A full 60-minute effort was something that the Toronto Maple Leafs had not put forth all season, but after giving their worst game of the year in St. Louis on Thursday, the struggling club responded with their most dominant performance in a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Air Canada Center.
Unlike most of their wins this season, Saturday’s pasting of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions was not due to an unconscious goaltending performance by Jonathan Bernier or a offensive barrage by leading scorers Phil Kessel or James van Riemsdyk, it came about due to balanced offensive production from Toronto’s top three forward lines and the ability of their defensive corps to carry the puck effectively and get shots through to the net.
The only hiccup in the game was the fact that in spite of having the better opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, the game was tied 1-1 due to Mason Raymond giving the Hawks a two man advantage with a tripping penalty deep in the Chicago zone which led to Patrick Kane’s power play goal which deflected off of Dion Phaneuf’s stick past Bernier.
The Leafs newly formed second line of Joffrey Lupul, Peter Holland and Mason Raymond combined for three goals(2 PP, 1 ES) and 11 points on the night, while the checking line of Nikolai Kulemin, Jay McClement and Jerry D’Amigo registered two goals, including D’Amigo’s first career NHL goal 42 seconds into the middle frame.
“We’re always striving, specifically this year, that we’ve been challenged to get offense spread out through our lineup.… Randy Carlyle said after the game.
Holland was given a more prominent role out of necessity as Toronto’s lineup was reshuffled Saturday afternoon in the wake of winger David Clarkson’s two game suspension for his hit on Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka, and the 22-year-old Caledon, ON native took advantage of the opportunity, scoring twice and adding an assist, Lupul scored two goals and two assists and Raymond registered four assists, moving to third on the club in scoring with 24 points.
“We had a lot of fun playing together tonight.… Holland said after the game. “Things clicked.…
Similar to their effort against Los Angeles on Wednesday, the Leafs forwards were more successful in their ability to cycle the puck and win battles along the boards, as well as use their speed to pull away from Hawks defenders, but had more hunting luck against the Finnish rookie Raanta, who allowed five goals on 25 shots before being pulled for the third period in favor of another rookie, Kent Simpson.
Saturday’s win was also the first game in which neither blueliners Paul Ranger or Mark Fraser were in the lineup. Carlyle opted to go with rookie Morgan Rielly and veteran John-Michael Liles as the third defensive pairing and they played well, other than Rielly getting caught up ice on Kane’s second period goal.
“We played our system and we moved the puck pretty much effectively and worrisome free other than about five or six minutes in the second period.… Carlyle said.
The Leafs face another difficult challenge as they face the Eastern Conference leading Penguins for the second and final time in Pittsburgh on Monday. Sidney Crosby leads the NHL in scoring with 46 points, but the Pens are even more beset by injuries and suspensions that Toronto is.
Defensemen Paul Martin, Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang are all expected to be out of the lineup due to injury, as well as blueliner Derek Engelland, who has a phone hearing scheduled on Monday due to his elbow on Wings forward Justin Abdelkader.
Forward James Neal will also be unavailable as he serves the second game of a five-game suspension for his knee-on-cranium hit on Boston’s Brad Marchand and the status of star center Evgeni Malkin is unknown after falling awkwardly into the end boards on Saturday.
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The uncensored HBO's 24/7 Road To The Winter Classic premiered on Saturday and the Leafs segments were definitely more interesting and filled with expletives than their Atlantic Division rivals.
Highlights include Randy Carlyle's battle with a defective toaster and the rather large wardrobe of team captain Dion Phaneuf.
Noticeable fact of the evening: Two appearances in the first show of Phaneuf's wife, actress Elisha Cuthbert and only one of Leafs leading scorer Phil Kessel.
Quote of the show: Carlyle in the second period intermission of Wednesdsay's 3-1 loss to Los Angeles: "Rebounds, how many rebounds are coming off this guy(Kings rookie Martin Jones)? Big chest, lots of rebounds, lots of junk out there. Feed the (bleep)ing chickens."
Listen to Leaf Buzz with myself and Norman James of CTV-London - Recorded 12/16/13
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