Burke’s belligerent band battles Bruins but are still beaten

The new look Maple Leafs sure looked different – they are so big. Not since the obstruction days when Pat Quinn threw in the towel and began collecting heavyweights has the team looked so bulky. In the first exhibition game we saw 2 goals, 4 fights and a loss.

The first goal was scored by rookie Tyler Bozak at 13:38 of the first period. It was a highlight-reel goal (see below) but by that time there had already been two fights – one involving Andre Deveaux (also below) and the other involving Jay Rosehill. Later Phil Oreskovic “outperformed” his teammates by getting into 2 fights. Deveaux tried his luck at a second fight but was only assessed a roughing penalty. Garnet Exelby at one point wanted to get into a fight with Brad Marchand but he wouldn’t bite. I hope both players get brownie points from Brian Burke for at least making the effort.

So how was the Leaf power play? Not so good – they only killed off 2 out of 4 chances. But the linemen earned their pay breaking up the numerous combatants. However, be prepared for longer games this year as they sort out the penalties after each scuffle.