The morning after

Well, wasn't that an evening.
Twice the Leafs have a lead and twice they gave it up in the final few minutes against a Senators team that, in Paul Hunter's wonderful phrasing, "was playing so badly it appeared to be in playoff form."
Then we have one of those abominable new-NHL shootouts, and Ottawa escapes with the extra point in the standing.
But it would be churlish of me this morning to dwell on it too much. Hockey's back all over. Let's save the grousing for a while. At least hold off until this afternoon.
Lots to digest out of this one, starting with Hunter's gamer and the big news we'll be watching and sending along to you as quick as we get it in this space -- Mats Sundin's eye injury.
That was a scary moment, early in the game, when a puck that appeared to go off Darcy Tucker's stick struck Sundin in the face and neded his night. After all that preseason talk about the brittleness of the likes of Lindros, Allison and Belfour, it's the rock Sundin who looks to be the first man down. Let's just hope it's a cut, like the initial reports suggest, and the eye itself is not injured.
Ken Campbell has a report on that situation here, with the obligatory brainless hockey-player "I"ll never wear a visor" quote.
Damien Cox takes the big picture on the night.

RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR

No need for the instant replay here -- Ed Belfour makes the save on Ottawa's Brian Smolinski during the first period.

Over at the Sun, Ken Fidlin notes that the NHL's back and "gloomy times are over." Don't know about that, Ken. I figure the gloom has just begun. And oh, to have the kind of week Carlo Colaiacovo had.
Here's the view from Ottawa, and the news that the Senators plan to make a call to NHL headquarters about that first-period shot from Brian Smolinski that Ed Belfour appeared to snatch out of the net. Coach Murray's take:

"I just can't believe in this day and age that didn't count as a goal."

Chris Zelkovich has a Hockey Night in Canada update, including the news that Ron Tugnutt has joined the team at the CBC's cash cow.

Oh, and in case you were wondering about whether the ticket prices were greener on the other side of the fence: the biggest decrease in prices on something called the Fancast Index is in Hockeytown, Detroit -- 24 per cent. And no, the Leafs aren't in the top 10.

We'll be back a little later this morning with some links from around the league, after a late night last night Spencer has the morning off and it's me, the JABS guy, manning the helm. If you missed our live text commentary, it's here for you check out poke fun at. Now it's your turn. Let's get the discussion started, and we'll be coming back to your comments through the day.
What would an extended loss of Sundin to injury mean to the Leafs? Who among Lindros and Allison struck you as the best equipped to step into the breach, based on last night? What impressed you? What irritated you? And this shootout stuff -- is it bogus, or what?
Let the gloom begin, I say.

Elsewhere, here's some good reads to help you through the morning:

They raised a banner in Tampa Bay last night. Er, it's St. Petersburg, actually.

As Sidney Crosby looks forward, his mom looks back.

The Great One is not the Great Coach  just yet.

ANd this kid Alexander Ovechkin? it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Comments

[leaffan]

I'm going to hate losing games in a shootout. Shouldn't we be giving Allison a little more time to get his timing back before they ask him to perform in shootouts?
Lindros was great. It's easy to see why he gets injured. Not only is he everyone's favourite target, he throws his body around with reckless abandon. Eddie looked solid. Kaberle looked much more confident then he did at the end of the last season the Leafs played. Steen played like his dad on the defensive side. They should have won but lost their concentration at the wrong time. I liked the attempts at two line passes. I liked the delayed off-sides. If the NHL stays focused on stick infractions I do believe there will be far fewer injuries this season. The Leaf's powerplay looked in control of the puck but very reluctant to shoot. Hopefully that will be cured with familiarity. All in all it was a promising start. Last night it looked like Ottawa had peaked in the preseason. I sense a pattern here. Best team in the league when it doesn't count. Still, despite being checked into neutral they won the game. Ottawa has to pleased with that. Let them. We can still beat this team when the money is on the table.

[The Oodler]

After watching my first Leaf game in what seems like a millenia, I decided I will like the new NHL... A few observations:

1) Steen played generally very well, but did have one brutal give-away in the defensive slot with a spin-o-rama (what was he thinking?!?)

2) Eddie was excellent, Hasek was excellent - although Eagle was beat in the same spot twice in the S.O. and Dom wasn't challenged in the SO.

3) As much as I have issues with Lindros' (previous?) personality, his hockey play last night was excellent - best on the Leafs

4) Pierre McGuire needs to stop his redundant commentary - "3 odd-man rushes in a row - this is awesome!" He sounds like one of the grade 8 kids I teach... And his monster segment in the 1st intermission was WAY too over the top!

5) Would Leaf Nation be so upset about the shoot-out if we won it? Nobody in the Star mentioned that the Leafs still got a point - almost the same as a boring tie! (Personally, I'd rather see them play till someone wins - playoffs all the time!)

6) Shoot the puck on the powerplay boys - you can't score if you don't shoot, and the lanes were open to crash the net.

That's all for today's rant...

Keep up the excellent work on the blog!

[Jlo]

What I noticed most was Kaberle leading the rush almost from end to end several times. If that is what these new rules are going to bring, then, to quote Pierre McGuire: "AWESOME." Yeah, we were making fun of him during the broadcast as well. Lindros and Allison, also awesome. Shootouts, well, yeah, sucks to lose it like that, but it sucks worse to let Alfredsson score in the final minute, right after Lindros buried one. Tighten up on D! Oh, and for some odd reason, I think I'm starting to like Aki Berg.

[LFPP]

Leafs' Opener:

Well, the 'new' game looked like the 'old' game to me....at least the first 60 minutes did.

(Shootouts?....that's a whole other subject that people smarter than me can debate!)

Sadly, here's my prime memory of the game:
When Jason Allison's stick accidentally struck the linesman in the face during a face-off, causing the linesman to fall to the ice bleeding and stopping the play, Allison's apparent lack of compassion was astounding! He appeared to be concerned only that the ensuing faceoff should be inside the Sen's zone.

[dave]

My thoughts on last night's game?
1. Eric had 5 tremendous minutes! If he were to play like that for even 30 minutes a game, the Leafs might well have a chance at making the playoffs this year.
2. Very impressed with Allison's patience with the puck. Obviously a man who brings brains to the game instead of just dishing the puck off aimlessly.
3. STILL very confused on why Andropoof and Ponikscary are playing professional hockey - especially when the Leafs have people like Wellwood, Wilme, Perrott, etc. in their system.
4. Eddie the Eagle once again proved that when a game is on the line he tucks his head under his wing and pretends he's not there!
5. Stajan and Steen are proving to be the most exciting things in Maple Leaf blue and white since ... hmmm.... well they're trying at least.

[Ken]

1.) Lindros had a slow start to the game. I remember seeing him on several occasions with one hand on his stick (Quinn doesn't yell?) and coasting around. Things sure changed in the third period with his dynamic play. He's starting to show some emotion like he did with the Legion of Doom line! I think he can even play better.

2.) The way the game ended was a downer. Some people say it's climatic and brings it down to the basics- one shooter, one goalie. I feel differently. Hockey is a team game and there is nothing that can compare to the emotion of working hard on the ice with the talents of your teammates. They stress 60 + 5 minutes of team hockey then it comes down to single shooters? Come on. It's just not the same. This may not be the best analogy, but it's sort of like having a free throw end a basketball game. The excitement is there but can it be comparable to a sudden death OT game? Thank god shootouts are not in the playoffs.

3.) Khavanov seems like he is a really responsible player. He has the hockey smarts and hopefully we won't ditch him like how we gave up Jason Smith.

4.) The Sen's goon, what's his face, is horrible. Get him out of hockey, please.

5.) Tucker was a target but didn't back down. True hockey player.

6.) Domi seemed out of it all night.

[bferg]

Quickly:
1) I can't believe the game production staff at the ACC had 16 months off, and still produced the same garbage they did the last time I was at the ACC. The video board is so misused, it's not even funny,
2) I can't believe Aki Berg had 16 months off, and still produced the same garbage he did the last time I was at the ACC,
3) Shootouts suck, but they are the new reality, so stop whining and get used to them,
4) The new additions (Eric, Allison, O'Neill) looked great. The PP will look even better once everyone gets used to each other,
5) Have to hope Sundin is ok....the Leafs need him this year of all years.

[FlamFlim]

Loved last night's hockey game. I agree with the Star's Paul Hunter, Ottawa did not look good last night. It's early though. Too many delusional hockey fans in Hogtown seem to think Ottawa won't be a force this year. The Leafs play them eight times this season. Toronto will be lucky to beat them more than twice this year.

Otherwise, I loved the flow of the game. It's nice to see the players playing hockey and not football.

The Big E looked great, as did Jason Allison and Jeff O'Neill. Eddie Belfour was fantastic between the pipes and you just know that this team will live and die by his efforts this season.

Hope Mats Sundin is okay. But why Mats doesn't wear a visor is beyond me. Why Leafs management didn't write into his multi-million dollar contract that he has to wear one for all games also confounds me. I mean, if you were paying Sundin, wouldn't you want to protect that asset? Did the Bryan Berard incident not teach the Leafs anything?

[john bokhout]

I hope Sundin is alright, but when he gets back hopefully he is pissed right off, with allison (sometimes throws his wieght around) Lindros (who was pissed at Chara which was a good thing cuz look how he played in the third period) and sundin (if he starts to play like a power foward with way more skill) leafs will be a force. Domi was pissed cuz he thought the (errant??) puck was not so errant, o'neil was good rookie d ws really good eagle was good hell everyone was good just

[Palmer]

I watched the Leaf game on TSN HD -- wow, it looked amazing. The detail is incredible! This is how hockey should be watched -- widescreen baby!

Too bad Sportsnet's not doing any HD Leaf games this year. I think CBC will do their Toronto Saturday night games in HD tho'.

[Carla]

>5) Would Leaf Nation be so upset about the shoot-out if we won it? - The Oodler

As a matter of fact, my opinion about having a shootout determine the "winner" of a game tied at the end of regulation + OT wouldn't change if the Leafs had come out on top last night.

There is more to hockey than just one guy shooting the puck at the net unmolested and the goaltender only having to contend with that one guy's shot. Yet that's the sole criteria that was used to determine the winner of last night's game. It's a TEAM sport. A shootout is a bogus way to determine a winner. I honestly don't see what's "wrong" with a tie.

I don't really understand why so many people seem to be tub-thumping for the shootout, calling it "exciting". I don't find it exciting in the least. The rest of that game was pretty exciting though. It was much better than I was afraid it was going to be (based on the preseason games, I mean)...

Fingers are crossed in hopes that Mats will be back soon. After events of the past year, it sure was anticlimactic to see him to go down within the first half of the first period... My heart sunk for him because I can imagine how much he'd been looking forward to this. Get well soon, Mats!

[Lucas Tam]

Two words: Face Shield.

Sundin is lucky he's only out 4 to 6 weeks. Why don't players wear a face shield?

[The Oodler]

I'm not advocating the shootout by any means, I think it's silly to end a team game with a one-on-one competition. I was just commenting on the overwhelming negativity of the Toronto press and wondering if the reaction would be as strong if the result had gone the other way...

Lucas: good point - a faceshield or a visor would have prevented the injury - but one would not want to infringe upon the rights of the individual player making a choice about their own safety. I wonder if you could cease to pay the player if they are injured while not following acceptable safe practices - like in any other business?