It's kind of nice to deliver a spanking like that on national TV when you're the only game of the night. It made a good impression and gets the guys moving in a positive direction. It was nice to see Stillman back. Cam Ward was solid again in net and everyone around him had the legs to bring the game to the Leafs.
Toronto looked slow and confused. At times the Canes looked to be toying with them, which is not something you expect to see on this level. When the guns are firing, the Canes will be a serious force to be reckoned with. The power play made an appearance (with four tallies) and that is a very good sign.
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3 comments:
A very good sign indeed!
In addition to scoring the game winner and getting two assists, Cory Stillman was all over the place. He was the MAN tonight.
How much of the Leafs poor performance was due to them underestimating us, or their being rattled by the Blake thing? I'd like to hear your take.
Underestimation doesn't make you slow. I don't think it had much to do with it and, frankly, if a team is so distracted by something (even something as horrible as cancer, although it looks that he has a good chance to be OK, which is great) then they have little to no hope of doing any serious damage in the playoffs.
It's an excuse that holds little water and I think the Leafs players and management would agree.
Paul Maurice used to coach this team and that tends to make the game more meaningful, not less. I don't buy them underestimating us. If the Leafs were perennial playoff performers, that would be one thing - this team hasn't done anything significant since we knocked them out in 2002. They would have to be the biggest bunch of idiots and losers in the world to walk into a game underestimating any team, much less one that won the Cup recently and still has most of the players from it.
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