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A Minor Blip Or A Downward Spiral?

February 12, 2012, 5:51 PM ET [750 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It was if we were transported back in time. Seeing Mats Sundin standing at center ice at the Air Canada Center receiving the plaudits and admiration of over 19,000 grateful Toronto fans for his great career.....a nice moment for a classy gentleman…… and then the game began.

Apparently the current edition of the Blue-And-White decided to honor the former captain not only by donning his jersey in the pregame warm-up and wearing #13 patches on their game uniforms, but by reenacting the type of performance that we all became accustomed to seeing during his last days, a pathetic 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Montréal Canadiens.

Last night’s performance marks the second time in three weeks that the struggling Habs have walked into the ACC ice and been the clearly better team.

After a listless and uninteresting first period, Montréal took the lead five minutes into the middle frame on Erik Cole's 20th goal of the season, an unscreened wrist shot that slipped between the pads of James Reimer. Less than two minutes later, Luke Schenn failed to corral a rolling puck in the defensive zone and the resulting turnover led to Rene Bourque’s one-timer beating the helpless Toronto goaltender.

The Leafs were unable to mount any kind of successful counterattack against Montréal's defensive scheme and later in the period the Habs increased their lead with goals from Max Pacioretty(the first PP goal given up by the Leafs penalty killers in '12) and Lars Eller, who skated right past Dion Phaneuf and around Reimer to bury it into the gaping net.

Jonas Gustavsson came in to play in the third and allowed a goal on Mathieu Darche’s breakaway to increase the already insurmountable deficit to 5-0, after Reimer had allowed four goals on just 15 shots.

Toronto’s loss last night continues their trend of being consistently inconsistent this season. For the two weeks surrounding the All-Star Break, the young group went 5-0-1 and climbed to seventh spot in the Eastern Conference race, now after three straight losses, they are holding on to eighth position by their fingernails, one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and four in front of Winnipeg.

Before this latest losing skid, GM Brian Burke probably had a wait-and-see approach to the upcoming February 27th trade deadline, but with his team's precarious position and the fact that they are embarking on a three-game Western Canada road swing(which they traditionally have struggled in), he may find it necessary to step up efforts to upgrade his roster for the stretch drive.

The goal of obtaining a top six forward is the best case scenario, but that does not seem to be realistic in the next two weeks. What is achievable is acquiring one or two veteran players who can provide some stability, grit and needed intangibles. The Kessel-Lupul duo is among the most potent offensive combos in the league and the second line of Grabovski-Kulemin-MacArthur has had their moments, but the unit of Matthew Lombardi, Tim Connolly and Joey Crabb has been largely ineffective and is in need of a shake up.

Just before the All-Star break, Lombardi came alive and scored four goals in four games, but he has now gone eight games without a goal. Connolly has played in every game since mid-November, but you could hardly tell that from the scoresheet, as he has just three assists in the last 15 games. Crabb, who makes up for lack of talent with hustle and determination, has not been able to convert those attributes into points, as he is scored once in the last 13 games.

The formula for Toronto's opponents from now until the end of the regular season will be to concentrate their biggest forwards and best defensive pairings to wearing down and smothering the Kessel-Bozak-Lupul line. The difference between victory and defeat will be whether the other lines are able to pick up the slack.

It's more than just coincidence that the club’s 5-0-1 streak coincided with the surge of offense from the Grabovski line and that they have been scoreless in the three straight losses.

If Burke is not able to find a deal that works for him in the next couple weeks, then he will have to rely on youngsters like Matt Frattin, Joe Colborne or Nazem Kadri to change the makeup of the forward lines.

One thing is certain, another couple efforts like last night and season ticket holders will not have to worry about sending in their vouchers for playoff tickets.

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