Don’t look now, but the Toronto Maple Leafs have won 3 straight, and 4 of their last 5. They have scored 23 goals over those 5 games as well. Players like Phil Kessel, Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin are enjoying their longest streaks of the season. Rookies like Darryl Boyce and James Reimer are making major contributions and the boys actually seem to be having some fun.
However, it seems to be all for naught, as the team remains 11 points back of the 8th place Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern playoff spot, and have 3 teams to pull ahead of to get there. The Leafs do have a few games in hand on some of these teams, but if you look at an expected point total of at least 90 to get into the post-season in the Eastern conference, The Leafs would need 52 out of a possible 82 points, or a 0.633 winning percentage for the rest of the season.
What does work in the Leafs favour, is that after this brief Western conference road trip, the vast majority of the second half will be spent facing Eastern conference teams. They will be able to decide their own fate, though what may be a more important secondary goal for the club is to determine what players will remain on the roster going forward, and as playoff hopes fade, the games will then be used to evaluate talent.
GM Brian Burke has been looking to upgrade his roster, but in today’s NHL you have to give something to get something, and the Leafs have precious little to give. This Western conference road swing takes Burke through LA and San Jose, two clubs that have been linked to Toronto in trade rumours all season long. Even the Atlanta Thrashers, whom the Leafs laid a 9-3 beating on last Friday, are in the playoff mix and for the first time in a long time could be buyers at the deadline.
With just 4 points separating 4th from 12th in the Western conference, some teams, like the Blues, Kings and Sharks, who are currently on the outside looking in, could be active on the trade market, and what better way to get an evaluation of players than to watch them play against the players you know best? Granted, we can’t expect the Leafs to be sellers at this point, as Burke is looking to augment his roster, not strip it down.
We will most likely see moves like the one made last night, where the Phoenix Coyotes sent underachieving winger Wojtek Wolski to the Rangers for underperforming blue liner Michal Roszival. A trade in which both teams address their needs. A season ending injury to Alex Frolov brought about this move, and as more and more injuries start to pile up, contending teams will feel pressure to add to their depth.
With just over a dozen games remaining before the deadline, the Leafs could ease pressures on Burke to find a suitable move by continuing with their current play. The major question on the minds of Leafs fans at the start of the season was “who’s going to score?”, and that question has been definitely answered, with Phil Kessel leading the charge as expected, but with unexpectedly strong production out of the line featuring Nikolai Kulemin, who tied a career high with his 16th goal last night, Mikhail Grabovski, with 12 goals in his last 15 games, and Clarke MacArthur, who currently leads the Leafs in points.
Kris Versteeg, who was brought in to be a 20 goal utility man, is right on pace with 12 goals and 31 points. His linemate Colby Armstrong has provided some offensive punch from the third line, with 5 goals and 5 assists in just 25 games this season. What has been unexpectedly poor this season, is the offensive production from the blue line. Luke Schenn leads all Leafs defensemen with just 2 goals. Tomas Kaberle has remained consistent in his passing ability, but has netted just one goal this year. The same can be said for Dion Phaneuf, Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and Carl Gunnarsson.
A defensive unit that was supposed to be ‘top 5′ in the league on paper has been anything but, with several members among the league worst in shooting percentage, and among the league best at coughing up the puck. Goalies JS Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson have struggled mightily in front of this group as of late, as the Leafs sit 22nd in the league in goals against. The biggest factor in this problem has been their atrocious penalty killing, currently 27th in the league at 77.8%.
Rookie goalie James Reimer has been a breath of fresh air for the club as of late, going 3-1 in his 4 starts since being called up for a second time to replace an injured JS Giguere, posting a 1.90 GAA and a sparking 0.945 save % while facing an average of 36 shots per game. Reimer has been a consistent performer throughout his minor league career, and his demeanor and positional play seems to have a calming effect on the club. He is set to return to the Marlies once Giguere comes back from injury, but he has further strengthened what was deemed to be an already strong position for the club.
As the Leafs visit San Jose tonight, they are catching them at the right time, as the Sharks have lost 4 straight, the last two by shutout, and they are struggling to get their puck possession game back on track. The Leafs will need to improve defensively if they want to have any shot at taking down the Sharks’ offensive juggernaut, while being able to exploit the lone weakness of the Sharks by using their speed against the Sharks bigger, slower defenders.
Can the Leafs make it 4 in a row for the first time since opening the season on a 4-0 run? They are playing some pretty inspired hockey as of late and it would not be surprising. Every win buys Burke more time to find that elusive deal. Every win draws them closer and closer to the playoff mix. Every win puts them further and further from the draft lottery and the embarrassment of surrendering two top picks for Phil Kessel. Every win allows Ron Wilson to loosen his tie just a little bit and breathe a little easier. With half the season left to play, the Leafs story has yet to be fully written, but with every win, they get that much closer to a happy ending.
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Born and raised in Northern Ontario but currently living in Toronto, Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. Home to his two favourite sports teams, Tyler revels in the day to day sports experience that is Toronto. 