Shoots Left and Writes

 Game 2: Leafs vs. Sens Simon B It's literally the second game of the season and this team has already found a way to infuriate its entire fan base. The Leafs lost 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators in what was the Sens season opener last night, and they did it in a way that makes me feel like they didn't come to play. Sure, Ottawa is playing their first game of the season and the Leafs are on the second half of a back-to-back, but it's the Senators for crying out loud! Not only that, but their best player and, in my opinion, the future captain was in the stands waving to the crowd after signing his contract extension hours earlier. This entire game felt like the Leafs were possessed by some sort of evil dark-magic force that was preventing them from doing anything all while giving Ottawa almost every single lucky bounce in the world (except for that time they hit the post). I can tell you who that dark force is: themselves. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ worst enemy isn't the Canadi

Game 1: Habs vs. Leafs Simon B Well, here's another season of Leafs hockey and for the second season in a row, I will post an article after every single Leafs game this season. It's a commitment, sure, but a fun one. So here we go! Sadly, I couldn't watch the whole game live because I had my own game to play last night. However, I watched a bunch of highlight packs so I’ll go based on what I saw there.  They were playing the Habs on home ice. The last time that happened...well, let's not go down that road. It's a new season, new players, and a new beginning. The seemingly impossible task of bringing the Stanley Cup to Toronto began last night with a pretty solid 2-1 win over Montreal.  Before I talk about the game though, I did notice something different about this home opener and I think you might've too: There were fans! A full house of fans. It was kind of weird at first when the background of the ice wasn't those tarps with ads on them anymore but it

  Simon B This is the final NHL season preview post. I'll be taking a look at the Atlantic Division which, in my mind, is the most skilled and the one with the most contending teams. Someone will have to miss out on the playoffs. Who will it be? 1. Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa had a top-10 goals-against average, goal per game average, power play, and penalty kill which shows in numbers what most fans knew just by watching them play: they're the best team in hockey. The biggest loss for Tampa however was the departure of their entire third line. They were so tight on the salary cap that they couldn't resign Blake Coleman or Barclay Goodrow and, lost Yanni Gourde to Seattle. But we must remember that they've still got a deadly top 6 who can dominate with any style at any time. On defense, they lost some pieces but their top 6 remain the same. I really like the signing of Zach Bogosian who is coming back to the Lighting after winning the Cup with them in 2020. He'll be a

  Simon B Here's part three of the NHL season Preview.  This post, it's all about the Metropolitan Division. A Division that has a perfect mix of speed and skill but also one full of size and toughness. 1. New York Islanders The Isles may be a boring team to watch but they're certainly effective. They don't score much at all but they finished second in the league in goals against average (GAA). Offensively, almost everything will go through Matt Barzal who lead the team in scoring last season. The loss of players like Jordan Eberle, Kyle Palmeri and, Casey Cizikas means that newer players such as Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom are going to get closer to top-6 minutes. Other than losing Nick Leddy, the defensive group stayed intact over the summer. Expect Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech to continue to grow as the top pair with young Noah Dobson getting better and better with each passing season. Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin will once again be the tandem in goal. Qu

  Simon B Here's the second part of the NHL season preview series. In this post, we'll be taking a look at the Central Division which is bound to be the toughest and most physical division this season. 1. Colorado Avalanche The Avs had suffered a few losses player-wise with goalie Phillip Grubauer, defenceman Joonas Donskoi and, forward Pierre-Edouard Bellmare all heading out of town this summer but their depth should keep them at the same level of play that they're used to. Expect their top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and, Nathan MacKinnon to dominate opponents night in and night out. Cale Makar will likely be in the Norris Trophy conversation for best defenceman and he'll lead a group of both tough and skilled blueliners. In goal, new arrival Darcy Kuemper had a respectable .907 save percentage last season. But Kuemper will hopefully thrive with a better defensive group in front of him. Question Mark:  What will be the split in playing time between netmi

  Simon B The Western Conference had to undergo a few renovations now that the Seattle Kraken are ready to take the ice as the NHL's 32d franchise. The Kraken is part of the Pacific Division and the Arizona Coyotes have made the move to the Central.  Division by division, I'm taking a look at what each division in the NHL might have in store for us now that we're back to the regular alignment.  The Pacific Division is clearly the weakest division in hockey this season but that definitely won't mean it'll be a boring one. Any division that has the Vegas Golden Knights, a franchise that's having its inaugural season, and Connor McDavid all in one is definitely going to grab our attention. Team by team, here's how I think this division will be lined up and why. 1. Vegas Golden Knights When Vegas built their team 4 seasons ago, they weren't your typical contender. They didn't have first-line players, but instead, they had 4-second lines that could beat y

  Simon B That was just about the weirdest way you could end a season. Going into Sunday, the Blue Jays still had a chance of qualifying for tonight's wild-card game if they had won and either the Yankees or Red Sox had lost. They undoubtedly did their part, beating the Orioles 12-4 in the final game of the regular season. Unfortunately, both the Yankees and Red Sox came out on the winning end of their nail biters against Tampa Bay and Washington respectively. New York won 1-0 and they got the one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Washington, the Red Sox came back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Nats 7-5 courtesy of a Rafael Devers two-run home run in the eighth. When the Jays had won it, the Rogers Centre turned on the Nationals game on the big screen in the stadium for fans to watch, and just as they did, Boston took the lead for good. I can't really imagine what it would've been like to be in the ballpark at the time but from what I read and saw on TV, it was almo

  Simon B We all know how tight the race is between the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and, Mariners is this year. It's one of the tightest in recent memory for sure. Every game matters and fans are living and dying with every single pitch. The reality is, the MLB rules will only allow two of the four teams mentioned to play in the Wild Card Game Tuesday night.  Everyone has two games remaining and they are all within a single game of each other. That's as close as close can be in baseball for sure. The possibility of a four-way tie for the wild card is something we've never seen before and quite frankly might never see again.  Personally, I can draw two conclusions from this year's historic race. The first is that Jays fans shouldn't be upset if they don't make the postseason and the second is that the MLB needs to change their playoff format ASAP. (It's) OK Blue Jays (fans) As a fan, if you had asked me what I wanted out of this season for the Jays back in Ap