Game Day: Lost on the road

To say the Leafs have a tough week ahead is to engage in understatement.

If Paris Hilton memorized all of the world capitals, that would be "tough." If NDP leaders were to abduct Don Cherry at gunpoint and brainwash him into joining the party, that would be "tough."

What the Leafs face over the next 6 nights – four games against the Top 4 teams in the East – is a herculean challenge of the first order. And, realistically, this season hangs in the balance.

Tonight, it's Washington and Alexander Ovechkin. Wednesday: Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby. Thursday, the Flyers storm into the ACC. And 48 hours after they charter out, Montreal arrives.

These four teams have a combined 150 points.

Even more troubling for Leaf fans: Five of the next seven games are on the road.

Last season, a disaster by any reasonable account, the team's road record was 12-21-8. This season they are 2-7-1, which projects into an 8-29-4 finish. (Incidentally, 29 is the franchise record for most road losses in a season and it happened three times: 1987-1988, 1983-1984, 1972-1973.)

After winning their first two road games (October 13 in Pittsburgh, October 15 against the Rangers), the Leafs have plummeted into a 0-7-1 freefall.

Are they cutting costs by staying in rowdy youth hostels and not getting enough sleep? Are enemy trainers secretly lacing Leaf water bottles with performance-debilitating drugs?

I have no idea.

Last season, the longest losing streak on the road was five games, while the longest winless stretch reached seven. So if the Leafs lose tonight, in regulation or overtime, they will match a futility record that dates back to 1996-1997. (That season, the team suffered through both 9-game losing and winless streaks.)

Somehow, the team's overall problems in 2010 – goal scoring and special teams – are magnified on the road like bacteria under an electronc microscope. Whatever they do poorly at home they do dreadfully on the road.

Sweet Moses, they have managed to score only 16 goals as visitors – worst in the NHL by a wide margin. They have three power play goals on the road, which translates into a second-worst ranking behind only Dallas. (And two of those goals, remember, occurred in the first two games.)

Meanwhile, they've surrendered 12 power play goals on the road, which is fifth worst in the league. So over the past 8 road games, the Leafs have scored 1 power play goal in 35 chances while generously allowing the opposition to score 11 times on their 26 chances.

You don't need a slide ruler and tin foil hat to know these numbers are apocalyptic. If the Leafs don't turn things around on the road, their home record will warp and become moot.

So what can be done? This is me shrugging. But after analyzing the team's road games, here are 5 humble suggestions:

1. Putting grit in the spotlight. A crazy suggestion: Why not double-shift Colby Armstrong in the first period of every road game? As we witnessed Saturday at home, this guy looks like a choirboy but he has the disposition of a Rottweiler. He sets the tone. He also does something no other Leaf seems capable of doing: Getting under the skin of opposition players and throwing them off their games.

2. Aggression and puck pursuit. True, the Leafs have played five more games at home so far. But this alone does not mathematically account for the following discrepancies: They have stolen the puck 54 times on the road compared to 130 times at home. They have blocked 136 shots on the road compared to 256 shots at home. Without hunger and sacrifice there can be no road glory in the new NHL.

3. A meaner, angrier penalty kill. The Leafs have coughed up power play goals in every road game over this abysmal 0-7-1 streak. Why? Because they give up the blue line as if it's medicine and their penalty killers are Mother Teresa. They set up a box that collapses after two crisp opposition passes. The Leafs need to disrupt passing lanes without getting caught out of position. They need to chip it out without fantasizing about shorthanded goals. They need to scowl instead of sigh. They need to rub-out attackers along the boards. They need to clear-cut the crease in front of their goaltender. They need to make life miserable for the opposition.

4. Shoot and screen on the power play. Ron Wilson's move to put Kris Versteeg on the blue line has worked at home. But it has not worked on the road because Versteeg is not getting any quality shots and, even if he does, there is never anybody in front of the net to create traffic.

5. Hit anything that moves. The Leafs have doled out 108 fewer body checks on the road than at home. This is suicide. When powerhouse teams like Washington and Pittsburgh know they can pleasure skate for 60 minutes in their own rink, the results tend to be ugly.

PHOTO: MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Comments

[Peter]

VM, you are bang on, again!
the fact that the Leafs are so phsycally not imposing is a mistery to me. i tought the idea was to build a mean team, which might not be fancy but agressive and hard to play aginst. but we see the complete opposite. they are just too nice, they let the other team dominate and seem to be unwilling to engage in physical competition.
maybe with the Colbe and soon Dion back, this will change. i certanly hope so...

[Ken Baumgartner]

How does that song go, "Woe, woe is me, I'm so Woe"?
And the other song," I'm dreaming of white Christmas, with the leafs still in playoff contention".

VM Replies: If you can send me MP3's of either song, I'll get them to play whenever someone clicks on this blog.

[fonzies uncle]

Paris Hilton? Come on your better than that.

[Moe Green]

This is not impossible. This is the season for the Leafs - no ifs, and or buts. They win, they're alive. They lose it's over. I know it's early but after the last win they sat nine points back. They did this to themselves by losing the games against very easy foes like: Edmonton, Buffalo, Florida and Ottawa, Long Island. Those were very weak opponents. The games were pathetic. Those were must win games. Because of that, if we even want to maintain a little interest in the rest of the season, they have to beat Washington AND Pittsburgh in back to back road games. Daunting. VM said it. I'd say insurmountable but I'm not ready to abandon hockey just yet. Okay, not tonight, but they can afford to lose one of the next four games in OT or shootout. That's it. Anything less and I'll be catching up on my reading during the remained of the games this season. I love this team, but once they are out of contention, I'm done.

VM Replies: Oh, God. I'm finding it hard to imagine this blog without your input.

[Booku]

Don't you mean the Leafs have given up 12 power play goals on the road? Saying they've given up 12 shorthanded goals implies that the opposition has scored while the Leafs have had the man advantage.

VM Replies: My mind is mush, Booku. I'll fix. Thanks.

[Booku]

No worries VM. Keep up the good work!

[Moe Green]

I am confused. I guess i never played organized hockey at a high enough level, but aren't the things you are suggesting, "coaching" things. Why is there no hunger and sacrifice. You point it out to the players. You demand it. They comply or they sit. Easy peasy. Agression on the powerplay. Wilson has video evidence at his disposal. You don't do it, you sit. Demand front of net presence. Is it that hard? Demand better. Seems to me that Wilson doesn't know how to get what he wants out of the team. I still say, that when a team performs as badly as the Leafs for as long as they have, it's gotta be a coaching problem. Did anyone notice Armstrong jousting viciously with Chara in front of the net last game? Deman that from Kulemin, Grabovski, Macarthur - whomever! It's all coaching, coaching, coaching!

[Moe Green]

Let's look at the math. They win tonight and Nashville beats Atlanta in regulation the Leafs are seven points back of Atlanta and the final playoff spot with two games in hand. Not only that but they have games in hand of most of the teams ahead of them in the standings as well. Not bad. Not bad at all. I could live with that. But if they lose and Atlanta wins they are 11-points back of Atlanta and 9-points back of Boston for the final playoff spot with Boston having two games in hand. How's that grab you? Is this a must-win game or what? Tonight is THE NIGHT. Go you magnificent Leaf-bastards, go like the wind!

VM Replies: You see? Who else is going to type "magnificent Leaf-bastards"? Win or lose, you need to stick around until the end of the year.

[Glenburnie]

These game 'keys' for a Leaf win make sense on paper/screen, but it's apparent that this team in personnel lacks the talent, experience, toughness and coaching to win on the road. Brian Burke has not assembled a road-worthy team, despite all of his talk about grit, truculence, etc.. Nor are Wilson and his assistants getting the most out of even the limited talent pool he has been given.

[Tom]

Do you still want me to email you witty one liners after the end of each period tonight, VM? :P

VM Replies: Yes, please.

[Moe Green]

We are all prisoners of our Leafs fan-ness. We'd all like to think that we were free to stop caring, to switch allegiances - but we all know that it's not the case. We could no more stop caring about the Leafs than we could stop caring about our families. Like any serious Leaf fan I will be here until they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs... and possibly beyond. Besides, where else would we go for our emotional and spiritual support.

[Ken Baumgartner]

Go magnificent leafs-bastards, go like the wind!
It brings a tear to my eye.

[Pyramid Power]

Numbers are horrifying tonight for sure, but hopefully the kids will be alright in D.C. Just tune that out and get physical and nasty with OV, Semin, Backstrom and the boys.

I have heard Goose might be starting tonight. Not sure. I would probably go back to Giggy if I were Wilson. Will surely need an outstanding performance in nets. Used to be a website where you could check for starting goalies, but I forget what it is now.

Rosehill, Army, Orr and very nasty play without the penalties will be needed tonight.

Contain Semin who has 18 goals already this year. OV has 23 points already. Mike Green rejuvenated this year. Washington has lost two in a row for the first time all year.

In very tough to say the least. Caps will want to get back to their winning ways in front of their home crowd. Hopefully we find a way to score a couple of early goals. Wish we had Phaneuf and Brown going for this one.

Go with what we have and hope for the best. We got a point out of here last time, and won in reg. time in Pittsburgh earlier in the year. I would say thank you to the hockey gods for three points out of this brief trip.

GO LEAFS GO!

[Pyramid Power]

Aahhhhh I see the Goose is being set loose tonight with Reimer backing up.

Hope they get Phaneuf into the room for a pre-game pep talk, and why not get Burkie in there too for some pre-game oratory.

Go you magnificent Leaf bastards! Ha ha! Love that.

[Pyramid Power]

Excellent suggestions btw Vinay!

Watched the highlights of the Bruins game over and over the other night. Did not get to see most of the game, but hearing that Army was yapping at Chara saying, "Waaah, waah, waah," is outstanding.

Would love to see the Rotty barking very loudly at OV and the gang tonight, and if he is up to it physically, double shift him for sure in the early going. Get a few bites in too Army!

Very pumped for this game. Hope the magnificent bastards are. I think they will put up a helluva fight.

I don't want to have to switch over to the Jets-Pats game at 8:30 that is for sure. Make this a game you magnificent bastards! Sounds like something out of a John Irving novel, I think it was 'Cider House Rules'

GO LEAFS GO! GAME TIME!

VM Replies: I was searching for a photo of that cry-baby face he made at Chara. An instant classic. I hope you're not teaching this morning in Shanghai. The magnificent Leaf bastards need you right now.

[Pyramid Power]

POOP! OUCH! Komisarek looked horrible on Perrault's first of the season. NOT the start we were looking for.

Goose had no chance.

[Pyramid Power]

Wasn't that a classic Vinay? I LOVED that. No teaching during the week my friend. Just try to teach the children well on the weekends. Weeks free for whatever I would like to do which is of course to follow the Leafs.

Dumb penalty taken by Army on the high stick negating the Bradley PP. See if we can tie this up quickly.

[Pyramid Power]

Giveaway. GOOOOAAAAAAAAL! MACARTHUR! BULLET AND IT IS 1-1.

GO LEAFS GO! GO LEAFS GO! GO LEAFS GO!

[Pyramid Power]

Beautiful to get a PP goal on that giveaway by Alzer. Just freakin' fantastic!

Let's go you magnificent bastards!

[Pyramid Power]

What the hell is up with the Goose and his glove? Get a handle on those Goose! Hope we can get out of this PP tied 1-1. A shortie would be nice!

[Tom]

hey PP who's side are you on :P

[Pyramid Power]

I am slowly beginning to loathe Mike Komisarek! I know he was just reacting, but react properly and coolly Mike! Dammit!

Just gave it right back to the Caps and Knuble for the lead goal on that PP.

2-1 Washington. We're making it tough on ourselves.

[Moe Green]

I know Pyramid, Komisarek is getting hard to take never mind the contract. This is the kind of game where the Leafs deserved one more goal and the Caps deserved one less. These games hurt.

[Pyramid Power]

Horrible finish to the first with losses on the faceoffs, missed shot on net by Versteeg, Beauchemin assuming an icing call would be made, Grabovski not dumping the puck in on a 1 on 3 etc...

Regroup in the room guys and play some smart hockey in the second period. Somewhat lucky to be down only a goal after that ending.

Mike Komisarek. Knock on the guy is he just can't handle the puck. I see that more and more and more and more with each passing game. Habs fan 'friends' say the only reason this was not noticed as much in Montreal before Burkie signed him is that he was paired with Markov. Am beginning to think they were right.

The only time I am completely comfortable watching the Leafs on D. is with either Schenn, or to some degree, Aulie out there.

[Pyramid Power]

@Tom Very funny. No, I'm not a Leafs fan. Rolls eyes.

Sitting here tense as hell with my Leafs sweater on, Buddhist statue in front of the computer and praying the Leafs get this one. Wife asleep and nobody to talk to about the game so here I am just kind of talking to myself on these threads.

As Moe noted this is close to being a must win game for us as Pittsburgh is just on fire, and waiting for us on Wednesday although they are playing tonight.

Can't you tell whose side I am just based on my User Name or handle? lol Wish more of my fellow Leaf fans would come on these boards during the games, and adopt names like The Bomber, Ken Baumgartner etc....

I see Nik Culoman has left us and is sulking. Come on back Nik and be positive and don't take dumps on the blogger and your fellow fans. It is that collective will thing we spoke of before. Everybody needs to be on here collectively cheering for the Leafs.

[Pyramid Power]

@Moe Hopefully this game will hurt so good by the end. Gotta score the next one, or we are in deep poop.

Yeah, you know when the Leafs signed Komisarek and Beauchemin nobody was happier about that than this Leafs fan. Well, I am sure somebody was but anyway.

They have both been major letdowns to me, and I would LOVE to hear BB's real thoughts on these two guys.

[Pyramid Power]

OUCH! KOMISAREK! AGAIN! 3-1. Not good.

Komisarek a nice -3 tonight so far........

[Pyramid Power]

Well, about a month ago at this exact point in the game we exploded for three goals in about five minutes to take a 4-3 lead. Repeat please Leafs and hockey gods. PLEASE!

[Moe Green]

Too bad, things were looking pretty good. Can they come back from 3-1? I don't know what it is. Against Boston, it really was the goalie who stood on his head. Tonight, not so much. This is it Leafs fans. We NEED this one. Big comeback or it's time to pack it in. C'mon guys, please.

[Moe Green]

If you've got a hat, invert it - it's rally time. This is the season on the line. We need everyone to beleaf. It's now or forget about Pittsburgh. Atlanta is losing. Ralllleee!

[Moe Green]

I really hate the stupid fighting nonsense. Especially at 3-1. Has there ever been any good from one of these. How do you explain them to your kids. Thankfully, I've never had any. Thanks so much for forcing Orr down our throats Brian! I'm sure that's why Wilson plays him every single night.

[Pyramid Power]

Decision to Orr easily. Nice long bout with King.

Good chippy hit on OV to let him know he can't wander around at will. Love Orr smiling at the end of the scrap.

[Moe Green]

Goodnight. I'll check the score at the end of the game. See you all next season. K maybe one last chance for a convincing victory against the Pens. Personally, I don't think this team has it in them.

[Pyramid Power]

Not much to say about that backbreaking goal by OV. We're blessed to see one of the all-time greats play the great game of hockey. I say this guy is going to go down as the greatest ever by the time his career ends if he stays healthy. Does everything but fight.

Best all-round player ever except for the unwillingness to scrap which I am sure is a direct directive from the Pillsbury Doughboy, Boudreau, and Caps GM George McPhee. Don't fight Alexander! Just score, hit and hurt other teams.

Caps my pick to win the Cup this year. Don't want them to win because I will hate them eternally for blowing it against the hated Habs last year in the playoffs, but I see this team going all the way this season depending on either Neuvirth or Varlamov between the pipes.

Getting soon to MNF time and the Pats game. Will stay here for awhile longer and see if we can make a game of this. Doubt it but there is always hope.

[Fardoche77]

Hi Vinay, French Canadian, Sainte-Flanelle fan here. Just to chip in that I do get a little laugh at every single post you make. (Actually, I check your blog every other day - a guilty pleasure).

It doesn't make me cheer for the Leafs, but I'm starting to like 'em, sorta... As underdogs. Or a limping three-legged dog. You have pity, and a somewhat condescending smile.

Keep it up! ('specially with the cultural references..)

VM Replies: Thanks for reading. And the pity. It's appreciated.

[Pyramid Power]

Don't leave us Moe. We need ya man.

Anyway, continuing on the all-time hockey greats as in all round hockey players thoughts.

Messier, Forsberg, Neely when he was healthy, Lindros and I suppose Mr. Hockey, Gordon Howe, has to be mentioned in the discussion too.

My Toronto bias gives the nod to Lindros as best all-round when factoring in fighting too. He was a beast. Another Toronto guy that never played with us, and that is beyond sad for Leafs fans to think of all the talent we produce and yet we have not been to a Cup final since '67. Depressing to say the very least when thinking of hockey.

4-1 at the end of two. Bummer.

[Moe Green]

This is what the season comes down to: one period against the Caps. I think the players know it too. They know that they either come back tonight or pack it in until next year. It's going to be an interesting period.

[Pyramid Power]

OOPS! Mistake about Lindros never playing for Toronto. He did but was nearing the bitter end at that point sadly enough.

@Fardoche Merci pour le sympathie monsieur. J'oublie la moe pour 'pity' en francais.

[Moe Green]

IMO Gretzky is in a class by himself. Period. Ovechkin, while a machine, is well down the list... so far.

[Moe Green]

Not threatening to leave Pyramid, just stating reality. Once the season is done, the posts will drop off in a big way. You gotta admit interest will wane considerably if (when?) they lose this one.

[Moe Green]

Let's see what kind of team we have, Nice one by the underrated Grabovski.

[Pyramid Power]

GRABBO!!!! GOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL! WE HAVE A LITTLE LIFE!

Nice play by Kulemin and then a gorgeous setup by Kaberle. 4-2. See if we can get another quickly here and really make this a game.

[Moe Green]

Life. this is the comeback! Kadri centres the pp unit.

[Pyramid Power]

Nice effort by Army getting in front of Neuvirth on that shot from the point. Let's get one here on the Green delay of game penalty.

GO LEAFS GO! MAKE THIS A GAME!

[Moe Green]

Best pp in weeks! maybe?

[Moe Green]

six minutes, plenty of time

[Moe Green]

This last 4 mins will tell us the kind of team we have

[Tom]

Holy mackinaw!!

[Moe Green]

aaaiiiieeeee!

[Tom]

Toronto robs Washington!

[Pyramid Power]

Almost got one on that PP.

Gretzky and Lemieux for sure as the greatest scorers of all time Moe. I am talking about best all-round hockey players. I definitely don't think Gretz is in a class by himself though as he did not almost personally win two Cups for his team as Lemieux arguably did with the Pens in '91 and '92. When your supporting cast is Rob Brown and Zarley Zalapski with that sieve Tom Barrasso in nets and you still raise the Cup two years running that puts Super Mario in the conversation with The Great One imo.

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

TIE GAME! MACARTHUR WITH ANOTHER! 4-4 TIE. AWESOME. WOW! TWO GOALS IN A MINUTE. LET'S GO WIN THIS ONE TORONTO. AWESOME!

[Tom]

OVERTIME!!!

[Moe Green]

Win or lose, we'll have a great game tomorrow. What a comeback!

[Hoofheartz]

It is inconceivable to me that the Leaf organization doesn't have a single defenseman that can't replace Komisarek. Any bets that when Phaneuf gets back, Aulie will be sent back to the Marlies or Gunnarson will be sent to the press box and Komisarek will continue to make mistake after mistake. Like you PP, I was warned by Hab fans that Komisarek is terrible and in this they are correct.

[Moe Green]

this is not a must win game anymore- but it sure would be nice

[oakville_girl]

Wow. Just wow. Bring on OT! Way to go boys, you never gave up!

[Pyramid Power]

AWESOME! GOT THIS ONE TO OT! Brent and MacArthur with his second of the game and miracle. Come on Goose! Need you now.

Hoping Brent can score in the OT, but looking at either Kulemin or Kessel to win this one. Amazing!

GO LEAFS GO! Thank goodness that Backstrom shot did not go in at the end after the puck hit the ref's skate.

GO LEAFS GO! TWO POINTS NEEDED IN OUR BANK ACCOUNT!

[Moe Green]

How is that not a penalty!

VM Replies: That was pretty crazy.

[Moe Green]

Can u believe Wilson playing Kadri in that situation. Boost the kid's confidence.

[Moe Green]

Notice the domination by the leafs in overtime.

[Moe Green]

He's going with KKK in the shootout. You know what that line would be called right... the strikeout line!

VM Replies: I don't know. When I hear "KKK" and "shootout," I get a bit nervous.

[Pyramid Power]

WOW! Thought Kessel was going to end it there with a glittering chance against Neuvirth.

OK boys. Ok Goose. Time to win this in the shootout.

GO LEAFS GO!

[Moe Green]

Leafs "hip-mo-tized" the caps tonight

[Tom]

Leafs gonna shut down Ovechkin, AGAIN!

[Tom]

Shut down!

[Tom]

WOW grabby!

[Tom]

VICTORY!!!!!

[Moe Green]

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vinay Menon]

Wow.

[oakville_girl]

Getting the event coordinators ready, we're planning the parade! LOL *said with tongue in cheek*

What a great effort. This arena has been kind to the boys in blue (well, white tonight)

[Nik Culoman]

I beleaf!! I have never quit on this team!! What a win!!! What a win!! To all of us that have never lost faith!! What a win!!! Go Leafs Go!!!

VM Replies: Nice to have you back, sir.

[Pyramid Power]

VICTORY! VICTORY! WOW!

WHAT A MOVE BY GRABBO!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSE! GOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!

WOW! STUNNING WIN! I AM SHOCKED TO THE CORE OF MY BEING! SHOCKING WIN! AWESOME! OUTSTANDING!

LEAFS! WHAT A GLORIOUS WIN!

[Moe Green]

You guys notice the swagger in the Leafs from the last half of the third. From the Grabovski goal really. I dunno, confidence can carry this team a long way. This could be thee turning point. Seriously.

[Moe Green]

Man Bill Watters hates Grabovski. Who knows why.

[Tom]

You're gonna have something to write about tonight, VM! :P

[Hoofheartz]

I'm getting to old for this shit. The old ticker can't take much more. Remote control almost didn't survive when the score went to 4-1 Caps. Nice comeback boys.

[Moe Green]

Too bad, Atlanta won. Now 9 pts back of Atlanta and Rangers and 7 pts back of Boston! If there is a hockey god, the Leafs would finish ahead of Boston in the standings this season. I can dream.

[Moe Green]

This team needs confidence. I don't usually give him much credit, but kudos to Ron Wilson for having Kadri take faceoffs on the powerplay, in critical situations. The kid's confidence got a much-needed boost. Watch him tomorrow.

[Pyramid Power]

WE ALL BELEAF NIK CULOMAN! GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK FOR SURE!

That crossbar clang in the third by the Caps sure helped. lol Hockey gods with us tonight again for sure.

Not sure the Leafs played with much swagger Moe as compared to pure effort. And got rewarded for their efforts in full. But sure swagger was FANTASTIC!

That is the way this team needs to play especially around the net. Yeah, we can score. We should not be gripping the sawdust out our sticks on scoring chances, stay cool, stay loose, bury your chances. Wow! Am truly amazed.

Was so ready to head off to the football game.

My wife over here is WIDE awake now! LOL Just danced all around our house in joy. She knows less than nothing about hockey except score.......... and me yelling in joy is a good thing. Me screaming in painful agony and f this and f that is a bad thing. LOL LOL LOL

GO LEAFS GO! ON TO PITTSBURGH AND KID CROSBY AND THE GANG!