James Birkett

Full disclosure: I had an entire FTB written at the end of the second period, when the Leafs were up 3-1 and completely dominating the Rangers. Two Brian Boyle goals later, I knew I had to redo it. Luckily, Phil Kessel is freaking awesome, scoring his second goal of the

Have at it kids.

Leafs looked terrible in the last ten minutes of the first period. I guess Wilson ripped into them, because they played better in the second. Clarke MacArthur potted two and Frank Beauchemin added another as the Leafs scored three goals in the middle frame. Oh and Malkin missed a penalty

Tuesday links: Revealed: The secrets behind the Maple Leafs turnaround New DGB Leafs hand deliver season tickets Bloge Salming and DGB bring you a new vid. Random Thoughts: Ten Quick Hits MLHS with a few thoughts on the opening homestand. As season moves along, Leafs trade avenues open up New

The Leafs opened their season on Thursday with a big win over division rival Montreal. It was the first home opener win since 2000. One game isn't enough though. The Leafs opened the 2008-09 season with a win over defending Stanley Cup champs Detroit, only to lose five

Leafs have a mini-parade to the penalty box in the 2nd, but the dam holds.  Buds need to turn on the killer instinct in the third. Keep it cute or put it on mute

Leafs jump out to a 2-0 lead, only to see a breakdown in their own end as Montreal gets one back.  Period 2 will start with the Leafs on the PP. Keep it cute or put it on mute (as Wrap would say)

In Part I, several PPP contributors gave their thoughts on the pressing questions entering the 2010-2011 NHL season. Today's second and final section will deal with individual performance and team expectations. Who will lead the Leafs in scoring? Who will be the better goaltender? Can we expect significant

Thursday, October 7th will be a new day for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It marks the opening of their 2010-11 campaign, one that will surely be more fulfilling than the last (right? RIGHT?!?). The Leafs begin the new season against the hated Les Canadiens de Montréal; a tilt that will

I haven't always been the biggest Luke Schenn fan. I'm still not sold on his skating, and he holds onto the puck longer than I'd like. That said, he seems to truly work at his craft; there has been obvious improvement thus far in

Schenn SMASH. The Leafs fell behind early to the Red Wing's AHL affiliate, Grand Rapids, before clawing back with a couple of powerplay goals. Tomas Kaberle scored a beautiful goal and Phil Kessel picked up 3 assists. Even Jussi Rynnas got into the action, taking over for JS

I wish I could say that tonight's game is about payback or sending a message or proving somebody wrong. But it's not. Tonight's match-up with the Detroit Red Wings is a tune-up; nothing more. The Leafs will ice what is projected to be their

The Toronto Maple Leafs did not play their best game of the preseason last night, falling to the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 7 to 3. The contest remained close throughout the first two periods before slipping away in the third. Finnish rookie Jussi Rynnas received quite the

The Leafs pick up another 2 points in the standings meaningless victory in the preseason, sneaking past the Ryan Miller-less Sabres. Actually, the Sabres were without Vanek, Myers, Pominville, Connolly, and a bunch of other NHLers. Outside of the Leafs top line and some nice shooting by Nik Kulemin, the

Leafs 3 - Sabres 3 after two at the ACC. Fresh ice below.

The boys in blue took on the Sabres in a border battle last night and lost.  Leafs lose in Buffalo?  Color me surprised.  It's important to note that the Sabres dressed a significant portion of their NHL roster, while the Leafs dressed a much weaker squad.  The Leafs

Last night saw the Leafs fall to the Flyers in their second match in as many days.  I didn't get the chance to watch the game, but from Game in Six, it looks like the Leafs let one slip away late.  Maybe you guys (and gals) can fill

I'm currently writing today's post at 12:30 AM after an exhausting day.  I'm quite sunburnt and just finished playing two hours of shinny.  On top of that, there isn't much to report.  The Leafs hit the ice on Saturday for the

As you are all aware, yesterday was the start of the 2010 Toronto Maple Leafs training camp. The team has invited (in a mildly controversial move) sixty-four players to take part in the five-day camp. The players were divided up into three teams of twenty-one. It might come as a

October 7th is just around the corner, folks. Here are this morning's links: The Kovalchuk deal keeps on costing the Devils Vintage Leaf Memories with a Leaf fan perspective on the circumvention fallout. Early 2011 NHL Rankings Looks like we'll be getting a stud next summer

Just in case you were locked inside some sort of sensory deprivation tank, last night saw the first hockey of the season as Toronto's all-rookie team defeated the Chicago Blackhawks' squad 6-3. Some of the kids looked good, while others struggled to make an impression. The Buds

The weather is cooling. The sun is setting earlier. Even a few leaves are starting to turn. That can only mean one thing: hockey is close. After a somewhat turbulent offseason, filled with several departures and arrivals, countless (and repetitive) interviews, and plenty of over-analysis, the pre-pre-season of Toronto Maple

Nothing happened. Deceptions disagrees: How about 1963 when two Swedes arrived for training camp. Carl Oeberg and goalie Kjell Svensson travelled to attend the camp in Peterborough and then continued with the club as they played exhibition games out west. They returned to Sweden after figuring it wasn’t worthwhile

Not a whole lot to talk about right now.  The ACC staff laid down the base layers of the ice surface yesterday.  Kovalchuk's contract was approved by the NHL after the league and PA negotiated new conditions on long-term contracts.  College football kicks into high gear today.  The

The discussion concerning the acquisition of defender Matt Lashoff on Friday got me thinking. We, as a community, tend to throw around the word "prospect" quite often. But should we? How exactly should we define the term? I've heard players such as Lashoff, Hanson, Mueller, and