Leafs 5, Sens 1
Five powerplay goals - four by the Leafs. That's the end result.
The bigger story from this game was the fights, the name-calling, and what it means for the two teams. Lets start with Damien Cox in the Toronto Star:
"You name the foul, the Leafs committed it. They charged, cross-checked, elbowed, slashed and hacked their divisional rivals all night long and because the Sens couldn't slip a pea past an extra-caffeinated Belfour, the Leafs didn't pay for it.
That's the same formula Freddie (The Fog) Shero used with the Flyers in the 1970s, and they called him a genius.
Still, it was priceless to hear Leafs coach Pat Quinn — a Shero disciple, no less — try to put the reverse spin on the proceedings, claiming Senators such as Daniel (The Swedish Butcher) Alfredsson were the true criminals, not his Lady Byng bunch.
C'mon. The Leafs played mean, vicious hockey last night, then gooned it up after their thug coach put the muscle out in the final minute, and still walked away with two points because their goalie was Bernie Parent brilliant.
Why pretend that's not what happened?"
To expand on Cox - here's some of what Quinn said:
About Hossa...
"That other kid who took Bryan (Berard's) eye out four years ago was wielding his stick around"
About Alfredsson...
"He's the guy that tried to take Mats' knee out with that hit at the end"
"He's the guy that hit (Darcy) Tucker from behind two years ago and should have been suspended for life probably so I don't give it much validity."
Hilarious. If Quinn really thinks that about those two players, what does he think of Marchment, Domi, and Tucker - players with multiple suspensions for dangerous, dirty play that demonstrates a lack of respect for other players in the league.
Shaun Van Allen had this to say:
"Would I go after somebody wearing a cage? No. I respect the other team. We're all in the same union. We're all battling for the Stanley Cup, but it's a respect issue. I would not try and hurt a guy."
Niel added the following:
"You don't like to see stuff like that happen, especially when a game is out of hand like that"
"You'd think there will be some suspensions, especially when you see a guy gouging another guy when he has a jaw protector on."
"There was other stuff, like (Nathan) Perrott sucker punching (Shane) Hnidy when Hnidy went in to help Vanner"
"Whatever happens, happens (Thursday). You've gotta go out and play every game. We want the two points, and we're disappointed we didn't get them (Saturday). "
"We weren't ready for them (Saturday) night. They wanted first place and the two points more than we did."
A couple questions come out of a game like this that Muckler and Martin have to address:
1. Does the team, considering Varada and Fisher's absence, have enought 'sandpaper' to go into the playoffs?
2. Can the team continue to play without having a forward backing up Niel in the fight department - Chara is too valuable to have him dropping the gloves 10 times a season
And for the Leafs, a game like this brings up memories of the recent problems that ended up in locker room issues. Sundin said the following after the game:
"It's an issue we have to address," said captain Mats Sundin. "It's been an issue here before, last season and for a few seasons now. Just when we seem to be out of it, something like this happens. We have to address it and we will."
As for the payroll issue - I guess $25 million does go a long way - including $9 million for Sundin, $6.5 for Nolan and $7 for Belfour - three guys who made a big difference. Excuses you haven't heard the Sens use - they could have used Havlat (and Spezza for periods 2 and 3) on the PP.
Thursday's game is big - but tomorrow the Sens play Jersey - I expect Lalime to play both of the next two games which is a good test for him after his recent up and down play.
The bigger story from this game was the fights, the name-calling, and what it means for the two teams. Lets start with Damien Cox in the Toronto Star:
"You name the foul, the Leafs committed it. They charged, cross-checked, elbowed, slashed and hacked their divisional rivals all night long and because the Sens couldn't slip a pea past an extra-caffeinated Belfour, the Leafs didn't pay for it.
That's the same formula Freddie (The Fog) Shero used with the Flyers in the 1970s, and they called him a genius.
Still, it was priceless to hear Leafs coach Pat Quinn — a Shero disciple, no less — try to put the reverse spin on the proceedings, claiming Senators such as Daniel (The Swedish Butcher) Alfredsson were the true criminals, not his Lady Byng bunch.
C'mon. The Leafs played mean, vicious hockey last night, then gooned it up after their thug coach put the muscle out in the final minute, and still walked away with two points because their goalie was Bernie Parent brilliant.
Why pretend that's not what happened?"
To expand on Cox - here's some of what Quinn said:
About Hossa...
"That other kid who took Bryan (Berard's) eye out four years ago was wielding his stick around"
About Alfredsson...
"He's the guy that tried to take Mats' knee out with that hit at the end"
"He's the guy that hit (Darcy) Tucker from behind two years ago and should have been suspended for life probably so I don't give it much validity."
Hilarious. If Quinn really thinks that about those two players, what does he think of Marchment, Domi, and Tucker - players with multiple suspensions for dangerous, dirty play that demonstrates a lack of respect for other players in the league.
Shaun Van Allen had this to say:
"Would I go after somebody wearing a cage? No. I respect the other team. We're all in the same union. We're all battling for the Stanley Cup, but it's a respect issue. I would not try and hurt a guy."
Niel added the following:
"You don't like to see stuff like that happen, especially when a game is out of hand like that"
"You'd think there will be some suspensions, especially when you see a guy gouging another guy when he has a jaw protector on."
"There was other stuff, like (Nathan) Perrott sucker punching (Shane) Hnidy when Hnidy went in to help Vanner"
"Whatever happens, happens (Thursday). You've gotta go out and play every game. We want the two points, and we're disappointed we didn't get them (Saturday). "
"We weren't ready for them (Saturday) night. They wanted first place and the two points more than we did."
A couple questions come out of a game like this that Muckler and Martin have to address:
1. Does the team, considering Varada and Fisher's absence, have enought 'sandpaper' to go into the playoffs?
2. Can the team continue to play without having a forward backing up Niel in the fight department - Chara is too valuable to have him dropping the gloves 10 times a season
And for the Leafs, a game like this brings up memories of the recent problems that ended up in locker room issues. Sundin said the following after the game:
"It's an issue we have to address," said captain Mats Sundin. "It's been an issue here before, last season and for a few seasons now. Just when we seem to be out of it, something like this happens. We have to address it and we will."
As for the payroll issue - I guess $25 million does go a long way - including $9 million for Sundin, $6.5 for Nolan and $7 for Belfour - three guys who made a big difference. Excuses you haven't heard the Sens use - they could have used Havlat (and Spezza for periods 2 and 3) on the PP.
Thursday's game is big - but tomorrow the Sens play Jersey - I expect Lalime to play both of the next two games which is a good test for him after his recent up and down play.
