It was a night of firsts for the Toronto Raptors last night. The Toronto Huskies paid a tribute to the NBA’s roots, be unveiling their Toronto Huskies retro look for the first of six games this season. Back on November 1, 1946 the Toronto Huskies played the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens in the first game of the Basketball Association of America. The Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-88, winning their third straight game for the first time this season. Guard Jarrett Jack got his first start of the season, replacing an injured Jose Calderon. Jack filled in nicely scoring 17 points and dishing out eight assists. Tonight Toronto (10-13) is back at it again. They’re in Milwaukee to take on rookie sensation Brandon Jennings and the Bucks (9-11). Milwaukee sits two games in front of Toronto in the East, but the Bucks are on a four game losing skid. Last night they were in Boston and they lost 98-89. If the vote for rookie of the year were today, Jennings would win by a land slide. He’s averaging 21 points per game and just over 5 assists per game. Back on November 14, he lit up the Golden State Warriors for 55.
On the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at home to take on the New York Islanders. On Monday night, the Leafs had five even strength goals in the second period and cruised to a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Now the last time the Leafs played the Isles, they peppered goaltender Dwayne Roloson with 61 shots and lost in overtime 4-3. Don’t look now, but since their horrible start the Leafs have been gaining ground in the East and are only five points back of the eight seed. The Islanders are one team of five teams that stand in their way. New York played last night and they took a beat down from the Philadelphia Flyers, losing 6-2. John Tavares scored his teams lone goals. Tavares leads all rookies with 13 goals and 23 points, but has yet to register a point at the ACC.
I’m guessing the people who are in charge of making the NFL schedule felt that Cleveland would be a far better team. How else can you explain the Monday night-er tonight? The Baltimore Ravens (4-4) making the trip to the Mistake by the Lake to take on the Browns (1-7). These two teams are at the bottom of the AFC North and are far from any post season aspirations. Cincinnati leads the division with a 7-2 record and Pittsburgh trails the Bengals by a game. Getting back to the Ravens and Browns, the last time these two teams met was in week 3 and Baltimore cruised to a 34-3 win. A similar result is expected tonight. The Browns are so bad, management has decided to give quarterback Brady Quinn a second chance at starting. In three starts this season (including week 3) Quinn has one touchdown pass, three interceptions and has been sacked 10 times. The Ravens haven’t been great either. They started the season strong, but have lost four of their last five. Running back Ray Rice has been one of the lone bright spots for the team. He’s rushed for 573 yards, caught 46 balls for another 436 yards and has scored six touchdowns. You can be sure he’ll get a lot of work tonight.
If this game doesn’t get you going you can also check out some NBA action. Two young and talented teams battle it out as the Portland Trailblazers are in the ATL to take on the Hawks. Atlanta (8-2) has the best record in the East, while Portland (8-3) is number two in the West.
On the ice it’s on Atlantic division battle as the top seed New Jersey Devils take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love. If the Devils win tonight they open the season winning nine straight on the road, tying a league record for most wins on the road to start a season.
No, not a sexual reference. Just a comment as I read a couple of articles over the last 24 hours with respect to the state of our Toronto Maple Leafs. While I loathed the attention they were getting when they were 0 and whatever, you knew it was coming and well it was quite deserved. One thing the MSM in this city is good at is piling on the negativity when things are bad. I mean how many loserville articles do you need?
So you can imagine my shock when I read the articles by Damein Cox and Michael Traikos today. Here are the highlights:
“After all, there aren’t too many sports or leagues in which a team could play 12 games and win just one of them yet still be well within range of a playoff berth.
Yet there were the Leafs Sunday, after losing in a shootout to Montreal on Saturday, sitting with six points in the standings, seven points behind the eighth-place Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference.
Now, you may think the Leafs stink, and you may have little or no regard for Wilson’s coaching acumen or Brian Burke’s ability to build a team.
But you’d have to agree seven points is hardly an Everest-like mountain to climb. If the Leafs did catch the pack, it wouldn’t go down as one of the greatest hockey comebacks since the Miracle on Manchester.”
Huh??? This is clearly not your father’s Damien Cox….
“Are the Leafs actually getting better? The evidence would suggest so. But more important, other than the Carolina Hurricanes, no other team has gone through the same nightmarish losing streak as have the Leafs.
But they will. You can bet four or five teams, or perhaps more, will mirror the struggles the Leafs endured in October.
So while some may have already written the Leafs off as a potential playoff team, or already exiled them to an embarrassing last-place finish, the basic math of the NHL points system says neither is the case at all. In fact, improving just slightly on the pace of the past week in which five road games netted five points would see the Leafs improve on last season’s 81-point output.
Moreover, despite disappointing extra-time losses in Dallas, Buffalo and Montreal, many of the indicators are pointing upwards for MLSE’s hockey wing.”
Perspective?? No, really, this can’t be from the same Damien Cox can it???????
“They showed great guts in fighting back to almost steal wins against the Sabres and Habs. Tomas Kaberle has been superb for the past four games, as good as he’s been since he was clocked by New Jersey goon Cam Janssen several years ago. Right now, Kaberle leads all NHL defencemen in points.
In Jonas Gustavsson, the club may have a bona fide No.1 goalie. Although the numbers might not say so, Mike Komisarek played his best game of the season against the Habs. Ian White is again proving smarts and talent may overcome size. Mikhail Grabovski is showing vastly improved hustle and hunger these days.
Then there’s the NHL’s best power play. Yup, as of Sunday, the Leafs were No.1 with the man advantage, fascinating given the Leafs’ perceived lack of offensive talent. Given the fact there’s no shortage of hockey wise men who would tell you the modern game is decided by special teams, being capable on the power play has to mean something.”
Seriously, how long has it been since any journalist anywhere had a decent thing to say about the play about the Maple Leafs? No, really. Think long and hard – it’s been years since anything has been written (or deserved). This is clearly new space. What’s more insane is that it is being written with the team being 1-11! I mean the crap Berger is writing these days is what we have come to expect no?
“October was a month that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to forget.
They got off to their worst start in franchise history. They allowed 20 more goals than they scored. And after playing 12 games, they managed just one win and six points in the standings.
But there is reason to believe that November will be better.”
Umm, Michael is that because you are about to say things can’t really get any worse????
“For one, Phil Kessel is expected to make his long-awaited debut in Toronto as early as Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. And, after picking up points in each of the last four games, there are signs that the team is finally turning the corner.”
Now, 2 things come to mind. Yes there may be signs that the team is turning the corner- but with comments like the first one, who exactly is it that is viewing Kessel as the savior, the media or the fans, or is it the fans within the media ?
“Though he is only a 24-year-old rookie, Gustavsson seems ready for an extended workload. His goals-against average (3.22) is not spectacular, but he has provided the team with its only win and picked up points in each of his last three games.”
I am high on Gustavsson too, but I am not entirely sure how you arrive at he is ready for extended workload based upon his past workload. I mean he is a kid, and one who has had some injury flareups. Either way, we don’t usually see these types of comments.
“Mike Komisarek ranked third-last in the league with a minus-9 rating.
Francois Beauchemin and Jeff Finger were minus-6. And Garnet Exelby and Luke Schenn were minus-5.
The forwards, who were a combined minus-40, and the goaltenders should share the blame. But the biggest disappointments have been Beauchemin, Schenn and Finger.
Beauchemin, with one goal and two assists has shown none of the traits of a two-way defenceman. Schenn is averaging six fewer minutes per game than he did as a rookie last season. And Finger is essentially being paid $3.5-million US to watch from the press box as a healthy scratch.”
No, you see I totally disagree with the last statement. Everyone in the mother dissed Fletcher for the Finger signing. There were no expectaitons of grandeur there. Is he an overpaid 7th defenceman? Yes he is. Did you expect anything else? Not me. With regards to Schenn, I am not disappointed with the minutes, nor am I surprised. When Burke went out and acquired the guys he did you knew Schenn’s minutes were going to go way down; they had to. You don’t go spend the money on the guys Burke did and not play them. What’s disappointing is how poorly Luke has played when he has been on the ice. Beauchemin has been a disappointment, but to me, nowhere near the disappointment that Komisarek has been. This is a guy who I expected big things from. Smart play, leadership, solid work. I have yet to see much of any of that. Kaberle and White are the lone two defencemen playing anywhere near respectable hockey.
Did you see this gem from Mark Spector today?:
“So, what’s really bugging him?
How about the fact his general manager, Brian Burke, made way too much noise about the Maple Leafs being a playoff team. But then the season started, and now it’s Wilson who has to stand in front of the microphones every day and answer for a roster that Burke oversold.”
Clearly one of the dumber things Spector has ever written. Is Spector suggesting that Burke threw Wilson to the wolves? I mean, we are talking about Brian Burke here right. Has Burke ever refused an interview request? I find it hard to believe that Burke won’t talk to Spector or anyone else about the Leafs current state. Hell the guy said that all 8 of his acquisitions had gone south, certainly sounds like accountability to me. Then he said a lot of players would be changed before his coach would be. Sounds like support to me. Furthermore, for the last freaking time, Burke said that he expects his team to compete for the playoffs. What the hell should he have said. We expect to finish dead last to get a better draft slot that I already traded away? He didn’t say they would make the playoffs, he said that is the goal. The goal can’t be anything else, at least not publicly. I think what’s gotten Wilson hot is that many of the veteran players that they thought would be improvements have been liabilities. That and dumb questions from the MSM.
This from our friend Bill Houston:
“Toronto Maple Leafs Joe Bowen is a good hockey announcer, but on some nights he just seems to mail it in. In a span of two minutes during the game last Friday against Buffalo Sabres, Bowen told us that Sabre rookie Tyler Myers plays for the U.S. national team, when in fact he’s a Canadian citizen and is part of the Hockey Canada program. And he described Leaf Nik Hagman passing the puck to his “countryman” Rickard Wallin. Unless Finland and Sweden are one and the same, they aren’t countrymen.”
Finally, someone calls out Joe Bowen. I am not sure what is getting more tired, NHLPA leadership changes, wholly macinaw’s or calling Gustavsson the Monster. I know I am in the majority, but I think it’s time for MLSE to find the next Joe Bowen. I am sure I am going to get heat for it, but it’s just plain time. The song and dance hasn’t changed in years and you know it’s just time. I know it won’t happen anytime soon…but maybe it should.
It was interesting listening to Bob McKenzie talk to Dreger on Leafs Lunch today. First, it reinstated the point that a host Dreger is not. As good a commentator as Dreger is, it was painful listening to him question McKenzie. What was interesting however was when the topic turned to the Carolina Hurricanes. McKenzie said that compared to the Leafs, who while on their winless streak had some parts of their game that were worth speaking of none of the elements of the Canes games are noteworthy, they are bad all over. It’s itneresting because I seem to recall in the thick of the streak guys like Berger and Cox saying that the Leafs were just plain awful with little to talk about in positive light. It’s funny how perspective can change over time.
Lastly, allow me to editorialize on two issues. First, the not so serious. McKenzie has a book out on being a hockey dad. It is a fantastic read for sports fans of all ages. For those of us who had kids in sports or who were kids in sports it is a must read. As the holiday season is coming up I highly recommend it as must reading for the hockey fan. If there is interest we can try to get signed copies for those of you interested in buying the book. I read it in a couple of days and it is terrific. It’s great to read what Bob went through as a parent and to see how much he truly loves the game.
Now the serious. Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ben Fanelli is currently in critical condition in a hospital as a result of a hockey related injury. I don’t wish to engage in a debate clean hit vs. dirty hit. I am going to get on my soapbox and say just one thing. It’s high time we take a big long look at safety in the game of hockey. I don’t know why our society is so reactionary as opposed to being proactive. I don’t know why we will wait for a tragic death to do something. Something has to be done to make the game safer. I don’t pretend to have the answers. This is a time bomb waiting to blow up. Someone, a little kid, an older kid, or the father of some kid is going to die on the ice. Bigger rinks, stricter rules, better equipment. Something has to be done to minimize the chance of serious injury or fatality. As Fred Sanford said, It’s the Big One- it’s coming. Why we don’t do something to minimize the probability of it coming. I hope that Ben Fanelli makes a speedy and full recovery. I hope that Michael Liambas has guilt free nights ahead of him. I hope that those in charge of the game so many of us love take their heads out of their proverbial butts and get proactive.
TSM
@yyzsportsmedia.
Cox is here
Traikos is here
Spector is herehttp://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/11/02/spector_wilson/
Bill Houston is herehttp://www.truthandrumours.net/2009/11/02/old-news-with-beeston/
Alexei Ponikarovsky – Jason Allison – Lee Stempniak
John Mitchell – Nazem Kadri – Christian Hanson
Jay Rosehill – Rickard Wallin – Colton Orr
Defence:
Tomas Kaberle – Mike Komisarek
Francois Beauchemin – Luke Schenn
Carl Gunnarson – Garnet Exelby
Goaltender:
Vesa Toskala
James Reimer
Flyers Lineup:
Forwards: James van Riemsdyk, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere, David Laliberte, Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Ian Laperriere, Riley Cote, Blair Betts, Mark Bell.
Defencemen: Matt Carle, Chris Pronger, Danny Syvret, Braydon Coburn, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Randy Jones.
Is it just me or did any of you find tonight’s 4-0 Leafs win less interesting than the 3-2 loss last night?
Not to take anything away from the Leafs win but; the Flyers didn’t look very good…only a few players looked interested.
Two words to describe tonight’s performance: Speed and stamina. As a group; the Leafs had more speed on the ice tonight and seemed to be able to maintain their legs straight through to the last minute of the 3rd. The forwards did a great job getting back to help the defencemen. While Reimer and Macdonald came up with a few big saves, it didn’t look like a tough night for the goalies – the Flyers were only able to muster 18 shots on goal.
Leafs Scoring:
Stempniak from Kaberle and Hagman
Kadri from Kaberle and Hagman
Grabovski from Kulemin
Hanson (unassisted)
Comments
Grabovski: Does anyone take a hit like Grabovski? After the first two big ones in the 1st; Grabs jumped back onto his skates without issue…others would have crawled off the ice. The 3rd one (an illegal hit) was a big on…a bone rattler. It took a few minutes but Grabovski got up. If the muscle on this team doesn’t set things straight early in games this season; I fear for Grabovski’s life (and ability to play 82).
Rosehill: He was not on my radar at all. Two straight “spirited” games. He isn’t going to make the team but he can throw them as well (or better) than Deveaux and isn’t a defensive liability.
Young Guns Score: Two games into the pre-season and all 4 “young guns” (Stralberg, Kadri, Bozak and Hanson) have scored…BTW; the “young guns” moniker is already bothering me. All four players put in a solid effort once again. Ponikarovsky needs to wake up and realize there are some hungry kids after his ice time.
Kadri’s goal tonight was the highlight. It was off a great give-and-go with Hagman…Nice for him in front of the London crowd. Hanson’s goal was sheer persistence. He went to the net and stuck with the play to bang in his first after a couple of whacks at it. Watch Kadri’s goal…
Wallin: Fourth line honours, fourth line ice time and honestly; I almost forgot he was in the line-up. I hope Wilson gives him some more ice time this weekend.
I Hope You Enjoyed Your 60 Min of Fame: 4 in 4 and 9 in 11 forces Wilson to use a lot of players. Tonight; he used 3 defencemen that have no chance of making the team. Sometimes it’s also about rewarding players for their hard work in practice…who knows. Tonight; Blacker, Gunnersson and Rogers got their chance to play…Early in the game, you could really tell why these guys aren’t NHL calibre (at least right now). They didn’t get beat or make glaring mistakes…they simply played too simple of a game…the puck was like a hot potato – they weren’t going to generate any offence. As the game went on they were a bit sloppy.
Kaberle: I know his contract and offensive style made him a tradable asset and many TSM readers hoped that he’d be moved for a top 6 forward. But man, very few control the puck and move it out of the defensive end like Kabs. Maybe trading him would have been a good move, I’m not necessarily saying it wouldn’t have been. But Leafs fans should really appreciate this guy more. He picked up two assists tonight.
Kulemin: Saw very little from him tonight….Will be in tough to make the team this season (need to check his contract – 2 way?)
Schenn: He moved the puck well and showed composure when pressured…He also continued to show that he’s not afraid of the leagues tough guys. He held his own against Flyer enforcer Dan Carcillo. I did see some of what we saw at the end of last season tonight. ..he’s going to need to win more battles for loose pucks.
Really sad news at this hour folks. Peter Zezel is going to be taken off life support in the next little while. This is the worst possible news for friends and loved ones. Zezel was a Maple Leaf from 1991 to 1994, scoring 50 goals and 78 assists in 207 games.
We wish all that love and care for him our support this afternoon.
This is priceless. No really, this is the quote of the decade!!!!:
“That’s a good question, my future in the NHL, I don’t even know myself,” Sundin said. “Last summer, obviously, I didn’t know whether I was going to play or not and I definitely am going to take my time to make a good decision this summer. Right now, I wouldn’t know what my future is going to be, whether I will play or not.”
The only thing funnier than this would be something like this ” A Sherpa in Sweden tells me that Mats Sundin is going to play next season and return to his excellent level of play of yesteryear. He is going to go to one of the following teams: New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators ,Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes , Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks”
23-year-old forward Ladislav Scurko has been arrested on charges of murder. Apparently he has also admitted to the crime too. Allegedly Scurko fatally stabbed referee Marek Liptaj 14 times (14 TIMES) with a knife way back in January of 2008, then burried the body in the woods where it wasn’t found for 12 months! The normal prison term for a crime like this is 15-20 years and of course an instigater, 10 minute penalty and 2 for stabbing (14-times)
Scurko was selected in the 6th round of the 2004 entry draft by your Philadelphia Flyers! He won his leagues scoring title this year.
Brutal. This one sounds like it could be one worth following.
The championship game in the NCAA tourney is tonight. How long thereafter will Matt Gilroy sign his first NHL contract? Everyone and their mother has an opinion and thought as to where he is going to land. I have it on good authority that the teams he is talking to is down to 3. I am also told that one of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs. When I say he is talking, I mean his agent, as Gilroy can’t technically talk to anyone if he wants to play in tonight’s game. I have yet to hear with any degree of certainty who the other 2 teams are, but Hanky is suggesting that he is going to either the Flyers or Blackhawks. While these are among the teams I have heard from a few folks, none of the people are very reliable. Should be interesting to see if Burke can swing this one. He followed him when he was with the Ducks and now the buds.
