The Hockey Herald

by Patrick Storto

Yes they’ve done it again. While not officially out, the Devils ended the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes last night with their 2-1 win.

All Leaf fans will surely remember last season’s playoff run, the Leafs’ part of course concluded with a dramatic win over their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. But the Islanders had picked up a win over the Flyers earlier that day, which meant that the Leafs run would last one more day. Only this time the Leafs had no control at all, their playoff hopes were placed on a game between the Devils and the Islanders. It was quite simple, if the Devils won, the Leafs were in, if the Islanders won, the Leafs were out.

Leaf fans across the city took off the blue & white paint and for a special one-day only event, the city was red & black. Their hope however didn’t last too long, especially when it was announced that arguably the best goaltender in the NHL would sit this game out, in favor of the Leafs’ current minor league goaltender…..Scott Clemmenson. The game didn’t go out without its share of drama. With the Islanders up 2-0 and less than five minutes left in the game, Leaf fans had accepted their defeat…..until suddenly a goal by John Madden………and then another Madden goal with less than 1 second left on the clock. The game was 2-2 and with overtime solving nothing, the Leafs and Islanders season would come down to a shootout. Unfortunately this night didn’t end in the Leafs’ favor and the image of Dubielewicz’s poke check on Sergei Brylin in the shootout to eliminate the Maple Leafs will be forever burned into the minds of Leaf fans forever.

Fast forward a little less than one year later…….only this time it was the Maple Leafs themselves playing the Devils, and on this night the Devils couldn’t possibly be the heroes in this city, Toronto needed the Leafs to win. Oddly enough, the Islanders and the Flyers were playing again on this night, just as they were a year earlier. Only this time the Leafs needed the Islanders to win……but they didn’t . The Flyers beat the Islanders 4-1 last night, and the Leafs and their fans knew that with that result, a loss to the Devils would be the curtain call on their season.

The Devils did win, and the winning goal came with less than a minute left in the game. That very goal however summed up the entire Leafs’ 07-08 season. It was a season defined by 3rd period meltdowns, and this night was no different.

I will agree with Don Cherry though, some of the calls were very questionable. I will give the Devils the last goal however, Toskala wasn’t pushed in, he never really had control of the puck and he lost his balance…..it was a good goal. But the first goal should have been an interference call instead, Toskala had no chance at saving the puck as he was nudged by Langenbrunner. The hooking call on Sundin in the 3rd period to take away the Leafs’ powerplay was also questionable, it didn’t even look like Sundin raised his stick in the play, but it was obvious the officiating crew was looking for a call to even things up.

Well where do the Maple Leafs go from here? There are still plenty of people in Toronto that still believe that the Leafs have a shot at the playoffs; assuming the Leafs go 12-0 for the remainder of the season, that would put them at 94 points. If they did this they would have beaten the Flyers back-to-back, but say the Flyers went 11-0 in their final games, it would put them at 100 points. The only way the Leafs could pass the Flyers is to have at least one extra point than them as the tie-breaker would go in the Flyers’ favor. So that means in their remaining 11 games, the Flyers would need to obtain 15 points or less, which means they would have to play .500 hockey or less.

So to sum it up, to make the playoffs, the Leafs need to go a perfect 12-0, and still need the Flyers to play only .500 hockey the rest of the way. That’s quite the task if you ask me.

Fletcher has given the Leafs their opportunity to make the playoffs….they have failed and now it’s his turn to do his part. The Leafs have a very deep draft to look forward to, and I’m sure Fletcher will try to obtain a few more picks before that time comes. Some big decisions are coming up for the Maple Leafs this season; the new GM, the future of Paul Maurice and the future of Mats Sundin definitely headline the priorities, but the list goes much further than that.

But until that time comes, Leaf fans like they have done for the last three years will likely choose a team to get behind for the time being and get ready for the NHL playoffs.

Related posts:

1. Kubina setting the record straight
2. Leafs missed out on Brunnstrom last year
3. Devils rely to much on Brodeur
4. Toronto Maple Leafs to Make a Move – Curtis Joseph or Trade Mats Sundin?
5. Leafs waiting on Sundin