Another Win Thanks to Dr. Phil

It's nice to know that there's now some distance between the Leafs and Carolina. Even though it's only 4 points, it's hard being thought on the same field as the Hurricanes minus Staal. That's like the Leafs without Kessel, pretty terrible. Also, their lack of Ward is pretty noticeable as well. Superiority complex aside, let's get down to last night.

It's nice to know who our scorers are since it's the same players every night. Kessel, Hagman, Ponikarovsky and Stajan. It's always these 4, except for the odd time Kulemin or White put one in the net. But that's okay, as long as we're getting the points, I don't mind where the goals are coming from. I'm truly starting to like how the Leafs look on a nightly basis - past the 10 minute mark. It's still frustrating to see the Leafs shots directly at the chest of the goalie, but for the last couple games, they've have been able to capitalize on the goaltenders' mistakes because they're putting pressure on them in close and not just taking shots from the perimeter. There have been bodies in front of the opposing teams' net that have finally been resulting in goals. Except for Blake, he just won't score.

Kessel is kinda good, has anyone else noticed this? The one of two forwards with more than 20 minutes on the ice last night, he can really play until the final buzzer. It was his goal in the first period that got the Leafs fired up and by the end of the period it was very likely that the Leafs were going to win. That's one of the very few aspects of Toronto's game that cannot be contested, they know how to make a comeback. With 4 or 5 this year (that mostly ended up with a loss in OT), the Leafs have enough character to stick in the game until we have absolutely lost for sure. Maybe soon we'll actually fight hard enough to get the first goal of the game on a regular basis - that could be asking for too much.

Few things to notice from last night's victory. First of all, I really like this Hanson guy. Yes he was on for a couple goals, but the speed he can generate even with his size is quite useful. On Hagman's winning goal, it was Hanson who dumped it in, won the footrace, qicked it into the corner for Hagman, and then went to the net after Hagman just in case there was a rebound. I haven't seen him play with the Marlies, but I can see that with the style of play he has, points just follow him around because he puts the other team in awkward situations down low. A couple minutes later, he won another footrace for the puck down low that didn't result in a goal but still shows the kid can play.

Ponikarovski was a +3 last night. With a 4 point night (1G, 3A) - he was always in the right place. He used his size in front to gain a solid position in front of Vokoun and got the puck to ricochet off of him into the net. Not the prettiest goal, but he'll take it. He's not going to reach his 61 point total that he reached last year, but this year his plus/minus is his impressive stat with a +4 on a losing team. I've been quite a critic of the guy this year because he doesn't shoot to score but as long as he can plant himself in front of the net like he did last night, he can score a garbage goal from time to time.

Luke Schenn has probably been one of the biggest disappointments for the Leafs this year. We've had a number of them with Blake, Komisarek for the first bit, Beauchemin for the first bit, Stalberg not panning out yet, etc. but Schenn's bad play is finally starting to be dealt with. His minutes are being kept small so he can get his shit together and play like the Luke Schenn the Leafs know and love. He got an assist last night and only played about 12 minutes and +1. If he continues to improve, hopefully we can rely on him the same way we've been relying on Carl Gunnarsson for the past couple games. Wearing my hockey number of #36, he's been repping it perfectly, allowing Wilson to have confidence in him enough to put him out there in all situations. He's the perfect 23 year old to have on a rebuilding team. In the 7 games he has played this year, he's a +4 and has only played one game with under 20 minutes of ice time.

I think having Gunner up with the big club will force Schenn to play like he has to. Wilson has already guaranteed Gunner's place on the team and so when Komi comes back, there's a good chance that Exelby and Finger will be fighting for Schenn's last spot on the D line.

Anyway, riding a 2 game winning streak, the Leafs have two nights off to rest up, sharpen those skates and perfect that familiar Leafs Strategy - GET IT TO PHIL!
Go Leafs Go

OH, I almost forgot. Have you seen this Stamkos kid? He's making it really hard for the rest of Team Canada hopefuls.
...Yea, these Stamkos posts are going to get preeeeetty frequent. As frequent as his goals! HA.

-Bone