The Toronto Maple Leafs might be untalented, ripe for the picking by the top half of the playoff teams in the conference, but this year's Toronto Maple Leafs won't be lazy. A little work ethic goes a long way against teams with thin lineups like Ottawa.

Only fourth-liners Shean Donovan and Dean McAmmond was (sic) able to score, which means the heat will be turned up on GM Bryan Murray to make changes.

Dear Bruce Garrioch, enclosed in this package is a book about grammar. You're welcome. I'm sure this sort of poor grammar flies in your deserted shanty town, but when you play Toronto you're going to end up writing articles that people who read above a third grade level will peruse.

A word of warning to Craig Hartsburg; you may wake up in your fancy apartment, put on a nice suit and get paid a ton of money to coach hockey. Unfortunately you're about get fired by Sylvester the Cat. Thufferin' thuccotash!

"We’re not happy, obviously. We’re not happy at all," said Donovan. "It’s just a matter of getting this ship right. It’s early in the season, but we’re a 10th of a way through the season and we’ve got to get going and everybody in the room knows that.

Remember last year when Ottawa got off to a really hot start before absolutely imploding? Do you remember them getting rid of Wade Redden and Ray Emery because of their cocaine behavior problems?

Sherry at Scarlett Ice has a weird take on the game:

Me, on the other hand, am so drunk I can barely think straight. I spent the game getting piss drunk with my co-workers, who all happened to be Leafs fans. While a 5-foot-nothing girl getting legless is outright HILARIOUS, I find nothing funny about it when I feel like I could puke at any second. I'm not even sure if I'm typing anything coherent right now. Frankly, I'm surprised this post isn't rife with typos.

That's what Jared does when Toronto wins. Or when Toronto loses. Or when Toronto isn't playing that night. This is like an episode of the twilight zone. Sherry's coworkers sound nice though, we should hang out some time.

New Guys Boost Leafs

Finger makes solid debut, Grabovski finds scoring touch, Schenn takes on Sens tough guy

Where have you been, Paul Hunter? Schenn is already everyone's favorite player, and anyone who has watched a Leafs game has been wondering when Grabovski was finally going to start scoring.

On a side note: it's a sad state when Chris Neil is a team's "tough guy". I've seen Chris Neil lose a scramble for the last jug of milk left at the grocery store.

"We maybe don't have the team on paper that people think you need to win, but by buying into the system and playing as a team, that's how you get results I think," said defenceman Jeff Finger, who made his Leafs debut last night.

Big ups to my main man Jeff Finger.

A good example of that, beyond the solid defence and smart forechecking, came on Luke Schenn's first shift when he, for the second game in succession, stepped in as Stajan's bodyguard. This time he challenged Ottawa tough guy Chris Neil, who got a piece of Stajan on a hit. The Leaf rookie took a few punches in his first NHL fight.

"I've been going to dinners with him. I've been driving him to some practices. He must like me," Stajan joked about Schenn.

Stajan, Schenn knows that without him you will be destroyed. He cannot allow harm to come to the Maple Leafs and is thus honor bound to defend you.

Wilson said there was a "mob scene" at the Leafs bench when Schenn returned after serving his five-minute penalty.

If we keep Schenn two things need to happen. First, I need a Schenn jersey. Second, give Schenn the A.

The fight left him with a cut on his nose but that was of little consequence for a guy that looks like he'll be spending the entire season in the NHL. Schenn's junior team in Kelowna has already named a new captain and he'll play his 10th game of the season in the coming week, which automatically activates the first year of his NHL contract.

Well, crap. I love the kid, but I get a bad feeling about this especially in light of the logjam on our backend. This will be the worst season ever if Toronto finishes 9th in the East.