Top gun in arsenal

[Tony]

paul : Too much preasure in Toronto?Toskala was a lot better in SanJose of course the Sharks were a lot better too...I think Belfour handled it well when he played for the Leafs..Ok i'll stop ramblin..

[paul]

Tony wrote:

paul : Too much preasure in Toronto?Toskala was a lot better in SanJose of course the Sharks were a lot better too...I think Belfour handled it well when he played for the Leafs..Ok i'll stop ramblin..

Tony you are right on the pressure. There is more press coverage for a Leafs practise then most teams get for there games.It is a hockey mad area that is supremely upset that they haven't seen Lord Stanley's mug since 1967. That was the last time the cup was won in the original 6 team league.
A guy once described being a goalie this way: Suppose you worked in an office and while sitting at your desk you make a mistake. Then somebody behind you turns one a big red light. Some one else gets a loud horn blasting. Then a bunch of people scream at you that you are an idiot. The next day the newspapers have your mistake and how it sabotaged a winning game in box car sized letters on the sports page headlines. That is why he was considering retirement.
That is life in "LEAF NATION".
paul

[Thin The Herd]

Chico17 wrote:

The name of that game was Andrew Raycroft. Last season he was 2-9-5, an .876 save percentage and a 3.92 GAA with Toronto. He only had 5 starts in the second half of last season. He is unpredictable. He has had success in the past as a number one goalie. This season he is looking good again in the games he has played as a backup to Budai. He is 8-1-0 with a .908 save % and a 2.52 GAA. The Hawks saw the "good" Raycroft. He had a bad camp and almost didn't make the cut in September. It was his career best for the number of saves in a game. I say all of this to remind us that a hot goalie can win a game. Man, the shots that almost went in late in the game! My take on this is give credit to the opposing netminder and simply move on. It's a long season. Keep the feet moving boys! GO HAWKS!

Any goalie that makes it to the NHL has the capability to turn in an outstanding game. The Number One goalies do it most nights, while the back-ups and hangers-on don't. Last night was Raycroft's night.

The face-off was pretty bush, unless the Hawks had been warned. Certainly it was by the rule, but the question is was the rule equally applied. I only saw the last 15 minutes of the game, so I don't know.

Not a good loss in any case. But not the end of the world, either.