It's back to posts that I initially wanted to start writing a blog about! My Leafs have returned! And it appears that they have returned with a vengeance! The glorious preseason of the Toronto Maple Leafs started up last Wednesday (September 16) against a fellow Original Sixer, the Boston Bruins. Congrats to all of those lucky Coke fans who ended up scoring free tickets to the game. I will be forever jealous of your lives.
The Leafs lost to the Bruins 3-2, which may have deflated the hype a wee bit. However, they came back in the next three games (twice against Philadelphia, and once against Pittsburgh) to win 4-0 and 5-4 against the Flyers, and 5-4 against the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions, the Penguins. In the first four games of the 2008-2009 preseason launch, the Leafs lost 3 of the 4. Looks like we may have reason to be somewhat optimistic this year. *knocks on wood* Then again, once you hit rock bottom (or close to it) there's nowhere to go but up.
Possibly most impressive, besides the newly-Leafed players contribution to the scoreboard, is the powerplay goals that have been rounded up. In the game against Pittsburgh, all four of the goals were on the power play. Now, at first you may think, "yeah, well that's the only way they scored the entire game..." which is indeed very true. That's not the point. In the first game against Boston, 1 of the 2 goals scored were on the powerplay, and against Philly in one game 2 of 5 were PPG. For whatever reason they don't have the scoresheet for the second Philly game posted. The search for that will continue and will be added upon being found. For a team that had an average power play percentage (PPG) of 18.83% for the entire 2008-2009 season (16th in the league), this is quite the improvement. I have a feeling that Ron Wilson is pushing for this type of play, and for good reason!
Anyways, to my great dismay, my current landlord does not subscribe to Leafs TV. I have not been able to watch any of the preseason games to actually see how the boys are playing, but I'm hoping the scoresheets are representitive of a team with some kind of improvement since March. Stepdad Heidi subscribed to Leafs TV, just for me, and I'm not even there to appreciate it at this point in time. Looks like my TV watching hours will have to go through the roof in two weeks time when I am back in Oshawa doing placement.
On a sidenote, I would like to formally welcome Autumn back into our lives, which starts tomorrow! May all of the summer humidity (or lack thereof), rain (maybe it's now a summer thing instead?), and ridiculous number of insects and bugs have a great vacation. Welcome colourful leaves, shorter days, warm sweaters, hockey, and cool, crisp mornings. <3
Ciao!
Heidi
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