Leafs-Canes: Leafs show poise, PK still needs work
Posted 12:15 PM ET | Comments 0
I will start this by stating due to personal obligations I missed the first half of the game due to other obligations. Due to the bipolar nature of the media in and regarding Toronto, I can't tell whether this was an amazing game by Toronto which Cam Ward earned the Hurricanes a point, or the Leafs squeaked by with a win. I will stick to the third period of this one.
The most impressive attribute of this Maple Leaf team is speed. This is no revelation, but when they choose to move their legs, they seem to be as fast or faster than most of the teams they are playing against. The power play failed to generate any scores, which is a problem, but the bigger problem I saw was that it almost gave at least one up. Carolina seems to have a knack for this, but the umbrella power play that Scott Gordon employs does add extra exposure for shorthanded goals, as the second defenseman crawls down the half wall. This is not a criticsm, as the power play did generate chances, but one risk that seemed to be obvious to me.
other musings from the third period
1. Despite giving up the goal, the penalty kill did not look horrible. If I had one knock, why was Jake Gardiner playing on a penalty kill with 2 minutes left. The kid is good, but his abilities seem more suited for the power play. Even more puzzling was why John Michael Liles was with him. I understand the need to play defenseman other than Phaneuf and Schenn, but the grouping should not place Liles-Gardiner together.
2. Speaking of Jake Gardiner, as impressive as his season has been, he seems to be coming back to earth slowly. He dropped coverage on the canes only goal on the power play, but little mistakes seem to be happening with increased frequency. That said, I still feel that he has been the best defensemen on the team this year.
3. Cody Franson is getting better each game he plays. His shot that was much advertised is good, but he also manages to skate out of trouble more often than not.
4. Phil Kessel will score in Buffalo. While he slowed down the last couple weeks, last night he started doing the things that he was early on. He drew 2 penalties last night driving into the center of the ice, bucking the recent trend of him heading off to the half wall. I would expect his numbers to start rising again as this seems to be the pattern when he breaks out of a slump.
5. Good faceoffs last night for Bozak, Connolly, and Steckel.
I will be in attendance at the First Niagara Center friday night, and will try to live tweet at the game. In recent experiences, my mobile does not work great inside the building for some reason.
twitter: @mullen93robbery
The most impressive attribute of this Maple Leaf team is speed. This is no revelation, but when they choose to move their legs, they seem to be as fast or faster than most of the teams they are playing against. The power play failed to generate any scores, which is a problem, but the bigger problem I saw was that it almost gave at least one up. Carolina seems to have a knack for this, but the umbrella power play that Scott Gordon employs does add extra exposure for shorthanded goals, as the second defenseman crawls down the half wall. This is not a criticsm, as the power play did generate chances, but one risk that seemed to be obvious to me.
other musings from the third period
1. Despite giving up the goal, the penalty kill did not look horrible. If I had one knock, why was Jake Gardiner playing on a penalty kill with 2 minutes left. The kid is good, but his abilities seem more suited for the power play. Even more puzzling was why John Michael Liles was with him. I understand the need to play defenseman other than Phaneuf and Schenn, but the grouping should not place Liles-Gardiner together.
2. Speaking of Jake Gardiner, as impressive as his season has been, he seems to be coming back to earth slowly. He dropped coverage on the canes only goal on the power play, but little mistakes seem to be happening with increased frequency. That said, I still feel that he has been the best defensemen on the team this year.
3. Cody Franson is getting better each game he plays. His shot that was much advertised is good, but he also manages to skate out of trouble more often than not.
4. Phil Kessel will score in Buffalo. While he slowed down the last couple weeks, last night he started doing the things that he was early on. He drew 2 penalties last night driving into the center of the ice, bucking the recent trend of him heading off to the half wall. I would expect his numbers to start rising again as this seems to be the pattern when he breaks out of a slump.
5. Good faceoffs last night for Bozak, Connolly, and Steckel.
I will be in attendance at the First Niagara Center friday night, and will try to live tweet at the game. In recent experiences, my mobile does not work great inside the building for some reason.
twitter: @mullen93robbery