Here I bash the Leafs this afternoon pregame and then they come out and shut the Buffalo machine down tonight. Why can't the Leafs play like this all the time? They looked like the Canucks in a sense, playing so tight defensively. But they also forechecked hard and stayed on the Sabres players. In the beginning of the 3rd, their brains farted for about 5 minutes, and that insanity took over again, coughing the puck up, scrambling, giving up 2-on-1's, breakaways. Andrew Raycroft stoned Buffalo though. When Antropov tipped a McCabe point shot at 5:04 of the 3rd, you had to wonder if it was going to be deja-vu all over again. But it didn't happen. The Leafs shut them down the rest of the way in convincing fashion.
Unreal..The 7th-11th seeds in the East all won tonight, making last night's Leafs meltdown that much more difficult to accept. What a race.
Coach's Corner was good tonight. Don Cherry tackled the 'fighting issue' in the way that you knew he would. And yes, Ron MacLean is another one of those wimps that would eliminate fighting. He's an idiot.
Cherry also talked about why the Leafs sucked last night, and defended Andrew Raycroft. Good man! I like that guy! Watch Coach's Corner here.
Unbelievable. Raycroft got 3rd star tonight behind Tucker and Kaberle. Kaberle? He was terrible! No love anywhere for Raycroft.
My 3 stars:
1. Darcy Tucker. 2 goals
2. Andrew Raycroft. Solid.
3. Kyle Wellwood. I can't believe how creative he is. Too bad he's 'wasting' in Toronto. He'd look better in a Canucks jersey. haha!