Toronto Maple Leafs Pummled By Florida Panthers, 8-0

It has been called the biggest week of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Now all fans and management can do is hold their breath—and hope that parts two and three aren't as much of a dud as the opening act.

Looking unbelievably sluggish, the Maple Leafs dropped an 8-0 decision to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night in Toronto.

Seemingly behind the eight ball from the second puck dropped, the Leafs surrendered the game's first goal just six and a half minutes in.  On a bit of a weird play, Richard Zednik tipped in a Steve Montador blueline blast to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.  The goal was Zednik's 11th of the season.

As the second period got under way, it was more of the same for the Blue and White.  Just ten seconds in, Nathan Horton connected on a David Booth pass to make it 2-0.  The Panthers worked the puck off of a giveaway, pulling Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala out of position to add to their lead.

3:46 into the second frame, Florida captain Olli Jokinen, who is rumoured to be on his way out the Sunshine State come deadline day, capitalized on another Leafs turnover. Jokinen put the finishing touches on another nifty passing play, and again pulled Toskala out of the blue ice, leaving the Finnish forward with a wide open net.  It was Jokinen's 200th career goal.

Just over eight minutes into the third period, Cory Murphy notched his second goal of the year, giving Florida a 4-0 lead, which signalled the end of Vesa Toskala's night.  He was peppered, allowing four goals on 15 shots.  Murphy is a Canadian player, a slick puck-moving defenseman who can quarterback a power play.  He was expected to have a big year on the blueline for Florida, but an injury slowed his season.

8:14 into the third period, Murphy added an assist to his points total as he fired a shot on goal which was stopped by Raycroft—however, the goaltender gave up a soft rebound to an unguarded Steve Montador, who deposited the puck over a prone Raycroft to stretch the Panthers lead to 5-0.

As the period wore down the game got rough.  As the game got chippy, Ruslan Salei and Matt Stajan began mixing it up in front of the net As the play went up the ice the two continued to shove, before Stajan dropped the gloves with the more puck-experienced Salei.  Stajan took one good shot, but for the most part Salei was classy enough to know he wasn't going head to head with a fighter, and he really didn't throw much at Stajan.

It didn't end there though, as Newbury and Brine then got into a scuffle.  The jersey of Newbury came undone, so he was given a misconduct.  A little later on, after Hal Gill had taken a slashing penalty, Darcy Tucker took a cheap shot at David Booth, giving him an extra penalty, and a misconduct.

All that action put the Leafs down for two five-on-threes.  During those two man advantages, Florida cashed in twice, with back-to-back goals from Richard Zednik.  The goals completed Zednik's hat trick, and gave him 13 goals on the year.

Minutes later David Booth scored on a three-on-one for Florida, running the score to 8-0.  That prompted Ben Ondrus to drop the mitts, which ended his night early with under three minutes to go.

Game Thoughts

--Give Matt Stajan full marks for being willing to show his dissatisfaction with the way the game had gone.  On one hand, it's unfortunate that it had to be Stajan to show his displeasure—but hey, at least he did something, more than most everyone else can say.

--As bad as he has been throughout his Maple Leafs career, Andrew Raycroft did not deserve those "Bronx Cheers" he received when he first entered the game.  I think it is absolutely necessary, for both Andrew and the Leafs, that he find a new home come deadline day, or this summer.  Be it by trade, waiver wire, or a buyout, Raycroft needs to try to get his career back on track elsewhere, as he is really on a treadmill in Toronto,  and no matter what he does, he will be scrutinized.

--There were a lot of stupid penalties for Toronto tonight—there simply isn't any other way to put it.  Kubina took a dumb penalty early in the game, with a cross check in the blue paint. And throughout the game, the Leafs continued to unravel, taking several retaliation penalties—which, as the old adage goes, are always the ones that get called.  

--Leafs rookie defenseman Anton Stralman made what possibly could have been his worst play as an NHL player.  Early in the game, he made a pinch when he shouldn't have, which allowed Florida to break in on a two-on-one and scored.  It was a tough move, but it is also a rookie mistake for the Swedish D-man.  And I mean hey, these things happen as part of the growing and maturation process.  The way Stralman carries himself, he seems like the kind of kid who will take that mistake, learn from it, and hopefully not make it too many more times.  

--There were too many lost battles tonight for Toronto.  Kyle Wellwood, Jiri Tlusty, and many other guilty culprits were simply outworked tonight, which in turn created many scoring chances for Florida.  High-priced real estate came real easy for Florida tonight.  

--About the only positive we can take from tonight's loss (aside from the hopefully eye-opening experience that Cliff Fletcher needed to prompt change) is that for the most part, the young kids are playing well.  Robbie Earl had another strong game, and looked checked in once again.  Many rookies who get called up simply just try not to get beat, not to make a mistake, instead of playing their game.  Earl is different however.  From the first game he got called up, he has decided to play his game, he looks like he is oozing confidence.  Jiri Tlusty and Anton Stralman made some mistakes tonight, but still had decent games, and still have a bright future.  These three are one of the few likely untouchables on this team as deadline day nears.

--Can't really fault either goalie tonight.  You could talk about some rebounds let out and what not, but when the day is done, it was the defense (both the six blueliners, as well as the team defense philosophy as a whole.)  

So, the first of what are to be three of the biggest games this season for the Maple Leafs could not have gone any worse.  Next up for the Leafs is a date with red-hot Montreal Thursday night at the Bell Centre, followed by a Saturday afternoon original six battle with league best Detroit.  It is expected that the Leafs will receive some help at some point this week from the injury front, as both Bryan McCabe and Alex Steen are scheduled to return.  There is a chance they could go Thursday night in Montreal, but it is more likely they will return Saturday afternoon for the Red Wings game.  Nik Antropov will also return Saturday, having served his three game suspension.

That's all for tonight, from me at least.  I'm sure Leafs Nation will have loads to say about this one, as they should.  It could have been possibly the worst game they've played all year.

Be sure to check back here tomorrow afternoon for an edition of Leafs Notes, as I'm sure there will be lots to talk about following tonight's sound beating.

Next Game:

Toronto @ Montreal

Game time: 7 PM

Live on CBC as part of a special Thursday night Hockey Night In Canada.