TORONTO CONTINUES DOMINANCE OVER NEW YORK

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ winning streak over New York area teams continue. First they took two straight from the Rangers in a home and away series, then tonight they were able to hold two Islanders comebacks, and won the game 5-4 in a shootout. This game was the fifth straight game where the Leafs needed extra time to finish, and four of those games have been decided in a shootout.

With both teams having to travel to New York and having played the night before, you’d expect both teams to lag just a little bit. But the Leafs came out firing and found themselves up 1-0 1.27 into the game on Ian White’s ninth goal of the year. That was just the 26th time of the year that the Leafs scored the opening goal of a game.

He made a great play to elude one Islander defencemen on a stop and skate move, and just snapped one by a screened Joey MacDonald.

After that goal the Leafs continued their hot pursuit for another goal and came extremely close when MacDonald made a bone head move by coming way out of the goal to play the puck. Dominic Moore came inches away from putting the Leafs up 2-0, but shot just wide of the post. The Leafs team peppered MacDonald with plenty of shots on goal the rest of the way with 12.

The Islanders did show some fight on their first power play opportunity of the game, as they were getting plenty of shots through to Vesa Toskala, but turned them aside. In the first period the goalies for either side kept the score at 1-0 for the Leafs as they headed to the second.

Just like the first period the Leafs scored another goal, this time 57 seconds in and shorthanded as well. Dominic Moore and Jason Blake started the rush, and Moore put one over MacDonald’s shoulder. The Leafs were relentless after that goal and played with a high intensity, and their strong fore-check from the first period carried over.

On a Toronto power play, Ian White and Anton Stralman got mixed up, which allowed Sean Bergenheim to break away, but was hooked by Stralman, and that resulted in a penalty shot. Bergenheim’s shot looked good, but Toskala was up to it, and made the save look real easy.

Just a few plays later, Stralman again made another bad play, this time by not clearing the puck, and newly acquired Dean Mcammond snapped one by Toskala, a goal on which he was partially screened.

The Leafs still controlled the tempo of the game after that goal, and continued to drive hard to the net. Fresh from a call-up, Tim Stapleton got an opportunity to play in his first career NHL game and made the most of it, and showed off his great speed as he drove to the net, but MacDonald made just as nice a save.

The Islanders did come on a bit toward the end of the period, and the Leafs played laid back. And that pace was played in the third period, and the Isles were able to tie the game on a shorthanded goal by Sean Bergenheim. Unlike his penalty shot, Bergenheim made good on his second breakaway chance and completely fooled Toskala.

Before that, a stupid jackass named Brendan Witt thought he could do whatever he wanted and elbowed Nik Hagman on the head, and Hagman was out before he hit the ice. That horrible play gave the Leafs a five minute power play and Witt was tossed from the game.

New York tied the game on a stupid drop pass made by Mikhail Grabovski, which was easily picked off by the aforementioned Bergenheim and scored.

The Leafs did have an answer for Grabovski’s gaffe and Pavel Kubina scored off a blast from the point.

Right after that goal, Grabovski continued to play like an idiot and took a tripping penalty to negate the five minute power play which had about a minute left. Once again the Leafs had another answer for Grabovski’s mistake, and 1.30 after the third Toronto goal, the Leafs’ Matt Stajan and Nik Antropov had a two on one rush. Antropov snapped home his 21st goal of the year, off a nice feed from Stajan.

That rush started off on a heads up play by Ian White who made a nice outlet pass, after an Islander defencemen was caught pinching.

The Islanders weren’t done in this game, not just yet, and mounted their second two goal comeback, on a goal by Mark Streit, who made a nice fake at the point and was able to move in close and scored five hole on Toskala. A bad job clearing the puck by the Leafs resulted in bad rotations and that freed up space for Streit.

The game was tied on a weak goal let in by Toskala, a shot that he should’ve had, but completely fanned on a wrister by John Sim.

As the period wore on, the Leafs played more and more laid back, and Toskala’s play slowed down considerably.

For the fifth game in a row the Leafs needed extra time to decide the outcome of the game. This game could’ve been locked up if the Leafs had properly controlled and worked the puck on that five minute power play.

All this extra time the Leafs are playing will catch up to them, and could end up on another horrendous losing streak.

In overtime the Islanders had great chances to end the game, but Toskala came up big with timely saves, and MacDonald on the other end quietly had a solid game, even after letting in four goals on 33 shots. The same could be said for Toskala as he faced 44 shots, and the first period was really the difference for both goalies.


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In the shootout, Jason Blake came up big with another spin-o-rama deque, and the game ended with a nice touch as Tim Stapleton was called upon to win the game and he delivered on a simple, yet high percentage wrist shot.