From The Branches

One night the Leafs seem like a team hellbent on making the playoffs. They go into Raleigh and hand the home team a 3-1 loss. The next night, they lay their biggest stinker of the year in a 4-0 loss to the Rochester Americans in a span where

Pretty tired today, so I'm just going to skip the foreplay and get right to the links. Jeff Blair's article in the Globe and Mail kicks things off with an interesting side story about Reimer: The way the story goes, Reimer heard through the "grapevine&

Reimer Story is Far From Finished - Jeff Blair from the Globe and Mail There is reason to worry about James Reimer only if you buy into the notion that he is little more than lightning in a bottle, destined to be another manifestation of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ chronic inability

A few of our regular writers are wondering if James Reimer isn't getting a bit worn out playing every game, particularly after last night's unfortunate showing. Of course, defensive breakdowns were probably the biggest issue against the Lighting, and I don't think anyone really

Playoff Pressure Intensifies on Upstart Leafs - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail You won’t get very far in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room these days without hearing the phrase "our playoffs" in relation to the tail end of the regular season. And after Saturday’s

Some of the sweetest mornings come right after a Leaf win. You stretch out on the couch, and get so lazy that you wind up watching entire half hour highlight shows five times in a row just because you know that you won't get tired of seeing your

Tonight might be the biggest game of the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's pretty simple: beating the Sabres at the ACC means the Leafs stay in the playoff race, while losing will likely mean the end. Let's hope the Leafs are ready to play

Your usual FTB writers are off gallivanting around the countryside (or whatever it is they do when not being forced to do PPP's slave labor) and so it comes down to me. I don't have any of your links so post them in the comments and

Today's links may be a bit bare-boned in terms of Leafs content, so if you've got anything you'd like added, toss it in the comments, and I'll add it later on this morning. Of course, that isn't to say

Well last night saw the Leafs give a lackluster effort in a must win game, something that's become all too common for the Toronto Maple Leafs since the lockout. They way in which they are able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is mind boggling both

James Mirtle? Win. Mikhail Grabovski? Win. Grabbo love? Win. Insanity quotes? Win. Exhibit A: There, for the past six years, he has had a large tattoo that depicts himself as a young hockey player in full equipment with a woman’s face looking over him. It’s not something he

Not a whole heck of a lot happened yesterday on the ol' Barikosphere so here be your links without the pomp and circumstance. All Hail Megatron Friends of the blog HOCKEE NIGHT with their recap of Saturday's game. Leafs Still Have a Mountain to Climb Even with

The Leafs were outclassed by the Chicago Blackhawks for two periods last night. After nine consecutive games where they earned at least a point, the loss at the ACC prevented Toronto from making up any ground on the 8th and final playoff spot. I doubt that anyone expected the Leafs

Lost amidst the Leafs playoff push has been the sudden resurgence of captain Dion Phaneuf's offensive game. After scoring only 18 points in his first 55 games as a Leaf, Phaneuf has 12 in his last 20. Even stranger, he's done so without feasting on the

Scott Hartnell and the Flyers did just that last night in the city of brotherly love as the Leafs continued their amazing run of late with their second win in as many nights. That makes 6 wins, 1 loss, and 3 OT/SO losses in their last 10 games, good

While to many, the stars of the show last night were Mikhail Grabovksi and Phil Kessel, it's still hard to ignore the fact that James Reimer stopped 27 of 29 shots last night for a .931 save percentage yet again. I would say that although the first goal

So last night didn't go so well for the Toronto Maple Leafs because the Sabres and Hurricanes both won their games, thus raising the 10th to 8th points gap back up to 6. This makes the already low chance that the Leafs would make the Playoffs even lower.

Yesterday afternoon, Brian Burke scored with a buzzer beater to trade John Mitchell to the New York Rangers for a seventh-round draft pick. After what was a relatively quiet deadline day, expensive champagne was uncorked, fine bottles of single-malt whiskey were shared, and later, several Colt 45'

Burke can afford to relax - David Shoalts Brian Burke’s biggest concern on deadline day, as he freely admits, is not pulling off that big trade. It is to avoid doing something stupid. Amen to that. We all know what today is, so sit down, strap in, and get ready

The Leafs are in the southeast this morning, gearing up for a 5:00pm bout with the Atlanta Thrashers. During their last visit to the city, Toronto was able to put nine goals past the Thrasher's over-matched goaltenders. Since then Atlanta has gone a measly 3-10-

Those of you who have been anxious for Brian Burke to pull off more deals will likely have to wait another 48 hours. The Leafs have yet to make a highly anticipated move for a top four defenseman, and it's doubtful they would do so today or tomorrow,

6 goals in 5 games since switching to black tape. Of course, it's nothing more than a sticky, 1 inch wide placebo but it's worked magic for Kessel. He's taken back the team lead in goals with 25, and is tied for 15th in

PPP Rabble: A statue! A statue! We found a statue! Can we erect it!? Sir Hawerchuk: But, how do you know he is a statue? JP: BECAUSE HE LOOKS LIKE ONE! (There are many cheers from the surrounding rabble.) Sir Hawerchuk: Bring him forward. James Reimer: I'm not

Reimer Overcomes Illness, Guides Leafs to Victory Battling through an early bout of indigestion, Reimer came up huge for the Leafs on Tuesday night, making 28 saves en route to a 2-1 victory over the previously red-hot New York Islanders. Phil Kessel may have potted the game-winner—

That's right boys and girls, today is Mystery D-Man Day! Or for those of you not fans of the Maple Leafs, Tuesday. Burke Hunting for Blueline Help - Eat. Sleep. Leafs. "We're trying to add by tomorrow if we can," said Burke, who has