UGH, TRY AGAIN (POST GAME AND PRE-GAME OPINIONS)

Here we go again. For the second time, the Leafs are embarrassed at home and a jersey is thrown onto the ice. This time, the opponent was the Red Wings and Reimer was the goalie. Not much has to be said about this game. But, since the Leafs have a second chance tomorrow, I think I will combine the two articles (tonights recap and tomorrow's preview) together. Lucky you!

What happened and Background Info

Just take the Leafs team that lost to Pittsburgh and every event that occurred throughout, and you have a glimpse of how bad this game was. Although to be fair, most of the goals against were fluky (as in luck for Detroit) and was just a bunch of bad bounces against the Buds. Zetterberg opened the scoring midway through the first with a shot that somehow got past Reimer from the red line. Then it got a bit chirpy with some rough stuff between the two teams. 

The second period is when the game went to Detroit. The first goal of the frame was a result of a flying puck that disappeared for a brief moment to land on the stick of Zetterberg to allow Franzen to score. Late in the period, Nyquist scored the only "good hockey goal" in my opinion for Detroit. He made some fancy stick work before putting it past Reimer. The Red Wings also hammered the Leafs in their own end for some time.

Santorelli gave the Leafs some life early in the third when he backhanded the puck past Howard that was the result of hard work from the third line. But Abdelkader put it away later on by tipping the puck in the net from a Nyquist shot. Soon, the jersey came flying over the boards again (Seriously guys, are you that frustrated? Wait until they are for sure out to do a idiotic move like that. Makes me annoyed, to be honest) and it summed up the poor showing from the Leafs once again.

Going into the rematch tomorrow, the Leafs will be without Brandon Kozun who suffered a broken leg in this game after going hard into the boards. You got to feel for the guy who worked so hard to get here and now will have to wait at least a month to try again. Meaning, Josh Leivo may be playing his first game of the season, which should be good news for him. Also, there will be pressure from management to get back into a groove, as Nonis is currently tuning in on a game between Vancouver and Edmonton (possible trade coming?). And Bernier will get a chance to redeem himself of the early funk a win the Leafs his first of the season.

Projected Lineups

Forwards

JVR-Bozak-Kessel

Lupul-Kadri-Winnik

Komarov-Santorelli-Clarkson

Leivo-Holland-Panik

Defense

Phaneuf-Franson

Rielly-Gardiner

Percy-Polak

Goalies

Bernier

Reimer

Scratches

Ashton, Frattin, Robidas, Kozun (injured), Booth (injured)

Why lose and how to get revenge

1) Did not take advantage of injured.  Dating back to last season, it seems as though the Leafs struggle when they play against the injured Red Wings team. Tonight was no exception, and the got hammered as a result. Sloppy plays, bad bounces, unlucky breaks, and poor possession is what made the Leafs be on the disadvantage of a Detroit team that still has a legitimate chance of returning to the playoffs. These are two points that may come back to haunt the Leafs. But I have one simple solution for this: Be ready to play tomorrow!

2) Leafs were probably preparing for tomorrow's game instead of tonight's. Going back ti the previous point, " Sloppy plays, bad bounces, unlucky breaks, and poor possession is what made the Leafs be on the disadvantage of a Detroit team that still has a legitimate chance of returning to the playoffs." If that's the case, then why do they think that its ok to not "play" for tonight and instead "play" for tomorrow? It makes no sense. On the bright side of things, it looks like Detroit may be a little exhausted tomorrow so the Leafs need to come prepared and take care of a tired group.

3) Puck luck for Detroit. Like I said, the Detroit Red Wings scored three lucky goals against that really helped them prevail, with one being, to me, a "good hockey goal." While they all count, it still stings when goals like these are scored against. The second goal especially really drove me nuts cause of how bad Gardiner and Reimer must of felt after the score. Since I am cannot control what goes on during a game, I pray that the Leafs return the favour and hammer the Wings the same way tomorrow; with lucky goals.

Prediction results and new fortunes

From last night:

"I say this will be a fun and exciting game to watch. The score will end up being 4-3 with the victor winning in the shootout. I expect someone from either  team to have 3 points on the night and provide a shootout goal."

Nope, none of what I expected happened. Well, except for the fact that Zetterberg and had four points on the evening, which is sort of what I predicted. But, I still guessed wrong again (man, I should really keep these things simple, starting with the next one).

Prediction Score

Right-2

Wrong-4

As for the next game, I expect to see the Leafs really make a strive for a better result. This should be closer in terms of SOG, but it may result in a 3-0 shutout. Should this be the Leafs, Kessel will get a point.

Who's next?

Following the conclusion of the home-and-home series, the Leafs head to Long Island for the second last time (Islanders are moving to Brooklyn next season) to face off against the Islanders who are red hot right now. This will be the first time the Leafs face against Kulemin, so it should be fun to watch.

#TMLIMO