Another night, another home opener. Luckily the Red Wings did nothing of note last year so there's no overly long ceremony to sit through (Chicago....). The Maple Leafs went down the 401 to Detroit (and by down I mean they flew over) and hit up the fabled Joe Louis Arena for the second game of their 98th NHL season.
[Note: This is my third attempt at writing this. The hockey gods do not want evidence of this game getting out.]
Joffrey Lupul took a hooking penalty two minutes into this game and Justin Abdelkader would score his first of three goals on that power play.
That pretty much sums the game up right there. Abdelkader would score again 8 minutes into the game and then again 3 minutes after Dylan Larkin would chase Bernier out of the net to start the second period.
Mike Babcocks return to Detroit did not go as well as I'm sure he hoped. Though the fans welcomed him back, at least one former player was enjoying his suffering.
The Leafs were not playing as tightly and controlled as they did on Wednesday vs Montreal. This team fit right in with the disappointment that was the fourteenth inning in todays Jays/Rangers game.
The bright spot tonight was played a few hundred kilometres from downtown Detroit, at the Ricoh coliseum, where the Maple Leafs future, the Toronto Marlies, defeated the Manitoba Moose 5-3 to open their season.
Post game Brad Boyes told reporters that the team didn't handle adversity well, and overreacted to the first couple goals. Babcock said Reimer was brought in to get him ready for tomorrow night.
Will we see the season debuts of Polak and Grabner after two losses in a row? Maybe. Something needs to shake these boys up.
The Maple Leafs host the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night at the Air Canada Centre.
Rank the players on performance below. Vote the best players up, and the worst ones down.
