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LEAFS 1, Red Wings 1
Leafs' speed no advantage in OT
TORONTO -- Sometimes things just don't make sense.
You look at the offensively-gifted Toronto Maple Leafs, nine deep in the fancy skaters department, and you have to figure the new 4-on-4 format for overtime is like leaving Brad Pitt in charge of the beauty pageant contestants.
Easy pickings, right?
So why is it the Leafs are still without a win in four overtime games this season after Saturday night's 1-1 sawoff with the Detroit Red Wings?
"We're too undisciplined," said Toronto coach Pat Quinn, whose club is now winless in its last five games (0-3-2-1). "We've got defencemen dropping the puck to nobody. Look at the way (the Wings) play (in overtime). They don't give up the puck 4-on-4. If nobody's open, they take the puck back and now there's a second wave coming. If you're undisciplined like we've been defensively, you're going to give up some chances."
Oddly enough, the Leafs had the best chance in overtime when defenceman Bryan Berard danced in on the left wing and found Yanic Perreault sprinting for the net.
Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood, who was very good Saturday night, sprawled to get a pad on Perreault's shot, disappointing the record hockey crowd of 19,271 at the Air Canada Centre.
The reason the Leafs got a point Saturday night was Osgood was good, but Toronto goaltender Curtis Joseph was very, very good. He stopped all but one of the Wings' 36 shots.
On the face of it, 4-on-4 hockey would be seem to be a fertile ground for freewheeling, creative hockey, but what's emerging is disciplined hockey is more important.
You would not describe the Calgary Flames as free-wheeling hockey club, but all five of their wins this season have come in overtime. They're a team that doesn't give the puck up without a fight. They can't do much with it most of the time they've got it, but they don't often give it away.
"Puck control is definitely the issue," said Berard. "We have guys who can control the puck and look for those plays. They guys are still trying to get used to it."
While the Leafs haven't won in overtime, they have lost only once, so it's not like overtime has been a disaster.
Joseph doesn't figure it's that big a deal, anyway.
"It's not going to be that way in the playoffs, so it's not something to really worry about," he said.
But the things that are keeping them from winning in OT are the same kind of things which are hurting them in regulation time lately.
They had 26 turnovers Saturday night to the Wings' 20, but the majority of the Leafs giveaways were in that critical area around their own blue line.
That left Joseph, who was brilliant once again, to fend for himself.
It was a turnover inside the Toronto line that led to the Wings goal as Berard attempted a pass to Mike Johnson, but put the puck in the skates of the Toronto winger.
Detroit's Pat Verbeek, the free agent who was signed Wednesday, fed the puck to a wide open Brendan Shanahan in the left wing circle and he was extraordinarily patient. He cradled the puck, allowing Joseph to cross the crease and then launched his 400th career goal high to Joseph's glove side.
That stood up until the third period when Dmitri Khristich lifted a rebound over Osgood in the Wings net.
"We were a little better later on (in the game), but we were like we've been," said Quinn. "We're a stand-still team. They were moving. They had good pursuit. But for Curtis, it would have been different. We turned the puck over and that's been a trend. We turned it over a lot. If there's just a little pressure, we're not finding open people.
"(The Wings) are one of the most disciplined teams and that's the reason they found a way to win a Cup. We guessed with the puck a lot tonight."
The Leafs aren't doing the things that made them so successful earlier this season. There are too many bad decisions. The Leafs are a speedy team, but they're not making use of that speed because of bad decision around both blue lines.
When they're not turning it over around their own line, they're making poor choices at the opponent's line. When they're shooting it in, their timing is off. Players are having to pull up at the line, losing speed or the guy shooting it in isn't putting it in a place that gives his teammates the best chance of getting there first.
"We tend to try and do a little too much," said Joseph. "I think what happens is you get some confidence and try to do more. You might play more as individuals than as a team, which is the way we started off the year."
"The good news is we squeezed out a point," said Quinn. "We played better in the second half and maybe we can build on that."
HEAR AND THERE: Johnson twisted his back when he was tripped into the boards by Detroit's Mathieu Dandenault. Quinn, who was seething after the hit, said he didn't know the extent of Johnson's injury. "There's no courage (on that play), no bravery. There's nothing anybody respects. I don't understand why guys do it," said Quinn...Things don't get any easier for the Leafs. Next up Monday night at the Air Canada Centre are the San Jose Sharks, fighting for top spot in the league. "When you're struggling, you look for an easy game and there are none now," said Quinn...The Leafs weren't happy with Osgood after he intentionally lifted the net off the moorings while the Leafs were buzzing around on a 5-on-3. Osgood tried once to throw the net off and missed. He knew there was no way referees Paul Stewart and Mark Faucette would hand out another penalty with the Wings two men down...Quinn is using centre Mats Sundin on the point on the power play, but he seems to be afflicted with the same unwillingness to shoot from back there.
Summary
NHL FINAL IN OT 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DETROIT 1 0 0 0 1
TORONTO 0 0 1 0 1 FINAL IN OT
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: DET - BRENDAN SHANAHAN 6 (PAT VERBEEK) 8:30
2ND PRD: NONE
3RD PRD: TOR - DMITRI KHRISTICH 5 (IGOR KOROLEV, ALEXANDER
KARPOVTSEV) 6:07
OT: NONE
POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: DET - 0 OF 3, TOR - 0 OF 6.
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD OT TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DET 15 12 7 2 36
TOR 6 8 11 1 26
GOALIES: DET - CHRIS OSGOOD
TOR - CURTIS JOSEPH
OFFICIALS: REF - FAUCETTE, STEWART
LIN - DRISCOLL, SCAPINELLO
ATT: 19,278
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