Maple Leafs—Hurricanes: Toronto Goes Down in Overtime

There were—two teams scheduled to be on the ice tonight, one wearing blue and white, the other red, black, and white. So, who invited this group wearing the striped jerseys?

In a night when there were plenty of bad calls to go around, the Carolina Hurricanes upended the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. Carolina certainly played well, as did the Leafs, but, unfortunately, the team efforts were overshadowed by some shady officiating.

Leafs winger Jiri Tlusty opened the scoring for Toronto just 3:20 into the contest. Sundin flew down the wing and slid the puck back to an open Tlusty, who let fire from the slot area and made no mistake. It was Tlusty's fourth goal of the season in his second game playing on a line with the Leafs captain.

In the 13th minute Tim Gleason tied the game that appeared to tipped in front, however as of this writing the goal has still been credited to Gleason by the NHL. Toronto was caught on a very sloppy change, leaving the points open and leaving Gleason with plenty of time to let a wrister go from the blueline. Gleason also added an assist later in the game to go with his 10th goal of the season.

3:29 into the third period Carolina scored a goal on what clearly looked like a high stick. Gleason let the puck go from the point, and Walker was standing in front of the net, jockeying for position, when he tipped the puck past Toskala. The play was reviewed and it looked as though Walker's stick was above the crossbar, however the goal stood, giving the Canes a 2-1 lead.

Late in the third period, Jason Blake appeared to score on a wraparound goal. The play came behind the net when Matt Stajan made a great behind the back pass to Blake. Blake then came back out front the net and stuffed the puck past Ward. It was a bang bang play, and Ward helped to sell it a little bit by quickly sweeping the puck out of the net. The play was (once again) under review, this time they decided the replay was inconclusive, therefore it was no goal. Canes still lead the game 2-1 and hope appeared to be fleeting.

However, like he has so many times before, Mats Sundin rose to the occasion to salvage the game for his team, this time scoring a goal with 12 seconds left in the third. After losing the draw, Tucker kept the play alive on the half boards before sending the puck in front, where Sundin redirected the puck into the net. Another controversial play was again under review, however this time they came to the conclusion that there was no distinct kicking motion, only are direct, therefore the game was headed for overtime.

In overtime Nik Antropov took a slashing penalty on a very weak call. During that same powerplay, Hal Gill had a very easy clearing attempt, but had his hands slashed in the very same way that Antropov was penalized for. Gill couldn't clear the puck—it was sent out front where Rod Brind'Amour deposited the puck for the Hurricanes victory.

Game Thoughts

Let me just preface tonight's game thoughts by saying that I feel most of the time the officials do a great job. I also think the guys in the war room in Toronto do a real great job. (How cool of a job would that be, eh?) I agree they are humans and they deserve room for error, so I am never one to jump all over them.

However, I feel the on ice crew tonight simply couldn't get it right. They had to review several calls, and in some instances I feel the wrong decision was reached—that's the way it goes sometimes.

—I am never usually one to blame the refs, really I am not. But it seems like there is always a stretch where the Leafs seem to run into suspect officiating (as I'm sure all other NHL teams do). It just felt like there was a different standard out there tonight for the two teams. I am not discrediting the way the Hurricanes played—they were very solid for three periods tonight. It's just a shame that so many bad calls got in the way of a good game.

—Very disturbing sight tonight seeing John Pohl go down the way he did. That looked nasty in every definition of the word. It appears the injury bug has made its annual appearance to the Maple Leafs club. I don't want to speculate, as that would be somewhat unprofessional, but It would appear to be an ankle injury, that much we likely know.

—What a goal by Jiri Tlusty, who looked much more comfortable tonight on the top line than he did last game. Tlusty started the play off in his own zone by taking a hit to make the play, then it's all about the quick breakout. In keeping with the philosophy of playing a simple road game, Gill takes the puck behind the net, passes it along the wall to Tlusty who gets it off to Sundin and then explodes out of the zone, into the play, and is rewarded with a goal.

—Although they were very shaky through times tonight, the Maple Leafs penalty kill was quite good tonight, especially Stajan and Kubina early in the first period. That group of penalty killers did a good job of taking with each other, knowing who was supposed to be where, and keeping one man in front of the net to block shots. Shot blocking and rebound control were a very good aspect of tonight's game plan for Toronto.

—Pavel Kubina has been so much more steady this year as opposed to last. Sometimes I have to wonder out loud if there was a different Kubina playing on the team last year. Kubina is so much more confident this season. He is very hard on the puck, likes to play the body and be physical, and is not afraid to shoot during the powerplay, or during five on five play.

—Team physicality was much more to the level that the coaches, and most likely the fans, would like to see. The additions of Newbury and Ondrus were welcomed, as they added sand paper to the line up. Despite missing Chad Kilger and Boyd Devereaux, two of their better forecheckers, other members of the team stepped up to play a physical role and set the tone of play. Pavel Kubina comes to mind, waging a battle and a half with Erik Cole. He was a thorn in the side of Cole all night. The aforementioned Newbury and Ondrus, though playing limited minutes, weren't afraid to go into the corners, and get into the scrums.

So all in all a pretty solid game tonight from both clubs. I just wish the officiating had been more consistent, as these two teams brought their game tonight, but were on several occasions impeded by spotty calls.

Next up for the Maple Leafs is a home tilt against the rival Ottawa Senators. Be sure to check back here for a full recap Saturday night following the game. Also check daily for your Leafs Notes.