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TORONTO
MONTREAL |
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Final
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| 15 | TORONTO | +105 | | 16 | MONTREAL | -125 |
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| All Games | 35-46-0 | -11.3 | 35-46 | -11.3 | 44-36 | 2.8 | 28.3 | 3.2 | 30.9 | | Team Stats (Road Games) | 17-23-0 | -3 | 17-23 | -3 | 24-15 | 3.0 | 27.1 | 3.3 | 32.1 | | Last 5 Games | 2-3-0 | -0.8 | 2-3 | -0.8 | 3-2 | 2.6 | 26.4 | 4.2 | 33.2 | | vs. Division | 9-14-0 | -6.3 | 9-14 | -6.3 | 11-12 | 2.7 | 29.0 | 3.7 | 30.6 |
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| Team Stats (All Games) | 81 | 230 | 70 | 71 | 80 | 9 | 8 | 2291 | 10.0% | 262 | 49 | 18.7% | 389 | | Team Stats (Road Games) | 40 | 122 | 37 | 39 | 40 | 6 | 6 | 1083 | 11.3% | 128 | 26 | 20.3% | 208 | | Team Stats (Last 5 Games) | 5 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 9.8% | 10 | 1 | 10.0% | 20 | | Team Stats (vs. Division) | 23 | 61 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 668 | 9.1% | 93 | 16 | 17.2% | 104 | | Stats Against (All Games) | | 260 | 68 | 97 | 85 | 10 | 12 | 2501 | 10.4% | 240 | 55 | 22.9% | 436 | | Stats Against (Road Games) | | 134 | 36 | 49 | 46 | 3 | 4 | 1285 | 10.4% | 132 | 34 | 25.8% | 229 | | Stats Against (Last 5 Games) | | 21 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 166 | 12.7% | 13 | 4 | 30.8% | 40 | | Stats Against (vs. Division) | | 85 | 17 | 33 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 704 | 12.1% | 77 | 19 | 24.7% | 144 |
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| JONAS GUSTAVSSON (All Games) | 42 | 37 | 1147 | 1035 | 90.2% | 4 | 17-20 | -1.8 | 17-20-0 | -3 | 23-14 | | JONAS GUSTAVSSON (Road Games) | 22 | 19 | 608 | 544 | 89.5% | 1 | 9-10 | +0.5 | 9-10-0 | 0 | 13-6 | | JONAS GUSTAVSSON (vs. Division) | 12 | 9 | 289 | 253 | 87.5% | 1 | 3-6 | -3.6 | 3-6-0 | -4 | 4-5 | | JONAS GUSTAVSSON (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 3 | 83 | 71 | 85.5% | 1 | 0-3 | -3.1 | 0-3-0 | -3 | 1-2 | | JAMES REIMER (All Games) | 34 | 33 | 974 | 877 | 90.0% | 2 | 14-19 | -6.9 | 14-19-0 | -5 | 16-16 | | JAMES REIMER (Road Games) | 17 | 16 | 488 | 437 | 89.5% | 0 | 6-10 | -3.2 | 6-10-0 | -3 | 10-5 | | JAMES REIMER (vs. Division) | 11 | 10 | 299 | 270 | 90.3% | 1 | 5-5 | -0.6 | 5-5-0 | 0 | 3-7 | | JAMES REIMER (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 118 | 106 | 89.8% | 0 | 2-2 | +0.8 | 2-2-0 | +1 | 3-1 | | JUSSI RYNNAS (All Games) | 2 | 1 | 40 | 33 | 82.5% | 0 | 0-1 | -1 | 0-1-0 | -1 | 1-0 | | JUSSI RYNNAS (Last 4 Games) | 2 | 1 | 40 | 33 | 82.5% | 0 | 0-1 | -1 | 0-1-0 | -1 | 1-0 | | BEN SCRIVENS (All Games) | 10 | 9 | 294 | 263 | 89.5% | 0 | 3-6 | -2.8 | 3-6-0 | -3 | 4-5 | | BEN SCRIVENS (Road Games) | 4 | 4 | 147 | 133 | 90.5% | 0 | 1-3 | -1.5 | 1-3-0 | -1 | 1-3 | | BEN SCRIVENS (vs. Division) | 4 | 4 | 113 | 96 | 85.0% | 0 | 1-3 | -2.2 | 1-3-0 | -2 | 4-0 | | BEN SCRIVENS (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 155 | 141 | 91.0% | 0 | 2-2 | +0.3 | 2-2-0 | 0 | 2-2 |
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| All Games | 30-51-0 | -23.2 | 30-51 | -23.2 | 31-39 | 2.6 | 28.6 | 2.8 | 29.6 | | Team Stats (Home Games) | 15-25-0 | -14.8 | 15-25 | -14.8 | 16-18 | 2.8 | 29.3 | 2.7 | 28.5 | | Last 5 Games | 1-4-0 | -3.1 | 1-4 | -3.1 | 1-2 | 2.2 | 29.2 | 2.8 | 28.6 | | vs. Division | 9-14-0 | -4.8 | 9-14 | -4.8 | 6-15 | 2.3 | 28.4 | 2.3 | 31.2 |
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| Team Stats (All Games) | 81 | 208 | 65 | 73 | 63 | 7 | 9 | 2313 | 9.0% | 298 | 43 | 14.4% | 343 | | Team Stats (Home Games) | 40 | 111 | 37 | 39 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 1172 | 9.5% | 158 | 25 | 15.8% | 186 | | Team Stats (Last 5 Games) | 5 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 7.5% | 20 | 2 | 10.0% | 19 | | Team Stats (vs. Division) | 23 | 54 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 654 | 8.3% | 76 | 9 | 11.8% | 84 | | Stats Against (All Games) | | 225 | 60 | 67 | 82 | 16 | 22 | 2401 | 9.4% | 310 | 36 | 11.6% | 356 | | Stats Against (Home Games) | | 110 | 28 | 29 | 43 | 10 | 12 | 1142 | 9.6% | 137 | 18 | 13.1% | 165 | | Stats Against (Last 5 Games) | | 14 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 143 | 9.8% | 21 | 3 | 14.3% | 17 | | Stats Against (vs. Division) | | 53 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 717 | 7.4% | 93 | 7 | 7.5% | 87 |
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| PETER BUDAJ (All Games) | 16 | 16 | 477 | 434 | 91.0% | 0 | 4-12 | -8 | 4-12-0 | -8 | 6-7 | | PETER BUDAJ (Home Games) | 5 | 5 | 137 | 127 | 92.7% | 0 | 2-3 | -1.5 | 2-3-0 | -1 | 1-2 | | PETER BUDAJ (vs. Division) | 1 | 1 | 36 | 33 | 91.7% | 0 | 0-1 | -1 | 0-1-0 | -1 | 0-0 | | PETER BUDAJ (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 111 | 102 | 91.9% | 0 | 1-3 | -2 | 1-3-0 | -2 | 1-3 | | CAREY PRICE (All Games) | 65 | 65 | 1914 | 1754 | 91.6% | 6 | 26-39 | -15.1 | 26-39-0 | -14 | 25-32 | | CAREY PRICE (Home Games) | 35 | 35 | 1001 | 913 | 91.2% | 3 | 13-22 | -13.3 | 13-22-0 | -12 | 15-16 | | CAREY PRICE (vs. Division) | 22 | 22 | 679 | 634 | 93.4% | 2 | 9-13 | -3.8 | 9-13-0 | -4 | 6-15 | | CAREY PRICE (Last 4 Games) | 4 | 4 | 134 | 124 | 92.5% | 1 | 1-3 | -2 | 1-3-0 | -2 | 1-1 |
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| | Average power rating of opponents played: TORONTO 3.16, MONTREAL 3.15 |
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| 3/11/2012 | at WASHINGTON | 0-2 | L | 0, +125 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 3/13/2012 | at FLORIDA | 2-5 | L | 0, +115 | L | 5 ov | O | | 3/15/2012 | at TAMPA BAY | 3-1 | W | 0, +105 | W | 6 un | U | | 3/17/2012 | at OTTAWA | 3-1 | W | 0, +130 | W | 5.5 ev | U | | 3/19/2012 | at BOSTON | 0-8 | L | 0, +175 | L | 5.5 un | O | | 3/20/2012 | NY ISLANDERS | 2-5 | L | 0, -115 | L | 5.5 un | O | | 3/23/2012 | at NEW JERSEY | 4-3 | W | 0, +170 | W | 5.5 un | O | | 3/24/2012 | NY RANGERS | 3-4 | L | 0, +130 | L | 5.5 un | O | | 3/27/2012 | CAROLINA | 0-3 | L | 0, -110 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 3/29/2012 | PHILADELPHIA | 1-7 | L | 0, +140 | L | 5.5 ov | O | | 3/31/2012 | BUFFALO | 4-3 | W | 0, +130 | W | 5.5 un | O | | 4/3/2012 | at BUFFALO | 5-6 | L | 0, +175 | L | 5.5 ev | O | | 4/5/2012 | TAMPA BAY | 3-2 | W | 0, -135 | W | 6.5 un | U | | 4/7/2012 | at MONTREAL | |
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| 3/12/2012 | at BUFFALO | 2-3 | L | 0, +140 | L | 5 ov | P | | 3/14/2012 | OTTAWA | 3-2 | W | 0, +115 | W | 5.5 un | U | | 3/16/2012 | at OTTAWA | 1-2 | L | 0, +145 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 3/17/2012 | NY ISLANDERS | 2-3 | L | 0, -110 | L | 5 ov | P | | 3/21/2012 | at BUFFALO | 0-3 | L | 0, +155 | L | 5 ov | U | | 3/23/2012 | OTTAWA | 5-1 | W | 0, +110 | W | 5 ov | O | | 3/24/2012 | at PHILADELPHIA | 1-4 | L | 0, +220 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 3/27/2012 | FLORIDA | 2-3 | L | 0, -110 | L | 5 ev | P | | 3/30/2012 | at NY RANGERS | 1-4 | L | 0, +190 | L | 5 ov | P | | 3/31/2012 | at WASHINGTON | 2-3 | L | 0, +220 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 4/4/2012 | TAMPA BAY | 5-2 | W | 0, -110 | W | 5.5 ev | O | | 4/5/2012 | at CAROLINA | 1-2 | L | 0, +150 | L | 5.5 un | U | | 4/7/2012 | TORONTO | |
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| |  | TORONTO: TORONTO (AP) - John-Michael Liles started making phone calls when he learned had been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After spending his entire NHL career in Colorado, he was anxious to hear about how life was going to change.
``I was able to talk to Darcy Tucker a bit, obviously a great figure in Leafs fans' memories,'' said the veteran defenseman. ``For me, he was a good sounding board to talk to. I actually spoke to him right after I was traded. He's been a great help for me.
``He kind of just laid it out for me, he said: 'You'll love playing here. It's an unbelievable organization. It's a great city.'''
Of course, Tucker was around for the Maple Leafs' last run of prosperity, a period that has long since faded from view.
The city hasn't been so kind to hockey players in recent years while general manager Brian Burke completely turned over the roster, showing little patience for those struggling to fit in or make an impact. And with the team now locked in a franchise-worst stretch of six seasons outside of the playoffs, it sounds as if there'll be even more urgency.
``I'm not worried about where we're going to be in two or three years,'' coach Ron Wilson said. ``My primary responsibility is making the playoffs this year and getting off to a good start.''
More than anything, the Leafs are hoping to pick up where they left off last season. After enduring a miserable 1-8-3 stretch in October and November, they climbed back into the Eastern Conference playoff race in the second half behind goalie James Reimer, who ascended from No. 4 on the depth chart to claim the No. 1 job.
Reimer signed a $5.4 million, three-year extension over the summer and must now prove his 37-game audition last season was no fluke.
``Good goaltending goes a long way in our league,'' Wilson said. ``A great goalie can smooth over a lot of rough edges and make up for mistakes that happen in front of him. If you don't trust your goalie, your confidence sinks.''
The group in front of him should be better. Liles and Cody Franson were acquired to add depth to a blue-line corps that already included Luke Schenn, Dion Phaneuf, Carl Gunnarsson, Mike Komisarek and Keith Aulie.
The Leafs were ranked 24th in goals against last season and are looking for a big improvement in that area.
``I've never changed my philosophy, which has been that unless you can keep the puck out of your own net you're not going to have a championship team,'' Burke said. ``To me it's like pitching in baseball. You can have eight Hall of Famers in the field (but) if you don't have pitching you're not going to win. In my mind, championship teams start on the back end of the rink.
``I think this group we put together on the blue line is as competitive as anybody has.''
An area of concern that remains is scoring.
After losing out to the New York Rangers in bidding for free-agent center Brad Richards, Burke attempted to address a weakness up the middle by signing Tim Connolly and trading for Matthew Lombardi, who was limited to just two games with Nashville a year ago because of a concussion.
Connolly is expected to start the year between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on a line that will be counted on to help carry the load offensively. The Mikhail Grabovski-Nikolai Kulemin-Clarke MacArthur unit, Toronto's best last season with 80 goals between them, remains intact.
``I think we have two lines that will be competing for primary duties on the power play,'' Wilson said.
Lombardi was only cleared for contact midway through training camp, but is still hoping to be ready for the regular-season opener against Montreal on Oct. 6. He could play either wing or center on the third line.
Arguably the biggest change over the summer came behind the bench, where Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon were added to Wilson's staff after Burke urged his head coach to fire assistants Tim Hunter and Keith Acton. Toronto's specialty teams have struggled during Wilson's three-year tenure as head coach - the penalty killing was 28th last season while the power play was 22nd - and the GM felt it was time for some fresh ideas.
The staff gathered at Wilson's offseason home in North Carolina last month to start discussing strategy.
``I think every coach has some philosophies and beliefs,'' said Gordon, a former head coach with the New York Islanders. ``You've got to try to find what works for you that works for the group. You can't jam everything home that you believe in to make yourself happy - everything's got to kind of work together. ...
``I think some fresh ideas from Greg and myself to go along with all of the years of experience that Ron has, hopefully it ends up complementing each other.''
The pressure will be on right from opening night.
Wilson's future is already a hot-button topic in the city - he's in the final year of his contract - and the Leafs open the season with five consecutive games at Air Canada Centre. Throughout training camp, the team has stressed the need to set the tone for a good season right out of the gate.
``We want to be a playoff team, that's our goal,'' said Phaneuf, entering his second year as captain. ``The biggest thing from my experience of playing in the league is you have to get off to a good start and you've got to be consistent. You can't have the week-long (losing) slides or the two-week slides, they really hurt you.''
| | MONTREAL: MONTREAL (AP) - The Montreal Canadiens are in the third year of their big makeover, and the 102-year-old team hopes it has grown into a Stanley Cup contender.
The Canadiens have been revamping the team since the end of the 2008-09 season. Adding veteran forwards Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Michael Cammalleri and hiring coach Jacques Martin brought a new look and leadership.
``It's as deep as we've been in the three years I've been here,'' said winger Mathieu Darche, who also joined the Canadiens that summer. ``You look up and down the lineup, and I don't think the coach will be afraid to put anyone on the ice against anybody.''
Notable offseason moves saw the departure of 37-year-old defenseman Roman Hamrlik, checking center Jeff Halpern and winger Benoit Pouliot, as well as the addition of scoring winger Erik Cole from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Montreal also released three defensemen picked up during the season to fill in while Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges recovered from major knee surgeries - James Wisniewski, Brent Sopel and Paul Mara. This week the Canadiens signed Chris Campoli, another veteran rearguard, when it became clear Markov's right knee was still a question mark.
The optimism comes from Cole, who filled a need as a big, physical forward capable of playing on a top line, and development of young forwards Max Pacioretty, Lars Eller and David Desharnais.
That bumps the attack up from two scoring lines to the three needed to be a contender.
Gionta and Gomez had their best moments last season when big Pacioretty joined them on left wing. His season ended abruptly with a concussion and fractured vertebra on a hit from Boston's Zdeno Chara. The good news is Pacioretty looks to be completely healed.
The top-scoring duo of Cammalleri and center Tomas Plekanec should be stronger with Cole on right wing. Their winger from last season, Andrei Kostitsyn, moves to the third line with Eller and the small but tricky playmaker Desharnais.
That leaves a fourth line to build from Darche, Travis Moen, Ryan White and perhaps Yannick Weber, a defenseman who has played forward.
The Canadiens were 24th in the 30-team NHL in scoring last season with 216 goals. Only Gionta, with 29 goals, reached his normal production.
Gomez, the team's highest-paid player with a $7.3-million annual salary cap hit, is coming off a brutal season of just seven goals and 31 assists.
Cammalleri, who missed 15 games with injuries, also looks to improve on his 19 goals, while Eller established himself as a strong defensive center and now hopes to add offense to his game. Kostitsyn also might want to improve on his 20 goals going into unrestricted free agency next summer.
The main concern is Markov.
The team's defensive anchor played only seven games last season as he returned from ACL surgery, only to tear it again. Markov missed part of the previous season recovering from a skate cut as well.
In his absence, crowd-pleasing rookie P.K. Subban grew into the team's top puck-carrying defenseman and power-play point man.
General manager Pierre Gauthier said Markov should not miss many games but the 32-year-old might not be in the lineup for the season opener Oct. 6 in Toronto.
At this time last season, the main worry was goaltending. Jaroslav Halak, who had led the team to the conference final, was traded to St. Louis for Eller and Ian Schultz and the team was gambling on Carey Price to recover from a shaky 2009-'10 season.
Price silenced his critics by playing in 72 games, posting a 38-28-6 record with a strong 2.35 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.
Gauthier feels the team improved its backup goaltending by letting Alex Auld go and bringing in former Colorado starter Peter Budaj.
Price, the fifth overall pick from 2005, is confident the team can go farther than last season, when it finished sixth with a 44-30-8 record before taking eventual Stanley Cup-champion Boston to overtime in Game 7 of the first round of playoffs.
``We're a step ahead of lot of other teams in the league,'' Price said. ``We have a lot of the same pieces as we had the previous season, so in that sense, we already have that chemistry.
``That (loss to Boston) lingers in our head. We were that close to knocking off the top team in the league. So we're all going to try to take the necessary strides to make that push.''
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| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER HOCKEY PREVIEW (TORONTO-MONTREAL) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Maple Leafs-Canadiens Preview* ===============================
By NOEY KUPCHAN STATS Writer
Toronto (35-36-10) at Montreal (30-35-16), 7:00 p.m. EDT
While the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens don't have anything to play for, the Northeast Division rivals seem unlikely to go down without a fight as they close their schedules Saturday night.
Montreal (30-35-16) has allowed a combined 13 goals in dropping three straight home matchups with Toronto (35-36-10). The Leafs have taken three of five in the series this season - most recently prevailing 3-1 at the Bell Centre on March 3 behind two goals and an assist from Mikhail Grabovski.
"We have to get ready to give 100% in our last game now. There's nothing else to save it for," Canadiens goaltender Peter Budaj, who is expected to make his fourth consecutive start in place of injured Carey Price (concussion), told the team's official website.
"They're out of the playoffs, we're out of the playoffs, but there's still a lot of pride to play for - it will be a good battle."
Assured of finishing last in the Eastern Conference and with fewer than 80 points for the first time since 2002-03, Montreal dropped to 1-2-3 over its last six games with Thursday's 2-1 shootout loss at Carolina. Center Blake Geoffrion provided the team's only offense while Budaj made 28 saves.
"All of us want to go into next year getting that confidence back," Geoffrion said. "Playing for the future is really the message in the room right now, and playing for pride."
Toronto is coming off its second win in three games, defeating Tampa Bay 3-2 in overtime Thursday. Jake Gardiner, who assisted on Tim Connolly's first-period goal, tied the score with 2:55 remaining in regulation before fellow defenseman Dion Phaneuf notched the game-winner with 59 seconds to play.
The Leafs won their final two home games after losing a franchise-worst 11 straight there Feb. 11-March 29.
"We've got great fans," said Phaneuf, who's recorded just three points in his last 15 games. "We struggled at home for awhile, no one was happy about it. We have not been playing the way that we want to play.
"But we wanted to finish our year off, our last game at home in front of our fans, the way we (did)."
Gardiner, meanwhile, continues to impress in his first season in the league. He leads all rookie defenseman with 30 points - nine coming in his last 11 games.
"He's had a really good year. I think that throughout the whole year he's gotten better. He's really taken a lot of strides," Phaneuf said. "That's what makes him so good is how he skates the puck and sees the ice - when he's skating he's a dangerous player."
Ben Scrivens made 35 saves Thursday, improving to 4-4-2 with a 3.13 goals-against average on the season. Scrivens, who has never faced Montreal, is 0-2-1 with a 3.98 GAA in his last three road starts.
In his only career start versus Toronto, Budaj turned away 27 shots in a 4-1 Colorado road win Oct. 18, 2006. Budaj has done an admirable job filling in for Price, posting a 1.58 GAA over the Canadiens' last three games.
Leading Montreal with 63 points, left winger Max Pacioretty has tallied 18 goals and 22 assists in 40 home games. He's notched just six in 14 career matchups versus the Leafs, though.
Toronto's Phil Kessel tallied his team-best 82nd point with an assist Thursday, giving him five in his last three games.
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| | Last Updated: 6/18/2024 9:24:12 AM EST. |
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