z_The Hockey Page - Toronto Star

Hey, the Leafs are back

Leafs ended their west coast trip with a loss last night in Vancouver -- at least they outshot the Canucks in a game in which both sides looked less than inspiring.

Leafs obviously missed McCabe, the defence and the power play jittery and out of sorts most of the way -- over at the Battle of Ontario, Meatriarchy figures this night made a case for McCabe as a Hart Trophy candidate -- the PP did click finally in the third, after barely managing a shot in half a dozen previous chances.

Jeff Goode/Toronto Star

Carlo looking like ol' No. 24, shown here with Carl Brewer.

Some questions and random notes about this bunch, with the schedule dark until Saturday when Gretzky's Coyotes come to the ACC, while the home PC goes to the great Pentium in the sky and this page is tickin' overs slowly, slowly:

Yes, Kronwall had a very poor game, including one howler of a giveaway that led to a Vancouver goal, and no one filled the rather large skates of Mr. McCabe, but let's not throw all these defensive babies out with the bath water. Colaiacovo's open-ice hip check on Bertuzzi was an old-school thumper, a thing of beauty like something out of a Brian Glennie time capsule. Surely Carlo is here to stay. Surely he HAS to stay. As for Kronwall, he's beginning to show his inexperience after some fine work earlier in the season, and I guess when McCabe comes back he is the odd man out.

Ten points and a blue and white air kiss to anyone who can tell me what Tie Domi has done lately. I know the Leafs have injury issues. And I'm no huge Marius Czerkawski fan, but surely he deserves time on the struggling No. 1 line ahead of Domi, who blew another great chance in front and missed some shifts last night after going heavily into the boards but returned to inactive duty.

And this means not much, 'cause these two are nowhere near the worst team around. But can the duo of Joe Bowen and Harry Neale date themselves any worse than by name-checking Fred Biletnikoff? The constant Sinatra references I can handle, 'cause pretty much everyone knows the late, original gangsta popster and he's gained universal icon status. But this other dude retired 25 years ago.

Couple of other lunchtime links:

Jes Golbez has the keenly anticipated Armenian Update.

Hockey Pundits has some comment off a link to an ESPN article on the Kovalchuk-Crosby feud, and how it's good for the NHL.

(C.Y.)

Afternoon links, politically speaking

Two Three things before heading out until tomorrow:

Last night's candidates' debate was fodder for regular poster JLo on his spankin' new blog. Using hockey as his reference point for all the leaders, here's his take on Paul Martin:

Mats Sundin, post-eye injury, post-lockout. He is still the natural leader, or at least, he wants to be. But does he still have it?

Still on the political, another regular poster who asked to remain nameless sends along a link to this one, with an apology to the late Bob Marley: Election Song (Yeah, I know it's not sports, but there is some hockey stuff on there as well.)

Oh, and almost forgot ... Over at JABS, I've posted a link worth looking at on ticket options in the sports marketplace. Yeah, that means you can take out an option on a Leafs ticket in the *snicker* Stanley Cup finals.

Still waiting for Raphael to check in...

(C.Y.)

Who is Raphael?

One of the most intriguing stories of the year came out of a practice, of all things, yesterday, at the Canadiens' practice rink in Verdun.

You've probably read about it, by now, a man who is identified only as Raphael hopping over the boards in full equipment and managing to squeeze off two shots on Canadians goalie Jose Theodore before he was turned over to the police, who let him go. The CP version is here, and the Montreal Gazette story (reg. required) had a little more in the way of players' reaction:

"I thought of getting out of the net when he came back and not play to his game. But he had the balls to get on the ice, so I figured I'd let him have a free shot," Theodore said.
His teammates viewed the incident as comical, but all agreed it should never be allowed to transpire again. Defenceman Craig Rivet, closest to Julien as the fan left the ice, said he would have used his stick to defend himself if necessary. Captain Saku Koivu said the fan didn't look strong enough on his skates to inflict any damage.
"It was funny, but also could have been dangerous," Koivu said. "I thought the guy was pulling a joke. Maybe he was a comedian. It's good that nothing happened.
"It's the first time I've seen anything like that, and I've been here 10 years. It should never happen. Now, it doesn't matter. But had he gone after somebody, there could have been endless possibilities.
"We were lucky today."

I guess all those nightmare scenarios would flash through the players' minds. As for me, I'm applauding at least the guy's sincerity -- it's not like he was part of some online casino publicity stunt.

My question is -- who is this Raphael? Anyone know this guy? Raphael, please call home, man -- or email us. Your public wants to talk.

(NOTE: The home PC shut down yesterday, so the blog is going to be acting a little weird the next few days as I use the library Star home office computers. But stay tuned, I'll be posting whenever I can. And because I'm a little pinched right now (Spencer is going on holidays, so I'm helping him out with the editing), I won't be posting a lot of links -- but by all means, send anything over that catches your eye and I can post it.) 

(C.Y.)

Bloggers snub Sid

With "The Neelies" up over at Hockey Dirt -- the midseason bloggers' picks for the NHL's top awards -- one question: Can somebody give Sidney Crosby some love?

Oh, there are other categories among the Neelies, like Top Jerk, the ballot reading "Sean Avery" and "Other". But it's that rookie race that made me blink and look twice (To view the whole list, go here).

Among the freshmen, Crosby got three per cent compared to Ovechkin's 71 per cent -- which, according to my math, means the Caps phenom outpolled Crosby 22-1. That's not only low, it's freakin' ridiculous. I mean, these two are virtually even in points. Ovechkin has a few more goals (25, to Crosby's 21) and has a greater proportion of his team's offence, while Crosby has toiled in Pittsburgh, where yes, he has a better supporting cast but has also had a host of distractions -- a coaching change, Mario Lemieux's health problems, the Penguins' bleak future in Pittsburgh and a spotlight that never turns off. Martin, Mr. Hockey Dirt his own self, cast the only vote for young Sid -- well done, MT! -- and notes the discrepancy in his postscript.

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

It's not like Leaf fans don't do it.

Okay, Ovechkin got my vote, but it was a close call, really. But Dion Phaneuf and Henrick Lundquist? They're having fine rookie seasons, but they also got four votes apiece and Crosby can manage just one?

Why the landslide? It's surely a holdover from the early backlash in the blogosphere against the immense hype and media attention around him. Then there are the accusations of diving (which can be levelled at a number players in this the year of the new, no-touch NHL -- and at those dratted Russkie juniors, says Pierre McGuire, although when Steve Downie flops he's just a brilliant pest -- and at least in the case of the Flyers have as much to do with gamesmanship from a division rival as anything else. I mean, c'mon, these guys have Peter Forsberg).

The narrow gap between the two clear leaders in the rookie race is going to close, I reckon -- even The Cherry was climbing down from his usual piling on Saturday night (When he wasn't climbing up on the bench in Stephenville to greet his adoring public with a heartfelt "oh, shit" into the open microphone, that is).

No such shockers elsewhere -- Redden for the Norris is a little bit contentious, but Hasek and Jagr got pretty solid nods for the Vezina and Hart, and I was pleased to see my "Retire this Award" show up, Ms Byng deserving to have her jewels returned as we head into this hands-off hockey age -- best among the rest was the Jerk of the Year Neelie, Avery the runaway choice (*yawn* the idea of giving this mediocrity any kind of award, even one acknowledging his ability to commandeer the 24-hour sports news cycle, is kinda numbing. Why not have something for Elisha Cuthbert? Top Whiner? Dumb and Dumber? We could go on and on) over a host of pretenders which included a stalemate between Gary Bettman (six per cent) and Ted Saskin and the NHLPA (three per cent apiece), and one vote for Bob Cole and Harry Neale, for pete's sake.

Anyway, great job putting it together, Martin, and thanks for including us.

One more from the blogs this lovely Monday morning: a Theo Fleury moment, going over the boards and after a fan in Belfast (Nice catch, Vancouver Canucks Op-Ed).

(C.Y.)   

On top of the world

I'll go all-junior this morning and a bit long, after Canada defends its world under-19 title, their 5-0 win over Russia a matter of execution over aesthetics -- although they weren't exactly deficient in the latter category as the night went on, generating good scoring chances and ending up virtually even in shots.

CP PHOTO

Justin Pogge tastes victory, and victory tastes good.

But it all started with fundamental hockey: Finish your check (and finish it hard), frustrate future star Evgeni Malkin, get a perfect night from goalie Justin Pogge, and never take a shift off. Everything worked from there, and not even the blemish of a disallowed Russian goal at a critical time in the game turned out to be a factor in the result.

Wish I could say the same for the Vancouver crowd, who continued with their classless ribbing of the Americans in the bronze-medal game.  Or the refereeing, that missed goal in the second period the most glaring screwup on an overall night of cheesy calls and no-calls, interference  being pretty much ignored in favour of touchy-feely stick infractions and dives.

Bob McKenzie at TSN is calling this a triumph for Brent Sutter, and it's hard to argue. Sutter's game plan and its implementation were just about perfect:

How did he want them to play? Go way back to the 1987 Canada Cup when he played against the Soviet Union.
With Canada down 3-0 to the Soviets, it was guys like Sutter, Rick Tocchet and Doug Gilmour put out on the ice by head coach Mike Keenan to make things happen. That was the spark plug - the deciding factor - needed to win the Canada Cup.

Even when the Russians looked to be ready to run them out of the rink in the first period, the Canadians got big stops from Pogge and never stopped taking the body, and were rewarded late with two critical goals when Russia wilted. The visitors looked to deflate again midway through the second, taking a couple of dumb penalties that led to a pair of power-play goals a good seven or eight minutes after that goal that no one saw until too late.

The IIHF shouldn't be crowing too much about a tournament that, as Damien Cox notes, ended up a $10 million winner at the box office. Cox figures this tournament is now the equal of the Grey Cup in Canada's consciousness, and those revenues, the television numbers and the timing around the holidays have made it a huge hit here:

Having become rich in history and national lore, this tournament has become, for a country addicted to strappin' on the blades, hockey's Grey Cup.
There's a little bit of myth-making involved, sure. Some of these boys already have pro contracts, but they are presented as unspoiled, fresh-faced teenage hockey players who, when told by farmer/coach Brent Sutter to get a haircut if they wanted to play on his team, did so.
Seven of 10 provinces were represented on this year's team, and like every other year, kids from a variety of social and ethnic backgrounds became national celebrities over the past two weeks.

Now if only the IIHF could do something about adding another referee, improving the officiating standards, and fixing replay.

Some other reaction:

Hey Leafs fans, how about a good old fashioned goaltending controversy? Pogge in one corner, and Tuukka Rask, named No. 1 goaltender for the tournament -- one's signed with the Leafs, and the other is their drafted property.

With two successive gold medals and a perfect 12-0 record at the helm, is Sutter ready for the NHL? Not yet, he says. Ken Campbell reports.

And the Globe's Eric Duhatschek dissects pesty Steve Downie's shadow job on Evgeni Malkin.

I've been looking around for some Russian reaction, with no luck. If anyone has any links, send 'em along. Oh, one last thing: That bouncing beer truck commercial, the video equivalent to fingernails on a blackboard. Did we really have to see it FIVE TIMES?

(C.Y.)

The poll before the storm

Okay, tonight we have Canada vs. Russia, and hands up everyone who's pumped.

C'mon, Jes. I'm talkin' to you!

CP PHOTO

Canadian defence will have to be on their toes tonight against Evgeni Malkin.

I could overload you with preview stuff here. But according to my first rule of sports, the bigger the game, the less need to pay attention to all the hoo-ha (I'm betting that McGuire breaks the sound barrier on the pregame show tonight, so I'll be keeping my trigger finger on the mute). Besides, all you need to do is go to your favourite website (Canadian, that is. I kinda like the Star) or a number of hockey blogs (Hockey Nation has a look here; our fave Jes Golbez and James Mirtle have covered off the tournament nicely).

One last thing: a set of picks to get you going in the morning, as Hockey Dirt is putting together a midseason awards bloggers' poll.

(From the same blog: a spunky, blood-spittin' new music video out of Quebec that's clocks in at far less than Coach's Corner and is a whole lot more fun than those two bores -- check it out here (WMP req'd), and nice catch, Martin).

Here's the choices from this corner -- Spencer didn't bother with any comments, the stinker -- and we'll be linking to the overall poll results when they're put up in a day or two. Fire away:

Calder -- CY: Ovechkin. Spencer: Ovechkin (CY comment: Wouldn't it be fun, given this year's crop of rooks, to put together an all-star team of rookies and put them against the sophomores a la the NBA All-Star weekend approach?).
Norris -- CY: Redden. Spencer: Redden. (I wavered on this, from Visnovsky to Chara and finally to Redden, a fine choice, even if Spencer went the same way).

Hart -- CY: Eric Staal. Spencer: Joe Thornton (If "most valuable" means impact, how about Ovechkin's 46 points on a team that has scored only 107 times? Always the toughest call -- Staal isn't even on the Hockey Dirt ballot -- I let my eyes decide, and Staal to me has looked like the most dangerous player on the few occasions I've seen him play.)

Vezina -- CY: Hasek. Spencer: Hasek (Boring, aren't we?)

Lady Byng -- CY: Retire this trophy. Spencer: All the referees. (Even when we're unpredictable, we're predictable).

Selke -- CY: Brind'amour. Spencer: Brind'amour (Honest, there really were other candidates)

Coach of the Year: We both picked Lindy Ruff. (*sigh*)

Comeback: CY: Aren't they all comeback players, except maybe Sergei Fedorov and our old pal Stumpy Thomas? Twist my arm and I'll pick Cujo. Spencer: No pick.

Tough guy: Both pick McGrattan. (You know which game we watched.)

Flop of the year: CY: Patrick Lalime. Spencer: Fedorov. (I wanted to pick someone else, but really, how much more of a flop can you be than getting cut two months into the season?)
(C.Y.)

---

Taking a stab at feeding y'all some more links from around the league, and wouldn't you know it, we have a theme:

Dany Heatley returns to Atlanta, where he was a pretty good player. We know about his past, what happened there and why he wanted needed to leave. So the fans boo him every time he touches the puck. Do they have that "right"? or did they cross a line? Even the Thrashers call out their own fans on this one:

"I was disappointed," Ilya Kovalchuk tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I don't think they should have booed him. I don't think it was right. He didn't do anything wrong."

It's like a tradition to boo former players (hello Vince Carter, see you on Sunday), but knowing the history, the Atlanta fans crossed the line. The Journal-Constitution is running an online poll asking about it, with 38% choosing the 'no big deal' option, and 36% (including myself) picking the 'classless' side.

Speaking of classless fans, the Coyotes return to L.A. tonight - last time they visited, someone in the stands shined a bright red spotlight on goalie Brian Boucher after every goal he allowed. Boucher was professional and brushed it off:

"If I'm worried about a red light shining on me after a goal, I've got some serious issues," he said. "If the fans had pelted me with beer bottles, I would be a little upset about it. But it's not a big deal."

Hope the beer bottle thing isn't coming, but the whole issue of what the fans have a right to do gets taken a little too far, especially in 2005, (Pistons-Pacers brawl, more than one NFL fan running onto the field).

Quickly:

Looks like Hannu Toivonen has pretty much taken over from Andrew Raycroft as Boston's No. 1 puckstopper.

Steve Yzerman returns tonight.

Jeff Carter is skating with Peter Forsberg. (SW)

Once more with feeling: Canada vs. Russia

So much for the pre-tournament punditry that had the U.S. favoured for this world junior tournament, and Canada something of a darkhorse.
That's Canada into Thursday's final after a punishing 4-0 dispatch of Finland, and Russia joining them after a 5-1 defeat of the hyped Americans in the nightcap.
Oh, yes, Happy New Year. Like it or not, I'm back. And I confess, what with some time off for the holidays and the early, silly refereeing (and even last night, being birthday No. 1 for grandson Pete), to not watching these juniors as closely as previous editions. But this lunchbucket Canada vs. this flashy Russia, the rematch that's more like a renewal (Five times in the final since 1999, including Canada's gold-medal win last year) -- Snap back to reality. Just like one of those bodychecks our guys were handing out last night, the ones that seemed to rattle the rabbit ears right off the TV set.

Among the reviews this morning, Damien Cox is on the scene and figures that, five years from now, the individuals on this no-frills, all-grit Canadian team could be pretty much forgotten -- clip and save material, that. Over at the Globe, Eric Duhatschek has a nice wrap on the Russia game. And team Sun has a yarn on Leafs draft pick Tuukka Rask, the guy in the net for Finland last night who's had such a good tournament.

Oh yeah. The Leafs. Remember them? They've graciously yielded the stage for these few days, taking their aches and pains on a western road trip, although they've been away from the hottest spotlight since the weekend. This from a TSN email missive from yesterday, on Saturday's Canada-USA round-robin game:

The New Year's Eve match-up attracted a national average minute audience of 1.4 million viewers.
(snip)
The audience level for the Canada/USA game is even more notable, considering the match-up outdrew the combined total viewership for the Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader (CBC - Game #1: Leafs/New Jersey - 612,000; Game #2: Edmonton/Calgary - 742,000).

A 2-to-1 difference. Impressive. And I didn't even mention Sidney Crosby. Until now, that is.

(C.Y.)

Check out my six-pack

Six straight and a-happynewyear. Pretty good, huh? Where are the Senators when you need them?

Leafs dump Sidney Crosby's Penguins last night in a good one. Shoulda beat Sidney Crosby's Penguins long before the OT kicked in, but Jocelyn Thibeault (all I've heard this year is how he hasn't been able to stop a beachball) was pretty excellent in the Sidney Crosby's Penguins net.

"Toronto was much better than us," said Mark Recchi. "We were fortunate to get a point."

True that. Not that we shouldn't expect this. Of the six wins: 2 against Sidney Crosby's Penguins, 2 over just-as-pathetic New Jersey, one over Boston and the only real test was the shootout victory against Buffalo. Next week will be a different story with the trip out west and games in Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. Those teams can really skate.

McCabe has 15 goals now, just one of those coming off his chest by my count, and we have ourselves a white-and-blue hot hockey team. Streak lifts them out of the 7th-8th place danger zone, tied with Rangers for 5th overall in the East. The injury angle is still odd and interesting as the Leafs keep sucking it up and winning. For details on Darcy Tucker going down last night and possible returns of other limping Leafs, read Paul Hunter.

Before we do Crosby, a shout out to Chad Kilger and two goals from the man with the big helmet. Have to admit, I wondered why Quinn claimed him off waivers in 2004 (why do they need another forward who doesn't score?) but he's been very good in his "role".

Read any paper for all the details on the NHL's darling rookie. He did deliver -- how 'bout the behind the back pass for Gonchar's goal? Nice. Damien Cox was watching and wondering why Shane Endicott got more shifts than Sid the Kid.

Leafs off 'till Friday but we get Chris back in this space tomorrow. We've got a couple things planned to get us through the week, including our hockeydirt.com mid-season awards. Oh, and I thought of asking this question after Harry Neale told us last night that Tie Domi was playing his 739th game as a Leaf, tying him with Bob Baun. Is Domi a Maple Leafs legend? (SW)