Maple Leafs-Kings: Gutsy Effort Gives Leafs Second Straight Win

Well, two games into the Brian Burke era the Leafs have secured two wins.  Who knew he would have such a profound effect so early?

All kidding aside, the Maple Leafs played what head coach Ron Wilson phrased "a near perfect road game" and came out of La La Land with two points Monday night.

Toronto looked shaky early on, giving up a goal just 57 seconds into the contest. But they settled in and on the strength of their special teams topped the Kings 3-1 at the Staples Center.

The Leafs' penalty kill, finally heading in the right direction, was perfect, including a lengthy 5-on-3 in which the Leafs had three of their top defenseman in the penalty box.

The group of Ian White, Luke Schenn, and Dominic Moore were hemmed in their own zone for over a minute, but countered with effective checking and timely saves by Vesa Toskala to scuffle the Kings' efforts.

Matt Stajan, Mikhail Grabovski, and Jeff Finger scored for Toronto. 

Random Game Thoughts

•You know, I am not a fan of the instigator rule, but instances which took place last night make you wonder why the league is fighting so hard to keep it in. Their officials don't know how to properly assess it anyway.

Jeff Finger delivered a clean, neutral zone hit to Oscal Mollar.  Kings forward Derek Armstrong took at least three strides, and grabbed Finger with his gloves off ready to go.

Now, Finger was all too willing to oblige, but if that isn't instigating a fight, then I don't know what is.

•Speaking of Finger, he had another huge game last night, and is starting to become a real household name for the Leafs.  Just like an offensive lineman, the less you hear of Finger the better, and sometimes you really have to take a game to just focus in on the work he does.  He is a real solid shutdown defenseman for the Leafs, and is really starting to justify his salary.

•How about Matt Stajan?  Battling an illness which saw him require intravenous treatment, Stajan played an important role late in the game and got the Leafs tied with the Kings on a simple play in which he drove to the net.

•Jamal Mayers left the game with a hand injury and it was confirmed that he broke a bone in his hand.  No word yet on how much time he will miss.

Head coach Ron Wilson does have some options here.  He can slide White up to forward and dress Jamie Sifers (who was called up for this road trip) or he can bring in Ryan Hollweg, who was also a scratch last night.

Leafs Nation Live

Leafs Nation Live is an all new 24/7 blog covering everything Toronto Maple Leafs.  On this blog you can find breaking news, breaking trades, lineup news, injury news, and a whole lot more.  Updated several times a day, Leafs Nation Live is your ultimate source for everything Toronto Maple Leafs.

As I watched the game last night and Mayers went down with a hand injury, I thought of writing an article on B/R about it.  But really, I didn't know enough, and thus the article would be too short.

Instead I have created a blog for little random notes like the things listed above.  You can find it by clicking here.  Make sure to bookmark it and check back often.