Hiccup or jet-lag?
By Ryan MacLeod - The Hockey Herald
If you listen closely you can hear all of Leaf's nation holding their breath -- all wondering if Saturday night's loss to Montreal was just a bump in the road or a one way trip back to mediocrity.
It was a game filled with unlucky bounces and lackluster skating, with a major injury to boot. Everyone knows by now that Bryan McCabe will be on the shelf for 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, but what no one can predict is the impact that will have on the team.
"We have to adjust to it," forward Nik Antropov said to the Toronto Star. "We've been doing this for the last few years. It's not a good thing what happened. We're going to regroup, practise (today) and be ready to go (tomorrow) ."
Of course that's what you'd expect the big euro to say. But, I'm sure he's at least a little bit concerned at the thought of Andy Wozniewski receiving more than the 14 minutes a game he's already playing.
Rookie Anton Stralman is likely to be called up from the minors for today's practice.
Carlo Colaiacovo, who is battling a knee injury, will make it onto the ice for his first team practice in at least a month. Neither candidate is a great McCabe replacement, so look for Pavel Kubina to eat up a lot of the extra ice-time.
But with their #1 blueliner gone for two months will this team be able to ignore a bad loss to the habs and keep rolling?
We find out tomorrow as they play game three of a seven game road trip in Carolina.
RUMORS: Word is still swirling around that at least three teams are interested in acquiring the services of leafs back-up Andrew Raycroft. It's been reported that Los Angelas, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh have contacted Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. (This could potentially lead to the Leafs making a deal involving a defenseman coming their way, which would help relieve the loss of McCabe.)
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Ryan MacLeod Said,
December 17, 2007 @ 11:50 am
I really hope the team moves Andrew Raycroft. Freeing up the salary space will be a huge win for next season.