Eat Sleep Leafs

Every morning before every game and after every practice, Jonas Gustavsson sits alone.

Silently on the bench, with his mask slightly ajar, he watches.

Watches his teammates practicing, joking, shooting, whatever, he takes it all in.

The Monster is one focused Swede that much is clear.

What’s becoming clearer though is his tightening grip on the number one job in Toronto.

With each spectacular save, his grip tightens.

But it’s his intensity on the ice that has teammates and even Gustavsson in awe.

“It’s actually a little funny,” Garnet Exelby said.

“Some of the other players and myself have talked about it, because you go up to him and tap him on the pads during the game or try to say something to him and he is off in some other land.”

“I notice most things,” Gustavsson laughed. “It’s not like I’m in my own little bubble or something, but maybe a little bit. I don’t like to do so many other things on game-day. I like just to take it easy, don’t watch TV, don’t have so many thoughts…just to save all my energy for the game. That’s maybe why I shut everything else out a little bit, so I can save my energy.”

That energy and razor-like focus has him making big saves at big times, the kind of saves that usually win hockey games, the kind of saves that keep buildings abuzz minutes after they occur.

“He’s making all the saves he’s supposed to make and then he’s making some big saves on top of that, so there’s not much more you can ask for from a goaltender,” Exelby added.

It’s apparent with each start that his comfort level to the NHL game is growing, although he admits that he’s still tinkering with a couple things.

“It feels like the players are closer here when they’re setting up power-plays and stuff like that,” Gustavsson explained.

“They’re always closer than they are back home. So you have to be ready for a shot from everywhere because even if they shoot from the boards it can be a pretty good shot. If you’re not ready they’re going to score. That’s the biggest difference I think and of course there’s more traffic here too so you have to really fight all the time to see the puck because otherwise the guys have so much skill, they find the open net and they score if you’re not looking for the puck.”

At 6’3, he’s an imposing presence in the net, but it’s his quickness in the crease that's impressed Wilson.

“He’s great on the side to side movement,” Wilson said. “You don’t see many guys in our league who can get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ as quickly as he does and be square to the shooter.”

See Corey Perry in Anaheim for proof.

Or check the red-hot Steven Stamkos, who broke in shorthanded and was stonewalled in the third period by Gustavsson, moments before Ian White tied the game.

The numbers are improving too even if the wins haven’t come just yet.

In five starts, Gustavsson has tallied a 2.80 goals against average, combined with a .908 save percentage. Good numbers yes, but numbers he’s still looking to improve upon.

You always hear players say that most of the game happens between the ears, and with Gustavsson it’s no different.

“Wherever he goes to keep that focus is great,” Exelby said. “That’s what he does to be a success and play that solid game that you’ve been seeing from him lately.”

Wilson likely won’t declare an outright number one in goal anytime soon, but with each game, it’s hard to argue that the Monster is here to stay.

--

Four straight games now where the Leafs have played well, only to come away with just one point.

It’s a point of frustration in the dressing room.

One win in thirteen games, and yet they could have quite a few more.

“It’s a bit of a test here for us because we’re sort of seem to be finding ways to lose these games even though we’re in it right until the very end,” Exelby said.

“So we’ve got to change that tide somehow and find ways to win these games because the reality of it is its’ probably the way most games are going to be for us with the kind of style we’ve been playing and the personnel that we have. So we need to find those games, those one-goal games are the ones you’re going to need at the end of the season.”

For the 12th time in thirteen games, the Leafs didn’t score first, but again for the third straight game, they managed to tie things up in the third.

And yet still that overtime goal is missing.

“One is that we seem to wake up and be all over our opponents in the third period, whereas maybe we need that mentality to start from the first drop of the puck,” Exelby said of a potential ill to the Leafs fate.

“Play like that in the first two periods and maybe we’re protecting a lead and we’re not playing catch-up.”

The positives are flourishing with each game, but the Leafs while so close to Ws still find themselves chasing.

“Like I said yesterday, the movie “Groundhog Day”,” Wilson mused. “You wake up and every time you’re going into overtime and it’s a struggle to score and finish an opponent off. But eventually you break through and good things will happen. You become a better team because of all you’ve learned on this little bit of adversity we’ve faced.”

“I think we’re definitely playing the way we need to be to be winning games, but we’re not reaping the benefits of it obviously yet to this point,” added Exelby.

“Hopefully that starts to change for us soon.”

--

Once a mess of chaos, the Leafs penalty kill is quietly getting better.

It was a perfect 4-4 in Montreal and again on Tuesday against Tampa.

The unit still sits 30th league-wide at 69%.

--

Mike Komisarek continues to round into form, and with 11 blocked shots in the last two games, he now sits 10th in the NHL in that category.

--

Jeff Finger was a healthy scratch for the sixth straight game on Tuesday.

--

 

Matt Stajan had the first crack with Phil Kessel. It appears John Mitchell will get the next shot alongside the talented winger.

Forwards
Blake Mitchell Kessel
Hagman Stajan Stempniak
Ponikarovksy Grabovski Kulemin
Primeau Wallin Orr
Extras: Mayers, Rosehill

Defense
Kaberle Komisarek
Beauchemin White
Exelby Schenn

Goalies
Gustavsson
Toskala

-J.Siegel
Follow me on Twitter: jonas640