Well, the holiday season definitely halted any blogging consistency I hoped to have since my last entry. Speaking of consistency, it is an issue that has plagued the Maple Leafs throughout the entire calender year of 2010, and to be honest, for the past six years. Early on in this new year the team has looked constantly good. They have played four games since 2010 became 2011, and have won three out of those four contests. In the three wins the Blue & White have had an outpouring of goals from three of their four lines. The Leafs stomped on their provincial rivals 5 - 1, left St. Louis singing the blues with a 6 - 5 shootout decision, and gave Atlanta quite a thrashing with a 9 - 3 victory. Their only blemish of this new year came at the hands of the Boston Bruins in a tight defensive contest that saw the Leafs fall by a 2 - 1 count. The reason for the Leafs latest stretch of success? Well, on the surface it comes down to quick puck movement, and a balanced attack. On a deeper level, the play of Mikhail Grabovski has been remarkable. He has a streak of 12 goals in his last 14 games. He and his line mates Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin had 2 goals each in their massive victory over Atlanta. Phil Kessel's strong play to end December and start January has him tied with the aforementioned Grabovski for the team lead in goals with 17. While the Leafs defense is as unpredictable as ever, it has looked a lot better in front of James Reimer. In his three starts this season Reimer has a 2W - 1L record, with a 1.87 goals against average and, a .947 save percentage. His performances prove he is NHL ready, which spells the end for Giguere's time in Toronto, as I can see the Leafs going with a Gustavsson/Reimer pairing next season. The Leafs look to continue their winning ways on the road tonight as they tangle with the L.A. Kings on Leafs TV @ 10:30pm.
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