ANOTHER SHOOT OUT LOSS

Another game, another loss, another shoot out loss, and another two points gone, this time to the Anaheim Ducks.

The Leafs all but had this game with their 2-0 deficit comeback.

As the game went on the Leafs got better after a slow opening period where they surrendered two goals in the first ten minutes. The first was from Francois Beauchemin from the point and the other was from, now sniper, George Parros off a Leafs giveaway.

Heading into the second period it looked like it was going to be another bad game for the Leafs, but they made things interesting. The Leafs took control of the game with some good fore checking and it paid off, as Nik Antropov scored off a bounce from the boards. Head Coach Ron Wilson has stressed shoot more pucks towards the goal and crash the net. That’s exactly what happened as Pavel Kubina took the shot from the point and the crowd formed. Matt Stajan was one of the catalysts as he made a big hit in the corner to keep the puck in the zone, which led to a cycle game. That strategy took some getting used to as a few plays were just empty shots on goal and that was it.

The three players that were in Ron Wilson’s dog house were Nik Antropov, Alex Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan. That line produced two goals, both by Antropov. For the start of the game rookie John Mitchell played on the top line. The three players that were in the dog house were given their chances to prove the coaches wrong and show them what they could do, and they did.

The Leafs team played as solid as any team could play, and most importantly they played as a team. Their team defence was excellent and that showed mightily in the third period when the Leafs didn’t allow the Ducks to get a shot on goal. In doing so, the Leafs out shot Anaheim 13-0, and overall 38-21.

And as the game was winding to a close, the Leafs scored in the final minute to send the game to overtime, tied at two.

This game most certainly could’ve had a higher score in the Leafs’ favor due to Ducks’ goalie JS Giguere’s bad rebound control. He was letting out rebounds like no tomorrow and the Leafs missed on a lot of them. Except for the one when they tied the game off a Mike Van Ryn point shot that was stopped, but Antropov buried the rebound. Before that the puck was lying in the crease and was shot off Giguere’s pad and into the corner.

On the Leafs side, Vesa Toskala turned in another solid goaltending performance, and Luke Schenn played another solid twenty plus minute defensive game.

To start overtime the crowd was on their feet and really into the game, because the Leafs battled and played hard. And it paid off for them. Not too many chances were created, but the Ducks did have a chance to win the game when they had a two on one rush. Cory Perry snapped the puck off the inside of the post and out. With that, another game headed for the shoot out.

A surprise move was made by Ron Wilson as he took out Toskala and replaced him with Curtis Joseph for the shoot out. It was a 50/50 move because Toskala hasn’t had much success in the shoot out and Joseph had been sitting on the bench the whole game.

In the Leafs latest practice Ron Wilson practiced the shoot out for half an hour and it didn’t pay off. The Leafs lost in the shoot out 2-0, and the final score of the game was 3-2 for the Ducks. The Leafs decided to shoot first, and sent out Nik Kulemin and Tomas Kaberle, whom both missed. The Ducks Teemu Selanne and Cory Perry both scored, and Perry had the clincher.

Another reason the Leafs lost was their fruitless power play, as they went 0-4, and had a 32 second five on three advantage in the third. Overall the Leafs have now lost five straight and have only one win in six games this season.


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