The game itself was rather dull - Florida played the trap, took advantage of a couple of Toronto miscues and got a lucky couple of bounces - with the empty net goal, that's quite literal. Toronto dominated the first period and came out rather flat for the second two, and despite managing a strong advantage in the shot count never really got any particularly dangerous chances outside of the first period.
A good effort in some respects, but the Florida trap strategy kept most of the shots coming from low-percentage outside areas, rather than anything in the faceoff/slot area. It also made for an exceptionally dull game that will be swiftly forgotten, except by those who pay entirely too much attention to a sports team.
Someone like, say, myself.
Best Leaf: #3 Dion Phaneuf
Phaneuf was a force on the ice today, and was rewarded with a substantial chunk of ice time. He made good defensive plays, played smart, led charges into the offensive zone, and in one memorable incident, bowled over the player with the puck, took the puck, and fired it at the net for a decent scoring chance. In a night without any truly memorable performances, Dion managed to stand out.
Worst Leaf: #39 John Mitchell
This is someone whom I think will be a frequent occupier of this position. While he did manage to score a couple of shootout goals in recent games, he was directly responsible for the first goal against in this game by making a stupid pass to Schenn that resulted in a swift turnover and goal for Florida. Generally sloppy play that rarely resulted in any real chances for his team and often did result in possibilities for Florida, Mitchell certainly shouldn't have been rewarded with as much playing time as he got tonight.
Also, there was that time where he was right in the slot with the puck on his stick and time to fire, and he elected instead to make a blind pass between his legs to nobody at all. That was odd.
______________________________________________
I'm never going to be someone who supports the whole tanking strategy; where you hope for your team to have such a terrible season that they end up at the top of the draft order and pick a surefire star that might be able to transform your team into a winner in a few years.
Why would I support that strategy, anyway? I didn't this season and it turned out that way regardless. It's almost like what I want has little to no effect on a professional sports team I have no actual contact with.
Anyway, the reason I said this game didn't really hurt the Leafs and instead hurt the Panthers has everything to do with the draft; specifically, the draft picks the Leafs no longer have, but the Panthers do. It's an interesting situation where one team wants to win to get out of their position in the standings, but the other would benefit most by losing and getting closer to the bottom of the standings, as it becomes increasingly more likely they won't make the playoffs.
Good luck getting a team of hyper-competitive mercenary athletes to deliberately try to lose, though. Generally taking a dive is not perceived well in sports. Well, aside from swimming.
______________________________________________
I will be honest - the reason I want Toronto to get out the draft position it's in is entirely to spite Boston. No, wait, that's not right - it's to spite Boston fans.
It's somewhat of a negative reflection on myself, perhaps, but I just find it irritating when a fanbase giddily celebrates your failure and cockily slots star players into their tentative lineups for next year, and I want desperately for that fanbase to be denied that particular joy.
Really, even fourth place would be enough. I would be ecstatic to see Seguin in an Oilers jersey, Hall in an Islanders jersey, and Fowler sporting a charming Hurricanes frock, while Boston must make do with whatever's left in an apparently weak draft year.
That does, however, make me seem rather petty. I suppose I'll just have to live with that.
No comments:
Post a Comment