J.S. Giguere let in a laugher of a goal by Miroslav Satan in the first period and finished the game by getting fooled by Satan on a stupid little stick move in the shootout. It's hard to pin this game on Giguere because he played reasonably well the rest of the night stopping 29 of 31 shots (I think he saw more than 31 shots, he hit 30 with five minutes left in the third and definitely saw more than two pucks after, whatever) but the point stands that an NHL goalie can't gift the other team a goal.
Viktor Stalberg got a gift when he went minor league side low on Thomas on the rush before Boston took the lead again with a Johnny Boychuk shot that went through traffic and beat Giguere low.
In the third period newcomer Luca Caputi served a penalty for Colton Orr. Caputi came flying out of the box and broke up a play at the blue line before horsing the puck down ice where he ran over Dennis Wideman. The puck squirted out to Kulemin who dished a cross crease tap in goal to Tyler Bozak.
Phil Kessel had the game on his stick with time expiring in OT but was stoned by Thomas. Thomas robbed Kessel at least four times tonight much to the enjoyment of Boston fans who boo players they run out of town that return them good assets. I don't get it either.
The Leafs lost in the shootout which is no surprise; they're 0-9 in overtime and 1-3 in the shootout for a combined record of 1-12 after regulation. The Leafs lose an awful lot of one goal games. This could be construed as "unlucky" but really I think it highlights the Leafs lack of forward depth and poor goaltending.
I think there's hope here. The young kids acquitted themselves well tonight. Stalberg, Bozak, Kulemin and Caputi made smart plays and generated chances. Luke Schenn played another steady game and Dion Phaneuf looks to be on the verge of breaking out offensively.
The Leafs are off tomorrow night and will meet the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday. Let's hope they build on what was a solid effort tonight.
