Leafs Ice Caps In T.O., Burke Issues Warning

With Leaf president and General Manager Brian Burke publicly issuing the warning that his charges have until Tuesday before he takes matters into his own hands, The Maple Leafs played a steady game against a road-weary Capitals club missing numerous key pieces, barely squeaking out a victory, but hey: a win is a win…and we’ll take what we can get…

Fourty shots, three periods of regulation, five minutes of four-on-four, and a shootout is what it took to stick a fork in this one, with Nik Hagman sealing the deal in the shootout as well as providing the lone marker in regulation.

Ovechkin broke the seal on the night for the Caps in the first frame, but was subsequently held off the board, thanks to some diligent shadowing by Francois Beauchemin. The Great Eight missed an opportunity to keep his team alive when first star Vesa Toskala foiled a high glove-side attempt in the shootout.

Toskala was in fine form, his play reminiscent of the glory days in San Jose, expertly dispensing with 31 Captials shots on the night. You gotta feel good for the oft-maligned first star of the game, who has redeemed his cred with a few very respectable outings this month.

Semyon Varlamov was the story of the night at the other end, and without his determined heroics, things could have easily got out of hand.

The Leafs were very effective in sustaining pressure in the offensive zone, often wearing down the Caps defenders by denying them opportunity to get fresh legs out there. With a little more crashing and banging, the Leafs might have converted an opportunity or two without the need for extra time.

I’d be remiss in failing to mention the excellent effort by new guy Carl Gunnarsson, who racked up 22 minutes, and looked particularly dangerous while jumping into the play and letting a nice snapper go off the right wing. He looked great in pre-season, and despite a fairly ordinary stat line with the Marlies, appears very much at home with the big club, gelling nicely with Luke Schenn, who may have had his best outing of the season.

The Leafs bench sporting rally caps during the shootout was indicative of a more relaxed, happier bunch, and it was great to see them loosening up and enjoying playing hockey.

Some of those smiles may disappear come Tuesday, if Burke feels that the cards he has played so close to his vest for the last few days need to be laid. Speculation abounds that negotiations with Chicago, a team knee deep in cap and contract snags of its own, will at least produce the arrival of Hawks defender Brent Sopel, provided other assets like a second-round draft pick are also coming back this way.

Expect to see at least one Marlie forward make his way to the ACC when all is said and done, and conversely, one roster spot open up via trade or demotion.

But for now, let’s just bask in the moment. The Leafs won a hockey game. No need for excuses or desperate attempts to find the good in anything. We freaking won. And it feels damn good right now…

Go Leafs