Leaf fans savour rare W at home

The ACC can be such a formidably miserable place to play hockey. And not the sort of misery Brian Burke was hoping for. The sort of misery here is reserved for the home team, and the fans – if you want to call all the suits and ties in the stands fans – are eager to dish it out.

But the ACC was dishing out the love last night – love for Toskala and love for their team – as the leafs dished out some of their own misery and heaped it upon the visiting Thrashers, who had Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov in tow. And lo-and-behold, no red carpet for those two on this night. Nosiree bub. Take the L. Go home.

Returning home after suffering a hug meltdown in Boston just 2 nights previously must have been anxious for a team that has only managed a few wins on home ice. “Go Leafs Go” hasn’t been heard in weeks, replaced by yowls and boos that seem to rain down at every missed assignment, every bad bounce, every… minute. But not on this night. Hell, even damien Cox as the Leafs Nation Flu. You know, that bug that people get after a few wins that leads them to believe greater things are in the pipe. I should know. I have it too.

The medical term for it is “jump-back-on-the-bandwagon-itis”.

If ever there as a night the Leafs would want to take a stand and deliver a humdinger, this was the night. Eight of their next 11 are on home ice right through to 2010. They needed to plunk a W on the scoresheet and get fired up for a homestand that could well take them back into the playoff picture.

Did I use the word ‘playoff’?

Go Leafs Go!!!