The Maple Leafs are in the process of welcoming back two significant defencemen: Ian White from injury and Pavel Kubina from the hockey purgatory of self-doubt.
White will likely be in uniform tonight, his separated shoulder healed enough over the last three weeks that he'll be able to employ his puck moving skills at Carolina. Like Tobacco Road's chief export, his recovery was cut and dried.
Kubina's return to form, an on-going process, is more vague; more mental than medicinal.
Kubina was once a stud defenceman on the Tampa blue line, at least he was that during the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship, who cashed in on that notoriety with a whopping $20 million (all figures U.S.) contract to play for the Leafs for four years. At the age of 29, he had the world by the Bolts.
Anaheim Ducks General Manager Brian Burke vehemently shot down a Toronto-based rumour that he was talking to the Maple Leafs about captain Mats Sundin.
"Teams are walking that tight rope," said Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke. "It takes courage to sell this early. But I think there will be so few teams mathematically eliminated at the deadline that the playoff-bound teams will end up fighting over five or six guys."
Pavel Kubina is a favourite target of radio callers because of his US$5-million paycheque and inconsistent play.
Games like Saturday night will go a long way to silence his critics. Kubina had two goals and an assist and played a sound defensive game in leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win over the rival Montreal Canadiens.
"There's always a lot of pressure," said Kubina. "And somehow you have to control that pressure. I don't mind that pressure. I think it's good for me and it pushes me."
The Toronto Maple Leafs returned from the all-star break with one of their better defensive efforts of the season and it's that kind of hockey they'll need to keep playing to have a chance of reaching the post-season.
They stifled the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-1 win Saturday night, taking a fewer chances and making life easier on goalie Andrew Raycroft.
"More simple, not more conservative. A more simple game," said Leafs head coach Paul Maurice. "We don't have to make a breakaway pass every time we touch the puck. Some much of our problems comes from turnovers when we're trying to force plays.
Promoted to an NHL coach in Hartford in his late 20s, Paul Maurice felt his aging process already was accelerated. Thus, turning 40 yesterday was not a traumatic event.
"I think the opposite is true," Maurice said.
"You get addicted to this lifestyle, the emotional ups and downs, the gratification when you win, the horrible feelings when you lose. You get to the point where you need it, to where the summer feels like it's dragging until you get back at it.
Andrew Raycroft wants to be revered in Toronto like his pal Felix Potvin and Paul Maurice seems ready to give him that big chance to succeed or fail.
In reiterating yesterday that Raycroft could play all 31 remaining games, the coach would be making the inconsistent Raycroft the first Leafs goalie since Potvin to get in 70 decisions in one season. Potvin established that club record in 1996-97, but his mark of 27 wins, 36 losses and seven ties failed to get the Leafs in the playoffs. Read More
Paul Maurice's 40th birthday turned into Christmas for Nik Antropov.
The Maple Leafs tied a bright Carolina-red bow around their fourth win in five games and second of the season in the shadow of the Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup banner at RBC Center.
Antropov had two goals -- his seventh and eighth of the season -- and Andrew Raycroft made 28 saves, one a penalty shot, in the 4-1 match, earning the Leafs a chance at eighth spot tonight with a win in New York against the Rangers in the ever-changing Eastern Conference race.
Andrew Raycroft gets it. He understands why you boo him. He knows he's let in some soft goals.
But the goaltender also knows it's not too late to redeem himself. Not in this market. Not with a playoff spot within reach for the Maple Leafs.
"It changes instantly if you win," he said yesterday as the Leafs prepared to launch what they are calling their post-season push by hosting the Montreal Canadiens tonight.
Mats Sundin has company when it comes to being a quick healer.
Defenceman Ian White was close to returning yesterday from a shoulder injury, which was expected to sideline him for at least three weeks.
White could have played against Montreal last night at the Air Canada Centre, but doctors and coaches decided to put him through the rigours of two or three full practices first.
Half and half. Six of one, a half dozen of the other. Fifty-fifty. Comme ci, comme ça. So-so. Flip a coin. Even Steven.
Take your pick, but never forget that when it comes to deciding if a glass is half full or half empty, perception is everything.
The Maple Leafs entered play last night with 50 points in 49 games but most people view their glass as half empty. As for their traditionally weak sister co-franchise, the Raptors, at 22-22 they not only are getting the half-full treatment, their champagne flute was practically overflowing with praise. Which is all as it should be.
When Toronto Marlies forwards Kris Newbury and Erik Westrum step on to the ice tomorrow night at Ricoh Coliseum for the American Hockey League all-star game, they'll be joining the world's best minor league players.
The rosters are made up of everyone from rookie hopefuls to seasoned players still hoping for a chance at full-time NHL employment, and veterans on the downside of their careers.
Earlier this season, Pavel Kubina's fiancée delivered a baby in the Czech Republic; last night the defenceman, finally, delivered a big offensive performance.
The gestation period for both arrivals was about the same.
Kubina was inked to a four-year, $20 million (U.S.) contract on July 1 with the expectation that he would provide Toronto with the stellar two-way hockey that was a big part of Tampa's Stanley Cup win in 2004.
Kubina hasn't been playing badly, but he hadn't played well enough to significantly erode the playing time of blue line workhorses Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle.
Jeff O'Neill stood by the open door leading to the Maple Leaf dressing room with his blue glove held high, waiting as each teammate delivered a congratulatory palm slap in the wake of a convincing victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Being head cheerleader was certainly not a role O'Neill would have filled last season when he battled both personal grief and a startling deterioration in performance.
Leafs coach Paul Maurice can't think of a better place to celebrate his 40th birthday than a hockey rink.
Good thing, then, because his Leafs are taking on the Carolina Hurricanes this evening at the RBC Centre, getting in the way of any other plans Maurice might have made for a milestone birthday.
"Hopefully we'll get him a win," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin.
The game is the first of five in a row on the road for the Leafs. With games tomorrow night in New York against the Rangers and Saturday night in Ottawa, the Leafs face three teams they are chasing for a playoff spot.
The Leafs have won both games in Carolina this season, which pleases coach Paul Maurice, who turned 40 yesterday. Maurice coached the Hurricanes for almost nine seasons.
"I don't think that was on anybody's mind on the bench," Maurice said. "They're the Stanley Cup champion, not because I was here, but because they're a damn good team. I believe that would be their ninth home loss.
"It's funny, when you come back to this place. I know the roads, but it's not home."
The Toronto Maple Leafs, who are on the razor's edge of making the playoffs, are going to need Razor's edge just to qualify for the post-season.
That's because Maple Leaf coach Paul Maurice says it's going to be all Andrew Raycroft, all the time.
"I'm going to run Razor as hard as I possibly can," Maurice said before last night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. "I think his game is coming. He's feeling confident about himself. He won us a game in Tampa. He was solid the other night."
The Maple Leafs kicked off perhaps the toughest part of their schedule – the first of five in a row on the road – by grinding out a 4-1 win last night over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nik Antropov scored two goals in the third period and Andrew Raycroft stood his ground with another solid goaltending performance as the Leafs won their fifth in the last seven games.
The talk heading into last night's action was all about trying to win consistently, about trying to get into a playoff spot, then making a run through the middle of a tight pack of Eastern Conference teams.
When the Maple Leafs and New York Rangers clash at Madison Square Garden tonight, there's no question there will be a significant amount riding on the outcome.
Both squads, after all, are battling for their very lives, at least in terms of hoping to play beyond the conclusion of the regular season schedule.
That both are scraping and scrambling for the same post-season position rather than a division lead or first place in the conference and is a reflection of the way in which both teams are grappling with the new demands of the salary cap era.
Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky have often absorbed the collective brunt of disgruntled Leaf fans, who often accuse the duo of not living up to their vast potential.But both showed up to play on Tuesday night when the Leafs took on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Antropov scored two third-period goals to lead the Buds to a 4-1 win and Ponikarovsky played a spirited, physical game, even dropping the gloves to engage David Tanabe in a spirited fight after Tanabe took exception to a knee-on-knee hit that Ponikarovsky laid on Canes' captain Rod Brind'Amour.
When John Pohl was informed that he and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates just gave their head coach the perfect 40th birthday present, the first-year centre was startled.
"It's his 40th birthday?" Pohl said, moments after the Leafs disposed of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in their own building. "We didn't know that."
All of a sudden Pohl had a mischievous grin on his mug and was looking for a teammate to spread the news. But really it didn't matter what kind of impromptu hijinks the Toronto players had in store for Paul Maurice on the charter flight to New York last night, two victories, six weeks apart, in his first two trips back to a place he used to coach could not spoil the moment.
The inexplicable Toronto Maple Leafs are becoming more of a mystery as the NHL's regular season approaches the all-important stretch drive. For a change, however, circumstances are on the bright side for one of the league's most inconsistent teams.
Skating without three of their most significant players, the Leafs have suddenly won five of their past seven games, including a thorough 4-1 decision over the Carolina Hurricanes last night here at the RBC Center.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping they can turn their defense around in the second half of the season, but doing it against the Carolina Hurricanes won't be easy.
The Maple Leafs open a season-high five-game road trip Tuesday when they meet the Hurricanes.
Toronto (23-21-6) ranks near the bottom of the league with 3.30 goals allowed per game. However, the Maple Leafs got a strong defensive effort in Saturday's 4-1 win over Montreal in their first game following the All-Star break.
The Toronto Maple Leafs opened a five-game road trip, their longest of the season, on a winning note.
Nik Antropov scored twice in the third period as the visiting Maple Leafs clipped the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 at the RBC Center on Tuesday.
"We played hard," said Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice, who celebrated his 40th birthday with a second straight road win over his former team.
The Maple Leafs kicked off perhaps the toughest part of their schedule - the first of five in a row on the road - by grinding out a 4-1 win last night over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nik Antropov scored two goals in the third period and Andrew Raycroft stood his ground with another solid goaltending performance as the Leafs won their fifth in the last seven games.
The talk heading into last night's action was all about trying to win consistently, about trying to get into a playoff spot, then making a run through the middle of a tight pack of Eastern Conference teams.
Nik Antropov is out to prove the Toronto Maple Leafs can score - and win - without their injured stars. Antropov scored two goals in the third period to lead Toronto to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
"You can see the last few games, everybody was kind of scoring - young guys take it on their shoulders, and older guys step up and everybody played equal," Antropov said. "Now you have to win all of them (to make the playoffs), so that's what we're trying to do."
Nik Antropov scored two goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs began a five-game road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.
Bates Battaglia also scored for Toronto, which has won four of its last five games and will visit the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Andrew Raycroft was stellar with 28 saves for Toronto, while Tomas Kaberle added an empty-net goal in the victory.
Ray Whitney tallied the only goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost four of their last five games and are now eight points behind the Southeast Division- leading Atlanta Thrashers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will begin their longest road trip of the season tonight, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.
The Maple Leafs have won three of their last four games and were able to beat the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Pavel Kubina notched a pair of goals and also added an assist to lift Toronto to the 4-1 home victory.
Nik Antropov scored two goals in the third period to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
Bates Battaglia also scored, Tomas Kaberle had an empty-net goal and an assist and Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 shots for the Maple Leafs, who kept the Hurricanes scoreless in the final two periods.
Toronto held a 38-29 shots advantage and won for the fourth time in five games.
Ray Whitney scored and Cam Ward stopped 34 shots for the Hurricanes, who have dropped four of five.
In this, the 40th season of the Philadelphia Flyers and the 40th year since the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, there hasn't been much worth celebrating.
Unless you look beneath the surface a little.
The Flyers, with a history of going big or going home, are going small this season. They are the worst team in hockey. They have never been that before.
A year ago, when the Leafs were firing Pat Quinn and trying to explain how the playoffs were missed, the Flyers finished with 101 points. One season later, the Leafs are still on the verge of being a playoff team -- they haven't gotten much better, haven't gotten much worse -- the Flyers hid rock bottom.
Kingston Steen discovered laughter recently, an entertaining self-revelation that has seen the three-month-old baby boy breaking out in giggles over just about anything -- including his own feet --ever since.
"It's hilarious," Kingston's proud father, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alex Steen, said after practice at the Air Canada Centre yesterday. "He is starting to laugh, and he is grabbing at you a little bit.
"It is an amazing time, and you never get it back, and I don't want to miss it."
With defenceman Ian White expected to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup tonight after a three-week absence, he'll find himself paired with former partner Hal Gill.
The duo earned the nickname Fred and Barney from teammates earlier in the season because of the height discrepancy between the towering six-foot-seven Gill and the five-foot-10 White.
In an interesting twist to this plot, White will make his comeback versus the same Carolina Hurricanes team that he first hurt himself against.
The Maple Leafs leave for Tobacco Road this afternoon, hoping their playoff aspirations don't go up in smoke.
Normally, a five-game trip in late January shouldn't be viewed as a make-or-break endeavour for the entire season but, in the minds of some players, it could well end up being exactly that.
"I was the resident poker champ until he showed up," Leafs defenceman Brendan Bell said Monday. "He's dethroned me." No surprise there. Green's poker pedigree stands out among his teammates and really amongst most other NHLers.
Toronto Marlies forward Erik Westrum may have been a visitor, but he certainly looked at home in the AHL all-star game Monday night.
The 27-year-old from Minneapolis scored the tying goal for PlanetUSA midway through the third period in a 7-6 victory over the Canadian all-stars. Westrum, who leads the Marlies with 19 goals, 29 assists and 48 points this season, also had an assist in his second AHL all-star appearance.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had hoped injured forward Darcy Tucker would return soon after the All-Star break to give the team a boost in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Instead, they returned Thursday to find Tucker on crutches with his foot in a cast and no definitive word on when he'll return.
Tucker, the Maple Leafs' top scorer with 19 goals, took a shot off his left foot in a game against Minnesota on Dec. 26. He returned to the lineup Jan. 1 against Boston, but has been sidelined since. He had hoped to come back against Florida on Jan. 18, but experienced more swelling after practicing and was shut down.
Montreal defenseman Sheldon Souray still thinks the Canadiens are better than the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite another loss to their rivals.
Defenseman Pavel Kubina scored twice to lead the Maple Leafs to a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens on Saturday night.
"I would definitely say that team over there is not better than us over the last 50 games," Souray said. "We've shown that we are a better team than them. Every time we play them they get emotionally ready. They pick their game up another gear or two and we don't match it."
The NHL trade deadline is still four weeks away, but already speculation has begun as to which Maple Leafs might be on the move.
The Anaheim Ducks are apparently interested in captain Mats Sundin, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are reportedly trying to acquire forward Darcy Tucker, and several Stanley Cup contenders are supposedly making bids for veteran Michael Peca.
They may all be rumours with little or no validity. But according to Leafs head coach Paul Maurice, they have the ability to isolate players and tear apart a dressing room if not handled properly.
The Leafs are sitting two points back of the final playoff spot in the East, and the team's next three games (Hurricanes, Rangers, Senators) are against clubs they are anxious to catch.
Who's hot? Ian White's shoulder. The diminutive defenceman has been given the medical thumbs-up to play after missing six games.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was wrong in assuming hockey fans would fill the Ricoh Coliseum for Marlies games simply because of the success of the Leafs brand, says the president of the American Hockey League.
But Dave Andrews expects MLSE will overhaul its business approach for the Marlies next season, introducing a more fan-friendly marketing plan.
The Maple Leafs are in the process of welcoming back two significant defencemen: Ian White from injury and Pavel Kubina from the hockey purgatory of self-doubt.
White will likely be in uniform tonight, his separated shoulder healed enough over the last three weeks that he'll be able to employ his puck moving skills at Carolina. Like Tobacco Road's chief export, his recovery was cut and dried.
Kubina's return to form, an on-going process, is more vague; more mental than medicinal.
Paul Maurice has done a masterful job of managing expectations in Canada's largest media market this season.
It started in training camp when the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach predicted his team would be in a dogfight to make the post-season. Score one for Maurice on that front.
On Monday, he tried to downplay what appears on the surface to be a critical five-game road test beginning Tuesday night at Carolina.
Toronto Maple Leafs' Pavel Kubina brought smiles to the faces of adoring fans for a second day in a row.
On Saturday night the big defenceman had a three-point night, and yesterday continued his streak, winning over the hearts of 1,200 kids and their parents raising at least $120,000 for the Easter Seals Society.
"It is a lot of fun having them here and making them happy. This is awesome" Kubina said as he skated, posed for photos and signed blue and white shirts.
In their final game before the all-star break, the Toronto Maple Leafs were dismantled by the Pittsburgh Penguins. It left a sour taste in their mouths and made getting away for a break that much sweeter.
"It was good to get away and forget about things a little bit," said winger Bates Battaglia, who chose Miami Beach as his place to unwind this week.
With Calgary and Edmonton looking to bolster their lineup for a final playoff push, both teams are examining the possibility of prying Darcy Tucker away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to the Toronto Star, both the Flames and Oilers are interested in the feisty winger, who has been out of the lineup since Boxing Day with an injury to his left foot. Still, according to the paper, Edmonton and Calgary are in "tire-kicking" mode with Tucker, who has also been linked to Dallas and San Jose.
John Ferguson was always ready to drop the gloves if need be during his days as a scrappy NHL forward and he needs that fighting spirit more than ever now that he's battling cancer.
Standing in a Saturday evening mist outside the south-end service entrance of the Air Canada Centre, Graig Abel smokes a cigarette and watches the traffic on Lake Shore Blvd., waiting for the Maple Leafs game to begin.
Though unknown to the public, Abel's pre-game smoke – he's there before every home game, and during most intermissions – is probably the oldest of all Leaf rituals. (Unless, that is, not winning the Stanley Cup counts as a ritual.)
Consider: since 1977 the Leafs have had six captains, 15 head coaches, three sets of owners and hundreds of players, but there has been only one official team photographer – Abel.
