Friday's FTB: Leafs typical game

Last night the Leafs and Sharks showed off some bad in-zone defending, and it rightly, I think, went to overtime. Neither team dominated. Sharks won it.

Cutting to the chase, the bad news is this:

So that's where that all stands. No word yet on Chris Tanev's status.

In terms of game action, it was the former Leafs showing off in various ways.

The first goal went in off Timothy Liljegren's knee:

The new third liner does not want to stay a third liner.

His first goal in 40 games, apparently.

Ryan Reaves (really) scored, but it was waved off for offside.

The Leafs were kept in this game by some heroic goaltending.

I mean, so were the Sharks, but the Leafs got stuck long-term defending near the end of the game, and they just aren't a hold a one-goal lead sort of team when that keeps happening.

Two guys free to check Matthews and turn the puck over with Rielly in deep and Domi hanging back.

Anyway, that was a game with some very good bits and some very not good bits, and the investigation is ongoing as to who cursed the Leafs defence.

In other news, yesterday some details about how the Men's tournament will be run at the Olympics were revealed:

- TSN

TSN’s Hockey Insiders on who else is in Canada’s sights for the world juniors, the Habs’ goaltending plan, discussions on ‘hand pass’ rulings, refs for the Milan Olympics and the officiating standard, who will handle discipline at the men’s tournament, and the NHL encouraging teams to show more colour.

TSN

The officials will be half from the NHL and half from the IIHF, and the NHL names have already been selected. The tournament is supposed to be played closer to an NHL standard. So while they are using the IIHF rulebook, I think most people understand that this means the amount of discretion the officials have and the way the exercise it.

A few years ago, the IIHF released what is called the unified rule book. It covers all play, men's women's junior's, and has extremely limited differences for the latter two categories. It is also extremely close to the NHL rulebook, with the crease violation rule the most well-known difference.

What was interesting from Darren Dreger is that the supplementary discipline system will be a joint affair as well. Someone has to have the final say, though, and the answer is George Parros.

In the earlier version of this bit, LeBrun mused aloud about the possibility that the style of play may influence how teams select players.

One hopes no one alive still thinks the Olympics are about the purity of sporting competition. It's a show, and the choice is what kind of show do you want to put on.

I have heard nothing on the status of the Women's competition, but the most recent IIHF events have not used rules on body contact like those the PWHL has. Complicating this is that the Swedish league uses rules that allow at least as much checking if not more. And that league draws most of the top players who aren't in the PWHL.

TLK had a great game against Kazakhstan yesterday. Norway has one more game against Slovenia, and the Kazakhs play the Austrians, meaning that it is still possible for Austria to win the tournament, but not very likely.

The Kazakhs were in the WJC last year, and were relegated to this division. Ukraine gained promotion out of the lower division. The winner of this tournament goes to the WJC next year, and the last-place team is relegated down to Division 1B.

Denmark won this event last year, and they are in the WJC coming up on Boxing Day.

That's it for now, if we have more injury news, we'll share it. Look on the bright side, it can always get worse!