Hockeybird.com: Report Card: TOR 4 @ NYR 5

Report Card: TOR 4 @ NYR 5

Tuesday - October 15, 2002

10/15/02	1	2	3	OT	F
Toronto Maple Leafs	1	1	2		4
New York Rangers	0	3	2		5

Player	Ice Time	Grade	Comments
Mike Richter		B	First goal was nice PP passing by the Leafs, right point to left side of the net, not much Richter could've done. Second Leafs goal was a late second scramble around the net which Tucker got by skating into the crease and "inadvertently" kicking in the rebound, so again, little fault of Mike's. Third goal wasn't pretty, Mike put a rebound right back into the slot. Fourth goal there was a lot of traffic in front and Richter was bumped off balance. Richter was definitely tiring out in the last 20 minutes or so, but also made some key saves in the last two periods.

Brian Leetch	24:42	B	Good game, had the jump and solid play at both ends. 2 assists, 3 shots.
Tom Poti	25:22	B+	Scored on a 4-on-3 ripper, then assisted on Bure's goal 41 seconds later. Much, much better in the D-zone tonight and even dished out a few good hits.
Vladimir Malakhov	21:01	B+	Completely robbed a Leaf of a goal on the 5 minute PK in the 2nd. While on his stomach Malakhov managed to get his stick out and hook the puck away from a Leaf with an open net. That was one of the most important plays of the game. After one decent game and two awful ones, he was probably the best defensman in his own zone tonight.
Darius Kasparaitis	21:10	B	Rebounded nicely from an awful weekend with tough play and didn't get lost in his own zone. His battles with Tucker and Domi were mini-classics.
Dale Purinton	12:45	B	I thought he had a great 1st period. Very solid and tough in his own end. The penalty he got at the end of the 2nd which allowed the Leafs to get back within one was a very touchy call. Played a very solid and hard hitting game in his zone.
Sylvain Lefevbre	15:26	B-	No, he wasn't bad at all, but where the other five defensemen stood out here and there, Lefevbre really didn't, hence the B- to their B's and B+'s.

Eric Lindros	8:43	INC.	Tossed from the game in the 2nd on a VERY questionable call. Belak lost an edge and fell into the boards, and as he was already going face first into the end boards Lindros also hit him and for some reason was penalized as if he's the one who hit Belak into the boards! Real bad call, especially for a major and an ejection.
Petr Nedved	18:45	B-	Dumb hitting from behind penalty after the Rangers just killed a penalty and had the momentum, which the Leafs cashed in on. He worked hard tonight but didn'r create or have too many chances himself.
Pavel Bure	17:21	B+	Ahh. It's like being in prison and getting picked up from jail by the Swedish bikini team. Welcome back, Pavel! How about a a goal for your season debut? What, two? Okay big fella, whatever you say.
Bobby Holik	16:54	B+	I thought he played an excellent game, especially in the second half. His work down low in the offensive zone was excellent and he made a very important (and nice looking) play for the assist on the game winner. Also played Sundin tough.
Rem Murray	16:33	B	Now bumped up to the second line, and he has deserved it. Played another solid game tonight but choked on a late-game shot where he was all alone in front.
M. Samuelsson	15:42	B	Good game on the penalty kill, got the Rangers fifth goal and give him credit for being in good position, but the goal was made almost entirely by Holik's slick move around a sliding Lumme.
Mark Messier	19:41	C	Very close to a bad game. Looked so slow and tired all game long, especially on the last shift of the game when he backpassed it in the Leafs zone (to a Leaf!) instead of trying for the empty net, and then once the Leafs got set up in the Rangers end with about 15 seconds left Messier was so tired he just stood there.
Matthew Barnaby	14:08	A-	Intercepted an errant centering pass in his own zone and took off with great speed, actually had a 2-on-0 with Bure but didn't see him, which worked out well anyway as Barnaby squeaked a wrister past Kidd. He played VERY hard all night, hitting, hustling and bringing life to the team at times where they were a bit flat. Player of the game.
Radek Dvorak	14:00	B	Had a good game, used his speed a lot and put on good pressure, but also bumped into Richter on the Leafs' fourth which knocked him off balance and unable to make the save. Had an impressive 7 shots.
Jamie Lundmark	6:59	C+	Started centering the 4th line then was bumped up to the primo position of between Nedved and Bure after Lindros was ejected, and Lundmark hustled well and made some nice little plays, but wasn't very effective.
Dixon Ward	10:49	C+	Played a bit between Nedved and Bure once Lindros was tossed. Had some nice shifts, also had some shifts where he couldn't do much with the puck in the offensive zone.
Sandy McCarthy	4:56	B-	I thought he played well early on, made a few big hits and hustled well, but his ice time really dropped off as a "reward"..

COACHING STAFF:		C	Why back to Richter? I assume Blackburn still isn't ready to go, though I did see a shot of him in 6:30 warmups on FOX 5's news. So if Blackburn was okay to go and Trottier instead went to Richter, it's a HIGHLY curious decision. A little line juggling both before the game and after Lindros was tossed. Messier out there with a minute left, dead tired and the Leafs pressing was STUPID.

1st PERIOD:		B	Rangers actually played rather well in the period despite being outscored 1-0. Solid in the defensive end, not scrambling. Also put on a decent amount of pressure in the offensive end. Hit well, too. The few in the crowd who did were dead wrong in booing at the end period. Idiots. Save it for when they really deserve it, not when they play well but happen to be down after 1.
2nd PERIOD:		B+	Funny thing, though they outscored the Leafs 3-1 in this period, I think they still played an all-around better period in the 1st. BIG TURNING POINT came at 5:45 of the period, Rangers down 1-0, Lindros tossed and a 5 min. major on a bad call, INSTEAD OF FOLDING like they did when met with adversity the previous two games, Rangers killed off the penalty and scored the next three. First time this season they stepped up in a big spot.
3rd PERIOD:		B	Another wild period, both teams making good plays and bad. If the game lasted 5 minutes longer the Leafs probably would've tied it up.
OVERALL: (not an average)		B	There were some GREAT signs in tonight's game, along with a few bad ones. The great was fighting through the bad 5 minute PK in the 2nd and instead of folding at adversity, rising to the challenge. Another good sign was taking a 1 goal lead into the 3rd and coming out with a one goal win, even if they had to score two in the 3rd themselves. Bad signs; 4 goals against is never welcome, and when the Leafs (who played last night) should've been tiring out late in the game, they actually started outplaying the Rangers. After the weekend from hell, though, I'm sure everyone will take it. Rangers played tough against a tough team, almost everyone worked hard and it was a game they had to fight to win. They certainly didn't do a 180, but it's a good step forward.

Scratches:			Dave Karpa (IR- elbow), Richard Lintner (knee sprain), K. Oliwa (healthy), Robert Petrovicky (healthy)
created by:			Pete Rocha, © 2002. procha@optonline.net
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Posted by pete at October 15, 2002 10:00 PM
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Comments

Period reviews......sweet.

Posted by: bird on October 16, 2002 02:11 PM