The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to build on a generally positive and impressive 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday as they face the Detroit Red Wings in the last of their three game home stand at Air Canada Center on Saturday. Toronto moved past embarrassing performances in Buffalo one week ago and Nashville on Tuesday with an energetic effort against superstar Steven Stamko’s club, as James van Riemsdyk spearheaded a three-goal second period outburst to provide the margin of victory.
The Leafs have used disappointing home losses against Boston and Pittsburgh as motivation in follow up meetings, defeating the Bruins 6-1 on November 12 and limiting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to one assist in a 2-1 loss to the Penguins on November 14, something they will have to do with Detroit superstar Henrik Zetterberg on Saturday. Zetterberg had four assists in a 4-1 domination of the Leafs at ACC on October 17 and scored the game-winner in a 1-0 overtime victory the next night with 10 seconds remaining in extra time at Joe Louis Arena.
The Wings are 4-1-1 in their last six games and are expected to be without veteran Pavel Datsyuk, who has missed nine of Detroit’s 19 games and is hampered with a groin injury. Toronto is 1-5-0 in their last six games against their Atlantic Division rival and that victory was at the Winter Classic 11 months ago.
The Leafs held an optional game day morning skate as they did prior to the win over Tampa, which will prevent any update of the status of winger Phil Kessel. Toronto’s leading scorer left practice on Friday after 20 minutes for an undisclosed reason, but is expected to play on Saturday. Head coach Randy Carlyle indicated following practice that forward Joffrey Lupul is close to returning from his broken hand, but that the club was targeting their next game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday for his return, as x-rays earlier in the week showed that time for some healing was still needed.
The target for forward David Booth’s Leafs debut may also be Wednesday, as the injured winger played the first of a two-game conditioning stint on Friday with the Toronto Marlies and scored their only goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. The 29-year-old winger has been out since September 28th with a broken foot.
Jonathan Bernier is expected to get his third straight start for Toronto after a solid 26 save performance on Thursday and Jimmy Howard will be between the pipes for Detroit.
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Some believe that the Leafs failing to salute at center ice following the victory over Tampa on Thursday is much ado about nothing; an overblown media created furor to pump up ratings, sell newspapers or drive page views. An unscientific poll on Sportsnet.ca says 61% of respondents believe what truly matters is that the club wins, while 39% believe the apparent snub was an insult to the fans.
While the media firestorm is undeniable, it would not have occurred if the players had not made the questionable decision to cease a benign gesture of acknowledging the paying customers at the ACC. The Leafs season has been a roller coaster ride of inconsistency, frustrating the fan base to razz goalie James Reimer after allowing 12 goals against Buffalo and Nashville, booing on numerous occasions and four instances of jerseys being thrown on the ice.
Following a closed door meeting with management after the morning skate on Friday, the players echoed the same mantra that the decision to not salute was not to insult fans but to change things in the wake of struggles on home ice. The fact that it was done following their two worst performances of the season and after two months of heightened fan discontent is just a coincidence.
“That was something we obviously discussed about and to be completely honest with you it was something about how we’ve been playing at home, our record and just changing up routine. We did a lot of stuff different throughout the day and that was one of the things we decided to change.… Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said. “We have a great respect for our fans … this by no means was any attack on our fans or anything personal, it was more about changing up routine.…
Frankly that cover story is disingenuous. No one can really know what was the motivation for this decision, whether the players were saying “you are being mean to us, so we are going to be mean to you… or some other form of petulant protest, but it was clearly not thought out and only reinforces the long held belief that the Toronto locker room is bereft of the kind of leadership that will lead them to success.
“I think that our leadership is still evolving,… Team President Brendan Shanahan said on TSN Radio Friday night. “I think that it’s not where it needs to be yet, but I think that we have people…..you look back in history of some of what we consider to be great esteemed leaders of teams and there was a learning process for them as well at a certain point in their career.…
No one really cares about the salute, but it is clear from the season thus far and this tempest in a teapot that the Leafs are as prone to errors in judgment off the ice as they are on the ice. *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
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