I was at this game, so here're a few notes/observances:
Reimer: Played okayish, got some bad bounces, and he's letting some bad habits creep back into his game (not getting the arms tight to the torso). Overall, his play is better than his last two results. But Carlyle made a mistake keeping him in net after the 2nd goal.
Sometimes, you pull the goalie to shake up the team, and that was the moment. That 2nd goal sucked the life out of the team, and the Jets crowd surged, so at the very least a timeout should've been called.
Mason Raymond: Although he's not getting points, I like his game. He's one of the better Leafs at zone entry and he seems to be a part of a lot of Leafs' chances. Once that 2nd scoring line is Lupul - Bolland - Raymond, the team will be a lot better offensively.
Dion Phaneuf: His play defensively is stable, his offensive chances are okay... he's trying to do too much in some areas and not enough in others. I see too many opportunities for Dion to lay the boom and he doesn't go for it. It's infuriating as a fan. The Leafs should trade for Volchenkov just to get a vet to tell Phaneuf when to go for it and when not to...
Phil Kessel: Skates like there's a 500lb bag of pucks on his shoulders. Head down, like he's dead-tired after a power-skating drill... But when he gets the puck, he's on fire. By comparison, Troy Bodie skated his ass-off forechecking and backchecking. Obviously the talent isn't comparible, but Kessel isn't putting in the 100% effort.
He also could at least pretend to body check... even coasting into the guy... I'm torn, because I feel like we get good production out of him, but I just can't help feeling that Kessel has a whole other dimension to his game that's just never been tapped. Sorta like Jeremy Roenick if he'd never met up with Mike Keenan.
Gardiner-Reilly pairing: I have to laud Carlyle for this because that pair create a lot of chances but they also make a lot of mistakes. Carlyle will probably die of a heart-attack soon. This pairing takes a lot of cohones. That said, the improvisation these guys do makes a lot a basic plays fall flat. The forwards never seem able to forecheck because they never have a clue what type of zone entry scheme these guys will try. As a result, when Rielly/Gards bail on a direct zone entry and dump it in, the forwards are always standing still at the blue line and never recover the puck...
But these guys a ninjas on the ice with their speed. Can't relate how many times I thought one would be caught out of position because of a bad pinch and yet it's like they teleport back to the blue line because boom, their right back into the chase...
Bernier: My wife was a huge Reimer fan, and very disappointed that we acquired Bernier. Here's a quote from her when they put Bernier in after teh 4th goal:"About ****ing time. They should've had Bernier in net the whole game."
McClement and surrounding cast (Orr, Bodie, and Ashton):
The guy behind me (also a Leaf fan) was bemused by how often these guys were on the ice, yet they were the best group most of the night. The Jets were really thrown off their game by the physical play and made a lot of turnovers as a result. Unfortunately, the line lacks the scoring touch to finish, but they definitely fought hard and helped the team.
Home-away-from-home: There were quite a few Leaf fans present, and we even drowned out a lot of the "Go Jets Go" chanting with "Go Leafs Go", and in the third period even got a GLG chant going that rivaled anything the Jets fans did all game long. It's really too bad they moved the Jets to the Western Conference... I died a little inside when I found out that meant just one Leaf appearance per season.
Summary: All in all, not a super great game by the Leafs, the only good Jets' goals were the PP by Wheeler and Byfuglien's OT winner. Subpar play in front of the goaltender lead to an early deficit. The team lacks confidence in front of Reimer.
Extra Notes: In OT, a min or so before Byfuglien's goal, the Jet fan beside me saw Kane get onto the ice and said: "Just watch, Kane is going to end it on this shift." A few seconds later, Kane zinged a wrister of the post. I've said it in the past, but if the Jets are looking at moving him, the Leafs have to be in on the trade talks. Age-wise he fits the core and he's going to be a real gem over the next decade and more.
This was the first game attended by one of the newest Leaf fans, my son, Cohen. He's 4-months-old (and a few days) and he loved the game (despite being lulled into a sleep in the last 5 minutes of the 1st period/intermission). Once the game got going again in the 2nd he was up and watching the whole time (except whenever my wife thought there might be a goal because we didn't have any earmuffs to dampen the sound.
All in all, it was a great game to attend. Hopefully we will one day see a Leafs/Jets SCF. Ah, but to dream...
