Western Road Trip and other assorted Tidbits

So the Toronto Maple Leafs gave another manic performance in against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, and the Grabovski, Kulemin and Hagman line lit them up and took the Leafs to a 6-3 win.

The Leafs outworked, out-hustled, and out-shot the Canadiens and their smug fans which seemed to be 1/4 of the crowd at the Air Canada Centre. The Canadiens resorted to dirty play with one player getting tossed, and another slew-footing Leaf's in a couple of different race's for the puck. Tom Kotsopolos' shot on Mike Van Ryn showed the low point of the game, and he should be getting much more than 3 games. Despite his excuses after the game, there is no excuse for ramming a guy's head into the boards. Not unless you are some sort of sociopath who gets off on that.

The suspension should be higher for 1) its a divisional Rival 2) it caused multiple injuries, and 3) it was intent to injure. Anyone who plays in the NHL has the skills to let up, and not ram someone into the boards. The level of skating and contact is too sophisticated to say that the guy forgot to stop.

Western Road Trip

Its time for the yearly therapy session for Leafs' fans in Western Canada. Every Year, the barn's in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver turn blue and white, and the Leaf fan's bring their jersey's and flags out of the closet to show their allegiance to the once proud franchise.

To you western Leaf fans, I salute you! Your dedication to the blue and white is much harder in Calgary, than say Scarborough. The fact you handle their idiotic ridicule with grace, and haven't attempted to maim anyone in the past season shows how classy Toronto Maple Leaf fans are. I expect to hear you loud and proud tonight in Calgary, while the Leafs pepper the other team with shots as usual.

What to expect out west?
Hard to say, lots of shots, some defensive lapses, and maybe some improvement on special teams. But, I will expect to hear lots of Go Leafs go! The Leafs will bring excitement to the west, and their thousands of Western Canadian fans' to their feet. Thats my kind of Road trip!!!