In honour of the Maple Leafs' performance in their final home game of the season I am going to mail in this game recap. The Toronto Maple Leafs were shutout by Brian Boucher and a Philadelphia Flyers team that is once again in a tailspin. They wasted an excellent performance by Jean-Sebastien Giguere who is the only Leaf worth mentioning by name. Actually, Colton Orr too for beating up Aaron Asham after the shrimp took offence to Orr blowing up Darrol Powe at the Flyers' blueline. Here is how some Flyers fans saw it:
With the Flyers up just one measly goal late in the third period, the pesky Leafs were swarming. The puck was thrown out in front, it bounced off of Braydon Coburn and toward the empty goal. Boosh threw his paddle out and got a piece of it to deflect it just wide of the cage. It preserved the victory. It preserved our sanity. Quite possibly, it preserved the playoffs.
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Jean-Sebastien Giguere played great for the Leafs, but in the end, the difference was Boucher. Giggy was no match. He looks confident, he sounds confident, and that one save may have hoisted a city full of fans behind him again. You can't downplay the importance of that at this time of year.
Poor Travis. You are going to be so ridiculously disappointed. Onto the 700 Level:
Right now, thousands of Toronto Maple Leafs fans are leaving their home arena for the last time this season. There will be no playoff hockey for Toronto. After the road win tonight, the Flyers are that much closer to making sure their fans don't meet that fate on Sunday at the Wachovia Center. Well, at least for two more weeks.
Corsi and Fenwick | Head-to-Head TOI | EV Face-Offs
Shift Charts | Game Summary | Event Summary
What about the local rags? James Mirtle unearthed a little know fact - Brian Boucher is a zombie:
Asked yesterday if he agreed that Philadelphia has become a goalie graveyard, he simply laughed.
"If it’s a graveyard, I mean, I’m back," Boucher said. "I’m still alive, I guess. The second go-around. But you know what, they haven’t won and when you don’t win, they’re always looking for answers. And I guess the easy guy to point out is the goaltender."
While Bruce Arthur wonders what truth can be found in the Leafs' post-deadline play:
And to answer that, Burke will have to ascertain what is ice and what is water, what is real and what is not. And the answer, more than ever, isn't clear.
As noted by espn.com, before last night's waste of everybody's time, Toronto had accumulated the eighth-best winning percentage in the NHL in its first 18 games after the Olympic break, with a 10-5-3 record. And on the season, they're 29th in the league
