Movin' On Up on Day 3

LONDON--Milos Raonic is one step closer to the big stage.

Having started his Wimbledon career two days ago on tiny Court No. 14, capacity 312, it's noteworthy that organizers here already sensed enough interest in the Canadian bomber that his match today against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg will take place on the new Court No. 3, opened this week and christened by the Duke of Kent.

(Unlike the other three Grand Slam events in New York, Melbourne and Paris, Wimbledon doesn't name it's top courts after former stars and luminaries. Just numbers. Just the way it is, always has been and probably always will be.)

The court upon which Raonic will play today is the former site of Court No. 2 (confused yet?), nicknamed the "Graveyard of Champions" for the large number of top seeded players who met their demise at the hands of relative unknowns on that particular lawn over the years.

The two main courts, Centre Court (14,979) and Court One (11,393) are the two biggest, with the new Court No. 2 (confused again?) about double the size of No. 3. That No. 2 and No. 3 aren't next to each other adds to the confusing configuration of the grounds.

If - and it's a rather sizeable "if" - Raonic can get past the lefthanded Muller, his next match would almost certainly be on Centre Court, for it would, barring a monumental upset, be against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.

The Raonic-Muller match should be underway by about 2 p.m. local time, or 9 a.m. in Toronto, but they've just announced showers are in the area and that the courts on now covered. So it may be only the roofed-in Centre Court that sees any play in the next couple of hours.

Raonic has already been on the practice courts this morning under the watchful eyes of his father, Dusan, hitting with Spain's Feliiciano Lopez, a big leftie like Muller. Raonic proved vulnerable to the left-handed Michael Berrer of Germany at this month's French Open, losing in the first round.

The two Canadian women still in the singles competition, Rebecca Marino and Stephane Dubois, are also scheduled to play. Marino has a tough match against Italian veteran Roberta Vinci, scheduled to be the fourth match on tiny Court No. 17.

Dubois is up against it with a match against the 11th seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany. That match won't begin before 5:30 local time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadians Rolling On Grass

LONDON--It's early. But promising, and at least it's not all about Daniel Nestor at the All England Club this year.

Five Canadians have played singles matches at 2011 Wimbledon so far, and three have come out winners, including a victory today by the country's top female player, Rebecca Marino of Vancouver.

Marino, No. 44 in the world and rising, defeated Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria in two sets this morning, making it four Grand Slam events in a row the 20-year-old has made it to at least the second round. She made it to the second round last year at the U.S. Open, losing in a highly-publicized match to Venus Williams, repeated that in Australia in January and then made it to the third round of the French Open earlier this month.

Powered by her dominant serve and forehand today in her debut on the famed lawns here, Marino fired eight aces en route to the win and fought off two sets points in the second set before winning in a tiebreak. Next, she faces Italian veteran Roberta Vinci, the 29th seed here.

"I had my serve going pretty well," said Marino, who has been timed as high a 200 kilometres per hour on serve. "It helped me out on some tough points."

Stephane Dubois of Montreal was also a surprise winner, beating Irina Falconi of the U.S. in two easy sets. Dubois only made it into the main draw as a "lucky loser" after being beaten in the qualifying, but then randomly selected to replace the injured Kim Clijsters.

Including Milos Raonic of Thornhill, who won on Monday, that's three Canadians into the third round. Alexandra Wozniak, meanwhile, was beaten in two sets today and eliminated. Frank Dancevic led Ricardo Mello of Brazil two sets to none, but ended up losing a five-setter 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-2. Dancevic had two match points in the fourth set but couldn't convert.

Marino and Raonic - R.M. and M.R. - are both rocketing up the rankings this year, both with similar big serve games.

"It's neat that we've both come along at the same time," said Marino.

Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls plays Brazil's Ricardo Mello later today.

 

 

Raonic Roars

LONDON--Now that's a debut.

Refusing to be unsettled by a last minute change in opponent, Canada's Milos Raonic roared to victory in his first-ever match at Wimbledon today, crushing Marc Gicquel of France by a convincing 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3 score in an economical one hour and 36 minutes.

Living up to his reputation as the most explosive server on the ATP tour, the 20-year-old from Thornhill hammered 25 aces past Gicquel and won 86 per cent of his first serve points. Raonic delivered a very clean performance, hitting 41 winners in all compared to just 13 unforced errors against the overmatched, 34-year-old Gicquel.

Raonic was supposed to play Italy's Fabio Fognini, but Fognini withdrew 45 minutes before the match, citing a left thigh injury he picked up earlier in the month at the French Open.

Rather than be thrown by the change, Raonic pounded three aces past Gicquel on the first three points of the match.

"I was happy how I dealt with it because that was the first time that ever happened to me," said Raonic afterwards. 

Gicquel said he was pleased to get the chance to fill in.

"I knew Raonic, I had seen him on television," said the 34-year-old tour veteran. "But I cannot read his serve. The next time. . .I don't know what I can do."

He did face a break point for the second set, but fought that off and then captured that set in a tiebreak.

"I was fortunate to get my serve in," said Raonic, who was dominant on serve, winning 70 of 87 points.

With many anticipating a collision between the big-serving Canadian and world No. 1 Rafa Nadal in the third round, Raonic's next match is against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who beat German veteran Tommy Haas today in four sets. Muller, 28, is a 6-foot-4 lefthander with a big serve, and he outdid Raonic, acing Haas 37 times.

Muller and Raonic have never played before. 

"I think I have the level of game to do well at the bigger tournaments," said Raonic.

 

 

 

Day One At the 125th Championships

LONDON--Coming on Day One, rather than halfway through as I've done in the past, is rather different. Particularly as one comes straight from the Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver, and the sad memory of the ugly riots last Wednesday.

Here, it's like a different universe, at least in a sporting sense. The lawns of Wimbledon are, so far, green and pristine. Few brown spots, although that will only last a day or two. Much quieter upon arrival both inside and outside the gates, although the usual crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 is expected on opening day, including my tennis-mad aunt and uncle, down from the Middlesborough area for their one day per year. After two years of almost spotless weather in which Centre Court's spectacular new roof has only been used by six players and four about 6 1/2 hours, forecasts are that it will be in use much more this year, starting with today.

If there is rain - heavy clouds were moving in over the grounds by late morning - and rain delays, that could be troubling news for Milos Raonic of Canada, as well as Rebecca Marino, Alexandria Wozniak and Stephanie Dubois, all of whom are scheduled to play, but on side courts that aren't covered. Raonic's Wimbledon debut goes at noon local time (7 a.m. Toronto) against Fabio Fognini of Italy (SEE ED.NOTE BELOW). Fognini is fresh of an injury at Roland Garros earlier this month that forced him to withdraw from a quarter-final match with Novak Djokovic, but not before a controversial match against Spain's Albert Montanes in which Fognini was accused of getting illegal treatment on court before ultimately winning a five-set marathon, 11-9 in the fifth.

Fognini is 3-4 in the last three Wimbledons, but did beat both Fernando Verdasco and American Michael Russel last year before losing to Julien Benneteau of France, so he's more than capable. The Raonic-Fognini match will take place on Court 14, capacity 312, and people were already taking their seats more than an hour before the scheduled start time.

(ED NOTE: Fognini was a last minute withdrawal, catching even the Italian press off guard. He was replaced as Raonic's first round opponent by Marc Gicquel of France, a 34-year-old veteran who lost in the final round of qualifying and got into the draw as a lucky loser, replacing Fognini.)

Meanwhile, golfer Rory McIlroy's magnficent performance at the U.S. Open on the weekend hardly went unnoticed here. McIlroy and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal are friends, having met last year at Flushing Meadows for tennis' U.S. Open. 

"For sure, Rory is an inspiration," said Nadal, who, as per tradition, will be first on Centre Court today at 1 p.m. local time. "I admire him a lot. I love watching Rory. What he's doing is reall something unbelievable.

"He has probably one of the nicest swings in the world, if not the nicest."

Nadal is crazy about golf himself, and during a two-week break after Roland Garros went on a golfing spree on his home island of Majorca that he called the "best time" of his life.

Tennis commentators, meanwhile, are already looking towards a possible third-round collision between Nadal and the hard-serving Raonic. The two have met previously just once, with Raonic acing Nadal 14 times but losing 6-4, 6-4 in 73 minutes on a hard court in Tokyo.

The hype, of course, has already started for Scotland's Andy Murray to end Britain's 75-year drought in the men's singles competition, while defending champion Serena Williams' derriere - "way softer than it usually is," according to her - will be closely watched.

This is the last year the All England Club will be the exclusive preserve of The Championships. Next year, the Olympic tennis tournament will take place here as London hosts the Summer Games.

 

 

 

 

A Terrible Night after A Terrible Hockey Defeat

VANCOUVER--All that was gained, lost.

What sport did for Vancouver last year, it did to Vancouver last night. And if this gorgeous, wealthy city was more than happy to benefit from the goodwill, joy and prosperity delivered by the Olympics last year, it has to now accept that the rioting and widespread lawlessness that struck the city core in the wake of the Canucks' Game 7 loss to Boston cannot be completely disassociated from sport, either.

• VIEW PHOTOS
• WATCH VIDEO

The temptation will be to say this was a small group of people causing trouble, and that it had nothing to do with hockey.

Well, yes and no.

First, it wasn't a small group. We're talking hundreds, probably thousands, of citizens involved in the ugliness that erupted even as Gary Bettman was handing the Stanley Cup to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Having been around other sport "riots," I can tell you this was a whole other level.

Vancouver was an ugly, dangerous city last night, and people got hurt. Frightening. Not just police cars on fire. Not just looting and tear gas. Stabbings. Vicious, fights. Wanton violence accompanied by the joyful whoops and hollering of young people who apparently believed they were part of something exciting and were having a great time.

The game ended at about 7:45 local time, and by midnight weary riot police were still trying to disperse crowds. As I watched from my hotel balcony on Burrard St., a line of riot cops walked up the street, police dogs barking, police sirens wailing, a police helicopter overhead shining a light down on the street.

When Montreal "fans" went wild two years ago after a first round playoff victory over Boston, it was contained to a small area of the downtown. Passersby watched it almost as a surreal sport unfolding, but unless you were in the middle of it, there seemed to be nothing to fear. It was over quickly.

Not this last night in Vancouver. It went on for hours. At one point, there were four separate areas where police were trying to stop violence and looting. People were left lying on the street covering in blood. Crazed young men smashed windows of stores and business, ignoring police commands to disperse, seemingly uncaring that they were being videotaped and photographed, as if they believed they were untouchable.

It was like the city had lost its mind. Over a bloody hockey game.

It was anarchy, and somehow, it was not just about Vancouver, a place where fans are encouraged by local media to believe there is a conspiracy to deny them ultimate success, but also about the Canucks. Everywhere you looked those who were committing crimes did so while wearing Canucks jerseys with Kesler, Sedin and even Bure across the back of the shoulders. Cop cars on fire with goons wearing Canuck sweaters dancing nearby. Just as Oakland Raider garb was once the choice clothing for California gangstas, now Canucks jerseys will be associated with this terrible night, a night which locals insist was much worse than what occurred 17 years earlier after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final against the New York Rangers.

Last year after the Olympics, many of us felt the peaceful, joyful crowds that assembled every night in the downtown streets were the real story of the Games. I'll always remember the long yet happy lines outside The Bay, people waiting for hours just to get a chance to buy a piece of Olympic memorabilia. Last night, that same store was under siege, left with smashed windows, as if it had become a target rather than a peaceful gathering place.

There will be many questions to be answered about the police presence and how this was handled, or mishandled. It will be the big story, bigger than the shocking collapse of the Canucks, a team that sat atop the NHL all year and then was flattened in the Cup final by a determined Boston team. City officials promised they were ready and in control, but reports suggested the police presence was too light, and that police were simply overwhelmed by fast-moving mobs as they started fires and looted Sears, Chapters and London Drugs stores. How could they have been caught by surprise - again?

But more important will be what this, the riots and the ugliness, says not just about Vancouver, but about the Canucks' place in it. You can hardly blame the hockey team for what happened, yet at the same time its the Canucks who seem to be the match that lights the civic lawlessness in this city. 

There's a strange mentality here that the NHL is out to get the Canucks, to deny them their rightful victories, and it's propagated by some very prominent media voices. There's always booing when Bettman tries to present the Cup, but it was deafening at Rogers Arena last night, an apparent expression of a belief that the NHL screwed the Canucks, that suspending defenceman Aaron Rome, for example, was unfair and unjust and part of some grand conspiracy.

People really believe this stuff. Even after the game, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault bitterly talked about a Boston "plan" to defeat the Canucks that was based on illegal hits after the whistle, implying the league had done nothing to keep the games fair.

It goes back to the hysterical reaction to the Steve Moore hit on Markus Naslund that precipitated the Todd Bertuzzi attack on Moore, one of the ugliest pieces of violence in NHL history. There's this suspicion that everything isn't above board, that Canuck players are treated more harshly. Even last night, there were wild rumours that Boston's Nathan Horton, injured by Rome's headshot earlier in the series, was going to play in the game, thus proving that his injury had simply been a pretence to deprive Vancouver of its chance to win the Cup.

There are many here who also fervently believe Toronto, and the rest of Canada, hates Vancouver and wants the Canucks to lose, which again fuels this bizarre sense of paranoia that permeates the hockey atmosphere in this town.

Did that paranoia create last night's riots? No. But its part of the story here, part of the anger and bitterness here, part of why a local reporter, angered that they were still blaring the music inside the arena last night long after the teams had left the ice, remarked, "Bloody Bettman" when he was told the music had to continue under orders from arena management.

Idiots and criminals created last night's ugliness. But hockey and this town's hockey atmosphere were part of it as well. You cannot pretend otherwise.

 

More Layers, More Mush

BOSTON--it's good that this is the one area in which there actually appears to be some limited sense of co-operation between the league and the players.

The competition committee is split between representatives of the two, and theoretically should produce rules and ruling that reasonably effect the needs and desires of both sides. Once upon a time, at the tail end of the 2004-05 lockout when the idea was first developed, the concept was that the competition committee would consist of 10 individuals, each there to vote their conscience regardless of what their constituency might be.

Those quaint old days are long gone. As seen today when the competition committee met at a downtown Boston hotel, this has grown from its original notion into a new level of bureaucracy and, really, an extension of the collective bargaining process.

At various times there were upwards of 30 people in the room, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players Association chief Donald Fehr. The players are now represented on the committee by Chris Clark, Chris Campoli, Mike Cammalleri, Ryan Miller and David Backes. Miller and Backes participated by phone today, while Steve Montador was present as well in a, well, non-voting, informal way.

For the owners/management, the voting reps where Jim Rutherford, Ed Snider, David Poile, Steve Yzerman and Joe Nieuwendyk, with the league's new hanging judge Brendan Shanahan in attandance as well along with other hockey ops people like Colin Campbell and Rob Blake as well.

The main result people were looking for was some kind of agreement on the changes Shanahan wants to make with Rule 48, the legislation guiding head shots. Basically, it appears the idea will be add the word "defenceless" to the rule and take out "blindside," and all members of the committee appear to agree.

How this will make Shanahan's new job any easier is, well, mystifying. But this layer of NHL bureaucracy has given it a rubber stamp, with the governors next. More language, a controversial rule sliced into smaller and smaller sections, all to avoid the place where the NHL eventually has to go; a total ban on hits to the head.

Another Day, Another D-Man

VANCOUVER--It's turning into the blueline shuffle for the Vancouver Canucks.

For Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final, Dan Hamhuis was in, but left partway through the game with some kind of undisclosed injury after unpending Milan Lucic with a hip check.

For Game 2, Andrew Alberts got the call ahead of both Keith Ballard and Chris Tanev. In Game 3, Aaron Rome dealt a vicious head shot to Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins and was suspended for the rest of the series.

That brought in Keith Ballard, who may make $4.2 million per season but wasn't up to the challenge of doing much except fighting Brad Marchand to a draw in the dying, pointless minutes.

For Game 5 tonight, Ballard is out, and rookie Chris Tanev is in. No time to protect feelings, I guess,, but wow, this series has to have a blow to a proud veteran like Ballard, who was acquired last summer from Florida for Michael Grabner (now a Calder Trophy finalist) and a first round pick.

Tanev is a remarkable story, a 21-year-old who was playing for the Tier Two Markham Waxers just two years ago and, after a year at the Rochester Institute of Technology - the same program from which the Leafs forward Tyler Brenner as a free agent recently - has arrived in pro hockey and tonight goes into the fray of the Stanley Cup final.

He's got 29 games of regular season experience and two playoff games under his belt, both against San Jose. He played 9:13 in the first one but then 20:42 in the second, suggesting Alain Vigneault has confidence in the youngster if he senses he needs him.

"When we've used Chris this year he's real steady, can make a first pass at the forecheck," said Vigneault this morning. The Vancouver head coach also said that Hamhuis would be making the trip to Boston for Game 6, raising the possibility he might be ready to return by Monday.

So five games into the Cup final and the Canucks are already dressing the No. 9 defenceman on their roster. This is what Mike Gillis built the depth on the back end for, but it still increasing the pressure on Vancouver's top four - Alex Edler, Christian Erhoff, Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo - a little more every game.

 

The Deal on Reimer

VANCOUVER--It's hardly a contract that will break the bank or constrain the Maple Leafs from doing anything else they want to do now or in the near future.

Heck, when James Reimer suits up over the next three seasons, he still won't be making the average NHL salary.

So the exposure here for Brian Burke and Co. is very limited. 

That said, giving Reimer a three-year, $5.4 million contract today as reported first by The Star is a leap of faith based on a half-season of elite goaltending. They can't say they know exactly what they have.

Look at L.A. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, whose contract served as the template for Reimer's deal.

Quick has played three full NHL seasons, has 96 wins, and in each season his save percentage has been above .900 and his G.A.A. at 2.54 or better. Quick, 25, signed his extension last fall and it kicks in next season. He also, at age 25, already has 12 playoff games under his belt.

By comparison, Reimer, a little younger at age 23, has 20 NHL wins that came with a save percentage of.921 and a G.A.A. of 2.60. His only playoff experience as a pro has been in the ECHL.

So the Leafs had to made an educated guess on whether Reimer's excellence last season can be carried forward. He also did well at the world championships this spring, although in the end, head coach Ken Hitchcock turned to L.A.'s other young goalie, Jonathan Bernier.

Now the focus has to turn towards getting a reliable, helpful backup for Reimer, somebody who can play 35 games if necessary, somebody who can go in an play four or five in a row if Reimer goes cold and needs to regroup. Hard to believe that's J.S. Giguere. Even harder to believe it's Jonas Gustavsson. The answer probably lies outside the organization.

But finding that answer matters. It's all well and good that the Leafs obviously believe in Reimer, and he may be the real deal. But he'll still need help.

 

Not Perfect. But Better.

BOSTON--It's an improvement, which means it's a start. Then again, we've had false starts before. A bunch of 'em.

Still, this time there was no secret memo produced to excuse this bit of on-ice thuggery, no attempt to try and give playoff games more value and thus produce a suspension of fewer games. Instead, we apparently have the longest suspension ever handed down for an incident in the Stanley Cup final.

Four games for Aaron Rome? It's meaningful, and while a 10-game minimum for this kind of head shot would be better, this is at least a tacit acknowledgment by the NHL that the old days of "better keep your head up" and "don't admire you pass" are, thankfully, over. When people dreamt up those phrases they didn't understand the damage that head injuries cause, both short-term and long-term. The notion that if someone has their head down they deserve to suffer a brain injury is at best quaint and at worst absurd and dangerous.

Just after 2:30 today, Rome released the following statement:

"I want to express my concern for Nathan's well being and wish him a quick and full recovery. I try to play this game honestly and with integrity.  As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it. I will not take away my teammates' focus on the task at hand and intend to speak at an appropriate time in future."

Given that Nathan Horton may have suffered an injury with long-term effects - see Eric Lindros, Pat LaFontaine, Marc Savard, Sidney Crosby - there's a very good chance that we may look back and still see this suspension as insufficient. Remember, Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks screamed bloody murder over a two-game ban to Thornton for his headshot on David Perron of the Blues last fall, which, now that we know Perron missed the rest of the season, was clearly a miscarriage of justice.

In these cases, the NHL must find a way to bring a measure of balance between a serious foul and long-term repercussions. Perhaps in a case like this, there needs to be a further review when the suspension is over to see if more games are necessary. Just an idea.

Still, Rome is out for the Stanley Cup final, and that's meaningful for a journeyman player not known to be dirty who may never get a chance like this again. You almost feel sorry for him until you realize that 90 per cent of the players in this league don't try to make that hit, and don't make that hit. Almost all of the time, it's checkers and depth players deciding to execute these marginal hits on top players, and so you end up with situations like this, where the loss of Rome from the Vancouver lineup cannot possibly equate Boston's loss of Horton. Moreover, there will always be a bit of doubt in cases like this as to whether the league would have been as tough on a higher profile player, if Ryan Kesler or Alex Edler would have got four games for the same indiscretion. Like Thornton getting two for wrecking Perron's season.

That said, Vancouver is now down two defencemen - Dan Hamhuis doesn't appear to be returning any time soon - and either Keith Ballard or Chris Tanev will have to suit up for Game 4, putting more pressure on Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Edler and Christian Ehrhoff.

Let's face it, the Canucks had been dancing on this wire for a while. Raffi Torres should have been suspended for at least as long as Rome. Maybe Alex Burrows should have got a game for his bite on Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 of this series. This time, a Canuck goes down, but the team percentages still aren't bad. Morever, now that some form of significant justice has been applied, it's more difficult for the Bruins to band together against the cruel, uncaring world as it was for Chicago in the first round when Torres walked for concussing Brent Seabrook.

You have to feel for Rome in one respect. He was coldcocked by Jamie McGinn of the Sharks in the Western Conference final and McGinn walked away with no suspension. Part of the problem for the NHL is that fans and media can point to so many incidents where the punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime, and then wonder why a player like Rome gets hit so hard and is out of the Cup final, destroying his hockey dream.

Then again, he took Horton's dream of playing in the final away with a dumb, dirty act. There's a price to be paid for that.

Boston's Andrew Ference had a measured, useful response when asked about the Rome suspension. "Even though we have taken some of those hits as a team, we understand as  well  as  anybody that it is a very fine line," he said. "A hit like that doesn't mean the guy  is a bad guy or anything.  They are split-second decisions. But  they're  split-second  decisions  that  obviously can affect lives, as we've seen."

This was Mike Murphy's call, not Colin Campbell's, but you will still get hysterical suggestions from Vancouver that Campbell, whose kid plays for the Bruins, is behind all of this, and that referees who don't rule in favour of Boston are risking their jobs. It's utter nonsense, but you will hear it. Some in Vancouver are already upset to hear that Brian Burke was one of the people Murphy consulted with before making the decision. These people will read conspiracy into anything.

The only chance to possibly get off this merry-go-round is that when Brendan Shanahan takes over the role of hanging judge next fall, he institutes a much tougher set of rules and suspension minimums to signal a clear break from the past. If every suspension brings up "What about Chara's hit on Pacioretty?" it's impossible to estabish any kind of intelligent guiding philosophy behind the NHL's justice system.

Before this suspension, the longest ban for an incident in the Stanley Cup final was one game (Jiri Fischer 2002, Ville Nieminen '04, Chris Pronger '07). So this is a historic decision, to some degree.

In this case, do I believe Rome wanted to injure Horton? No, but we all know intent is in the eye of the beholder. What I do know is that Rome did injure Horton with a patently illegal hit, and that he has paid a substantial price, even if it's not quite substantial enough.  

 

 

 

Time is Running Out

BOSTON--No one expected the second coming of Ray Bourque when the Bruins made a deal with the Leafs to acquire Tomas Kaberle.

Maybe they could have hoped for the boffo returns Detroit got when they traded for Larry Murphy from the Leafs and won a Cup with him.

But at the very least, you'd have to believe GM Peter Chiarelli et al believed they'd get a reasonable facsimile of Kaberle's big brother.

Remember Frantisek, long gone now to the Czech league? In 2006, he scored four goals in the playoffs, along with nine assists, as part of the blueline corps of the Carolina Hurricanes. The last of those goals came in the second period of Game 7 of the final against Edmonton and turned out to be the game and Cup-winning score.

Not bad.

By comparison, poor Tomas has yet to put on in the net in 20 games of these 2011 playoffs and time is running out on both him and the Bruins heading into tonight's critical Game 3 match. Lose this one, Boston, and other than a few days worth of stories about coming back from 3-0 deficits and recaps of the '42 Leafs and '10 Philadelphia Flyers, this baby will be over.

The Leafs are already feeling good about netting prospect Joe Colborne, Boston's first round pick this month and a second rounder next year (kicked in when Boston made the Cup final) for Kaberle. The Bruins, by contrast, seem to be dwindling in their affections for the veteran defenceman, using him for 14:12 in Game 1 against Vancouver then 12:25 in Game 2.

Symbolic of Boston's lack of trust in Kaberle is that when Mark Recchi tipped a Zdeno Chara point shot past Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo in Game 2 to give the Bruins an actual power play goal, only their second on the road in the post-season, Kaberle wasn't even on the ice.

Instead, Chara was at the left point and Michael Ryder was on the right, with Claude Julien electing to go with four forwards, a move that paid off. 

The idea when Kaberle was added that he would feed those soft, feathery cross-ice passes for Chara to one-time, just as Kaberle once did for Bryan McCabe. That just hasn't developed, and five-on-five Kaberle has really struggled and is now part of Boston's third defensive pair.

It's not as bad as what Vancouver is getting from its $4.2 milliion defenceman Keith Ballard, who doesn't even play. But it's sure not what the Bruins thought they were getting.

Still, it's not over for the ex-Leaf. There's still time to play hero, to demonstrate he really can be a difference maker the post-season after spending all those springs on the sidelines while with the Leafs. Tonight would be a good time to start.