The Toronto Maple Leafs have made it no secret that they are in rebuilding mode, or more accurately for long time followers, building mode. That is no excuse for poor performance in the faceoff circle. A centre snagging the puck doesn't guarantee a goal right off the draw but it certainly makes it harder for the opposition to pot the puck into the twine.
With faceoff specialists in the form of Joe Nieuwendyk as Special Assistant to the General Manager and Keith Acton as Assistant Coach this is one area where the Leafs have an excellent opportunity for improvement. Nieuwendyk no doubt has a lot of paper work to deal with in his day job, but surely Acton could spend more time on faceoffs with his pivots. Dealing with draws is done but these days the stats show it needs more practice.
Pittsburgh beat Toronto 4-1 last night but looking at the faceoff stats that's no surprise:
Mayers - 3/5 - 60%
Grabovski - 5/10 - 50%
Stajan - 2/4 - 50%
Antropov - 2/5 - 40%
Mitchell - 5/14 - 36%
Moore - 4/16 - 25%
Compare that to Pittsburgh's pivots:
Crosby - 16/22 - 73%
Talbot - 5/8 - 63%
Staal - 7/12 - 58%
Zigomanis - 5/11 -45%
Head-to-head versus Crosby no Leafs centre could win more than 50% of the draws against him.
9-out-of-12 games played tonight were won by the team with the better faceoff stats. In the age of the salary cap, puck possession off the draw is as cost effective as it gets.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Leafs Faceoff Follies
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Leafs Won! No, For Real!
The Toronto Maple Leafs exploded with three unanswered goals to stomp the Islanders 3-1. Davidson's beauty of a goal would have been the game winner, but the Leafs just had to spoil it.
Pavel Kubina got the game winner, his 3rd in 4 games.
All in all, not too shabby for a team without their top two scorers, Sundin and Antropov.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Somehow, The Leafs Believe They'll Make the Playoffs
I knew being a Leafs fan required suspension of belief. I didn't realise that extended to the players.
The Buds put on a game 7, Cup Final worthy performance Tuesday night against the Flyers. It was one of those games were you couldn't believe how much grit, heart and soul the Leafs can really muster. It was one of those games were you couldn't figure out where the heck they'd been keeping performances like that.
5 more wins, or in modern NHL lingo, 10 fewer OTL/SO losses and the Flyers would have been nipping the Leafs heels for 8th in the East.
Memorable moments for Leafs fans this season have been few and far between - we've got tonight, let's back it last...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Leafs On a Tear!
The Toronto Maple Leafs are frequent flyers in their annual flight to finish 9th in the East! They have won 5 of their last 6 games, 6 points out of a playoff spot.
Some in Leafs Nation have been drinking the kool-aid, eating the 'shrooms and think the Leafs are now playoff contenders. Seriously - no drug can be THAT powerful.
The Buds nipped away at the Panthers' heels Wednesday night, taking 2 points. Jeremy Williams scored the first Leafs goal. Williams now holds the record for a quirky stat: he is the only NHLer to have scored a goal a game in an NHL games in 3 separate years.
It was yet again, Mats Sundin donning his Captain Clutch Helmet to steal the game. Sundin's second of the game, with barely a minute remaining in regulation, tied the game. Tomas Kaberle was the lone scorer in the shootout, sealing the deal for the Leafs.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Best of Both Worlds
With the brouhaha over the recent dismissal of John Ferguson JR reaching all time new heights even for Leafs Nation, it was nice to sit back and concentrate on watching a game. Thanks to a friend of mine who couldn't make it to tonight's Leafs/Caps tilt at ACC, my son and I snagged a pair of tickets - at cost! In a city where tickets for the entire season sell out on the first day of sales, that's no mean feat.
I'm a die hard Leafs fan but I have a soft spot for Russian hockey players, a la Ovechkin. This game did not disappoint, despite the Caps manhandling the Leafs. Ovechkin scored a beauty of a goal, but with 30 seconds left in a 2-2 game, none other than Captain Crunch himself, Mats Sundin, potted the GWG for the Leafs. Both Alexander the Great II and O Captain, My Captain buried the biscuit in the twine so I could be happy on all accounts.
