced that Rasmus Sandin had been loaned to the Marlies. The fresh-faced rookie has played six games with the big club before his demotion, averaging 12:13 in ice-time. That’s about what you’d expect from a kid playing sheltered minutes on the third pairing, especially under a coach known…
It’s become a one-liner; “Mike Babcock needs his toys taken away.” This summer, most of Leafs Nation began to think that, with Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey gone, there would be no more “toys” left for Babcock to play with. “Toy”, in this case, is used to describe a certain player who either: a) shouldn’t…
