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INDEPTH: NHL 2006 | After the break
Toronto Maple Leafs
By Malcolm Kelly, CBC Sports Online | Last updated Feb. 28, 2006
Mats Sundin was a standout for Sweden in
the Torino Olympics. Can he maintain that momentum for the
Leafs down the stretch?
(CP Photo/Frank Gunn)
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Record: 27-25-5 (59 points)
Ninth in the Eastern Conference
Fourth in the Northeast Division
Home record: 17-10-2
Away record: 10-15-3
Goals for/against: 178-191
Power play: 20.4 per cent (third overall)
Penalty kill: 80.2 per cent (24th overall)
Top scorers: Bryan McCabe (17g, 35a, 52p); Jason Allison (10g, 38a, 48p); Tomas Kaberle (6g, 39a, 45p)
Top defenders: Kyle Wellwood, forward (+5); Chad Kilger, forward (+3); Bryan McCabe (+2); Alexei Ponikarovsky (+2)
Key trades: Jeff O'Neill, forward, obtained from Carolina for a conditional draft pick. (July 30)
Season recap: There must have been some kind of warning sign there for the Leafs Nation when captain Mats Sundin was hit in the eye by a puck just a few minutes into the season's first game. Pundits seemed agreed that the club was too fragile to last, but this was ridiculous. Little did anyone know at that time that the player you didn't could most ill-afford to lose was actually defenceman Bryan McCabe, who was about to put together a break-out year.
Toronto survived a slew of injuries to supposedly key players (Jason Allison, Eric Lindros, Nik Antropov, and more) but were running reasonably well at 23-15-3 (and had put together a six game winning streak), led especially by an outstanding powerplay, when McCabe went down with a groin injury on Jan. 7. By the time he returned, the Leafs had lost eight of nine, and would come into the Olympic break 3-10-2 from the moment he was hurt.
Of course, the rest of the defence wound up decimated as well, with Ken Klee, Alex Khavanov, Aki Berg also down for different lengths. Strong efforts by young defenders including Staffan Kronwall, Jay Harrison and Andy Wozniewski filled in.
Up front, some new talent such as Kyle Wellwood and Alexander Steen, a suddenly potent Alexei Ponikarovsky and an old guy rediscovering a scoring touch he hadn't seen since junior, in Darcy Tucker, gave some hope.
An inconsistent Ed Belfour (not even in the top 30 in goals against average), showing his age, also left fans wondering if goaltending was finally going to let them down.
Key injuries: Ken Klee (ankle), Alexander Khavanov (foot), both due back after the Olympic break. Carlo Colaiacovo (concussion), Eric Lindros (wrist), out indefinitely.
Looking ahead: March will likely tell the tale for the Leafs. After coming back from break with a home game against Washington, they play 14 times in March, nine of them on the road. Included will be three games with Montreal, whom they trail by a point for the final playoff spot, and one with the Bruins. And coach Pat Quinn will have to find a way to handle the hot Buffalo Sabres, whom Toronto plays four times in 31 days.
If they can do that, perhaps that final home game against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, may mean something.
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