CBC-Sports

Let's see if practice makes perfect

October 9, 2009 11:18 AM | Posted by   Jim Hughson  

The Script: If veteran players dislike training camp, coaches like it even less. Too many games, too many players, no time to coach the real team. So three straight days of practice should make Leaf boss Ron Wilson a little less testy than he was after Tuesday's 2-1 loss in the Pillow Fight for Ontario.

With so many new players there has been little time to clean up areas influenced by coaching, in this case defensive systems and special teams. The injury to goalie Jonas Gustavsson makes Vesa Toskala the starter again, but it doesn’t matter who’s in goal for the Leafs if the defencemen look they’re playing for six different teams. Given a chance to get his hands on his team Wilson will make them a tighter group that’s more organized in its own end.

The Penguins don’t face the same dilemma. You’ll notice few changes from the team that won the cup in June. The top nine forwards are identical with Sid Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Stall giving the Pens the league’s best centre ice depth.

It’s probably a good thing for the Leafs that Pittsburgh played right away after an awful loss to Phoenix. The Penguins took out their frustrations on the Flyers in a game that seemed to turn when Dan Bylsma put Jordan Staal and Malkin together with Ruslan Fedetenko.

The Leafs will be fresh after three days off while the Pens are playing their third game in four nights.

On the Hot Stove

The Leafs biggest changes came on the blue line and that should be the strength of the team. But the newcomers have either tried too hard or have had trouble adapting to a new style of play. The sample is a scant three games but there is an alarming trend amongst the new guys. Garnet Exelby is having trouble staying out of the press box, Mike Komisarek the penalty box and Francois Beauchemin can’t stay out of a replay. When those three veterans stabilize their game it will help Luke Schenn settle down and make life a lot easier for whichever goaltender is playing behind them

Iso Camera on

Yikes!! Evgeni Malkin is already five points behind Alex Ovechkin in the scoring race. He does, however, have a scoring championship and Conn Smythe trophy to go with a Stanley Cup. So what’s the next level? Four games in Malkin had his best game so far in Philadelphia and looks ready to crank it up. Leafs better play him tough or he’ll catch Ovechkin on the weekend.

Keep an eye on tough guys Colton Orr and Erik Goddard. I’m sure you won’t be able to miss them. Last season when Orr was in New York they fought four times. Orr has 75 NHL fights and 20 of them must have been against Goddard.

Tape room topic

What kind of coach is Dan Bylsma? When he took over the Pens last season he had their undivided attention. They were a half dozen points out of a playoff spot with 25 games to go and the motivation was obvious. The first sign of a cup hangover came Wednesday In a disinterested 3-0 loss to Phoenix. Thursday he juggled lines, pushed buttons and the Pens bounced back. Bylsma will probably have to do more of that as he coaches for the first time in October and November when the finish line is so far off.

From the stat Pack

Sidney Crosby has done 375 interviews in his 23 career games in Canada. He’s also scored a point a game and is 7-16-23 in his homeland.

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