Alright another disappointing loss for the buds.
They showed some great poise though after coming back from a 3 goal deficit. Goals by Kessel, Premeau and a beauty by Hagman that made the Islanders defence look like they were taking a nap (not hard to do).
The Leafs ending up losing 4-3 in a OT, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. They hammered Islanders goalie Dwayne Rolston with a franchise tying 61 shots on net. By all means the Leafs had done enough to win the game. Toskala let in 3 goals on 3 shots in the second was pulled in favor for rookie goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who came in and shut the door.
Gustavsson only allowed 1 goal and took the loss of the hands of Toskala for a second time this year. Too Gustavsson's credit he had no chance on the Game winner, which happened courtesy brutal defensive coverage by Phil Kessel who not only made Gustavsson bad but also defence men Ian White who has been on of Toronto's best defence men and one of the few bright spots this year. Many have blamed White for the goal because he couldn't block the pass across the crease, but any real hockey fan knows that if Kessel wasn't standing still Bruno Gervais wouldn't have beat him to the puck.
John Tavares didn't do to much in the game on the score sheet but showed off his passing ability a few times in the game.
I hate to say I told you so but in the previous blog I mentioned that Josh Bailey was on a hot streak and he ended up scoring the game winner in OT. Also I said Hagman for the Leafs and he scored the goal that tied it up at 3.
Next up for the Leafs is Tampa Bay, I'll have the post game blog for my next blog.
Showing posts with label new york islanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york islanders. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Leafs vs Islanders Preview
John Tavares is coming to Toronto for the first time in his NHL career. Toronto fans were salivating last year at the chance of getting Tavares with the 1st overall selection in the draft, but the Leafs ended up finishing 6 spots better than the Islanders and got the 7th overall selection. They of course choose Tavares London teammate Nazem Kadri.
Tomorrow night should be interesting, Wilson has chose to ride his hotter goalie this season and with Vesa Toskala's impressive start against the Capitals last night you have to think he will get the start again tomorrow night. By all means the Leafs stand a good chance of beating the Isles but they will have to get a good turn out by who ever is in the twine.
The Leafs won 3 of 4 meetings last year between these two teams. The Isles are 8-8-7 this year and are enjoying the team leading 19 points that rookie sensation John Tavares has contributed to the team. Another surprise for the Islanders has been free agent signing Matt Moulson who is 1 point off of Tavares on the year.
Look for ex-Islander Jason Blake to play a solid game as he usually steps his game up a little bit when he plays his former team. The Leafs will look to to stop a nasty trend they have fallen into for most of the season, that is to not give up the first goal of the game, something they have done in 18 of its 21 games so far this year.
Who's Hot:
Josh Bailey for the Islanders has scored in 2 straight games and will look to keep that pace up against the Leafs. For the Leafs Niklas Hagman scored last game and scored again when he potted the shootout winner.
Injuries:
For the Leafs, Mike Komisarek is still out with an torn quad muscle. Mike Van Ryn is out of course because of his knee.
For the Islanders, Rick Dipietro is still out at least another 2-4 weeks, he is trying to make his way back from knee and hip surgery. While Isles captain Doug Weight is out with an upper body injury, and Radek Martinek is out with a torn ACL.
We will have to wait and see how the Leafs do against the Isles tomorrow night and how John Tavares does in his return home. Tavares will have over 100 friends and family in attendance at the Air Canada Centre.
I am predicting a Leafs win, by a score of 4-2. Tavares will score and Ponikarovsky will score for Toronto.
In my next blog I will surprise you. It's a surprise, so click on the link tomorrow to see what I decide to talk about.
Tomorrow night should be interesting, Wilson has chose to ride his hotter goalie this season and with Vesa Toskala's impressive start against the Capitals last night you have to think he will get the start again tomorrow night. By all means the Leafs stand a good chance of beating the Isles but they will have to get a good turn out by who ever is in the twine.
The Leafs won 3 of 4 meetings last year between these two teams. The Isles are 8-8-7 this year and are enjoying the team leading 19 points that rookie sensation John Tavares has contributed to the team. Another surprise for the Islanders has been free agent signing Matt Moulson who is 1 point off of Tavares on the year.
Look for ex-Islander Jason Blake to play a solid game as he usually steps his game up a little bit when he plays his former team. The Leafs will look to to stop a nasty trend they have fallen into for most of the season, that is to not give up the first goal of the game, something they have done in 18 of its 21 games so far this year.
Who's Hot:
Josh Bailey for the Islanders has scored in 2 straight games and will look to keep that pace up against the Leafs. For the Leafs Niklas Hagman scored last game and scored again when he potted the shootout winner.
Injuries:
For the Leafs, Mike Komisarek is still out with an torn quad muscle. Mike Van Ryn is out of course because of his knee.
For the Islanders, Rick Dipietro is still out at least another 2-4 weeks, he is trying to make his way back from knee and hip surgery. While Isles captain Doug Weight is out with an upper body injury, and Radek Martinek is out with a torn ACL.
We will have to wait and see how the Leafs do against the Isles tomorrow night and how John Tavares does in his return home. Tavares will have over 100 friends and family in attendance at the Air Canada Centre.
I am predicting a Leafs win, by a score of 4-2. Tavares will score and Ponikarovsky will score for Toronto.
In my next blog I will surprise you. It's a surprise, so click on the link tomorrow to see what I decide to talk about.
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