From The Branches

My weekend was great and exhausting, how was yours?  I don't have much for you today, my weekend was spent considering life changing decisions so I didn't even get to enjoy the entire Leafs game on Saturday (is enjoy the wrong word?).  Fortunately for me, I

Two games. One hundred and twenty minutes of scoreless hockey from the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's certainly not the longest a team has ever gone without scoring a goal. But seven goals in their last six games? That can't continue (and it probably won't)

The Leafs played a relatively weak October schedule to kick off the season.  Tonight's game against the Rangers marks the end of the month for Toronto, and as the team turns it's calender to NoMovember, it will see a much more difficult road ahead.  A visit

In the last 7 games versus the Bruins, the Leafs are 2-3-2. In those games, former Bruin Phil Kessel has but one assists. There is just something about the Bruins that the Leafs have extreme difficulty dealing with. That something is a combination of terrific goaltending; Rask .944

I just saw the best commercial on TV ever.  It features Lanny McDonald and Wendel Clark supporting Movember.  So those of you guys who aren't thinking of joining Archimedes' PPP Movember team, maybe watch this commercial and see if you change your mind. PPP Edit: Check out

If you haven't seen it yet, here is Rule 48 in its entirety. The real meat here is this excerpt: A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted. As we've

In light of the losing streak and especially the reaction to Ford's election to Mayor of Toronto, I thought I'd share with you a project that has always fascinated me:  The Luminous Veil on the Bloor Viaduct.  For those of you not familiar with Toronto, the

Last night during the third period GDT, I commented that the outcomes of every Leafs game this season has created a pattern. Opening night saw a close one goal over the Canadiens. The Leafs followed that up with a blowout 5-1 victory over the Senators; a close 4-3

The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't really as bad as they've looked this week. In fact, their recent run of poor play has actually been a clever ruse orchestrated by yours truly. Why would I do such a thing? One reason: If I have to hear or

Not a ton of Leafs news this a.m. It's possible that we might see Carl Gunnarsson and John Mitchell in the lineup tonight. Part of me thinks it's to give the Leafs a little more size against the Flyers. We'll keep you guys

Well the Leafs finally lost a game in regulation last night with a lackadaisical effort against an understaffed Rangers team. Even so, the Leafs gave up a season high 32 shots on net after averaging only 23 the previous 5 games. Equally troubling, the Leafs went 0 for 5 on

I had a hell of a day Wednesday so forgive me for the half-hearted effort here today. Besides, all the interesting stuff in the NHL happens on the nights that Skinnyfish does the FTB, which just isn't fair. All I end up with is more stupid comments

If you don't know what happened last night, head on over to Hockey Wilderness to see clips of Rick Rypien grabbing a fan on his way to the locker room. So you know what that means, time for Colin Campbell to don the blindfold and give a spin

I have a tendency to be a bit of a bipolar Leafs fan.  I want to believe they'll conquer all and come out victorious no matter what, but my experiences as a Leafs fan have given me some serious fears and insecurities.  When I'm watching a

Since I live in Vancouver, most of my hockey enjoying fans are Canucks fans, and I am one of the few Leafs fans they know.  The Leafs' awesome start has a lot of them impressed, and rather than the put downs I had to endure last year with the

My girlfriend Katie needs everybody's help.  She has never been a big hockey fan (nor sports fan for that matter), but she's been subjected to many a Maple Leaf game over the past three years.  Yesterday, she told me that the Leafs would be easier to

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

Brian Burke and the "I" in team VLM takes a look at Burke's apparent egotism. Win number 3 made some interesting stats budblog knows Clarke MacArthur is the true league leader in goals. MS Paint is the best computer tool for use in gloating Fallen Leafs

Well there it is, people.  The Leafs have opened the season 3-0, clearly proving that they will never lose another game for the entire season on their march to the Stanley Cup Championship.  So I present to you a summary of the parade route that will be happening this

Last week in my squirt team's very first game of the season, two of my kids got concussions. One due to getting trip while skating full speed towards the side boards, and one from running straight into another kid and banging helmets. These were the second and third

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

So apparently Canadians like to celebrate holidays early or something and today are having their Thanksgiving while everyone else (me not included) have the day off work for Columbus Day. Looks to be a slow news day. Only three links to share. Maple Leafs fans have reason for early optimism

It's a Sunday morning on a holiday weekend so I'm guessing our readership today will be somewhere between slim and none. Here's what people are saying about the Leafs: Maple Leafs Hotstove - Things Are Going Better Than Expected: Systematically, the forecheck was relentless and

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

No, I'm not talking about the game. I'm talking about all the hoopla and crap before the game last night. It all started with the NHL Face-off from Dundas Square in Toronto. What better way to get fans excited for the upcoming hockey season than