Leaf fans pray for Brodeur's swollen head

Last night I posted a story about the upcoming New York Islanders vs New Jersey Devils game today and the implications that it has for the continuation of the Toronto Maple Leafs season into the playoffs.

I had heard and read hints that the New Jersey Devils were planning to sit many of their star players today in order to give them some extra rest prior to the playoffs since the game against the Islanders meant nothing in respect to either the regular or post season.

Well, things have changed.

Martin Brodeur holds the record for the most goaltender wins in a single season at 48, but as of last night he holds that record in tandem with Roberto Luongo. Who incidentally grew up a mere stones throw from the Brodeur home in St-Leonard, Quebec. Luongo and the Canucks play Phoenix tonight and I am sure that everyone is willing to bet that Vancouver will get Luongo the win.

That means Brodeur will lose his record to Luongo later today.

So Leaf fans, pray today and pray hard that Marty Brodeur's ego gets the best of him and he wants to play, and win, against the New York Islanders today in order to keep ahold of this NHL record. If he does, and they do, the Leafs make the playoffs. God help us all.

On a side note, this Leafs fan is pulling for the New York Islanders, the sooner we realize that this team will never be good enough to win the Stanley Cup and gut it in order to rebuild the better.

Why? Three words. 2009, Julian Tavares (Editors Note: His name is John Tavares, not Julian! Julian Tavarez is a relief pitcher for the Boston Redsox). By 2009 we need to be one of the worst teams in the League so that we have a chance at Tavares. Probably the most exciting prospect in the NHL since some guy named Sidney Crosby (or Evgeni Malkin, or Jordan Staal, or Alexander Ovechkin).

So, GO Isles GO!

Wade Belak gives Cam Janssen a warm welcome

So it did actually happen. Wade Belak challenged Cam Janssen in last nights Devils vs Leafs game.

Mere seconds after Janssen hopped over the boards Wade Belak began chirping at him and in short order the gloves were off and the two heavy weights went at it.

Belak got the upper hand early in the fight but never seemed to be able to capitalize on his dominant position. As fights go, this was not much of one, but the effect this fight had on both benches was positive. Both teams should now be able to put the late hit by Janssen on Tomas Kaberle behind them and go on to finish off their respective seasons.

Kudos to Belak for stepping up to the plate and handling himself well and even bigger kudos to Janssen for not turtling or running away from the fight. As expected the rest of the game was business as usual (althought the 3rd period did get a little chippy) and both teams focused on trying to get the two points.

Hockeyfights.com currently has the fight going to Wade Belak with 59.4% of the vote.

You can see the fight below:




For the most part I tend to think that fighting in hockey is useless and pointless. However, in this case it serves a purpose. It tells opposing teams that you will not let them get away with questionable actions without penalty and it serves to juice up your teammates and your fans. Oh, yeah, and it IS fun to watch.

Tyler over at NHL Digest is trying to win an Edmonton Oilers fan picture contest and plans to give away the prize (a Sirius satellite radio and 6 month subscription) to readers of his blog.

Kaberle returns, hopes Janssen doesn't shoot the messenger

The rumors out of Toronto are that Tomas Kaberle will return to the ice tonight, ironically against the team that knocked him out of the lineup earlier this month.

Kaberle is the offensive catalyst for the Toronto Maple Leafs and arguably there best defenseman to boot. If you have been sitting the Leaf players on your roster tonight might be a good time to put them back in your starting lineup... ummm Maybe Not.

Martin Brodeur was pulled from his last start after allowing 4 goals on 12 shots. If history has any bearing Marty will be on fire tonight and a shutout is a distinct possibility.

On the PIM side, all reports out of the Leaf dressing room say that no Leaf player will be looking for revenge on Cam Janssen, not even Darcy Tucker. I'm not sure how much of that medicine you are willing to swallow but I tend to believe it. More because the Leaf's don't truly have a player capable of taking Janssen to task than anything else.

Both Darcy Tucker and Wade Belak have dropped the gloves with Janssen this year and both fights went to Janssen, although Tucker did give a good account of himself (if my memory serves). It can be difficult to send a physical message when you get the snot beat out of you by the guy you are trying to give the message to.

If there is an attempt to send a message tonight, expect Janssen to shoot the messenger.