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Monday, November 29, 1999
Leafs Watch
SINKING FEELING: Captain Mats Sundin says the crowded National Hockey League leaderboard provided the needed impetus for Toronto's rally of the past week.
A win over Washington today would allow the Leafs to escape November in first place in the Eastern Conference, despite a 4-6-2-2 month thus far.
"When you lose, you see that .500 (barrier) maybe getting too close," Sundin said yesterday. "You can tell we played with a lot more urgency in the game (a 5-2 win Saturday over the Edmonton Oilers). Urgency is a good word.
"We were keeping our shifts short, not hanging out an extra minute. We got our hits and our shots on net."
CUJO INSURANCE CO.: With the win Saturday, G Curtis Joseph improved his record to 18-5-3 the past two seasons in games immediately after a Leafs loss.
Joseph, who continues to rank among NHL leaders in goals-against average at 1.92, still hasn't lost more than two in a row in regular-season play as a Leaf.
APPLYING THE BREAK: General manager/coach Pat Quinn links some of the Leafs' problems in November to lack of quality practice time.
"Our schedule has been brutal," Quinn said in a not-so-subtle swipe at the NHL office.
After their game tonight, the Leafs will have played 13 times in 27 nights. Their 26 games played through October and November will be the most in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs get two days off this week before starting a stretch of three games in five nights.
HOME SWEET HOME: Toronto boasts 10 home victories, tied for first in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. After initial problems last season getting used to the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs are beginning to make it a difficult place for a team to visit, particularly with gung-ho first periods.
"Toronto always had that (challenge) at home, where other teams came in ready to play because the whole of Canada was watching," Quinn said. "It was a big deal playing here. But good teams should be good at home."
BRIEFLY: Yesterday's Easter Seal Skate For Kids at the Air Canada Centre, featuring members of the Maple Leafs, was hoping to raise more than last year's $225,000 for children with physical disabilities and their families ... Tonight's game is a big homecoming for Regent Park's Glen Metropolit, a fourth-line centre on the Capitals.
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