by Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano… After getting 61 shots on Dwayne Roloson and the Islanders though losing 4-3, the Leafs continued getting pucks to the net against Antero Nittymaki and Lightening. This time 35 was enough to find success in a 4-3 win of their own.
The Leafs got their first win of the year on the road in Anaheim and that began a streak of seven games of at least one point, unfortunately for Leafs Nation mostly one point.
The Leafs now have points in four straight games, including two wins. In 23 total games, they have points in six of 12 on road game while at home they have points in only four of 11.
Four of the next five games are on the road, three of those five are against divisional opponents and should prove to be feisty games.
First Toronto will finish the two-game Florida tour with a matchup against the Panthers Friday before then making a quick stop at home against Buffalo Monday.
Florida has been better on the road this year and is only 3-5-2 at home, though they have points in their last four games at the BankAtlantic Center, only one was a win. They do, however, have points in eight straight games and have seemingly gotten the right motivation from second year head coach Peter DeBoer after a slow start.
Buffalo sits in third and just two points off the Northeast division lead, though were on top for most of the first quarter of the season. They got off to one of the hottest starts in the league which has since cooled as many predicted. They have lost two in a row and are just 4-5-1 in their last ten, but they have games in hand, and have only played 21 thus far.
They then get back on the road for three, starting in Montreal.
I am sure the Leafs will want some revenge for the two losses the Habs have handed them this year. The last of which the Leafs lost in a shootout at the Bell Centre, the very building they will do battle in on Tuesday Dec. 1.
The inconsistent goal scoring and keeping for the Canadians has them sitting right at .500 on the year at 12-12-1 with a 7-5-1 record at home. I expect a physical game played much in Montreal’s zone as most of the past two meetings were, yet this time the results may be different.
With a day of rest and travel the Leafs land in Columbus Ohio to take on the Blue Jackets on Dec 3. Columbus can’t seem to hold a lead as of late and have blown three straight game when having the early lead though still hold a record of 12-8-3.
Recently, their young Russian sniper Nikita Filatov must have missed his mother’s goulash enough to go back to Russia and play in the KHL, on loan for the time being. This could possibly a good spot to catch a team that is reeling from some bad losses if that trend continues for the Blue Jackets.
Finally with another day of rest and travel, the Leafs finish this little five-game stint against the now Northeast division leading Bruins. Boston, who has been surging as of late going 6-1-3 in their last ten has won four in a row as well. This will be in my mind the biggest test of all as the Bruins play a very structured game and beat the Leafs soundly in two of their three meetings in Boston last year.
Given, there is time between now and the end of this five game stretch for many things to happen too all teams involved that may or may not drastically affect the Leafs chances of winning or losing these game.
Thankfully, 2012 is still a few years off, and I haven’t heard of any comets nearing the earth, at least at this point.
Toronto, at times seems to have the right parts and then all of a sudden someone at Ikea put half the pieces of two shelving units into the box just to screw with you, and nothing seems to work.
The Leafs are playing well though, as of late, and if the defensive side of their game with the Monster looking over the lair can find a groove and the offence bulges the twine instead of just leading the league in shots, the Leafs could add some notches to the win column and certainly get their roll on.
by Jeremy Visser… Yeah, so the Raptors were pounded last night in Charlotte. How does that happen, even on the road and in the second of a back-to-back? Well, here’s how: The team just ain’t that good. And what’s this breakout year everyone is talking about Chris Bosh having? The team is 7-9! Not sure if you recall, but last November Bosh had even better numbers than these, then got tired at the end of the month and limped the rest of the way home. If you’re a superstar, CB, then let’s see it. Win some games.
Anyway, that’s my opening rant. I’m probably overreacting, because realistically this is a slightly-better-than .500 team and that’s probably where it’ll end up at the end of the year. Still, last night’s effort in Charlotte was embarrassing. After making an apparent first quarter defensive stand, the Raps let their guard down, allowing the Bobcats — a team that had scored 100-plus three times in 14 games and never more than 104 this season — to score 116 and set franchise-record with a 35-point win. Toronto shot a season-low 34.5% from the field and was out-boarded 49-42.
There isn’t much use going around pointing fingers, since this was just an all-around ugly effort. Jose Calderon had six turnovers, Chris Bosh was held without a field goal until right before halftime, big-time free agent signing Hedo Turkoglu had five points and no rebounds and the bench, aside from Amir Johnson, combined to shoot 4-of-27. Johnson was the only real bright spot, finishing with 13 points, eight boards and three blocks in 23 minutes.
As bad as that was, it may get worse — the Raps are off today but are in Boston to face the Celtics tomorrow. How about this is where you prove you’re a star in this league, CB4?
by Stoker MacIntosh… In a recent on-air mixed martial arts discussion, which is credited here—MMAjunkie.com Radio—the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White, had some very interesting things to say concerning what he feels is the real reason behind former UFC cage fighter Dan Henderson recently avoiding contract renewal negotiations.
It’s important to note that although he is currently inactive, Henderson’s stock hasn’t dropped.
He is still one of the UFC’s premier middleweights, and the consensus amongst most fans is that he is responsible for his own unhappiness: a simple matter of the fighter overpricing himself.
To make matters worse, White declared earlier this month that he was positive Henderson had signed with Strikeforce. The rumor, however, was unsubstantiated and was dismissed by Strikeforce head promoter Scott Coker.
So the UFC drama concerning Hendo is still ongoing.
The latest installment is that White has a “new and improved” theory as to why the fighter is reneging.
“Dan is in I-don’t-want-to-make-a-deal mode.
“There are some deals in which you go in and negotiate and make a deal. You know you want to make a deal. … Dan Henderson knows he does not want to make a deal.”
UFC fighter Tito Ortiz has also butted heads with the UFC brass, but he ended a 16-month layoff and re-signed with the UFC only to lose his comeback debut last weekend to Forrest Griffin.
According to White, the Ortiz contract is the primary fuel which is driving Henderson’s stubbornness to work out a deal with the company.
“The bullshit that Dan came in and said in my office regarding the money he wants, it’s unrealistic, and he knows it,” White said.
“And it’s basically based off of, ‘I heard this guy is making this, and I heard this guy made (this much).’
“Basically, what everybody gets pissed off about is Tito. ‘Oh, I heard Tito is making all this money, and Tito is this and that.’ And it’s because Tito likes to go out there and say stuff like that, or somebody in his camp did.”
“That’s how bullshit gets started.”
White also stated in the interview that he is still open to discussion concerning the matter.
“Doors are never closed,” he said. “I’m in the fight business. We put on fights. Doors never close.
“Never say never. Dan could call me tonight. Fedor could call on three-way with him. We could sign them both up tonight if they want to call.”
To hear the entire discussion with White, download Friday’s edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan, and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… At 6’2” and 196 pounds, Carl Gunnarsson is hard to miss. Thank goodness the Toronto Maple Leafs spotted him in the seventh round (194th overall) in the 2007 NHL entry draft, because the 23 year-old has “got’s skillz”.
In case you missed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night by a score of 4-3. A big part of that win was none other than the aforementioned Gunnarsson, who had three assists on the night and posted a plus-three to boot.
Gunnarsson, who had registered two assists with two penalty minutes in 12 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies this season, made his NHL debut with the Leafs on November 14th versus the Calgary Flames, a game that saw him take 27 shifts for a total of 21:18 of ice time.
To date, Gunnarsson has played a total of six NHL games, only one of which has he been a minus player (-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes). For the most part, Gunarsson has been a solid addition to the Leafs. He is considered an all-round defenseman, with strong passing skills and, more recently has exhibited a penchant for shooting the puck.
“Ouzi”, as I am calling Gunnarsson due to his “oozing” talent, is a smart player, one that exhibits an uncanny calmness for a player of his age and experience. Despite being off the radar at the beginning of training camp, Gunnarsson has defied the odds and cracked an already deep defensive lineup that seemingly was written in stone at the beginning of the season.
Now, six career NHL games does not make a career. That said, if Gunnarsson manages to stick with the big club long enough to make an even bigger splash it may open up an opportunity for the Leafs to contemplate trading one of their top tier defenseman.
I am a believer that you have to give something up to get quality back in return. With that in mind, I am not talking about moving a Garnet Exelby or a Jeff Finger, two players that would see the Leafs get very little in return. I am suggesting the Leafs look at making a deal which may include the likes of Tomas Kaberle or Francois Beauchemin.
The reality is, barring some big off-season acquisitions, the Leafs are at least two full seasons away from being a legitimate playoff contender—and I am not talking about sneaking in with the 16th overall spot.
Entertaining the idea of trading Kaberle, who despite his no-trade clause may be open to a move, or Beauchemin just makes sense. What comes back the other way would likely be a collection of draft picks and/or one or more legitimate NHL players, preferably a centre that could dish the puck to Phil Kessel.
To be fair, my foreshadowing is very premature. As I mentioned earlier, six NHL games is not enough to make a solid assessment on a rookie player, and it is very unlikely that Gunnarsson could fill the shoes of Kaberle or Beauchemin. In today’s NHL you must look to the future in order to get better, you have to try to play from a position of strength and, to use a poker reference, when a premium hand presents itself, you gotta go all in. Gunnarsson may be that hand.
Brian Burke has a lot of work to do. The emergence of Gunnarsson would go a long way in giving Burke some good cards to play with, but what the flop brings is anyone’s guess.
by Jeremy Visser… Here’s some good news for Jays fans shocked and hurt by the imminent Roy Halladay trade: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports the team is close to bringing back some standout shortstop named John McDonald on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
With contending out of the question for the next 47 years, re-signing Johnny Mac makes sense. With a host of young pitchers, why not get the best defensive shortstop in the world to make their lives easier? Of course, a Mac signing also makes it less likely Marco Scutaro won’t be back in black in 2010, leaving another team to grossly overpay him. Fine by me — I’ll take the draft picks (just make sure you sign them, Alex Anthopolous Ricciardi Jr.).
Meanwhile, in Halladay news, ESPN also reports the Red Sox are aggressively pushing for his services, saying they’re “putting on a full-court press” and hope to get a deal done before the winter meetings get rolling Dec. 7. Not sure if it’s the best idea to deal Doc within the decision, but a package including Clay Buchholz and Josh Bard might be the best we see. Let’s see what happens!
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