Eat Sleep Leafs

Vesa Toskala is back.

The Finnish netminder gets the nod in goal tonight when the Leafs take on the Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago.

 

Toskala’s last start came nearly two weeks ago, when the Leafs fell to the Habs in a shootout at the Bell Centre.

Toskala stopped 35 of 39 shots in that effort, but hasn’t played since with Jonas Gustavsson assuming the reigns in goal the last four games.

“He’s not our back-up goalie,” Ron Wilson said following the morning skate. “He’s our starting goalie tonight. I don’t want to get into this ‘who’s your number one goalie, who’s your number one centre’, that seems to be unfortunately a big thing outside of our locker room. Vesa’s the starting goalie tonight.”

“We just need a solid effort from Vesa and I expect that.”

Francois Allaire explained in a conversation I had with him on Friday morning that while Toskala’s practice habits continue to improve, there are still many areas for improvement in his game, although he wouldn’t narrow it down to just one.

 

Allaire squashed the notion that Gustavsson's sterling play was pushing Toskala, saying only that goalies today need to push themselves to improve and couldn’t successfully rely on the performance of the other goalie to determine how hard they work.

The challenge he said is how hard you push yourself, be it in practice, in the offseason or even in the morning skate. The best goalies he said are the ones who are most prepared, an area Toskala is trying to zero in on.

Additionally, Alllaire said he was thrilled with the progress of Gustavsson, saying he’s met every expectation so far as a rookie in the National Hockey League.

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Mike Komisarek’s absence on the blueline means an expanded role for the likes of Luke Schenn, Garnet Exelby and Jeff Finger on the Leafs defense,

“Share it around,” Wilson said. “None of the other defensemen are 6”4, 240 pounds, so we need Luke to be a little bit more aggressive and I think he will be with a little expanded role. And everybody just play their own game, not do what Mike Komisarek does, do what they do, but do it better.”

“Yeah, he definitely leaves a huge hole in our lineup,” Exelby added, “blocking shots, playing well defensively, physical presence. I think if we can all add a few to our own games, than maybe we can make up for it and help fill that hole.”

Komisarek will miss the next three weeks with a tear in his quad muscle. The New York native leads the team in blocked shots and hits.

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Cristobal Huet is finally number one without an asterisk in Chicago.

And the netminder is thriving, having allowed just 10 goals in his last seven games.

After signing a monstrous deal with the Blackhawks two summers ago, Huet had to battle with Nikolai Khabibulin for the top job last season, a battle he ultimately lost to the Russian star.

With the ‘Bulin Wall now taking up space in Edmonton, the job belongs to Huet.

The security hasn’t been a bad thing.

“When you don’t play well, you know you’ll get another chance,” Huet explained of the comfort the number one job brings.

Consistency will be the next challenge.

The Hawks are stacked across the board, but question marks will linger until goal until Huet proves himself the real deal.

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Chicago boasts an impressive 8-game home winning streak, and they’re doing it without some key contributors.

Marian Hossa, signed in the offseason, has missed the entire season with a shoulder injury.

Jonathan Toews recently returned from a concussion, while Adam Burrish hasn’t played a game yet this season.

Add another to the mix, as the team announced earlier this week that Dave Bolland will miss 3-4 months following back surgery.

The 23-year-old Bolland was a key cog in the Hawks playoff run of a year ago, but he’s been hampered by back problems all season and had just 6 points in thirteen games.

Filling the role at least temporarily will be Andrew Ebbett, the former Duck, who’ll play alongside Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg in the number two line centre hole.

Ebbett was placed on waivers by Anaheim earlier this season, and landed in Chicago, or one of the last teams he thought would pick up the claim.

Fortunately for him they did.

The University of Michigan alum joined the Ducks in the summer of 2007, when then GM-Brian Burke and the man in charge of college scouting, David McNab picked him up.

 

Ebbett was told upon signing that he’d report immediately to Portland of the American League, with an eventual opportunity looming with the Ducks.

The opportunity arrived for real last season when Ebbett landed on Teemu Selanne’s line, producing 32 points in forty-eight games.

For whatever reason, things didn’t materialize this season in Orange County, and Ebbett now finds himself a member of the one of the league’s best teams, playing with the ultra talented Kane.

Ebbett credits Kevin Dineen, the head coach of Portland and brother of Marlies assistant Gord, for teaching him the consistency required in the pro game.

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With six points in six games, Ian White has landed himself amongst the top-25 in scoring among defensemen. White is tied for second among blueliners with eight even strength points.

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Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfulgien were both invited to the USA Olympic orientation camp in Lake Placid this past summer and both will surely look to impress Ron Wilson tonight.

 

Lee Stempniak, grew up a town over from the 20-year-old Kane in West Seneca, New York, and the two were teammates nationally for the United States at the World Championships.

Stempniak noted Kane's unbelievable hands and a slippery ability to avoid the big check.

Kane has 17 points in seventeen games.

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Forwards
Blake Mitchell Kessel
Ponikarovsky Grabovski Kulemin
Hagman Wallin Stempniak
Primeau Stajan Orr

Defense
Kaberle Finger
Beauchemin White
Exelby Schenn

Goalie
Toskala

-J.Siegel
Follow me on Twitter: jonas640