Toskala Will Ride The Pine, “Monster” In The Crease At The ACC Tonight.

(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

After much debate by Toronto Maple Leaf fans, general manager Brian Burke, and head coach Ron Wilson, it appears as if Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson will get the nod as the Leafs' starting goaltender this evening against the hated Ottawa Senators.

Gustavsson will replace hard-luck starting goaltender Vesa Toskala in between the pipes.  The move hardly comes as a surprise, but there certainly will be a lot of second guessing if Gustavsson struggles against the Sens tonight.

The good news is Gustavsson will make his first regular start at home.  As such, while he will be under a bit of pressure, he should get a huge ovation when his name is announced.

If he manages to pull off a win, the Monster will be anointed the savior of the franchise, as if he hasn’t already!

So far this season, through 38 minutes of work, Gustavsson has been anything but spectacular.  His 4.74 Goals Against Average and .842 save Percentage will hardly serve to intimidate the Senators forwards.

But there is hope, isn’t there?

To be fair, Toskala has not fared much better, his 4.94 Goals Against Average and .800 Save Percentage are a reminder that what lays before the Leafs is not just a “Goaltending Problem.”  This is a team effort, or lack-thereof, that has seen the team go an ugly 0-2 to start the season.

When questioned about his decision to start Gustavsson over Toskala, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson stated, “He (Gustavsson) deserves a start, he played well in preseason, he played well the other night [against the Capitals in relief of Toskala].”

Clearly there is much for Wilson to lose here, regardless of who is in between the pipes. If Toskala started and flopped he would very likely be booed right on out of the ACC, further shattering his confidence and increasing the amount of noise being made by Leaf fans about decapitating Toskala.

On the other hand, with similar poor numbers, there are many experts that suggest Gustavsson is not yet ready for the NHL, leading many to believe that if Gustavsson gets shelled his confidence will be shot.

Are the Leafs rushing another prospect? Nah! They’d never do that, right?

It’s too late now, the announcement has been made, Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson will rear his head tonight at the ACC, all that remains to be seen if it’s an ugly head or not....

Until next time,
Peace!

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