View Full Version : GAME 1: GDT: Ottawa AT Toronto- Wednesday Oct 5th, 2005.
Newfie John
10-02-05, 5:50 PM
When: Wednesday, October 5th, 2005
Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Time: 7:30 PM EST
TV/Radio: TSN, Mojo
Projected Lineup
Antropov - Sundin - Ponikarovsky
Czerkawski - Allison - Tucker
Steen - Stajan - O'neil
Kilger - Lindros - Domi
McCabe - Kaberle
Khavanov - Berg
Wozniewsky- Belak
Belfour
Tellqvist
I can't beleive I'm saying this, but we made it. Here is the gameday thread for the first game of the season. Thoughts? Predictions?
That third pairing just scares me, but the top 4 should get most of the minutes and i'm confident in 3 of them. Hopefully Eddie will stand strong because that D is downright horrible. I can't believe they sent Coli down. :rolleyes: The forward corpse looks good. Sundin just spells consistancy and Antropov has had a good camp. The top line will be impossible to stop on the forcheck/cycle. Zdeno Chara will be sure to be matched up against this line.
The Allison line has clicked. Tucker and Czerkawski both had good camps and work well together. Allison appears to not have missed a beat. Methinks that this line will do most of the damage in this game with Chara tied up with the top line.
Steen and Stajan work magic together, and O'neill had an awesome camp. During the preseason when these guys were together they were always a threat. With Chara, Redden and Phillips likely to be tied up in the top 2 lines, this line could do some damage beating up on Ottawa's third pairing, which could feature rookies Meszaros and Schubert.
Then you have the 4th line. Who knows what could happen here but in the game vs Detroit Lindros looked good with these guys. He was throwing his body around everywhere hitting everything which moved. He, with the help of his linemates earned him 1st star of the game.
My prediction is 5-2 for the Leafs. Lines 2 and 3 doing most of the damage.
leaferfan87
10-02-05, 6:18 PM
I'm excited to see what O'Neill can do with the kids. I think that he can teach them alot and it will be beneficial for Stajan who will be able to increase his point total in playing with Jeff.
The first line is huge there's no denying that. Hopefully Sundin can work some sort of magic with his two linemates. The second line should contribute with lots of points as well, with Allison having two descent goal scorers to play with.
The fourth line is a complete mystery. Chad Kilger looked good during the playoffs, Lindros I imagine won't stay there and Domi is well...Domi.
And yes that 3rd defensive pairing brings back memories of Berg/Lumme skating around in the 2002-2003 Philly series.
Leafs_Fa_Life
10-02-05, 6:39 PM
4-3 for the Leafs.
I'd be lying if I said the defense didn't concern me, but I think up front this team is looking pretty good this season, and I'm predicting that the Allison line will shine.
Senators 9 - 2 Maple Leafs.
Canucklehead
10-02-05, 10:35 PM
7-2 Sens. Heatley will have a huge game.
The Rover
10-03-05, 8:44 AM
3-2 Leafs OT. The Sundin line. :thumb:
5-4 Leafs winning goal in regulation comming from Steen.
The Insider
10-03-05, 8:28 PM
I think the Leafs have a very good shot at winning this game provided the parade to the penalty box doesn't continue. If the Leafs continously go to the box and more specifically go 2 men down, there is no chance the Leafs can win. I think if the Leafs can get an early lead and create scoring chances for players like O'Neill, Sundin and Allison, that's a 3 prong attack to throw at the Sens which can either create goals or PPs. I think we need to get to Hasek early and throw him off his game since after 3 years out of hockey, taking advantage early could make him doubt himself and make mistakes. Won't be easy, but I like our chances.
Iced Tea
10-03-05, 8:34 PM
Sens will win 6 - 3 and both teams' fans will complain about too many penalties.
charlio lemieux
10-03-05, 10:34 PM
The forward corpse looks good.This may be more accurate than you know. :laughing:
I do not like the top line. *crosses fingers* But hopefully one of "the twin towers of uselessness" will discover a scoring touch. If not, it is one heck of a big line and should prove to be hard to handle. Still, Sundin deserves a winger of O'neill's calibre and scoring touch.
Leafs win 5-3
bluemeanie
10-05-05, 12:55 PM
From SN:
Aki Berg and Carlo Colaiacovo will be in the lineup for Toronto against Ottawa Wednesday night. Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn said that Colaiacovo might play with Andy Wozniewski.
Wade Belak didn't participate in the morning's skate and won't play against the Senators.
Ken Klee is out but Quinn said he might play Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Finally, Jason Allison shaved his beard off.
Newfie John
10-05-05, 2:54 PM
From SN:
Aki Berg and Carlo Colaiacovo will be in the lineup for Toronto against Ottawa Wednesday night. Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn said that Colaiacovo might play with Andy Wozniewski.
Wade Belak didn't participate in the morning's skate and won't play against the Senators.
Ken Klee is out but Quinn said he might play Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Finally, Jason Allison shaved his beard off.
Coli must be riding an emotional roller coaster. It'll be good to see him play.
bluemeanie
10-05-05, 7:48 PM
Here we go boys and girls. Got my Blue and White undies on, beer in the fridge, Pizza and wings on their way, the boys are over and the skirt's out of town... I'm so giddy I don't even care that I have a $25,000 mistake to explain at work tomorrow. Life? She's soooo good.
Newfie John
10-05-05, 10:54 PM
Leafs lose in the shootout. We still get a point in the standings so its not bad. The leafs played well tonight. Lindros and Allison both played great, Caber had a goal, Tomas Kaberle was excellent. Eddie played well. Sundin's injury is apparently minor.
A lot of good things from this game that I think the leafs will build on. When Ken Klee comes back it'll be great because Aki Berg was driving me nuts.
Seeing Lindros nail Fisher and Schaefer was good to see. I mean he just leveled them. Lindros had a goal too. Good game for him and he stepped up in Sundin's absence.
Looking forward to the game vs Montreal.
The Insider
10-05-05, 11:09 PM
Tough loss, we were playing the Sens tough all night and we end up giving the Sens the two points with 0 shots in the shootout. Hopefully Mats isn't gone for long since we especially need him to carry the offense and lead the PP which went a bad 1-10 tonight including nothing to show for, on the 5 on 3. After Lindros scored you got the feeling that the Leafs might pull it off, but once the puck dropped and the team was all over the place out of position you just knew the Sens were going to tie it, and Alfie the clown burned us.
It is kind of a drag that we lost in a shootout especially cause the 3 shooters are just too short and it seems if you miss one, or fall behind early it's all over. I'd like to see 5, but looks like it's going to be 3 and I think when Mats is back, we'll have better luck.
The newcomers played good in their first games and I agree with John that Berg just played terrible out there and hopefully Leaf management finally opens their eyes :eek:
Oh well, only one game and we move on to play the Habs on Saturday :thumb:
BTW love the new goal horn... makes scoring a goal feel more important and more exciting!!!
leaferfan87
10-05-05, 11:14 PM
I think the fan excitement over Lindros' goal was a factor in Alfie's goal. Just seems that the Leafs got a little excited too and were not ready.
The Leafs carried most of the play and played smart hockey untlil late in the game. The mental breakdowns late in this game is what lost us the game. Lindros, was a beast at times, but there were a few instances where I thought he wasn't going to get up, thats how its going to be for him. One thing is for sure, if he continues to play this way and stays healthy he will be hard to stop. Steen, looked a little off at times, hope he got the jitters out tonight. Coli and Newski looked ok. Domi, I love you but man smarten up. Aki Berg played ok at times, not ok at other times. The problem with him is becasue he has been dumped on the past few years and with reason, makes even the small mistakes point out. I think he can play in this league, but no longer with the leafs. A key stat for me that sticks out is the shots on goal, they led in that department 25-23 which is unheard of in TO.
Better luck Vs Le Habitants on Saturday.
PS, anyonme else notice Don Cherrry sitting right behind Quinn tonignt?
TimmyTabasco
10-06-05, 3:52 AM
Better luck Vs Le Habitants on Saturday.
Yeah, your going to need it :nod: :thumb:
Go Habs Go!
Newfie John
10-06-05, 6:03 AM
I have a feeling we're just going to demolish the habs.
THE HACK
10-06-05, 1:18 PM
What a tough way to lose by giving up a goal with over 1 minute remaining in regulation and then losing the shootout.Atleast we got 1 point but gave up 2 points to the Senators with that late Alfie goal.I missed the whole game up until I got home and there was 10 mins remaining in the 3rd and from what I saw the players looked tired.I hear there was a dissallowed goal to the Sens and that the Leafs held the Sens to 1 shot in the 2nd period and that the game was faster than normal so by the sounds of it I missed a good game!
Cheers
leaferfan87
10-06-05, 1:56 PM
Just a quick question: The Sens win 3-2 by virtue of winning the shootout 2-0. Who gets the credit for the Sens third goal, Alfie or Heatley?
Max Power
10-06-05, 2:00 PM
Just a quick question: The Sens win 3-2 by virtue of winning the shootout 2-0. Who gets the credit for the Sens third goal, Alfie or Heatley?
I was thinking the same... I'll guess no one gets credited for the goal. It's just recorded as a shoot out win. If it wasn?t the case then TO would have had to send the third shooter to determine who won it for Ottawa
TimmyTabasco
10-06-05, 4:55 PM
I have a feeling we're just going to demolish the habs.
:laughing:
Then you will wakeup, and wonder why you had such a dream :thumb:
slapshot™
10-06-05, 5:13 PM
What the hell happened to Quinn's face? Was he in a good ol' Irish dustup in some bar?
Max Power
10-06-05, 5:20 PM
What the hell happened to Quinn's face? Was he in a good ol' Irish dustup in some bar?
He got hit by a puck behind the bench
One of the player?s duck and the puck hit him... Everyone laughed and he started cursing
Newfie John
10-06-05, 5:38 PM
Just a quick question: The Sens win 3-2 by virtue of winning the shootout 2-0. Who gets the credit for the Sens third goal, Alfie or Heatley?
No one gets credited with the goal.
The Leafs carried most of the play and played smart hockey untlil late in the game. The mental breakdowns late in this game is what lost us the game. Lindros, was a beast at times, but there were a few instances where I thought he wasn't going to get up, thats how its going to be for him. One thing is for sure, if he continues to play this way and stays healthy he will be hard to stop. Steen, looked a little off at times, hope he got the jitters out tonight. Coli and Newski looked ok. Domi, I love you but man smarten up. Aki Berg played ok at times, not ok at other times. The problem with him is becasue he has been dumped on the past few years and with reason, makes even the small mistakes point out. I think he can play in this league, but no longer with the leafs. A key stat for me that sticks out is the shots on goal, they led in that department 25-23 which is unheard of in TO.
Better luck Vs Le Habitants on Saturday.
PS, anyonme else notice Don Cherrry sitting right behind Quinn tonignt?
Agreed with most of the post. I don't think the Leafs carried the play very much however. Simply put, there was no play. A fairly boring game until the end where there were some nice rushes and one of the least exciting B.O.O. ever. And for that fact Toronto deserves tons and tons of credit. They just blatantly shut-down Ottawa's potent offense for a good portion of the match without Sundin. And without Klee. So that's great news for Leafer fans.
KB in Kelowna
10-06-05, 5:40 PM
Just a quick question: The Sens win 3-2 by virtue of winning the shootout 2-0. Who gets the credit for the Sens third goal, Alfie or Heatley?
Wow I just had a Mushroom Cloud flashback :eek: :pimp:
The Insider
10-06-05, 5:47 PM
Agreed with most of the post. I don't think the Leafs carried the play very much however. Simply put, there was no play. A fairly boring game until the end where there were some nice rushes and one of the least exciting B.O.O. ever. And for that fact Toronto deserves tons and tons of credit. They just blatantly shut-down Ottawa's potent offense for a good portion of the match without Sundin. And without Klee. So that's great news for Leafer fans.
Yeah, it's great we shut the Sens down for the most, but we still ended up losing and giving the Sens two points even though we probably deserved to win. One thing I was really surprised about was all the PPs the Sens gave us, usually it's the other way around, but for some reason whether it be jitters or something else, the Leafs had the better legs and were able to make a quick Sens team take some pretty bad penalties. If we capitalized on 1 or 2 more of the PP chances probably would've easily won, but it just seems like every PP we get, we pass it around forever and not hammer it on net. On thing I really liked, was how Kaberle carried the puck into the zone on the PP and got things set up, we didn't have to worry about dump and chase and it got us set. I think if he can keep it up, our PP will improve a lot on last season...and maybe he can take a few more shots :thumb:
Newfie John
10-06-05, 5:50 PM
I hear Klee is coming back Saturday...
Which means less icetime for Berg.
Good news to any leaf fan.
One thing I was really surprised about was all the PPs the Sens gave us, usually it's the other way around, but for some reason whether it be jitters or something else, the Leafs had the better legs and were able to make a quick Sens team take some pretty bad penalties. If we capitalized on 1 or 2 more of the PP chances probably would've easily won, but it just seems like every PP we get, we pass it around forever and not hammer it on net. On thing I really liked, was how Kaberle carried the puck into the zone on the PP and got things set up, we didn't have to worry about dump and chase and it got us set. I think if he can keep it up, our PP will improve a lot on last season...and maybe he can take a few more shots :thumb:
Penalties a direct result of three factors:
- New rules will burn every team. Ottawa (hopefully) learned the hard way last night. Many calls used to be let go. But I am definatly in support of the crack-down.
- We were flat. Quite possibly the fastest and most skilled team in the league got out hustled and out-skated. When that happens (as you said) you end up taking penalties because you can't keep up. Credit to TO here.
- Martin is gone. Expect more penalties under Murray as the players will have a longer leash. We won't become the Broad Street Bullies, but guys won't be worried about getting an earful from the coach for sticking up for a teammate anymore. Neil's penalty for example (the cross-check). I doubt he gives that shot to the Leaf skater with Martin behind the bench. This will hurt us at times, but overall I feel this will be a positive as players will not be pushed around as much. That is huge.
Agreed that Toronto could have made the game very different with a successful PP. Sundin being out no doubt played a hand in that, and Ottawa's PK was also pretty solid if I may say so myself. Kaberle did show nice puck poise leading the attack.
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