Bring on the marching band! Doug Weight's on the move and the Leafs win.
And here's something different. Not exactly a live blog, but some live notes off the latter 'cause I'm just so excited. Well, not really, but it sure beats another set of They-Suck headlines. This doesn't happen every day, y'know. As my old friend River once said after putting another $100 on whoever was playing the Arizona Cardinals, "a streak can go on forever, but it ends only once." He ended up a rich man, that River. For a while, anyway.
First period
… Good: With Leafs shorthanded, nice rush by Poni and back pass to Antropov, it stays out but Luongo doesn’t know how
TORONTO 1-0 Some good work, Kilger banging in a rebound off a Harrison shot from the point, Kilger holding off Bouwmeister for the goal.
Bad: About the Cialis ad… The couple come in late for the opera, and it’s gangway all the way. Well to do, dressed like Ward and June Cleaver heading out for the Platinum Club, heavy on the lip gloss and the arched eyebrows, a big date and this ain't exactly Lavalife. But really. If you're gonna take this stuff, do you really want to go to the opera? Talk about killing the mood.
Ugly: Right after comes this from Joe B:
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| AP PHOTO |
| Steady... |
“Belfour made a heck of a knob save" and after some mumbled elbow-in-the-ribs double entendre from Harry, Joe chuckles: "it was just a physical part”. btw, speaking of inane, bloggin' pal
Jlo has a bone to pick with the Satellite Hot Stove, which is immensely heartening given all the attention to Cherry and MacLean and so little to this sad, yapping puppy of an intermission feature.
Bad: I’ve been instantly tired of the self-referential Molson ad, with its internally ironic dynamic and its whiney, male indie-folkie singer. Bring back Juliette, I say, irony is so 1980s.
Bad, But Maybe It’s Just Me: The graphic that shows Nieuwendyk ahead of Rocket Richard in goals scored. Richard played in an era of shorter seasons, so goals per game is a more relevant, telling stat (Check out Richard
here, and Nieuwy
here). Harrumph.
Second period
Good and bad: Leafs kill off a 2-man advantage for 1+ minute, then the rest, then Antropov takes a dumb penalty for interference, adding another two minutes on the PK and they get thru it all.
Bad: Khavanov hasn't come back. Another D-man down, perhaps.
Good: In the last few games, during this bad spell, Wellwood has been getting a little more aggressive. Looking forward to seeing him in a couple of years time. He will be an all-star, and in a different, earlier Leafs era, end up in another uniform. On this play, he is stopped by Luongo after some shifty stuff inside Fla. end and behind net.
Just asking: Why does Joe B invariably refer to the sideline guy doing the donkey work at ice-level as “our intrepid reporter”? He’s paid by the team’s house TV propaganda arm, and usually has about one, maybe two things to do in an entire game. He's about as intrepid as Ed McMahon.
Good: Belfour’s been quite sharp, covering up on rebounds and not leaving any holes open. I hesitate to make this comment, though, for obvious reasons.
Bad: goaltender interference call on Kolnik is just brutal, leads to 4-on-4 stretch and eventually a Leafs PP featuring the utterly useless Jeff O’Neill.
TORONTO 2-0 Well what did I tell ya! Wellwood grabs a carom that comes out in front of the net, gets a shot stopped in front then sweeps in the rebound.
Bad: Right after, a real cheesy dive by Florida’s Kwiatkowski leads to Stajan tripping penalty. Right after that, another Leafs penalty and it’s a 5-on-3.
FLORIDA 1-2 Jokinen really wants to shoot from the point but Kilger is covering him off, finally wrists one and it seems to trickle through Belfour on the same line as the single-bullet theory. Stumpel gets credit but it looked like it was already in. No matter. Only good thing is Stajan had just come back so the two-man and the one-man disadvantage are over.
Third period
Bad: Khavanov out with injury – Leafs are running out of defencemen .
Bad: Leafs on 2-man advantage early, O’Neill stopped point blank on rebound.
TORONTO 3-1 Tucker (who else?) buries it from right side of net (where else?) at a tight angle, wrists it after an Allison pass across that might have been a shot (PP)
Bad, then good: Uh-oh, Tucker takes a high stick in the head, maybe his chin, which is perhaps the only spot on his body that doesn’t have a welt or a scar this season. He’s okay, it looks like; Panthers take a 4-minute minor, he’s cut.
Gratton penalty near end of this PP leads to 5-on-3 for Leafs
TORONTO 4-1 O’Neill (holy cow! I'll leave him alone now) pass across goes in off Bouwmeister’s stick or skate (PP)
FLORIDA 2-4
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| AP PHOTO |
| The good: Tucker goal, Allison feed. Even O'Neill shows up later. |
Nieuwendyk eludes Klee and Wilm’s limp one-handed stick-check as he circles off boards, rips in a wrister that moves him further up the cheezy scoring ladder with 6+ minutes to go. Panthers don’t have much flair, but they can cycle the puck and Nieuwy can still shoot it.
Bad: Luongo stops Allison on a play where Antropov probably should have shot the puck
Bad, but for a second I confess I (shame on me) thought it might be good: Belfour levelled into boards behind goal by Nieuwendyk, he’s on queer street for a moment but gets back into net. I must confess, the thought of him missing a few games crossed my mind. So sue me.
Good: Fla. penalty on the play, which means they’ll be shorthanded with 2:11 left, a really dumb penalty to take and who do the Panthers think they are, Jeff O’Neill?
Finally: Leafs 4, Florida 2 – The streak is over, everything is fine. A good effort, especially from Belfour in goal and the defence, down to three AHLers and Kaberle and Klee for two periods. Three power-play goals, including one from O'Neill -- perhaps he should just not try to shoot from now on. McCabe back tomorrow night, it can only help.
(C.Y.)
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