Toronto Trash

Welcome back to the lineup, Andrew Ference. Here’s your reward. A big, fat Minus 3.

Not that that makes you a whole lot different from the rest of your teammates. You might be the leader in the clubhouse with that stat but there’s no one who skated in black and gold in Toronto last night that should hold their heads especially high. Certainly, Claude Julien agrees and he is, as we speak, holding a rare Sunday practice to try and shake his team out of some concerning doldrums.

Last night’s 5-2 loss to the Leafs seemed like a pretty clear case of a team hungry for points and desperate to win versus a team feeling a little too comfortable with themselves and their position in the standings. In this last stretch of games, it seems like every time the B’s go up against a team in a serious race for a playoff spot, they are found wanting.

The Leafs badly outplayed the Bruins. The entire evening was a delightful romp for the locals, fans enjoying great opportunities for booing and cheering alike. It was also another great example of a team with smaller, faster forwards than the Bruins skating circles around them. You made Joey Crabb look like an All-Star. That’s not easy to do.

I just don’t like it. The Bruins were supposedly, after the trade deadline, a powerhouse team on the rise. Depth at forward, size and strength, goal scoring, superior defense and stellar goaltending. That’s not the kind of team that’s supposed to go into Toronto and get blown out. To lose to the Nashville Predators and Buffalo Sabres. To go into overtime with the Columbus Blue Jackets. A team sitting at number one in the Power Rankings (ahead of Detroit and Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington) is not supposed to look like a weak sister to the Playoff Bubble Crew.

Again, it seems there is a missing component to what the team does on a regular basis and, again, I find myself questioning Claude Julien’s approach.

This team should be better. Bottom line, it should. If he can’t be the one to get them to play up to potential, then it’s time to consider looking elsewhere.

Pussy of the Night Award: Dion Phaneuf for not removing his helmet and shield when challenged by Nathan Horton. Yeah, it’s a 5-1 game and you don’t have to go but there’s a history there and Horton wants it settled, man to man. Either you oblige or you don’t. Horton did the right thing, doffing his helmet. Phaneuf kept the shield in place. Weak.

Tags: Claude Julien, Dion Phaneuf, Joey Crabb, Nathan Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs