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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • Fan 590 •
TORONTO (Nov. 11) – On the whole, it is indisputable that the Minnesota Wild deserved to beat the Maple Leafs Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre. The 5-2 score did justice to the game, which Minnesota controlled for all but a few minutes of the first period. That should not be acceptable to the Leafs or their followers, given that the Wild came into the match with an appalling 1-8-0 record on the road this season. But, there appears to be no limit to the number of times the post-lockout Maple Leafs will lay an egg on home ice, particularly after a good effort and result in the previous game.
An indefensible air of satisfaction overcomes this team after attaining even modest success… a disorder so predictable nowadays that players talk about it beforehand. Clearly, they are powerless to avoid such circumstance, and have been through the bulk of the franchise’s half-decade-long playoff drought.
Compounding the issue, an important factor was poorly managed by the Leafs on Tuesday. It is clear that Michael Komisarek had no business being in uniform for the hockey club. Komisarek suffered either a charley-horse or a bruised tail-bone [perhaps both] after mistiming a hip-check along the boards against Detroit on Saturday. After a complete day off Sunday, he was unable to practice with the Leafs on Monday at the MasterCard Centre. Still, he was deemed “probable” by coach Ron Wilson for the Minnesota game. The record shows that Komisarek lasted all of two minutes and 47 seconds before retiring for the night with a “recurrence” of the injury… thereby consigning his team to five defensemen for virtually the entire game.
Obviously, Komisarek was in no condition to take part, and the blame for putting him in the line-up falls on Wilson, as the coach ultimately determines which players dress. In this case, however, Komisarek was at least jointly culpable. Though I don't know the veteran blue-liner particularly well, he’s among the vast majority of NHLers that convince themselves and their coaches they are fit for action. Ordinarily, this is considered a valiant trait, and it appears to be indigenous to hockey players. But, there’s a bold line that separates mettle from selfishness and irresponsibility. As part of a team that was staggering with only three wins in 15 games, it was incumbent upon Komisarek to gauge his body, and to honorably determine whether he was putting the Leafs in a precarious spot. The fact he was unable to survive more than a couple of shifts against Minnesota indicates, beyond doubt, he had not recovered from the damage incurred only three nights earlier.
Hindsight shows this was no surprise. Given that Komisarek was unfit for practice on Monday, it is inexplicable why Wilson told reporters he was “probable” for the Minnesota game.
Only two weeks earlier, the coach had astutely managed the return to action of Jonas Gustavsson off a groin ailment. On Friday, October 23rd, in Vancouver, Gustavsson fully took part in the Leafs practice at the University of British Columbia, showing no symptoms of the injury. It was his second consecutive workout with the team and, moments later, the rookie confirmed to a flock of media that he was pain-free. With his club winless through seven games, it had to be awfully tempting for Wilson to start his promising freshman against the Canucks the following night. Instead, the coach bit the bullet one last time and stayed with the original plan of using farm-hand Joey MacDonald. He was rewarded for his patience when Gustavsson returned two nights later, in Anaheim, and began a streak of five undefeated starts in regulation, thereby lifting the Leafs out of the NHL basement.
The same principle, evidently, was not applied to Komisarek. Wilson surely checked with the big defenseman about his mobility and discomfort after the morning skate on Tuesday and was convinced not to worry. As previously mentioned, such a response is almost universal among tough hockey players. But, the tip-off here should have been Komisarek’s inability to practice with his teammates only 24 hours earlier. Wilson had been unwilling to proclaim Gustavsson fit for action until the netminder thoroughly withstood full practices on consecutive days. Yet, he returned one of his most important skaters to the ice without even a single workout between injury and game. It’s no wonder the coach refused to discuss Komisarek’s status after practice earlier today.
This reckless joint-decision left the Leafs shorthanded at a critical spot for almost the entire Minnesota game, and who knows the extent to which it aggravated Komisarek’s injury? Even a first-place team needs to be prudent; a bottom-feeder like the Leafs – desperate for points in the standings – must thoroughly avoid any such miscalculation.
**************************************
I’m starting to seriously wonder about the Leafs’ practice, this season, of having a lengthy ceremony before almost every home game. The merit of each celebration or observance is beyond reproach; they are moving and immaculate, and the club does a terrific job putting them together. But, they seem to be having an adverse effect on the players. In the best of circumstances, the Leafs do not perform well on home ice. This season, the fans at the ACC are quick to grow restless and vent their wrath. The players normally won’t admit it, but jeering from the home audience gets to them, and it’s something they probably anticipate with concern before the opening face-off. To have to stand at the blue-line and watch a ceremony for 15 minutes is likely distracting and unnerving for the local lads. The opposition team also watches, but performing at the ACC is not nearly as taxing for visitors as it is appears to be for the home team. Perhaps choosing not to interrupt the momentum of the Leafs charging from the dressing room onto the ice – amid the hoopla and din of Andy Frost’s pre-game introductions – would help the players stay focused, and react more naturally once the puck is dropped.
**************************************
I look forward to being in Chicago for the Leafs-Blackhawks game on Friday. When the enormous United Center is filled to capacity with rabid Hawks’ fans, there is no better environment in the NHL… the lone exception being a Saturday-night Leafs/Canadiens encounter in Montreal. I had the privilege of covering two playoff games in Chicago last spring – one against Vancouver; another against Detroit. Though it seems more manufactured than it was during the halcyon days of Chicago Stadium, the tumult that accompanies the Star Spangled Banner is awe-inspiring. The United Center has the best sound system – and organist [Frank Pellico] – in the league.
**************************************
Though the consensus appears to be that Gustavsson played below par in the loss to Minnesota – true, it wasn’t his finest hour – the Wild still would have scored seven or eight goals before the third period if not for the Swede’s early brilliance. In the blog I wrote on Monday, I criticized Brian Burke for telling FAN-590 colleague Alex Seixeiro that Vesa Toskala is still the Leafs’ No. 1 goalie. Vesa is no more the club’s starting netminder right now than Colton Orr is the most prolific scoring winger, or Ian White the prime enforcer. Some narrow-minded people have suggested that Burke’s motive was to “enhance” Toskala’s market value — as if opposing GMs and pro scouts are going to base a trade decision on wishful, misleading remarks. But, while I stand by the blog’s content, I quickly regretted using the word “manure” in the headline. It was childish and disrespectful on my part, and Burke did not deserve such a reference. I apologized to him in an e-mail on Tuesday.
**************************************
Many people are marveling at New Jersey’s unblemished road record this season, and it is a remarkable accomplishment for the club to be 8-0-0 away from the Prudential Center. But, the Devils – in the Martin Brodeur era – have frequently been brilliant in opposition arenas. Witness the following season road records:
1996-97: 22-14-5
1998-99: 28-10-3
2000-01: 24-8-9
2002-03: 21-9-11
2006-07: 24-14-3
2008-09: 23-15-3
The Maple Leafs’ best-ever record away from home was a splendid 23-10-8 mark under Pat Quinn in 2003-04.
**************************************
I was asked in an e-mail the other day to name my favorite NHL uniforms. Top three, for me: a) Minnesota’s home red; b) Philadelphia's orange third jersey; c) the Maple Leafs’ predominantly white replica from the mid-1960s… also a third jersey.
E-mail howardlberger@gmail.com
An indefensible air of satisfaction overcomes this team after attaining even modest success… a disorder so predictable nowadays that players talk about it beforehand. Clearly, they are powerless to avoid such circumstance, and have been through the bulk of the franchise’s half-decade-long playoff drought.
Compounding the issue, an important factor was poorly managed by the Leafs on Tuesday. It is clear that Michael Komisarek had no business being in uniform for the hockey club. Komisarek suffered either a charley-horse or a bruised tail-bone [perhaps both] after mistiming a hip-check along the boards against Detroit on Saturday. After a complete day off Sunday, he was unable to practice with the Leafs on Monday at the MasterCard Centre. Still, he was deemed “probable” by coach Ron Wilson for the Minnesota game. The record shows that Komisarek lasted all of two minutes and 47 seconds before retiring for the night with a “recurrence” of the injury… thereby consigning his team to five defensemen for virtually the entire game.
Obviously, Komisarek was in no condition to take part, and the blame for putting him in the line-up falls on Wilson, as the coach ultimately determines which players dress. In this case, however, Komisarek was at least jointly culpable. Though I don't know the veteran blue-liner particularly well, he’s among the vast majority of NHLers that convince themselves and their coaches they are fit for action. Ordinarily, this is considered a valiant trait, and it appears to be indigenous to hockey players. But, there’s a bold line that separates mettle from selfishness and irresponsibility. As part of a team that was staggering with only three wins in 15 games, it was incumbent upon Komisarek to gauge his body, and to honorably determine whether he was putting the Leafs in a precarious spot. The fact he was unable to survive more than a couple of shifts against Minnesota indicates, beyond doubt, he had not recovered from the damage incurred only three nights earlier.
Hindsight shows this was no surprise. Given that Komisarek was unfit for practice on Monday, it is inexplicable why Wilson told reporters he was “probable” for the Minnesota game.
Only two weeks earlier, the coach had astutely managed the return to action of Jonas Gustavsson off a groin ailment. On Friday, October 23rd, in Vancouver, Gustavsson fully took part in the Leafs practice at the University of British Columbia, showing no symptoms of the injury. It was his second consecutive workout with the team and, moments later, the rookie confirmed to a flock of media that he was pain-free. With his club winless through seven games, it had to be awfully tempting for Wilson to start his promising freshman against the Canucks the following night. Instead, the coach bit the bullet one last time and stayed with the original plan of using farm-hand Joey MacDonald. He was rewarded for his patience when Gustavsson returned two nights later, in Anaheim, and began a streak of five undefeated starts in regulation, thereby lifting the Leafs out of the NHL basement.
The same principle, evidently, was not applied to Komisarek. Wilson surely checked with the big defenseman about his mobility and discomfort after the morning skate on Tuesday and was convinced not to worry. As previously mentioned, such a response is almost universal among tough hockey players. But, the tip-off here should have been Komisarek’s inability to practice with his teammates only 24 hours earlier. Wilson had been unwilling to proclaim Gustavsson fit for action until the netminder thoroughly withstood full practices on consecutive days. Yet, he returned one of his most important skaters to the ice without even a single workout between injury and game. It’s no wonder the coach refused to discuss Komisarek’s status after practice earlier today.
This reckless joint-decision left the Leafs shorthanded at a critical spot for almost the entire Minnesota game, and who knows the extent to which it aggravated Komisarek’s injury? Even a first-place team needs to be prudent; a bottom-feeder like the Leafs – desperate for points in the standings – must thoroughly avoid any such miscalculation.
**************************************
I’m starting to seriously wonder about the Leafs’ practice, this season, of having a lengthy ceremony before almost every home game. The merit of each celebration or observance is beyond reproach; they are moving and immaculate, and the club does a terrific job putting them together. But, they seem to be having an adverse effect on the players. In the best of circumstances, the Leafs do not perform well on home ice. This season, the fans at the ACC are quick to grow restless and vent their wrath. The players normally won’t admit it, but jeering from the home audience gets to them, and it’s something they probably anticipate with concern before the opening face-off. To have to stand at the blue-line and watch a ceremony for 15 minutes is likely distracting and unnerving for the local lads. The opposition team also watches, but performing at the ACC is not nearly as taxing for visitors as it is appears to be for the home team. Perhaps choosing not to interrupt the momentum of the Leafs charging from the dressing room onto the ice – amid the hoopla and din of Andy Frost’s pre-game introductions – would help the players stay focused, and react more naturally once the puck is dropped.
**************************************
I look forward to being in Chicago for the Leafs-Blackhawks game on Friday. When the enormous United Center is filled to capacity with rabid Hawks’ fans, there is no better environment in the NHL… the lone exception being a Saturday-night Leafs/Canadiens encounter in Montreal. I had the privilege of covering two playoff games in Chicago last spring – one against Vancouver; another against Detroit. Though it seems more manufactured than it was during the halcyon days of Chicago Stadium, the tumult that accompanies the Star Spangled Banner is awe-inspiring. The United Center has the best sound system – and organist [Frank Pellico] – in the league.
**************************************
Though the consensus appears to be that Gustavsson played below par in the loss to Minnesota – true, it wasn’t his finest hour – the Wild still would have scored seven or eight goals before the third period if not for the Swede’s early brilliance. In the blog I wrote on Monday, I criticized Brian Burke for telling FAN-590 colleague Alex Seixeiro that Vesa Toskala is still the Leafs’ No. 1 goalie. Vesa is no more the club’s starting netminder right now than Colton Orr is the most prolific scoring winger, or Ian White the prime enforcer. Some narrow-minded people have suggested that Burke’s motive was to “enhance” Toskala’s market value — as if opposing GMs and pro scouts are going to base a trade decision on wishful, misleading remarks. But, while I stand by the blog’s content, I quickly regretted using the word “manure” in the headline. It was childish and disrespectful on my part, and Burke did not deserve such a reference. I apologized to him in an e-mail on Tuesday.
**************************************
Many people are marveling at New Jersey’s unblemished road record this season, and it is a remarkable accomplishment for the club to be 8-0-0 away from the Prudential Center. But, the Devils – in the Martin Brodeur era – have frequently been brilliant in opposition arenas. Witness the following season road records:
1996-97: 22-14-5
1998-99: 28-10-3
2000-01: 24-8-9
2002-03: 21-9-11
2006-07: 24-14-3
2008-09: 23-15-3
The Maple Leafs’ best-ever record away from home was a splendid 23-10-8 mark under Pat Quinn in 2003-04.
**************************************
I was asked in an e-mail the other day to name my favorite NHL uniforms. Top three, for me: a) Minnesota’s home red; b) Philadelphia's orange third jersey; c) the Maple Leafs’ predominantly white replica from the mid-1960s… also a third jersey.
E-mail howardlberger@gmail.com
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