was at tonight's Maple Leaf exhibition game which was unique in several ways. For one Coke picked up the tickets for the game which were free to almost 20,000 lucky fans. This was one of the most enthusiastic crowds I have ever seen at a Leaf. They could teach the suits something about how to behave (or misbehave) at sporting events.
The Leaf organization truly bent over backwards to reward their loyal fans. There were dozens of giveaways including one lucky guy several rows in front of me that won seasons tickets to the Leafs. Even the lame t-shirt toss was enhanced. Instead of Carlton the Bear mascot tossing the t-shirts, each corner of the rink had players not dressed for the game (Steen, Toskala, etc) doing the tossing. It was a lot of fun. At the start of the game when a camera panned the Leaf bench, I barely recognized a face.
As for the game. Well it was a sloppy high scoring exhibition game that was definitely entertaining. Any other exhibition I have attended had just painful to watch so it was a treat and surprise. Maybe it had to do with the fact that many regulars were out of the lineup and those dressed are hungry to play. Not dressed were Toskala, Kaberle, Kubina, Ponikarovsky, Antropov, Frogren, Steen, Mayers and Stralman.
I can tell you that a 4th line made up of Devereaux, Moore and Hollweg may be pretty effective. Devereaux and Moore's speed kept the Sabres busy while Hollweg hit everything in sight. Coloaiacovo looked sharp and used both the speed and physical game. Bell was also very physical and was crashing the Sabre net all night. Jason Blake did a good job killing penalties (and the Leafs took plenty of them tonight) which I don't recall him doing at all last season. I thought Fingers looked very steady. Van Ryan looked rusty but did a good job on the powerplay. Of the rookies, I thought John Mitchell was the most effective. Luke Schenn had a lot of ice time but seemed tentative. I barely noticed Kulemin when he was out there. Justin Pogge played the 2nd and 3rd period. He was solid in the 2nd but shaky in the 3rd. Tlusty was all over the ice and out of position as usual. The good news was there was a lot of speed out there and physical play.
The Leafs won 7-4 but I wouldn't expect offensive outbursts like this too often during the regular season. The Sabre goaltending and defense was AWOL all night. I listened to Andy Frost's show on 640 after the game. The Leaf fans calling in were giddy with excitement. Typical Leaf fans, many believe the team has already turned to corner and have a shot at a playoff spot. They may not have too many nights like this during the season so they might as well enjoy it.
