Yes, the Leafs have proved, in the last 18 games since the Olympic break, that they can succeed without the point production of Tomas Kaberle. An impressive 10-5-3 record has been put together, with Kaberle only contributing a meagre and well-documented 3 points to the offence.
So, is the scoring more dynamic then? Are the Leafs finding different ways to win every night, with different guys stepping up and chipping in? Are the Leafs less dependant upon one player's performance to succeed? Are we winning as a team?
Not so sure. One thing I've noticed that suggests otherwise is that when Kessel is on, so are the Leafs. In fact, since the break, the Leafs fortunes seem to be entirely tied to Kessel's output.
Over the last 18 games, when Kessel scores a goal or gets an assist, the Leafs are 9-0-1, yet when Kessel is held off the scoresheet, the record is 1-5-2.
That seems kinda significant to me. Seems like we need Phil Kessel to score or we're fucked.
Now there's concern that Kessel may have an injury. With just 3 games left and nothing on the line, will the Leafs push their leading scorer into the line-up if he's less then a hundred percent? With Kessel out of the line-up, could Kaberle score 7 points in 3 games? Wouldn't that be dramatic...
MONSTERforMASTERTON
Last year I successfully predicted that Ian White would earn the Masterton nominee from the Leafs, and while he didn't win the award that Jason Blake made famous, I was proud that he got the nod from the team after his breakout season.
This year I'm nominating rookie goaltender Jonas Gusatvsson and I wouldn't be surprised if the Leafs did too. If not, I'm very curious as to who they might select. It might be unusual for a rookie to be nominated for the Masterton, but I think Jonas has been a excellent and deserving example of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication. The Monster faced a lot of adversity this year but battled through it to post some amazing numbers down the stretch.
But there is reason for quiet optimism throughout Leafs Nation, and it really only takes one good thing that doesn't suck too bad to hang our pride and our hopes upon. Well here's 4. More then just a silver lining or a bright side, they're like reasons to go on living, like rays of sunlight piercing through the darkness with a breathe of fresh air after you've been buried alive by an avalanche of suck.
1. Brian BurkeFor the most part, he's done what he said he was going to do. Even if the players didn't do what he said they were going to do, Burke has held up his end of the bargain. Veteran players were given ample opportunity to succeed but eventually a line was drawn in the sand and The Great Overhaul was under way. Most notably, Blake and Toskala have miraculously played their last games for the franchise. Today's line-up consists of only one player who has worn the Leafs uniform since before Wilson became head coach - Tomas Kaberle. Thus far, Burke has been a straight-shooter, and if he says his inclination is to do something, my inclination is to believe him.
2. KesselThe Leafs have a 30-goal scorer again for the first time since Mats Sundin. With just 4 games left, Kessel has a seemingly insurmountable 6-point lead over Kaberle for the team scoring title, despite missing the first 12 games of the season. While Burke may have gambled and lost, overestimating on our team's chances to finish out of the draft lottery, it's obvious now that Boston GM Chiarelli vastly under-appreciated Kessel's ability to lead an attack and generate the scoring chances as well as finish them. Finally, if you wanna talk about difference makers, the Leafs record when Kessel scores a goal or gets an assist in a game this season is 21-14-3, and 9-0-1 since the break.
3. The MonsterOctober: 280 minutes, .892 Sv%, 3.21 GA, 1-2-2
November: 521 minutes, .901 SV% 3.22 GA, 4-3-3
December: 290 minutes, .928 SV% 1.86 GA, 2-1-2
March: 495 minutes, .923 SV% 2.06 GA, 7-1-0
Those stats say it all right there. Aside from a small setback in January - (Gustavsson made only one appearance in February) - there's been a marked improvement in Gustavsson's performance and results. It hasn't been an easy road either, following the death of his mother last May, then two heart ablation procedures between September and Christmas. As if that wasn't bad enough, the rookie goaltender then feels the weight of having to rescue a franchise's playoff hopes thanks to the catastrophically unreliable goaltending of it's veteran starter. It probably hasn't gone the way he'd hoped or imagined, but it has been an admirable season for the Monster. A noble effort with promising results.
4. YouthThe Leafs are the youngest team in the NHL now, and it's made a big difference to the overall enjoyment of each game, win or lose. Speed, hustle, desire... enthusiasm is the team's new persona. The Leafs have an amazing nucleus of young talent - Bozak (24), Caputi (21), Hanson (24), Kessel (22 - man, he's young), Kulemin (23), Stalberg (24), Gunnarsson (23), Phaneuf (24 - for 7 more days), and Schenn (20), all under the age of 25. Not yet included but on their way someday are Didomenico (21), D'Amigo (19), and Kadri (19). I have to believe that's a bright future 'cause it already feels better in the present.
So the next time somebody tells you that the Leafs suck, or you hear a fellow Leafs fan groan and moan about how the whole team sucks, or how they totally sucked this season, or how they're so full of suck sometimes it hurts, just tell them to cheer up and remind them that the Leafs in fact don't completely suck, that their suck-ratio is really less then 96% now, and falling rapidly.
It all started back when I was a kid, around 6 or 7. In my living room there was a United Way poster with Rick Vaive on it, holding a small child in a Maple Leafs jersey. Around the same time, Rick Vaive moved in across the street from me, which I thought was pretty cool but also accepted as normal and natural. At the time, Rick Vaive lived across the street from practically everyone I knew.
I don't recall becoming a Leafs fan. It's always just sort of been there.
You could say I suffered through the Ballard Era, but I was too young to know the difference. I don't remember Armstrong or Keon, but I do remember Sittler and Salming, Turnbull and Palmateer, Lanny McDonald, and of course, Rick Vaive. And I loved them all.
In the mid-to-late '80s I really did suffer through some horrible teams. And there were very few players, with the exception of Wendel Clark, that inspired adoration. I wasn't old enough yet to really realize it, but the franchise was in a terrible mess. I began to indulge in fantasies that Jari Kurri was my biological father, and thus, developed a deep resentment towards Gretzky, whom I felt was stealing all of my estranged Dad's rightful glory and fame.
Then Gretzky got traded to L.A.. Then Gilmour got traded to Toronto. Then Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour in the face.
Years later, I discovered DownGoesBrown, and a few months after that DownGoesBrown discoverd VHS tapes in his attic, or garage, or basement, or wherever. Then Bloge Salming set the Barilkosphere on fire. Pretty soon the NY Times was involved.
Sensing that my moment had come, I sent Bloge an e-mail.
And it's all come down to this - the result of everything that's happened in my life, from the moment that United Way poster went up on my living room wall, to Wendel's hat-trick in Game 6, to Gretzky's hat-trick in Game 7, to the invention of the internet, until now. I'm not sure it'll ever eclipse this... This is the greatest thing that general borschevsky's name has ever been associated with. It's even better then that time Damien responded to one of my comments, or the time I punched James Mirtle in the gut for calling Kaberle a whore.
Thanks again to Bloge Salming for makin' it happen. If you don't follow his blog then Wendel Clark doesn't love you and you're going to burn in hell.
Thought maybe the next one was going to be Kessel, didn't ya? Well, so did I, at the time, when I decided this would be a series. But then I read something insightful and it got me thinking a little...
"did anyone expect the Leafs to miss Grabbo that much? Since his return they are on a tear. Love that crazy bastard."
Totally agree. It made me realize that Grabbo's presence is really necessary as a secondary scoring threat, and without him, it's too easy for the opposition to focus their defensive muscle on Kessel. While Grabbo hasn't razzled and dazzled quite like he did last year, he's still an effective forechecker who messes with the opposition's heads, and screws with their rhythm and focus, altering the intensity of the game in the Leafs favor.
Then this happened... That's pretty cool. But here's the real reason Grabbo is this edition's Difference Maker - did you realize that when Grabovski is in the line up for the Leafs, they are a BETTER THEN .500 TEAM? That was the goal, scored by Grabbo himself, that brought them up to the .500 plateau.
Tonight, Grabovski assisted on John Mitchell's 2nd period goal to cue the comeback, and then assisted on Kulemin's 2nd overtime winner of the month, to give the Leafs a 3-2 victory, thus pushing them one win over .500 when Grabbo laces up the skates this season. Grabovski was on the ice, as was Kaberle, for all 3 goals and both finished +3.
The Leafs record this season now stands at 28-35-12. When Grabovski got injured in the first period of the first game of the new year, a January 2nd 3-1 loss to Calgary, the Leafs record, that game included, was 14-19-9. From January 5th to March 7th, the Leafs record in Grabbo's absence was a brutal 6-14-3. Since returning to the line up on March 9th, the Leafs have been on a definitive roll, going 8-2-0.
14-19-9 + 8-2-0 = 22-21-9
or
28-35-12 - 6-14-3 = 22-21-9
Equals BETER THEN .500!
I'm not trying to say that Grabbo alone makes the Leafs awesome, but he makes them at least not horrible. Otherwise, they are. But when Grabovski's in the line-up, the Leafs are competitive, with a better then equal chance of picking up a point. Still not quite good enough to be playoff bound, but .500 is a lot closer then where we are now.
If the Leafs were in fact a .500 team, we would be ahead of Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Columbus, and the Islanders.
Post Game Notes...
MONSTER MARCH! Gustavsson is 7-0-0 for the month, sporting a super-nifty .929 SV% and a 1.93 GAA during this amazing streak.
Kulemin's overtime heroics continue with last night's game winner. That's now 2 overtime goals this month to go along with 3 goals scored in the shoot-out as well. Meanwhile the Leafs now have 7 straight victories in extra-time, all in the last 4 weeks, as their once woeful OT record suddenly begins to balance out.
A couple of mornings ago I awoke to discover more then 200 new comments scattered throughout my blog, all of them from a Chinese porn robot. So, while doing some house cleaning and deleting them all one by one, I stumbled upon a post I'd written a year and a half ago which I thought was worth revisiting.
Time will tell, I guess, but if he continues to hit the back of the net with regularity during the shoot-out, or actually during the "game" part of the game, then he might be making a huge difference after all - the difference between winning and losing. As a Leaf fan, that's all the difference in the world.
Hey, wow! Look at that, I've got a theme going. Maybe I'll make it a series. Did you know that Kulemin was my favourite NHL player after just his 3rd NHL game? Ya, me neither, but that's what I wrote. There's also a funny joke in that post about how I thought Jari Kurri was my father. Some day I'll do a post about that. But today's post is about Nikolai Kulemin, my new favourite NHL player again, not counting Kaberle.
"He's probably our most complete player now. He's everything you want in a hockey player."
Wilson's assessment mirrors my own in this situation, a rare occurrence lately. One of the few real reasons for joy this season has been the pleasure of watching Kulemin's game blossom and bloom. While, at the time, I really wondered about the coach's decision to sit Kulemin as a healthy scratch through 4 of the first 8 games, it's clear now that one of Wilson's few significant achievements this season is the management and development of Kulemin's skills, from a raw sophomore talent, to the potent, confident, first line player he is today.
"He was crawling, then walking, now he's running." Pretty soon he'll want to borrow the car.
Well, since the loss in our last game against Florida was kind of a downer and it's much more fun feeling hopeful and optimistic, let's all enjoy a video tribute of a Maple Leaf that I hope will be with the team for many years to come.
First up; Nikolai Kulemin's first NHL goal. The first player to score a goal while making his NHL debut in a season-opener against the defending Stanley Cup champs since Eric Lindros in 1992. For whatever that's worth. Next; his 2nd-ever NHL goal, a beauty back-hander against St. Louis. Here's a great goal from earlier this season, January 12, during a 4-2 loss against Carolina, a second period goal assisted by Bozak and Kessel. The very next game, January 14th, another 2nd period goal, again assisted by Kessel. The Leafs take this game 4-0, and it's at about this time perhaps that a Maple Leafs puzzle begins to take shape without a Stajan, or a Hagman, a Poni, or Stempniak. Another goal against the Flyers in January, this one 8 days earlier on the 6th, a 3rd period goal during a 6-2 defeat that began a 4-game losing streak that would end the next time the Leafs played Philadelphia. Check out how much Kulemin resembles Kessel on this play: In this month alone, Kuelmin has scored 3 times in the shoot-out; March 6th, a 2-1 win against Ottawa, on the 18th, a 2-1 win over New Jersey, and the next game, March the 20th, a 3-2 win over Montreal. Here's a sample, from last season, of what Kulemin can do as an extra-point sniper: He's also scored an overtime goal this month, Toronto's long-awaited first overtime goal of the year, giving the Leafs a 4-3 victory over Boston on the 9th. This was followed up the very next game, March 11th, with Phil Kessel scoring in OT to give the Leafs a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay for their second consecutive overtime win. In all, that's 2 overtimes and 3 shoot outs - 5 extra points, 5 wins and not losses, that Kulemin and his linemates have captured for the Leafs, just this month. So cheers to Nikolai Kulemin, who's making a huge difference to my enjoyment of the second half of this Titanic-like season. The last video, despite misspelling "diffrence" is actually pretty good with the music. They should make another updated version with all of his shoot-out and overtime and highlight reel goals with the same music. Or somebody else should. Or maybe I should learn how to do it and do it myself.
