Toronto Maple Leafs Back In Win Column After Pounding Habs

The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped their losing streak in the best possible fashion last night. They soundly defeated their oldest rival, the Montreal Canadiens, 6-3 last night in a game that put a spark back into the NHL's most famous rivalry. The game was a solid effort all around, and the entire Leafs team seemed to be playing with some fire last night. The Habs did keep the game close through two periods, but after a game filled with cheap shots and dirty hits, they could not match the Maple Leafs play in the 3rd period.

The game got off to a bitter start for the Toronto Maple Leafs however. During the 1st period, Montreal forward Tom Kostopolous put a dirty hit from behind on Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn. Kostopolous rammed Van Ryn's head into the boards with his back turned, and it was immediately clear the nasty hit had injured Van Ryn. Kostopolous was rightfully ejected from the game by the officials, and the Maple Leafs were given a five minute powerplay. Kostopolous's cheap shot may have done his team in, as the Maple Leafs seemed to be playing with a chip on their shoulder from that point on. On the ensuing powerplay, the Leafs made their rivals pay by opening the scoring on a beautiful shot from Niklas Hagman. The 1st period would end with the Maple Leafs up 1-0. Before I go on however, I will say this regarding the Van Ryn hit. The NHL has stated they will be reviewing the hit, and Tom Kostopolous may be facing a suspension from the league. Personally, I hope the bum is suspended for a very long time, but he did redeem himself somewhat, in saying that he will be personally calling Mike Van Ryn to apologize. Van Ryn is expected to miss at least a month with a concussion, a broken nose, and broken finger. I wish him a speedy recovery, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to miss him greatly while he is gone. Losing one of our top defeseman to such a cheap shot is a tough pill to swallow.

The 2nd period would be the most exciting of the game, with each team scoring 3 times as the game began to heat up. The Maple Leafs struck first, when Mikhail Grabovski was fed a perfect pass from behind the net, and ripped in a shot that Carey Price had no chance of stopping. Mikhail Grabovski continues his point streak, and has been tearing up the scoreboard along with his linemate Nik Hagman. Grabovski appears to be the skilled sniper that analysts said the Maple Leafs lacked going into the season. He truly has a lethal shot, and I have a feeling now that he has found his groove, we have only seen the beginning of his offensive skills. After going up 2-0 the Maple Leafs would let their foes back into the game by taking penalty after penalty, and giving the Habs two powerplay goals. Hagman would then strike again for his second goal of the night, giving the Leafs the lead once again, but Saku Koivu replied right away to lock the game up at 3 each. That would be the last goal Montreal would score, and Nik Antropov would put the Maple Leafs up for good by fighting his way to the crease and banging in a puck that a sprawling Carey Price couldnt find. At the end of a crazy 2nd period, the Toronto Maple Leafs led 4-3.

The 3rd period was dominated completely by Toronto, and it was satisfying to finally see them play such a complete game. Pavel Kubina scored on a heavy shot from the point. I have to say, Kubina has been more and more impressive as the year goes on. Opposing teams are going to have to start worrying about his wicked shots from the point, and the Leafs are making full use of that weapon on the powerplay. He is also using all of his 245 pounds to knock opposing players off the puck with ease. This is good to see, because with Van Ryn out the Leafs will need solid play from Kubina in their own end. Finally, Antropov and Ponikarovsky once again teamed up to put the game away on a beautiful 2 on 1 rush. Antropov carried the puck into the zone, then slid the puck past the Montreal defender to Ponikarovsky, who had no trouble beating Carey Price on a nifty move in front of the net. Final score 6-3. Maple Leafs win!

All in all, a great game that was probably the most dominating win for them yet. I would call it a good ol' fashioned ass whoopin! To make such a statement against their most hated rivals, said alot about this team. The Toronto Maple Leafs are here to compete this year, and the rest of the league better take note.