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| Rosehill err... Mike Brown fighting PHOTO: mapleleafs.com |
I'm still very angry about the game, so this recap will have quite a bit of flare... Just a heads up.
The Senators played last night and have to come into Toronto to play the Leafs. They obviously must be tired. The Leafs need to take advantage of that. They started off strong but as the third period came around the Leafs were exhausted. Why? Because Jay Rosehill gets to play. So that he can watch Mike Brown and Dion Phaneuf fight. That's some great coaching! Sorry Wilson, but he's a useless player and should never play a game in the NHL!
Lombardi got the Leafs to a 1-0 lead after his shot deflected off the defender. Then on an awful giveaway by Cowan the leafs scored on a two-on-one, Lupul put it away on a pass from Kessel. The Leafs were all over the Senators, but the defensive mistakes began. With 10 seconds left in the period Keith Aulie chases a man behind the net with no chance of catching him. Stupid, stupid, stupid... I can't figure out how someone decides to do that. A professional NHL hockey player. So the pass goes in front and Lupul, the back-checking Leaf, takes down a player wide open in front of Reimer. As the player goes down he hits Reimer, throws him off position and the Sens score in the dying seconds of the period.
In the second period all goes to hell... The Leafs still have tons of energy, and are all over the Senators. Anderson made some huge saves, and gets some lucky bounces and the Leafs are unable to get their third goal of the game. As the second period goes on Jason Spezza, who apparently bribed the referee in the first intermission, decides to go to the net, bump into Reimer, and then stand on his left pad for about 10 seconds. The puck then deflects wide to Daugavins who whiffs on it and kicks it towards the net. The puck is about an inch or two from the goal-line and Spezza, who is STILL standing on Reimer's pad, reaches over top of Toronto's goaltender and pokes the puck into the net. The ref on the ice called it a goal cause apparently he's smoking rocks. They would go upstairs to review if it was kicked it but because Spezza touched it just before it went it the goal counts... So now we have a tie game...
On to the third period where the Leafs have no energy because they only played with three lines because plugs like Jay Rosehill are being paid nearly a million dollars to play hockey. I would rather wipe my ass with that money than see Rosehill on the ice playing hockey. He is a terrible hockey player, and gets played to fight and defend his team and didn't do either.
Next up, cue the awful goal that the Leafs goalie, despite who it is, will inevitably let in. This time it was Reimer going down early and letting in a shot that flew over his glove... A really bad goal to let in but then again it's not like we would've had much better. Gustavsson's bad goal of the game is simply missing a shot that almost any goalie that's ever played an NHL game could save, excluding Patrick Lalime obviously. And while were at it, if Scrivens was in net, his bad goal would be playing the puck around the boards for a giveaway that goes into the back of the net... Getting back to the main topic, the Leafs blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2, in regulation to make matters worse.
Other notes from the game include Foligno going low to clip Phaneuf. Phaneuf would then fight him a few minutes later after the Leafs failed to score on the power play. He didn't jump Foligno or anything and they both seemed to agree to fight, but the ref decided to give Phaneuf an instigator... Okay... What else... Hmmm... Tyler Bozak carries the puck up the right wing, drops it to Kessel at about the center ice line. Kessel carries the puck into the zone, but realizes its offside because Tyler Bozak was tackled at the blueline and ruled offside... Without an interference call... They would also botch a play where the puck deflected off the Ottawa player's stick about a foot inside their own blueline yet the refs ruled the faceoff outside the zone. Realizing their mistake they then called the Senators on a questionable icing call.
On the plus side it was nice to see Bozak and Gardiner back on the ice. They both played well for most of the game. Bozak definitely helps the Leafs first line, they don't seem to work as well with Tim Connolly. On the injury front, Leafs expect both Liles and Armstrong to make their way back into the line-up in a week or so. The Leafs defense and powerplay have struggled with the absence of Liles, they're definitely looking forward to having him back.
Bottom line, story of NHL referees are missed calls and make-up calls. I know its a fast game, but with four of them on the ice they should be able to get the call right. I like how they all gather when the puck is flicked over the glass to make sure its a penalty, they should really do that when the one ref realizes the other has made a terrible blunder.
Next question for the Leafs is who do you start in net Thursday night? I prefer Reimer, but either way I don't think it matters much. What matters is being able to play four lines. Please Mr. Wilson, for the love of God, DON'T DRESS ANY PLUGS!
