Breaking News: Andrew Raycroft Allergic to Vulcanized Rubber
After Vesa Toskala’s weak performance againt the Ducks last night, Andrew Raycroft must have been worried that he was in danger of losing his backup job! He responded admirably by letting in 4 goals on 11 shots, further confirming his status as an absolute piece of trash. I could swear I saw him breathe a sigh of relief as he settled into his spot on the bench, happy to be back where he knows he belongs. Toskala went out and, compared to Raycroft, played like an all-star, but the damage was done.
On the offensive side of it, the Leafs managed to score two goals and it only took them 50 shots to get them. Credit the team for getting 50 shots on goal, but at the same time, they made Jason LaBarbera look like Patrick Roy. I’ll make the prediction now (remember you heard it here first). If management was watching this game, by the start of next season the Leafs will announce that Jason LaBarbera will be their starting goalie!
It would actually be fairly easy to say that the team played well tonight but couldn’t recover from bad goaltending in the first, combined with running into a hot goalie. Let’s put things into perspective here though. This wasn’t the Detroit Red Wings. This was the Los Angeles Kings, the team in dead last place in the entire league. One of only two team worse than the Leafs themselves. The team squandered a two man advantage of 1:21 and then again failed to score with 2 men up when they pulled Toskala on a powerplay for a 6-on-4. Watching the game on TV, one of the guys in the booth commented that the first 2 man advantage marked the 10th time this season the Leafs had been in that situation for over a minute. They’ve scored once. That’s a fairly pathetic statistic and it sort of sums up the Leafs thus far this year.
From the perspective of someone who now cheers against the Leafs, this game was a pleasure to watch. Seeing the frustration on Darcy Tucker’s face as he slammed the bench door shut was priceless. Watching the Leafs try and try and try to no avail, only to lose to the worst team in the league was priceless. Now it’s off to San Jose where the Leafs will play a Sharks team boasting the lowest goals against in the entire league. Set your VCR’s because that game should be another gem!
Stumble it!
