Ferguson not about to make changes to Maple Leafs

It didn’t get much better for Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala after he replaced Andrew Raycroft who gave up two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Leafs lost 5-1 to Phoenix.
Steady as she goes for listing club despite ugly outing against Phoenix

Nov 25, 2007 04:30 AM
Mark Zwolinski
Sports Reporter
GLENDALE, ARIZ. – Leafs GM John Ferguson emerged from an hour-long, post-game meeting with coach Paul Maurice last night to announce that the club will stay the course with its coaching staff and roster.

After an alarmingly bad performance in a 5-1 loss to Phoenix at the Jobing.com Arena, there was a strong sense that something had to give.

But Ferguson expressed confidence in his roster and the team’s ability to turn around what is now a three-game losing streak and losses in six of the last seven games.

“We sat here tonight and talked about a lot of different things, and it is a time now when we are not getting things done we need to get done,” Ferguson said.

“We addressed … that we need to get more out of the group we have.”

That seemed a stunning appraisal to critics who had just watched the Leafs’ performance.

While they’ve ruined good efforts with giveaways during their current funk, this was the first time this season the Leafs had the look of a team that knew it had no chance from the start.

But Ferguson was joined by Leafs captain Mats Sundin and the rest of the players in giving a vote of confidence to Maurice.

“I think Paul Maurice has done a great job since he’s been here … the results are because of the players on the ice,” Sundin said after last night’s loss.

“Paul Maurice has done everything he can to prepare the players and what’s going on in games has nothing to do with him.”

As for his job security, Ferguson said his focus is strictly on the team and bettering its performance and results.

“I don’t, not at all,” Ferguson said when asked if he’s worried about losing his job.

“All our focus is on competing with other teams, with getting into the top eight and going from there. And right now it’s an ongoing challenge.”

The biggest challenge remains goaltending, something which is tied directly to Ferguson’s off-season moves over the past two years.

Last night, Andrew Raycroft allowed goals by Daniel Winnik and Peter Mueller off big rebounds. Maurice yanked him after the second goal, and there was no denying afterwards that the well-liked Raycroft had not performed up to expectations.

“Obviously, Andrew has to be better than he was tonight,” Ferguson said.

“But that goes the same for every one of our players. Our standards are high, the standards in the league are high, and he (Raycroft) has to be better.”

The Leafs weren’t in the game from the opening faceoff, and when Steve Reinprecht scored on the first shot replacement goalie Vesa Toskala faced, things were about as bad as they have been all season.

Kyle Wellwood’s slap shot goal breathed some life into the game for the Leafs, but Derek Morris scored less than two minutes later for Phoenix.

Darcy Tucker and Mark Bell dropped the gloves for spirited bouts to show the Leafs had at least some character in the face of their poor play.

Afterwards, the players staged a meeting in their dressing room to address not only their weak effort last night, but the predicament brought on by their growing winless streak.

While they are just three games under .500, they have won only eight games in their first 24 – a streak of futility that, if continued, will leave them well shy of a playoff berth.

“Losing is never fun, and it’s part of the business to have to answer for losing,” Sundin said.

“We’re in a winning business. You have to win to stay in it and we’re not winning right now. We’re in a rut, a funk, but we’ve been there before. And good teams find way to get out of it.

We have something like 60 games left, and as a group, we have to get on the right side of the line. So far, we haven’t had the right things go our way. But I wouldn’t call it rock bottom. No … we have to realize what it takes to win in this league, and go out as a group and do it.”

http://www.thestar.com/NHL/MapleLeafs/article/279672

What would you buy if you had money to spare?

Coyotes 5, Maple Leafs 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Ilya Bryzgalov has fit in perfectly in goal for coach Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes.

Bryzgalov made 25 saves for his fourth straight victory since joining Phoenix after being claimed off waivers from Anaheim, leading the Coyotes to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

“He is truly one of the pieces of this puzzle,” Gretzky said. “He’s helped us turn this team around, and maybe our franchise. It’s only four games and we have a long way to go. It’s a nice start for him.”

Bryzgalov has allowed only six goals in Phoenix’s four-game winning streak, its longest since a seven-game run last Dec. 26-Jan. 9.

“Our players feel pretty good right now,” Gretzky said. “Sure, we’ve win four in a row. The last time I’ve checked, however, that doesn’t win you too many rings.”

Toronto has lost four of its last five.

“Right now, this team is in a funk, and good teams found ways to get out of situations like this,” Leafs captain Mats Sundin said. “Teams find out what it takes to win, and that’s what faces us. No, we have not hit rock bottom, and have 60 games left to turn this thing around.”

The Coyotes scored four goals in the first period, two in an 18-second span.

Daniel Winnik opened the scoring at 4:16, and Peter Mueller then beat Andrew Raycroft to the short side at 8:24. At that point, Toronto coach Paul Maurice pulled Raycroft for Vesa Toskala.

“I didn’t like that first goal and made the change,” Maurice said. “But that was not the story. We didn’t move our feet, and that’s a big part of the game.”

Toskala allowed a goal on the first shot he faced, with Steven Reinprecht firing a wrist shot under the crossbar and over the goalie’s glove hand at 8:42.

Kyle Wellwood countered for Toronto, but Derrick Morris made it 4-1 with 1:57 left.

“We’re not playing the way we are capable,” Toronto Darcy Tucker said. “If everyone works hard, we can turn this around. Our responsibility is to be accountable, and we all know what needs to be done.”

Radim Vrbata completed the scoring at 2:05 of the second period. With a goal and assist, Vrbata has five points in the past two goals.

“Sometimes, you have to be lucky and be in the right spot at the right time,” Vrbata said. “Before these two games, I didn’t think I had a point in six. Now, I’m hot and the puck has found me.”

Notes: Toronto’s Jason Blake has failed to score in 16 straight games. His assist on the Leafs’ lone goal was his first point since an assist Nov. 2 at New Jersey. … The Coyotes will play 10 of their next 12 on the road, including a six-game road trip. … The announced crowd of 17,190 was the Coyotes’ second largest of the season.

Associated Press

nhl.com

The Ottawa Senators started building momentum when they opened the season by sweeping the Toronto Maple Leafs in a home-and-home series. They’ve been nearly unbeatable since.

The Senators look to set a franchise record with their eighth straight victory and continue their recent dominance of the Maple Leafs when the Northeast Division rivals meet on Tuesday at Scotiabank Place.

One season after going to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in franchise history, the Senators (12-1-0) have emerged as the NHL’s best team.

It all began when Dany Heatley scored his second goal of the game with 2:03 left in overtime to give the Senators a 4-3 win at Toronto on Oct. 3. The next night, Daniel Alfredsson provided the winner with 4:59 left in a 3-2 home victory for Ottawa.

The Senators opened with five straight victories before falling 5-3 at home to Carolina on Oct. 11. Since that defeat, they’ve won a franchise record-tying seven in a row, previously set from Oct. 25-Nov. 13, 2001.

Ottawa completed another home-and-home sweep Sunday, this time winning 2-1 in a shootout at Boston. Antoine Vermette scored the winner in the shootout after his short-handed goal early in the third period tied the game.

The Senators went a season-worst 0-for-6 on the power play after scoring three times in six opportunities with the man advantage in Saturday’s 3-2 home win over the Bruins.

“I wouldn’t say it was unorthodox, but to score a short-handed goal after having so many power-play opportunities and not really either finishing or looking very good,” Senators coach John Paddock said after Sunday’s victory. “To tie it short-handed, it’s just a good ‘find a way to win’ game.”

Martin Gerber earned his NHL-leading ninth win, making two saves in the shootout after stopping 21 shots in regulation and overtime. Gerber, who has displaced Ray Emery as Ottawa’s starter, is 19-1-2 with a 2.01 goals-against average in 22 appearances since last Dec. 23.

Toronto (6-6-3) opened a four-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to New Jersey on Friday, but avoided a third straight defeat Saturday as Matt Stajan scored with 1:34 left in the third period to give the Leafs a 3-2 win at Montreal.

“I thought coming into this building on a Saturday night on back-to-back nights, with them rested and them rolling the way they are, to win in regulation, it’s a great outing for us,” Toronto coach Paul Maurice said.

The Maple Leafs, whose 57 goals against are tied with Atlanta for the most in the NHL, improved to 5-0-0 when allowing fewer than three scores.

“We played two good road games this weekend but, unfortunately, we only got two points,” goalie Vesa Toskala said. “But I like how we played. I felt pretty good. I got a little lucky a couple of times.”

Heatley has 23 goals and 43 points against Toronto, both career bests against any opponent. Jason Spezza has a goal and 13 assists during a seven-game point streak against the Leafs, but he’s missed Ottawa’s last three contests with a slight groin pull.

The Senators are 14-2-2, including 7-1-1 at home, against the Maple Leafs since the start of the 2005-06 season.

Forward Mark Bell will make his debut for Toronto on Tuesday after completing a 15-game suspension for a drinking and driving incident. Kyle Wellwood, who has been sidelined after having surgery for a sports hernia, is also likely to make his season debut.

Associated Press

nhl.com

A good organization is considered as such by measuring their levels of efficiency. ‘Work smarter not harder’, you know the phrase.  ‘Keep the staff motivated and they will be more effective’, to cite another. Where do we draw the line?  Here’s one idea: 

September 4, 2007, EST.BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA

Driven to distraction-driving woes of the commuter 

It’s easy to blame it on the cell-phone.  You see them everywhere, hunched over-shoulders to ears, not cognizant of what’s going on around them.  People living industrious lives and using the cell phone to help them keep connected and informed whether for business or pleasure.  And then there are the accidents-oh the many accidents that infringe on our time when we least have the patience to sit endlessly behind the wheel and wait until a police investigation ensues or they remove the tipped over tanker from the mangled guardrail.  Blame it on the cellphone.  It’s the cell phones fault.  But is it?  Is it really?    Or is it the fault of distracted drivers?  Distracted drivers.  Those unfocused, sidetracked, diverted and preoccupied drivers who simply do not pay attention to the road and the hazards around them.  Distracted drivers include the sleepers who aren’t asleep as yet but could be in an instant, those arguing their point to the colleagues around them, those painting their faces, shaving their hairs, finding a radio station that has something more to say than ‘ooo baby ooo’ and those looking through their car for the piece of important documentation that they assert they ‘put just there’.  We can all be distracted but distractions take many forms and not just in the form of the cell-phone user.  There are some drivers (I would put myself in this group), that could cook a six course dinner, plan a trip and organize a wardrobe while behind the wheel.  And still duck through a potential accident and save another from getting into one with a simple blow to the horn.  There are others who can’t comprehend what’s around them even if they peer intently on their surroundings with a dozen of back seat drivers to aide in their endeavour.  It’s the driver, plain and simple.  If you disallow people from using their phones in the car, they will still crash into exit signs.  You can’t prevent accidents by telling people what they can or can not do behind the wheel.  It’s about the driver, not the cellphone. Driving is a responsibility and a serious one at that.  If you aren’t a responsible driver, you shouldn’t be using a phone, an electronic device or a hairbrush.  And don’t start quoting the stats either.  If I am in an accident and I am holding a cellphone in my hand does anyone ask me if I am going through a life changing event in my personal life, that I had two hours sleep or that I’ve got a migraine.  No, they see the cell.  It’s the cells fault-hence the stat. Make drivers more responsible for what they do and let them rejoice in a little chuckle with a friend as they sit on the Don Valley parking lot in rush hour.   Responsibility.

DK

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.

Jimi Hendrix