The first two games have come and gone, and the Leafs currently have a 0-1-1 record. Not the start Leafs Nation was hoping for. However there have been some positives: Burke's promise of a bigger, tougher Leafs team has been realized.
That being said, Leafs Nation still has question marks on Vesa Toskala. In his first two starts, he's been mediocre at best. In the Leafs season opener, he allowed some very weak goals which lead to the Leafs 4-3 Overtime loss. And on Saturday night, Vesa allowed 3 goals on 10 shots versus the Capitals in the first period, which caused him to be yanked and replaced with Jonas "Monster" Gustavsson, whom also allowed 3 goals, but on 18 shots. The Leafs lost that game 6-4 (the Leafs were down 6-1 but were able to score a few goals to at least make the score respectable).
Tonight, the Leafs play against the Senators, Ron Wilson backed Toskala but is opting to start the Monster in goal tonight. Although he allowed 3 goals on Saturday night, Gustavsson blanked Ovechkin who netted two while Toskala was in goal. It has been argued on Leafs talk radio shows that Toskala's performance is a result of bugs still being worked out in the new defensive pairings.
From the back end to the front end: the Leafs most dominating line on Saturday night was the line of Stempniak, Wallin, and Mitchell. Wallin was signed as a free agent from Farjestads. He played with the Minnesota Wild in the NHL before, but went over to Europe to fine-tune his game. Burke and his scouts noticed Wallin's improved two-way play while scouting his team mate Jonas Gustavsson. His two-way play earned him a contract and a spot on the Leafs roster. For Saturday night's game, Wilson moved Wallin from the wing to Centre, and Mitchell from centre to the wing. As a result, this line was the most dominant of Saturday night's game...one of the few positives from Saturday.
Tonight, the Leafs will play the Senators, who are still looking for their first win as well. This bigger Toronto team will surely make the Battle of Ontario more interesting for this season. Only time will tell if the Leafs will be playoff bound for the first time in four seasons (5 if you count the lockout).
Nicholas Porretta
Further Reading:
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=500746
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/10/06/gustavsson_start/?utm_source=Hockey%20lineup%20RSS-Images&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=Gustavsson%20gets%20first%20start%20Tuesday%20vs.%20Sens#
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