Leafs finally fill in the ‘W’ column

Ok, so we now know what that ‘W’ in that empty column stands for…it’s apparently not:”Worst Leaf team ever”, or “When does Wilson get Whacked”?

Thanks to multiple players contributing multiple-point efforts, along with a little game-saving goaltending by that Swedish kid with the freakishly long legs that we haven’t seen enough of, The Leafs tripled their point total by the time the final horn sounded to signify the halting of a nasty, embarrassing losing skid like none we have seen in Toronto.

The Ducks may have drew first blood, but they couldn’t contain their own bleeding in a lopsided affair marked by 15 trips to the penalty box. What was a controversial missed goalie interference call that resulted in an early 1-0 Ducks lead didn’t seem to have the predictable deflating affects on a desperate and dangerous Leaf team that would fight back early and often, actually managing to take a lead into the dressing room after the first period.

Tomas Kaberle answered his critics with a 5 point night, including a nifty point shot seconds after Scott Neidermeyer took an uncharacteristic bone-head double minor for mashing Grabovski’s melon into the glass.

Whipping boy Lee Stempniak exorcised his demons with 3 assists and a beauty goal on a rush engineered by Jason Blake and Matty Stajan, who did a great job of finishing their checks, creating ample room for Stempy to get off a nice little five-hole-bound snapper that fooled Hiller. Stajan assisted three times on the night, showing all sorts of piss and vinegar, as well as an ever increasing skill for making heady decisions at full speed. His evolution continues…

Hagman did his finest Alexi-Kovalev-on-a-good-day impression, nailing three markers from the half boards with laser guided precision, for his second career hatty, to the delight of a goal starved Nation.

While he may not have factored on the scorboard, Francois Beauchemin had a solid outing and led the team in icetime at even strength, and on the PP.

Jonas Gustavsson was the third star of the game, but his teammates may see it differently.
A first period highlight reel cross-crease leg extension robbed Eric Christensen, with half a net to shoot at, of a sure goal, giving the team all kinds of momentum and a chance to pull off a road win.

One has to assume that Wilson will give number 50 the nod on Wednesday when the Buds take a run at the Dallas Stars. The Monster was a key piece in helping the Leafs find a little swagger and confidence, and its going to be critical that they continue the upward trend, as well as seeing how the groin feels going two in a row.

Too early to say we’ve turned the corner, as the Ducks aren’t exactly a powerhouse at this early stage of the season, but it was both a moral victory as well as a notch in that ‘W’ column that had eluded us until now…

Confidence can be viral. Let’s hope this is the case as the team works its way out of a slump we all want to forget.

Kudos to the boys for digging in and finding a way to win as a group…