Matt Stajan And Ian White Have A Long Conversation

His hands folded behind his head, followed by a heavy sigh, the young defenceman was having a hard time accepting failure and expressed his exasperation. "This has got to come to an end at some point," declared Ian White.

His teammate didn't raise his head, burdened by the weight of recent events and their current situation, yet responded in solemn agreement. "It's tough. We're definitely working hard and getting chances, but, at the end of the day, we've got to find a way to score one more than the other team," said Matt Stajan.

Unable to take it anymore, Ian White lashed out in disgust. "It's as frustrating as I've ever seen – this is brutal," he spat.

The two long-time teammates shared a special bond, forming one half of an elite circle of only 4 players who have been with the Maple Leafs since 2005. The other two, Ponikarovsky and Kaberle, are both Europeans, and though often criticized, rarely face their accusers the way Stajan and White stare down the glare of the media spotlight.

"It's up to us to get out of this little string – well, I guess it's been all year – and make sure we give ourselves a chance to win more games than we have," said Matt Stajan, listening for the sound of conviction in his own voice.

White didn't hear it, and sneered at the weakness of the attempt. "We're not anywhere near where we expected to be," he moaned.

Stajan's lip curled thoughtfully and he decided to measure his words more carefully. When he finally spoke again, his voice was soft as a whisper. "These next two weeks are big for us with a lot of games against teams close to us in the standings."

"We definitely have a massive obstacle to overcome," White interjected.

"We've got to get a lot of points here and slowly eat away at it and hopefully we can keep climbing," continued Stajan, fighting off the anxiety that was slowly eating away at him.

Despite their relative youth, the two players understood that they were often relied upon as leaders and veterans. Yet, never having played for another NHL team, their experiences were limited. The Maple Leafs' dressing room was the only Home they'd ever known.

“These are tough times for our team, but we have to stick together,” said Ian White.

"Maybe we have tried to do too much ourselves and not used each other enough. Sometimes, less is more," replied Stajan.

It sounded awkward, and it made Ian White feel awkward. "So much of this game is mental," he said with a dazed expression.

It was then that Matt Stajan noticed that Ian White's eyes were rarely focused, usually darting this way and that, like a kite caught in the wind. "We're trying. I know we can't feel sorry for ourselves."

White looked up and the two players' eyes met as they nodded in firm agreement."You've just got to keep your head up and stay positive because you'll get through this. It's only a matter of time."

"We all make mistakes out there, it's just a matter of not getting too down on yourself," added Stajan.

Side-stepping the argument about wether it was really a matter of time or a matter of not getting too down, White continued gracefully forward. "You have to try and take some positives out of every day,” he said philosophically.

Stajan could feel the mood in the room beginning to change. "We know we can be a lot better."

White smiled, encouraged by the sudden certainty in Stajan's voice. He tried to temper his friend's optimism with a dose of reality, but the message was still very warm and positive. "Any day you get to live your dream is a good one, but not every day will be a success."

As usual, White's wisdom seemed empowering to Stajan. Suddenly he stood up and climbed out of the jacuzzi-pool, water dripping from his athletic body and splashing the tile floor, making it slippery and wet under his bare feet. He grabbed a towel bar to steady himself, and then feeling White's gaze, glanced down below his own waistline, his confidence rising. "We're men here, we want to prove we can be a lot better," he said proudly.

White was also getting out of the jacuzzi now. He ignored Stajan's bold exhibition and reached for a towel, wrapping it around his waist and turned to face the mirror. With careful precision, White used a small pair of scissors to delicately groom one or two stray hairs on his mustache before stepping back to admire his own reflection. At last, he turned towards Stajan, ready to shed his doubt and forget his concern. "Personally, I feel good," he said with a devious grin.

BoOBbB 2009-2010: Episode II

Have you ever read DownGoesBrown's How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Loss? If you haven't, now might be a good time. Except - ignore the part that says "I accept that now, it's all about the draft pick." Pretend that part's not there and it's still a wonderful read. Ten months later. Ugh. If you're new around here you might also want to read Apathy Vs. Despair: Believing In Something That Sucks, which I wrote 4 and half months into last season, and sums up where I'm at a month and a half into this season.

Just like you probably are, I really question the whole point of doing the BoOBbB right now. Tradition, I guess. It's not for me, and it's probably not for you, but maybe there's somebody else out there, somebody who cares, or maybe that person is you, reading this now, and you know who you are, and I don't need to tell you how you feel...

First Period

20:00 Kessel, Poni, Stajan start up front for the Leafs.

19:20 Toskala makes the first good save early.

17:50 Stempniak's hard shot from the perimeter is stopped.

17:40 A Sens' chance grazes the post.

17:20 Mayers nailed at the Leafs blue line.

17:11 FIGHT! Finger fights Winchester. We'll call that a draw. Good to see Finger stepping up for his mates.

15:50 Grabbo-Hagmna neat rush, can't thread the needle.

14:00 This is by far the best crowd the Leafs have had all year. I wish this crowd was at every Home game.

12:30 Poni with a nice back hand feed sets up Grabbo for a nice chance that just misses.

11:52 Goal. A loose puck in the slot that Fisher fluffed on fools Toskala like a low-velocity knuckle-ball, and once again for the17th time in 19 games, blah blah blah.

10:50 GOAL!!! Wow. Kessel scores. What a goal. Hard shot, quick release in the slot. A harmless looking rush ties the game, 1-1. Kessel is awesome. 5 goals in 7 games, already 3rd on the team in goals.

9:56 FIGHT! Orr with his best scrap of the season scores a decisive victory over Carkner.

8:57 FIGHT! Neil goes after Schenn and hits him with a highstick, then goes after Stempniak and nearly pushes him through the Sens' gate. Schenn comes in, forehead already bleeding, and scraps with Neil. Leafs go on the powerplay for Neil's highstick.

8:00 Big save Toskala with the glove. Terrible giveaway by Kaberle led to the scoring chance and a hooking penalty. Kaberle goes to the box and the powerplay is over.

6:50 Stempniak has an excellent shorthanded chance denied.

5:15 Stajan with a nice feed from behind the goal misses Poni, but Kaberle is there and has a great chance but can't get the puck through a crowd.

3:20 A good chance by Kulemin deep in the slot is stopped.

2:35 Kovalev has a chance for the Sens and freezes, unable to pull the trigger on the open goal.

Second Period

20:00 Kessel, Poni, Stajan start up front.

19:05 Blake centres to Grabbo, good chance from the slot but the shot is deflected out of play.

18:46 FIGHT! Schenn hit hard by Ruutu. Mitchell then jumps Ruutu. Long fight. I think Ruutu got the best licks in. The hit on Schenn was clean and frankly, could've been a lot worse. Mitchell gets the extra two for instigating, plus a 10-minute misconduct.

17:45 A chance for the Sens on the powerplay. Finger helps Toskala keep the puck from going in the short side off a scramble.

17:05 Great play by Hagman to one-hand the puck towards the net and force Leclaire to make a shorthanded save and freeze the puck.

15:35 Kessel nearly able to jam it in after good work by Poni behind the goal.

14:40 GOAL!!! Hagman retrieves a loose puck in the corner, wheels into the slot and fires through a screen. Leafs lead, 2-1.

13:45 Whoah. Beauchemin lined up Fisher, and just misses a big open-ice hit just inside the Leafs' zone. Players are really trying to ht each other hard and this game is getting dangerous.

11:40 Schenn knocks his man down at the Sens' line.

10:50 Terrible turnover by Hagman in the nuetral zone leads to a breakaway by Foligno. Toskala with a good stop. Hagman gets called for hooking on the backcheck.

10:20 Nice shot block by Mayers.

9:35 The booing of Alfredsson on the Ottawa powerplay is hilarious.

8:50 Goal. Seeing-eye goal. Wrist shot from the point goes through, deflected by Michalek. 2-2.

8:35 Leafs get a good chance, Poni and Kessel on a 2-on-1, but don't score. Kessel tripped up, no call.

5:50 Goal. Oh God. Fisher with a rocket that catches everybody sleeping. Incredible shot. 3-2 Sens.

5:30 Good hit by Finger along the boards.

5:20 Stajan can't redirect Kaberle's pass into the open net.

3:00 Sens dominating the play. Leafs look like they've lost their legs and their confidence.

2:20 Big save by Leclaire on Poni, set up by Kessel.

0:25 Beauchemin runs over Foligno.

Third Period

20:00 Stajan, Poni, Kessel up front again for Toronto.

19:10 Blake, set up by Grabbo, fires a million miles wide.

18:35 Great defensive play by Ian White to break up a 2-on-1 chance for the Sens.

16:45 Great chance by Stajan. Stopped by Leclaire.

14:55 Deflected point shot, Toskala makes the stop.

14:30 Kessel not on the Leafs bench.

14:05 Kessel's back! Disaster averted.

13:25 Stempniak can't find a loose puck as the Leafs nearly score.

THERE IS NO CLOCK

11:05 Toskala makes a good save off of a hard point shot.

8:45 Stempniak hits the crossbar behind Leclaire and it bounces out, harmlessly into the corner.

7:40 Scramble. Loose puck in front of the Sens' goal. Blake has a great chance but has no idea how to actually score a goal and does a spin-a-rama instead.

6:40 Leafs pressing. White point shot deflected just wide.

5:00 Leafs are looking desperate. Nice shot by Grabbo stopped, Blake just misses the rebound.

2:30 Hagman with a good chance coming out of the corner and bats the puck out of the air. Caught by Leclaire.

2:10 Kessel with a long shot, Leclaire makes a good save.

1:25 Great shot by White from the point but it doesn't find a hole.

Final minute: The Leafs look like they have no idea what to do when they need a goal and are unable to generate a genuine scoring opportunity with Toskala pulled for the extra-attaker. The clock reaches zero without much drama and the Leafs lose, 3-2.

Crap.

I'm not gonna do the Three Stars for tonight's game - it's kinda pointless. Lecalire was the Sens' best player but they also got solid performances from Ruutu, Foligno, Fisher, and I hate to say it, Neil. For the Leafs, Toskala was okay, nothing eye-popping or spectacular, and still not good enough to get his first win of the season. His SV% tonight is consistent with his season average at .857. Stempniak, as usual, had the most scoring opportunities, but wasn't able to make any of them count. I thought Hagman was the best Leaf forward, but his giveaway that led to the Sens second period powerplay goal, was the turning point of the game.

Overall, I thought the Leafs played a solid game compared to their last 3, They showed a lot of fight and really competed with the Seantors for most of the game. The second Fisher goal to give the Sens a 3-2 lead seemed to really deflate the Leafs and rattle their confidence. In the third period they played with some real desperation but that backfired and degenerated into sloppy, nervous hockey. Despite controlling the play, at no point did they threaten to run the Sens out of the building, and Leclaire only had to make a few tough stops, but no real heart-stoppers.

So, I guess we just shrug our shoulders and move on. My expectations for this season have hit rock bottom. I don't really expect anything to change. I just expect to hear more lies and see more losses. The Leafs have too many players playing hopelessly below expectations that were set unreasonably high, and have almost nothing to show for too many games played well enough to win. Pretty soon my only interest will be, how ugly will it get? Oh well, another loss, another post published, another season of suffering and misery.

The next BoOBbB is 4 weeks away, with 13 games for the Leafs between now and then. I know that eventually, somehow, someway, enthusiasm will find a way to return. I hope you do too. Thanks for stopping by.

Behind The Monster

I like the word unfathomable. It's a good word to describe the effect that the Monster is having on the Toronto Maple Leafs.Last night Gustavsson turned aside 35 of 36 shots, and despite the fact that the Leafs managed to score 5 goals, it's the goaltender's stats that are fascinating me at the moment.

In his last 3 starts, Gustavsson has faced 104 shots, turning aside 99, for a .951 SV% and a 1.66 GA while the Leafs have picked up 5 out of 6 points.Three games is a small sample size, but so far the Monster looks comfortable at the ACC with 1-1-1 record and a stunning 1.65 GA and .941 SV% in three home games.

The Leafs are currently on a 7-game point streak that began with the return of the Monster to the line-up in Anahiem. Gustavsson has started all but one since then - a 5-4 OT loss to Montreal - as the Leafs have picked up 10 of a possible 14 points.
In 5 starts, Toskala has allowed 4 goals once, 5 goals twice, 7 goals once, and was yanked once after allowing 3 in the opening period. Gustavsson has allowed 4 in one game only - an OT goal against Dallas - and has kept the opposition to 2 goals or fewer four times in seven starts.

"He's made big saves at key times. When you've got that in goal, it gives you confidence."
Beauchemin

"The way Gustavsson played was unbelievable. I don’t know what to say about him, doing that two games in a row."
Kessel “When you do get saves and the goalie bails people out, obviously you appreciate him even more."
Wilson

"The whole bench gets pretty excited when they see the saves he can pull off."
Wilson, again"

We get excited. He's been outstanding. He's making key saves at key times and he did a tremendous job all night."
Blake
"He's made some saves that I call game-changers. Right at the key times and they've been outstanding. Last night and tonight, he was the difference. It was good to see."
Blake, again

"He has been huge for us the last five or six games, he just never gives up on a play. Even in practice, you think you have him beat and he just slides over and makes a big save."
Komisarek

Shoot To Kill

Here's a problem: The Leafs are 0 and 5 in extra-time so far this season. That's 5 points left on the table, and worse, 5 additional points surrendered to the opposition. Distressingly, 4 of those losses were to Conference rivals, and twice it was the Habs.

The Leafs are a better team then their record indicates... blah blah blah. If the Leafs keep playing this way, the wins will start to come... blah blah blah. Once again, the Leafs outplayed their opponents for most of the game... blah blah blah. Boring.

If the Leafs had won those games, we'd have 12 points after 13 games, and more importantly, we'd be just 2 points out of a playoff spot. We'd also be equal to Montreal (who'd have 12, not 14) with still 2 games in hand. In fact, those dastardly Habs are a frustrating contrast. ALL BUT ONE of their wins have come in extra-time, and they have yet to surrender a loss in overtime or the shoot-out. 4 OT wins, 2 shoot-out wins. 6 additional points acquired on top of the 12 points split evenly with their opponents. The Habs record could look like: 1-8-6 and 8 points, almost exactly the same as the Leafs 1-7-5 and 7 points. Instead, the Habs are 7-8-0 and 14 points and tied for 8th in the East. That seems like a pretty significant difference for two teams that match up evenly after 60 minutes.

The Leafs last night again displayed an alarming lack of finish, despite the presence of Kessel. One game is too soon to expect a solution, but there is promise that the problem is being fixed. Kessel looked dangerous all night, unleashing 10 shots on goal over nearly 24 minutes of ice time. As long as he can stay out of the trolley tracks, he should be producing plenty, and soon.

Our heroes are on a 5 game point-streak, which sounds great, picking up 6 points out of a possible 10. That's a .600 winning percentage, which over 82 games translates into 98 points and a playoff spot. Unfortunately, Leaf opponents have taken 8 of a possible 10 points in those same 5 games and are therefore playing .800 hockey. Welcome to the post-lockout NHL, where .500 means you suck.

"We have to persevere. We can't change what we're doing, because we're right there knocking on the door. We've just got to find a way to knock the door completely down."
-Wilson
The Leafs have found the right level of intensity that allows them to compete with their opponents for 60 minutes, giving themselves a chance to win for 5 straight games now, but like the old cliche, we need one hundred and ten percent. We need to go to 65 solid minutes of hockey, if that's what it takes. We need more then just desperation, we need a killer instinct. Stop knocking on the door fellas - you have to let yourselves in, make yourselves at home, and have sex on the carpet.

"He's gotta make plays, he can't be content to be on the ice..."
-Wilson

The coach is talking about Tlusty there, after he was called up, but he could be talking about the entire team's approach to extra-time. Stajan, Blake, Stempniak, Hagman, White, Kaberle, Kulemin, Grabovski, and Ponikarovsky, not just Kessel, need to kick it up a notch. We can't just be happy for the point. We can't just be satisfied to have played a decent game. We gotta make it happen, and overtime is just as much our opportunity as it is anyone else's. There's a point up for grabs and it's five minutes and then it's a shoot-out. We can't be content to be on the ice.

We need to smell blood and finish it.

Respect

Tomas Kaberle has 13 points in his last 5 games, all on the road.
12 games into the season, he is the highest scoring defenceman in the NHL, with 17 points, now 4 ahead of San Jose's Dan Boyle.

He is the league leader in assists with 15, 1 ahead of both Joe Thornton and Nicklas Backstrom.

He leads the league in powerplay points (12) and assists (11), and he's doing it without Kubina, Antropov, Sundin, McCabe, Tucker, Wellwood, etc,. Stajan is the Leafs 2nd-deadliest weapon on the powerplay with 6 points (tied for 24th overall).

Kaberle's 17 points leads the Leafs in scoring while Grabovski is 2nd - 7 back - with 10.

Currently, Kaberle is tied for 6th overall in NHL scoring.

He now has 450 career points for the Leafs, putting him 15th on the all-time list, just 2 back of Dougie Gilmour (452), and now 9 ahead of Wendel Clark (441) whom he passed rather quietly the other night in Anahiem when he registered 5 points.

Kaberle is just 9 points away from eclipsing Tim Horton (458) to become the 2nd highest scoring defenceman in Leafs history.

It now seems very likely that he'll surpass Gilmour, Horton, Lanny McDonald (459) and Norm Ullman (471) this season to move all the way up to 11th on the all-time list for all positions. Catching Rick Vaive (537) for 10th would require a 104-point season.

He's currently on pace for 116.

Respect.