Allsports Thinks The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Consistent at Being Inconsistent

So if you are following the Toronto Maple Leafs or just the NHL in general for sports news on the web you would likely agree that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the poster boy in the NHL for inconsistency.

Last Saturday the Leafs put in a very thorough and workman like effort against the Montreal Canadians. They skated away with a 5-2 victory at the Bell Center in Montreal.

Luke Schenn recorded is first NHL goal, Jason Blake continued his strong play with two goals and for a change Vesa Toskala had a strong game between the pipes, receiving third star honors. In my humble opinion there is no better place to watch a hockey game than the Bell Center, especially when its the Leafs and Canadians.

Twenty thousand fans in the building with ten thousand Leafs fans and ten thousand Canadians fans competing to make noise. Fans bantering back and forth jiving each other but never any fights as it is all in fun.

You would not see that at the ACC in Toronto because the whole lower bowl is filled with the corporate suits.

Tuesday February 10th the Leafs were in Sunrise Florida to take on the Panthers. All looked well with another strong game from Toskala and a 4-1 lead half way through the third period.

Then the wheels fell off for the Leafs.

Maybe they thought the game was over, who knows but the bottom line was the Leafs quit skating and allowed the Panther’s, a desperate team needing to make the playoffs just to survive, back into the game.

Florida scored four unanswered goals to win it in overtime 5-4. It was deja vu for the Leafs because one week earlier against the same team they surrendered a 3-1 lead in the third, to lose 4-3 in overtime.

Then last night in Tampa Bay, facing another team that must win now and make the playoffs, Toronto started well enough scoring first. Then Martin St Louis took over, recording four points in the period and staked his team to a 4-1 lead after one period.

The Leafs battled back in the second after replacing an ineffective Toskala with Curtis Joesph and got the score to 4-3 after forty minutes. But again in the third the Leafs had a couple of brain cramps and ended up falling to the desperate Lightning by a score of 6-4

So you can see why Allsports on the web thinks the Leafs are a model of consistency for beng inconsistent.

No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb