The Post is Brought to you by the Number 2

Two...two wins in a row at home. Ah-ha-ha!

Count 'em, ladies and gents. Today's win makes two in a row and seven in our last ten. Let's keep it rolling, boys. Tomorrow will be a big test against the Bruins. Let's see how we respond after the spanking they gave us on Saturday.

Two wins for me!

I don't get to go to a ton of games but I've been to enough that I have lost count. Whether it was at the Gardens of at the ACC, there was one underlying theme. I went home winless. Prior to this preseason, I have never seen a Leafs win live before. The closest I've ever gotten was a 1-1 tie against New Jersey back when Reichel was still here. Now I finally broke my streak this pre-season in a shoot out win against the Pens and witnessed my first official win live tonight! That's right, baby! I can go to games guilt-free!

Two Big Signings

It took some time but Beauchemin and Komisarek are finally starting to pick up their game. Both of these signings were supposed to give us one of the more intimidating defences to play against. While both players didn't pay immediate dividends, Burke's and Wilson's patience in them are starting to pay off. Komisarek (for the most part) has stopped taking dumb, unnecessary penalties and Beauchemin is starting to look very sound defensively and also provides a canon on the powerplay.


Number 2

No, that wasn't a highlight from last year, that was a hit Schenn threw on Jon Sim just a couple of hours ago. Like Komisarek and Beauchemin, Schenn is finally starting to look comfortable. He's finishing his checks, he's not chasing the puck and he's not letting his man slip by him as much as he did earlier in the season. Ron Wilson has noticed and as a result, Schenn's minutes have started to steadily increase. He played 19:25 tonight compared to the 10 minutes a game he was getting just a couple of weeks ago. Welcome back, OLAS.

Two goals against

I don't know if it's his health, a fluke or Francois Allaire but Toskala has only allowed two goals in each of his last two starts. Sure, the Leafs have played better defensively but this is still Vesa Toskala. I can't really explain it but I don't want this to end. I BELIEVE IN VESA TOSKALA??/

Two annoying fans

I sat behind two very annoying fans. I knew it was going to be a long night when during the warm-up, one of them asked the other who was in net for the Isles and he responded with "I think Garth Snow."

Other annoying things they did
-They kept trying to heckle Roloson (from the 300s) by screaming "Rolllllll-sooooon"...you know there's another O in there somewhere
-Kept referring to Grabovski as Grabovs. I've heard Grabbo and Grabs but Grabovs? That just sounds weird
-They spat out incorrect facts. Roloson faced 61 shots and stopped 58 the last game. He didn't stop 62
-They added "son" to the end of every sentence and described things as "ill"


Two times the fun

They played "the song" twice! Once before the game and once after. I need that for my ipod. Haters gon' hate!

The Real Story Behind Toskala's Injury

So as you may or may not have heard, I won tickets to Monday night's Leafs and Rangers game. The contest was hosted by EA Sports to promote their new Be A GM Mode in NHL10. I got to fly down to New York with the team and sat in the manager's box to watch the game with Burkie. Well, you saw the game. It was a complete shit show and Burke definitely wasn't happy about it. After the game, Burke took me down to the dressing room. I'm glad I brought my camera because you would have never believed me if I told you what happened.

"Hey Vesa, great game today.
I know we didn't get the win but it wasn't your fault.
You put together a solid effort!
I saw you go down in the 2nd. How are you feeling?"

"Thanks, Mr. Burke. I was a little sore earlier but it's no big deal. I'm ready to play again tomorrow!
I bet you already regret signing The Monster with me in net"

"...Are you sure you can play tomorrow?
Are you sure you're not hurt?
I don't know...your groin, maybe?
We should get you checked out in case."

"No need, sir. I'm feeling fine.
I'm just going to go down to 5th Ave. and do some shopping. I'll be as good as new after a good night's sleep.
Hey, who is tha...."

"Vesa, I'd like you to meet my new free agent signing, The Bear Jew. You two will be roommates on the road. I'm sure he'll take good care of you"

"Huh? Where am I?
What are you doing with that duct ta..."

"HMMMM!!!
MMMMPPPPHHHH!!!"

Fuck Off, Optimism

Dear Vesa, why do you hate me so much?

/Drunk

Monster Down

I'm sure you've all heard yesterday that The Monster has been put on the IR with a strained groin and is expected to miss at least week of action. In the meantime, The Leafs have called up Joey MacDonald from the Marlies to back up Vesa Toskala.

Calm down...back away from the ledge slowly. Yes, with four games this week before a whole week off, we cannot afford to start the season 0-6-1 but just because Toskala and Joey Mac will be in net doesn't make it impossible to pick up some points. Here's hoping that Toskala used his time off to absorb what Francois Allaire has been teaching him. An early indication of this will be how deep Toskala is playing in his crease. As a butterfly coach, Allaire would generally want his goalies to come out so that when you get down, you cover as much net as possible. One of Toskala's main problems this year is that he has been playing way too deep. This shows a lack of confidence and relies on his reaction rather than positioning. If we see Toskala out on the white ice often, there's a chance we will see a victory.

Another one of Toskala's big weaknesses is his rebound control. When Toskala makes the initial save, there's usually a big, juicy rebound right on the doorstep. Phil Esposito, Dave Andreychuk, Cam Neely...some of the most prolific scorers have made a living off of these goals. Plain and simple, in order to get the W, Toskala needs to work on kicking those rebounds out into the corners.

Now I don't know what I would consider a successful stand without The Monster. I guess I'll be happy with at least four out of a possible eight points? I just hope both goalies don't end up shitting the bed. Now I know there's really no reason for any of us to have faith in Toskala but I simply can't think of a more appropriate time to say this.

I BELIEVE IN VESA TOSKALA!!1
...But just in case he doesn't live up to our hopes, here's a little drinking game for us so that we can forget all about it.

1 Shot
-Every goal Toskala gives up
-An additional shot if the goal was up high
-Every time Greg Millen comments on Toskala playing too deep in his crease
-Every time they cut away to The Monster or Joey Mac

2 Shots
-Every goalie change
-If two goals are scored within 2 minutes
-If a goal is scored off a rebound
-If Toskala bites on the first move on a breakaway

3 Shots
-If Toskala lets one in that your grandmother could have stopped
-Once the boo-birds start raining
-If the score looks more like a baseball game

Shotgun a Beer
-If Toskala lets in the first shot

Drink til you're blind
-If Toskala lets in a 200 footer