Leafs finding ways

Great game against the Senators – and love the last minute goal getting waived off like it should have been, obviously kicked in. The Leafs are finding ways to win and have almost dug themselves out of that nasty hole they buried themselves in at the beginning of the season. If that wasn’t the worst October ever I don’t know what was.

Jason Blake continues to make a case for himself, day in day out. Burke has to think he can do better for the money Blake is raking in. He’s expensive – by the goal or by the pound. But he’s playing like his job is on the line – which it is – and sometimes thats enough for a short reprieve.

The Coyotes are in town Wednesday before the Leafs head into a stretch of hockey against tough teams. Two against the red hot Sabres and Ryan Miller will be a good test for their character and confidence. Toss in a rematch, albeit on home ice this time, against the Bruins before a 6 game road trip interrupts December and carrys on into January. hey, were it not  for the Panthers kicking the crap out of the Islanders last night Toronto would be tied for 9th place, 2 back of a playoff spot.  As it stands, 5 teams are tied for 10th, 2 back of the Panthers. The Leafs have a better “last 10″ record than the 8 teams directly above them in the standings.

So what about that Toskala? Leafs Nation has been waiting close to 2 years for this guy to pan out. He’s looked fairly solid in the last few games. Is that going to last? Jonas Gustavsson used to be looked on as the future but now has so many question marks buzzing around his head to have to wonder… if Toskala falls back to his old loosing ways and Gustavsson can’t shoulder any load, then what happens? You also have to wonder if Burke isn’t about to sit around and wait for that to happen and start shopping players in search of a real goaltender.

== sigh ==

Sure was alot easier to deal with all these questions when the hole was deep. Now that hope has sprung eternal yet again and a playoff picture starts coming into focus, these questions beg answering. Burke has an awful job to do in the next 2 months. Somehow, he has to take a team that can possibly claw their way back into a playoff berth and tun them into a team that can head into a playoff series looking like a threat. After all, making the playoffs is great but doesn’t count for much when all it amounts to is 4 games.

GO LEAFS GO!!!

Other Links to this Post

1. Hump day Linkdump | Editor In Leaf | A Toronto Maple Leafs Blog — December 16, 2009 @ 5:59 pm