View Full Version : Leafs thrash Thrashers, again.
Newfie John
11-20-05, 9:04 AM
Last night on HNIC the leafs beat down the Atlanta Thrashers yet again, this time 5-1. Alex Steen scored 50 seconds into the game with a wicked shot top corner. Bryan Mccabe scored the next goal going top shelf from the slot. Mccabe had 3 points on the night. Alex Ponikarovsky scored 2 goals and 1 assist in the effort, he assisted on Nik Antropov's goal.
Ilya Kovalchuck got the lone marker with a rocket from the left point on the PP.
Ed Belfour was strong in net as he made 31 saves(iirc). It's good to see Eddie coming back to his old self. At the end of the game the crowd was chanting the familiar cheers of, "Eddie Eddie Eddie".
All leaf goals came on even strength, a pretty big contrast to the the 9-1 victory over Atlanta when the leafs piled on 7 PP goals. The PP did look good though it just couldn't bury its chances.
Wade Belak got in a scrap with Eric Boulton. Belak won the scrap and the crowd was, much to my surprise, chanting "Belak, Belak, Belak".
Jason Allison looked good and he could be starting to shake off the cobwebs. The new skyline of Allison, Antropov and Poni are doing real well. Don't tell Don Cherry that though. On Coach's Corner he once again pronounced Ponikarovski's name wrong. He called him " Pokahauntusi". I laughed my ass off.
The leafs have won 4 straight.
Madferret
11-20-05, 9:49 AM
If only the Leafs could play 82 games against the Thrashers eh..
Newfie John
11-20-05, 12:26 PM
Yeah that would be nice. We've outscored them 14-2 in two games now.
Overall we've been playing very well lately. Good team defence, and the offence has kept on rolling. Eddie has played well, and so has Telly when called upon. Even Aki Berg's mistakes are minimal these days. We're firing on all cylinders.
Iced Tea
11-20-05, 4:24 PM
While the Leafs earned two points, it will be interesting to see the result once the Thrashers' number one or two goalie is healthy because the Thrashers aren't doing too well with their 4th and 5th string goalies. The Thrashers are being backstopped by ECHL calibre goaltending and are somehow 8 - 11 - 1, and while that's better than the Penguins, it's still really bad for the Thrashers.
The Leafs should be happy they won but shouldn't be tooting any horns because they scored on ECHL goalies.
Newfie John
11-20-05, 4:26 PM
AHL goalies Tea. These two were supposed to share duties in the AHL this season. I agree with you anyway, but the leafs piled in 4 on Andrew Raycroft the other night. The fact of the matter is that we've been one of the better offensive teams in the league. We've been scoring on everyone, not just the "ECHL" goalies as you say it.
AHL goalies Tea. These two were supposed to share duties in the AHL this season. I agree with you anyway, but the leafs piled in 4 on Andrew Raycroft the other night. The fact of the matter is that we've been one of the better offensive teams in the league. We've been scoring on everyone, not just the "ECHL" goalies as you say it.
Are 6th stringers even ECHL? I think they might be central league goalies ;).
Raycroft has been bad this year, but Toronto's stats have been nicely bloated playing against Atlanta.. what is it now, 16 goals in 2 games?
Poor Atlanta can only win a game when Kovalchuk decides to get 5 power play points.
Newfie John
11-20-05, 4:36 PM
Are 6th stringers even ECHL? I think they might be central league goalies ;).
Raycroft has been bad this year, but Toronto's stats have been nicely bloated playing against Atlanta.. what is it now, 16 goals in 2 games?
Poor Atlanta can only win a game when Kovalchuk decides to get 5 power play points.
It's 14..
other teams will have/already had their chance to stockpile goals against Atlanta so it's not an advantage to the leafs.
Leafs are 5th in the league in scoring, and have the best PP. It's safe to say we've been scoring on everyone, not just the weak teams.
It's 14..
other teams will have/already had their chance to stockpile goals against Atlanta so it's not an advantage to the leafs.
Leafs are 5th in the league in scoring, and have the best PP. It's safe to say we've been scoring on everyone, not just the weak teams.
Not saying you haven't, just saying it has bloated your stats at this point ;).
Newfie John
11-20-05, 4:42 PM
Not saying you haven't, just saying it has bloated your stats at this point ;).
Yes, scoring a lot of goals has bloated our stats. :nod:
Yes, scoring a lot of goals has bloated our stats. :nod:
If I could reach you right now, I'd smack you over the back of the head :wave:
Newfie John
11-20-05, 4:48 PM
If I could reach you right now, I'd smack you over the back of the head :wave:
heh, I tend to have that effect sometimes.:laughing:
Madferret
11-20-05, 4:49 PM
AHL goalies Tea. These two were supposed to share duties in the AHL this season. I agree with you anyway, but the leafs piled in 4 on Andrew Raycroft the other night. The fact of the matter is that we've been one of the better offensive teams in the league. We've been scoring on everyone, not just the "ECHL" goalies as you say it.
8-0?
:D
Newfie John
11-20-05, 4:54 PM
8-0?
:D
I'm not worried about that, you always seem to beat us in the season. You can have it in exchange for a guarunteed playoff series victory.:nod:
Madferret
11-20-05, 4:59 PM
I'm not worried about that, you always seem to beat us in the season. You can have it in exchange for a guarunteed playoff series victory.:nod:
Ya well we'll see what happens if the Leafs make the playoffs this year. That's an awfully young and in-expeirenced blue line you have there.
Newfie John
11-20-05, 5:08 PM
Ya well we'll see what happens if the Leafs make the playoffs this year. That's an awfully young and in-expeirenced blue line you have there.
We'll make the playoffs. That if must have been a briancramp from your hoping that we dont make it, because that puts an end to your cup aspirations.:nod:
There's no 'if' about it when considering if we'll make the playoffs. We have the same team as before the lockout pretty much. Considering for a lot of our season so far we were without our captain, I'm excited about what we can do this season. As for our blueline, I'm not worried about it. Mccabe and Kaberle have been arguably the best pairing in the league this year. Klee and Khavanov are not kids. Khavanov had a rough start but he's settling in now and that pairing is very responsible defensively lately. Kronwall is a rookie, but he's been playing very well, has he not? Berg is berg. He sucks, but lately he's been unnoticable, which I'm happy with in Berg's case.
Young and inexperienced? It's the same blueline which took us to 4th in the east last season pretty much.
Madferret
11-20-05, 5:19 PM
We'll make the playoffs. That if must have been a briancramp from your hoping that we dont make it, because that puts an end to your cup aspirations.:nod:
:rolleyes:
I hope the Leafs make it, I really do. A Stanley Cup playoff isn't the same without a storied team like the Leafs.
There's no 'if' about it when considering if we'll make the playoffs. We have the same team as before the lockout pretty much. Considering for a lot of our season so far we were without our captain, I'm excited about what we can do this season. As for our blueline, I'm not worried about it. Mccabe and Kaberle have been arguably the best pairing in the league this year. Klee and Khavanov are not kids. Khavanov had a rough start but he's settling in now and that pairing is very responsible defensively lately. Kronwall is a rookie, but he's been playing very well, has he not? Berg is berg. He sucks, but lately he's been unnoticable, which I'm happy with in Berg's case.
Young and inexperienced? It's the same blueline which took us to 4th in the east last season pretty much.
There's an 'if' John. The Leafs have played terribly inconsistent. Belfour has played terribly inconsistent. The defense has been brutal, and McCabe and Kaberle won't last the whole season playing 29 Minutes + a game, you're kidding yourself if you think they will.
I've just watched allot of Leaf games this year John living in the GTA as I now do and they will be battling for a playoff spot all season, as they already have.
Newfie John
11-20-05, 7:16 PM
We'll see. Belfour started the year with inconsistancy, but lately he's been his usual self. I expect that will continue, afterall, he is Eddie, he seems to start every year on the rocks.
The leafs D was horrible(with the exception of Caber and Kabs) up until lately. With Eddie back on his game, he should be able to make up for the lack of D like in year's past.
Mccabe has always gotten big minutes with us, what makes you think he can't do it again this year?
..blah blah.. afterall, he is Eddie ..blah blah.. on the rocks.
;)
Was that on purpose John? :laughing:
Newfie John
11-20-05, 7:22 PM
lol, no.
Madferret
11-20-05, 7:28 PM
We'll see. Belfour started the year with inconsistancy, but lately he's been his usual self. I expect that will continue, afterall, he is Eddie, he seems to start every year on the rocks.
I don't really see him 'back to old self', but he's not letting floaters in thru the 5 hole anymore. He hasn't won any of their last 4 games for them, that to me is Eddy 'back to his old self'.
The leafs D was horrible(with the exception of Caber and Kabs) up until lately. With Eddie back on his game, he should be able to make up for the lack of D like in year's past.
And if Eddie has a bad game then what? It's the same blue line as the start of the year John.
Mccabe has always gotten big minutes with us, what makes you think he can't do it again this year?
He was averaging about 26 minutes last season, he's at 30 now. It's playing with fire John. Same with Kaberle, who does have a history of injury problems. What happens if one of them goes down, seeing as they are on the ice for half of each game. Also, if McCabe goes down you're losing offensive contribution and your PP quarterback. Who fills in for him?
Newfie John
11-20-05, 7:36 PM
I don't really see him 'back to old self', but he's not letting floaters in thru the 5 hole anymore. He hasn't won any of their last 4 games for them, that to me is Eddy 'back to his old self'.
Eddie hasn't had to. The leafs are scoring at will and have been winning lately because of it. Eddie's good play has been hidden behind all the goal scoring. Take a look at it though. Since he's overcome his inconsistancy he's been stopping 25-35 shots a game. I know its a short time frame to go on but he's looked good as every game goes on. I was very tough on Eddie at the start of the year as you know, but it appears he's back. Like I said, Eddie always seems to start the year in a funk. The lockout didn't help his cause this year. He's shaking the cobwebs off and has looked good.
And if Eddie has a bad game then what? It's the same blue line as the start of the year John.
When Eddie is in form, he doesn't have many bad games. If he has a bad game, we could lose, but its not a guauruntee considering how good our offense has been. I highly doubt Eddie will have many bad games.
He was averaging about 26 minutes last season, he's at 30 now. It's playing with fire John. Same with Kaberle, who does have a history of injury problems. What happens if one of them goes down, seeing as they are on the ice for half of each game. Also, if McCabe goes down you're losing offensive contribution and your PP quarterback. Who fills in for him?
That 4 extra minutes is likely PP minutes, considering all the extra penalties this season. PP minutes are very easy minutes. Mccabe and Kaberle can handle the big minutes. If an injury happens, then it happens. Not much you can do. If the team stays healthy we will make the playoffs.
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