(I’m away this week on a long awaited hockey road trip. So this is my preview with no knowledge of any Leafs’ happenings after Friday, January 25 @ 2:15pm. Head on over to A Cup A Bruin for a day of, Boston Bruins based take on the game.)

Saturday night the Black & Gold will be in town to take on the Leafs. The last time the two teams met, the Bruins steamrolled the Leafs. It was sick. An 8-0 shutout win for Tim Thomas – potentially his last regular season, regulation time shutout win – at TD Garden. Most folks stopped watching by the end of the first.

At least it wasn’t as bad as the December 26, 1991 game when the Leafs went into the Igloo and had the Pittsburgh Penguins wallop them 12-1. (That game was hilarious and I still have it on VHS… because of the Mark Recchi factor.) Ahem.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Will Leafs Be The Bruins Punching Bag This Season?”

(I’m away this week on a long awaited hockey road trip. So this is my preview with no knowledge of any Leafs’ happenings after Friday, January 25 @ 4:09pm. Head on over to the Maple Leafs site for a postgame recap.)

This Thursday, the Capitals return to the Air Canada Centre. Last season the Maple Leafs dominated the first game in the four game season series against the Caps, keeping the home crowd happy with a 7-1 win. But for the rest of the season, the Leafs just couldn’t keep up. By seasons end, they’d lost both road games, and would up losing their final game against the Caps. A shutout loss, the second night of a back-to-back on the road that had also ended in a shutout in Philadelphia the night before. The Caps win was their third in a row.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Will Caps Continue To Blank Leafs This Season?”

(I’m away this week on a long awaited hockey road trip. So this is my preview with no knowledge of any Leafs’ happenings after Friday, January 25 @ 12:11pm. Head on over to the Maple Leafs site for a postgame recap.)

On Tuesday night, the Leafs play in Buffalo will see if they have what it’s got to win against the Sabres this on the road this season. Last season saw them flounder on the road, losing all three games – one a shootout – in front of a delighted crowd of Sabres’ fans. But Toronto ended last season with a 3-2-1 record against the Sabres, and with all three wins on home ice and a very frustrated Ryan Miller.

When the teams met for this seasons’ Leafs’ home opener, Miller faced 35 shots and only let one past him in the 2-1 win. He was outstanding and he knew it.

“They’ve been kicking my ass the last two years a little bit so it’s time to get back at them.” (mapleleafs.nhl.com)

It’s true. The Leafs had dismantled Miller for five games straight in the Air Canada Centre. That sort of thing can irk a goalie. Lots of things irk Ryan Miller.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Leafs Reignite Rivalry In Buffalo”

(I’m away this week on a long awaited hockey road trip. So this is my preview with no knowledge of any Leafs’ happenings after Friday, January 25 @ 12:11pm. Head on over to Black and Blueshirts for a day of, New York Rangers based take on the game.)

This Saturday, the Leafs will head into Madison Square Garden to see if they can make it three wins in a row against the Rangers in their rink. Last season the Leafs had a 2-2-0 record from last season against the Rangers – two wins on the road, and two losses at home.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Can Leafs Continue Winning Record In MSG?”

The New York Islanders – the team that Toronto Maple Leafs’ fans could once count on as the go-to when looking for a team to distract other hockey fans from making fun of the Blue and White – made the Leafs look bad on Thursday night. Really bad. It was the team’s second loss at home this season, and given they’ve only played two games at home, fans have become a bit perturbed.

The Isles came into the Air Canada Centre after two days off, following their Monday win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs had spent Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, beating on the Penguins, and delighting fans with a 5-2 win. How could a team that had just steamrolled the Pens suddenly lose to the Islanders?! Because they’re the Leafs.

Let’s just ignore logic, the fact that it was their second night in a row on the rink… C’mon. Let’s be real. The boys were tired and it showed.

» Continue reading “Leafs Remain Winless At Home, Islanders Win 7-4″

The Maple Leafs are the second night into their first back-t0-back of the season, leaving Pittsburgh last night with a 5-2 win over the Penguins, returning home tonight to take on the New York Islanders. The two teams will meet three times this season, and last season the Leafs went 3-1-0, winning one and losing one at the Air Canada Centre. The last game between the two teams was rather humilating.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Frattin In, Scrivens To Start Against Isles”

The Toronto Maple Leafs took the fun out of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home opener on Wednesday night, frustrating folks in the Steel City with a 5-2 win. But part of the win included the loss of Joffrey Lupul when he was hit by a shot from team captain Dion Phaneuf and left the game with a fractured forearm. You win one, you lose one top line forward.

» Continue reading “Leafs Win One, Lose One Top Line Forward In Pittsburgh”

Goaltender James Reimer will make his season debut tonight when the Maple Leafs take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Steel City. His performance could indicate whether or not he and Ben Scrivens can combine their goaltending forces to become the “two-headed monster” that the Leafs need in net. Reimer is 2-0-1 against Pittsburgh with a 2.26 GAA and a .926 save percentage. When the teams last met on February 1, 2012 he recorded a 25 save shutout at the Air Canada Centre.

Jake Gardiner will also be on the ice tonight. Gardiner hasn’t played since December 8th, when the Rochester Americans visited the Ricoh to take on the Toronto Marlies. He has been recovering from a concussion and whiplash and related symptoms, and began skating again on January 15th. David Alter of Sportsnet FAN590 reported the change to the Leafs’ lineup this afternoon.

» Continue reading “Leafs’ Game Day: Gardiner Returns, Reimer Between The Pipes”

“When is Ryan Miller not first star when he plays against the Maple Leafs? He’s a machine.” – Nick Kypreos (Sportsnet Hockey Central, January 21, 2013)

Miller arrived in Toronto on Monday having lost six games in a row at the Air Canada Centre, Kyper. His last win in the building was on December 21, 2009, Kyper. Your opinion clearly isn’t supported by fact, Kyper.

But I’ll give you Monday night’s game. In the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 win that stole the show from the Leafs at their home opener, Ryan Miller was a machine.

» Continue reading “Ryan Miller Could Ruin A Free Leafs’ Home Opener”

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield shows off his puck handling skills prior before dropping the puck from the International Space Station.

At the beginning of every hockey season, Maple Leafs’ fans are treated to a blue and white extravaganza to kick off the home opener. The pregame celebration of the team and its history is a fast paced highlight reel of the captains and heroes through the years, the players whose names are long forgotten or have never even been learned, with some special moments piped in by the 48th Highlanders Pipes and Drums.

This season the ceremony was chugging along, same old until Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield, hockey puck in hand, appeared on the scoreboard. With the help of some of the Maple Leafs Alumni – Johnny Bower, Darryl Sitler, Felix Potvin and Darcy Tucker - he dropped the puck from the International Space Station. The International Space Station.

» Continue reading “Astronaut Drops Puck From International Space Station, Leafs Still Lose”