Last year the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. The year before the Cup went to the  Detriot Red Wings. To say that the winning team this year will require a better offence than the opposition, resulting in more goals scored, is not an accurate assessment when one considers Philadelphia’s physically in conjunction with shot-blocking. 

Ultimately, the team that can maintain the highest level of consistency, regardless of whether their specialty is in offence or defence, stands the best chance of being able to adapt to future change.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired J.S. Giguere for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake, many fans were unsure whether this deal had any long-term significance. After all, the misconception is that Giguere, the new goaltender for Toronto’s ice-hockey club, has been mistaken for an old-time player. Yet, that could be further from truth as Giguere is only thirty-two years of age with many more years of hockey left in him. The fact that he did not let in a single goal in his debut with Toronto, is a testament to his skill set.

Overall the Toronto Maple Leafs played with confidence while avoiding fancy moves that previously led to turnovers. Only goal scored against was by Ovechkin, Toronto goalscorers were Hagman and Kessel, with Hagman getting a goal in regulation and in the shootout. Kessel scored first however, in the shootout. Toskala made some impressive stops against Ovechkin early on and shut down the Washington Capitals in the shootout to secure two precious points.

Last night the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their fifth consecutive game against the Caroline Hurricanes, and while I did not watch the hockey game due to academic priorities, I did hear the press conference with Leafs Head Coach Ron Wilson, and the criticism of hockey fans on the radio network, AM 640 Toronto. They had the lead a couple of times during the night but failed to hang on in the dying seconds forcing the game to go to overtime in which they lost in the shootout. With the final score being 6-5 here are some pros and cons about the the Maple Leafs at the 20 Game Mark of the 82 Game Season.

Pros:

Phil Kessel is a solid/reliable offensive goal scorer considering he is still recovering from a previous injury.

Goaltending has had some ups from both Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson

Cons:

Consistency is lacking, in both netminding and offence

Offence is taking a break between periods

More/Different endurance practices are needed for defensive players who sometimes cannot complete a change.

With two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks last night, the Maple Leafs look to return to the ice tonight against the Calgary Flames with one twist in mind. To secure their third win. Despite the tremendous effort by Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala, and a disallowed goal that paved way for the second period against the Blackhawks the Toronto Maple Leafs lost by a score of 3-2 in regulation time. All two goals coming from Phil Kessel. Ultimately, the Toronto Maple Leafs find a new challenge besides goaltending to overcome, the challenge of putting pucks into the net. But as all good franchises start, you might have to go down for a season before you can rise back up to win the Stanley Cup. There is no question that Leafs management know what they’re doing, the only factors are time and bit of luck.

Henrik Lundqvist, goaltender for the New York Rangers, has played a vital role in stopping all but one of the shots thrown at him by the offense of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The only Leaf goal was scored when Ian White directed the puck’s rebound after Lundqvist’s initial save into an open net. Overall the first period was top-notch entertainment, as Toronto only let in one goal, but as the game progressed and fatigue emerged after losing a five-to-three man-on-man advantage, Toronto seemingly lost the will to continue a final push in the third and final period.

With this Winter being the last one until Canadians see the Winter Olympic Games on home soil, questions concerning who will be in goal for Canada’s Men’s Ice Hockey Team will become increasingly more pronounced. Suggestions have included Martin Brodeur, currently playing in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, as well as Roberto Luongo, who is net for the Vancouver Canucks, but as to whether the Montreal Canadiens have any chance of seeing their goaltender, Carey Price representing Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, no answer is certain until the official roster comes out and even then a coach could potentially switch which of the two goaltenders will start. According to About.com:Hockey, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Pittsburgh Penguins Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have all been invited to “summer evaluation camp.” At the end of the day, any goaltender playing in the NHL is nothing short of talented, if not lucky, but at the age of twenty-two Carey Price is still a young goaltender with a bright future ahead of him.

As US Journalist Heywood Broun once said, “sports do not build character. They reveal it.”

What truly defines a sport? You might say some of the following:

1. It involves two or more teams

2. It involves some risk

3. It involves some kind of scoring

4. It tests its players physical performance

But could some games we played at school ever lead to a sport on the Olympic level? Ultimately it comes down to interest, as without interest it is almost impossible to organize a sport involving numerous players and teams. 

*Inspiration for the theme of this ariticle came from an introduction to a segment on CTV Newsnet regarding sports and the potential for future games to be considered sports.

The answer is obvious. Yes. Although one can be excused for not believing that a week ago as this NHL franchise started the hockey season with only point in an overtime loss against Montreal, and losing to the rest of it’s opponents ever since. Hopefully tonight will be exceptional, as both Toskala and “The Monster” are out with injuries, it can be expected that the starting goalie will have to woo fans early to turn this club’s downhill performance, around.

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