Wow.. Someone pinch me, seriously. When was the last time you felt THAT excited during a Leafs game this season? I really don't think I have watched a better game played by the Buds all year. Too little, too late of course, but the "truculence" and energy that Brian Burke spoke of in the summer actually made an appearance en route to a 3-0 shutout of the Devils last night. Hopefully the attitude sticks around for a while.
Talk about getting used to your new surroundings. The three star selection last night was Giggy, Sjooey (?) and Dion. Way to make a good first impression eh?
Of course Dion was the center of attention going into last night, and rightfully so. He was, after all, the biggest part of the biggest trade in recent Leafs memory. However, despite Phaneuf's beauty performance, Giggy posted a huge donut and perhaps the performance of the night. Not to be forgotten was Freddie Sjostrom, who contributed with an assist when his shot rebounded to Nik Kulemin early in the game and the Russian youngster made no mistake on burying his 11th goal of the season.
Any hockey fan could see why the excitement and hype behind Phaneuf was through the roof after the weekend. His game was crystal clear and the physicality he was supposed to bring to the Nation took only a few minutes to surface. Dion plastered Zajac into the corner in the Leafs zone, then only minutes later took a vicious run at Jersey star Zach Parise and consequently had to feed Colin White the soup bones. The roof almost blew off the ACC as fans rained down chants of "DI-ON, DI-ON". It was a memorable moment in a season filled with "forget". And that's really what fans can take from this game and every game going forward, a bit of positivity related to change. It was weird to look around on the ice and not see Matty Stajan or Ian White buzzing around, but the old is out and the new is looking a hell of a lot better.
Now I know what everyone is thinking, "Come on man, it's only ONE game!" I couldn't agree more. Remember the season opener against Detroit last year? When the Leafs scraped out a vic and everyone thought they were going straight to Lord Stanley? Well that's what separates the die-hard from the casual fan. If you watch every game in and out, then you start to see through the BS eventually. The difference this time is that the Leafs actually looked like a team who worked hard, and had confidence to boot. They actually went out to the ice like a team who thought they were better than NJ and that they were entitled to win in their own barn. Instead of playing not to lose, the Buds played to win. The shakeup has worked it seems, and it's directly related to Phaneuf and the swagger he brings to this team. The question is will he keep it up and will Giguere be the solid force in net he looked like last night. Because in actual fact, that's all Giggy needs to do: play his game, make saves when needed, and give the Leafs a chance to win. The real pressure lies on Phaneuf, the new cornerstone of the franchise and he seems to be embracing it, the sign of a true leader.
If the Leafs are to go where Dion takes them, then they look to have a bright future with a young star who clearly needed a fresh start. It sounds cliche I know.
Brian Burke is much a different GM than Daryl Sutter. He comes off as a little more personable and sounds much more professional in regard to hockey operations and the media. Not to say Burkie is superior, though his recent cup success suggests he is indeed, but both Sutter's come off quite coldly and less animated than BB, or Wilson for that matter. Which begs the question if Dion was what everyone negatively made him out to be in Calgary. Was Phaneuf really a nuisance in the dressing room? Or is some of that attributed to Sutter? Some journalists have pegged Phaneuf as some sort of bad seed in regards to his off-ice persona, but how would they truly know? They don't. None of us do. As fans, the bottom line is that hockey is the game we all love and Dion Phaneuf plays it with an edge we can all admire. It will definitely be exciting to watch #3 in blue & white every time he's in the lineup.
-MSU
