Caps represent trouble

By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
Like a long phone cord, the Maple Leafs' awful November twists backward to the MCI Center.

It was there, at the home of the Washington Capitals, that Toronto's troubles began Nov. 5. The 5-3 loss saw bruiser Chris Simon score twice in the third after injuring Alexander Karpovtsev's shoulder in a fight. The loss broke the Leafs' five-game winning streak, their longest in five years. Since then, they have sagged to the tune of 3-6-2.

The Leafs showed signs of shaking the slump with three of a possible four points on Friday and Saturday, but true closure requires a win over the Caps tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

SIMON HURTING

"(Simon) banked one off Bryan Berard's skate and I gave one away to him," defenceman Cory Cross recalled of that terrible third period in Washington. "But they are a very hard-working team."

Simon could miss tonight's game with a strained neck, suffered Saturday in a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders.

Just as the Leafs continued their recent mastery of the Edmonton Oilers with a 5-2 win Saturday, the Caps have been a tough nut for Toronto to crack. The Caps are 4-1 against the Leafs since the latter's return to the Eastern Conference and 9-2 in the past 11 meetings.

"Every time we play them in Washington it seems we're not down one, but two or three goals," captain Mats Sundin said. "They are a quick starting club."

General manager/coach Pat Quinn is still seething about how referees Dave Jackson and Brad Watson handled that Nov. 5 game. That morning's Washington Post had a story that quoted Simon and team coaches talking about the team's fighting prowess as a weapon of intimidation.

"I can't wait to read the papers to see if anyone has a fight coming up," Quinn said sarcastically.

But Quinn said he still has respect for the Caps' run to the 1998 Stanley Cup final and warned his swift-skating team not to run afoul of Washington's checkers.

Goalie Curtis Joseph likely will get the start tonight, after Glenn Healy's career record against Washington fell to 12-20-2 with a 3.71 goals-against average with the loss Nov. 5. Joseph can't really claim to own the Caps either, with a 6-7-1, 3.28 mark.

Bert's back on blades
Blue Jays boot game
Bombers drop Peterson
Felicien rebuilds race

Visit our Polls Archive

SLAM! Sports SLAM! Galleries Help CANOE