Maple Leafs Face Bad Bounces and Questions To Be Answered

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano

Again the Maple Leafs gave up the first goal of the game, this time against Ottawa last night, marking the 17th time in 19 games.

Still a ways to go to break Atlanta’s record of 57 of 82, but certainly on their way toward it—definitely one record we don’t want to own in Toronto.

Why is it that the Leafs can’t seem to stay focused for a whole 60 minutes?

Do they have ADD?

How many times can the expression “bad bounces” be used in conjunction with the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Almost every game, seemingly, as the first goal was due to a bad bounce and a flutter ball over the glove of Vesa Toskala.

The battle of Ontario is certainly alive and well, as there were a number of fisticuffs in last night’s game—four, to be exact—and Colton Orr sure let Matt Carkner know what’s what with a straight right that landed right on the money and rocked him.

But this ruckus didn’t add up to anything in the points column for the buds, though they certainly left an impression on the Senators and perhaps the league, reassuring them that the Leafs are no pushovers.

So this now brings us to the next game against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday, one of only three teams the Leafs have beaten this year.

Does this mean we can chalk up another win against this bumbling Hurricanes team? Perhaps; perhaps not!

Carolina took Montreal to overtime and eventually a shootout last night despite losing again, but the 'Canes secured a point, tying them with the Leafs for last overall in the league, four points behind the Ducks.

Carolina has been playing better as of late, getting points in its last three games, winning and losing two, while the Leafs seem to be returning to the form they started the season with and have lost four in a row.

The Leafs' effort is there at times and then seems to fade at points in the game. The first period against the Flames, they were horrid, and the second and third they were all over Calgary.

Can they and will they bring it for the full game against Carolina? This remains to be seen, obviously. They haven’ been rewarded for efforts in the past, so motivation could be low. Time for another game of dodgeball?

If being in last place isn’t motivation enough to play with everything you got then I don’t know what is.

The question of who can centre Phil Kessel hasn’t been answered, though most believe no one on the team fits that role, period. At least at this moment. Kessel recorded his first point in a Leafs uniform in his second game against this Carolina team, and Toronto will have to lean on him for scoring, as he has been the only consistent offensive threat for the forwards.

Are we ever going to bang in some of these juicy rebounds that are bouncing around in the crease seemingly every game?

Which player is going to step up and get to these tough areas?

After we pounded the Red Wings, I—like many in Leafs Nation—felt perhaps we were turning a corner, but it seems we smacked face-first into another wall.

Many people have answers to what is ailing the Leafs, but they seem to be falling on deaf ears.

Could Ron Wilson’s system just not be applicable to this team’s makeup, and should he perhaps begin preaching a new strategy?

The Leafs are flip-flopping their feelings, seemingly, of who should be the regular starter between the pipes, and that may be a sore spot for some.

All of these things add up to a lack of consistency that has to be there for a team that wants to succeed.

I have no doubt in my mind that these guys all want to win—hell, I haven’t slept well after ringing it off the a post or missing the top corner in a men’s league game, so I know our boys aren’t sleeping well at night.

Hopefully the Leafs stick it to this Hurricanes team and kick them when they are down while hopefully getting some answers. The Canes are backed into the same corner as they are, and when all is said and done, I’d bet they come out victorious in tomorrow’s tilt down in Raleigh.