After a tough week and a half of losses for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they were finally able to get back to their winning ways with a win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (Oct.26th).
After tearing into the 2010-2011 season with four straight wins, Leafs Nation was given a dash of realism beginning with their fifth game of the year was against the New York Islanders on Monday October 18th, where they finally found themselves on the loosing end of things this season with a 2-1 loss in overtime, when islanders star John Tavares ripped a slap shot over the shoulder of Leafs goaltender J.S Giguere three and half minutes into the extra period.
The next game for Toronto came against the New York Rangers, who they beat the week earlier. The game was dry and boring from an offensive point of view, both teams struggled to get anything going in each other’s ends. The Rangers got two late first period goals that were able to hold up over the entire game, winning 2-1. The only excitement out of this game was the fight between the Leafs tough guy Colton Orr and the Rangers 6'9" monster Derek Boogaard where Orr was only able to get one quick punch in on Boogaard but still managed to knock a few of his teeth out.
Toronto then faced the Philadelphia flyers on Saturday night (Oct.23rd) and looked like the same Maple Leafs team of past years, their play was sloppy and they were sitting back the entire game. Giveaways and missed opportunities led the Leafs to their third straight loss, setting Leafs Nation into a frenzy and prompting many to jump of the Leafs bandwagon.
Finally the Leafs came up with a big win Tuesday night (Oct.26t) against the Florida Panthers at the ACC in Toronto. The Maple Leafs finally had some jump in their step and was looking like the team that began the season with four straight wins. The game winning goal had some serious controversy, and rightly so. A shot from Tim Brent was heading towards the net when the Leafs forward Colton Orr hit skated right into the Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen and pushed him out of the way, and the same time had the puck deflect of his foot right into the net. The Panthers coaching staff were protesting the goal due to the goaltender interference, but to no avail. The Maple Leafs won the game with a final score of 3-1, and once again finds themselves atop the Eastern Conference with 11 points. The lose did not come without a price, the Leafs lost right winger Colby Armstrong when he took a shot of his hand early in the first, he will be out for four to six weeks and may require surgery, the Leafs have called up Luca Caputi from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL to fill his place in the lineup.
The Maple Leafs face the Boston Bruins for the first time this season on Thursday night and look to get back on a winning streak to gather these very important early season points in the standings.
If you missed any of the action make sure to check out the Game Highlights Page
Until next time, Cheers and GO LEAFS GO!
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