N.Y. Giants 21 - N.E. Patriots 17 - Superbowl XLVI

It was an exciting game, though at times the two teams looked like they forgot how to play professional football. The patriots were dominating and leading 17-15 half-way through the fourth quarter, when Eli got the ball with five minutes left in the fourth and did what he did best. Marched his team down the field and scored a touchdown, leaving Brady only 57 seconds to respond with a touchdown to claim victory. After almost getting sacked resulting in a victory for the N.Y. Giants, Tom Brady lobbed a last second hail mary to the end zone, which Gronkowski  almost caught.

Yet, much to the relief of the N.Y. Giants he didn't, and the N.Y. Giants won Superbowl XLVI. 

Leafs 5 - Senators 0 - Game #52

It was an exciting game from beginning to end, but only if you are a Leafs fan. Kessel was on fire and with Optimus Reim back in net, the Leafs worked their way to an easy victory, over what many pundits predicted was the real Senators team.

Leafs 1 - Penguins 0 - Game #51

Another tight game between these two teams. Yet, with the return of Optimus Reim, Colby Armstrong and JM-Liles the Leafs got a needed shot in the arm, which put them over the top. Optimus Reim gained his confidence back as he looked solid in net and made his return in style with a shutout. Colby Armstrong definetly helped in nursing the lead home, a skill set that was desperatly missed in Tuesday's game against Pittsburgh.The Leafs next game is against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, an important game in the Battle of Ontario with the Leafs only 2pts behind Ottawa for 6th place. Go Leafs Go!!!

Penguins 5 - Leafs 4 (SO) - Game #50

What can you really say about this one? The Leafs dominated the entire game, until about five minutes left in the third, which began to see Toronto try and nurse a 4-2 lead to periods end. Yet, some sloppy play and some bad goaltending and the Leafs with 6.6 seconds left in the third were headed to OT with the score tied up at 4-4. To make matters worse Kessel misses a wide open net in OT as the puck bounces off his stick and into Fluery, and then Kadri in the shootout pulls the lamest move ever, by Kadri's standards.

A couple of side notes: Kadri's hit on Paul Martin was amazing, absolutly nailed the guy. As for Grabovski, how can you trade this guy, 19 points in his last 18 games and 2 goals and an assist last night, not to mention that he was the fastest player out there. The Leafs would need to get a huge offer to even contemplate moving this guy.

Let's hope Toronto can pick it up tonight at the ACC against the Penguins.

T. Chara 12 T. Alfi 9 - NHL All-Star Game

What can you really say about a game that doesn't matter?

I actually predicted that Team Chara would defeat Team Alfredsson tonight, because all the players on T. Chara saluted the crowd when they were introduced, not all of the players on T. Alfi did so; so I knew. Cause we all know that the hockey gods notice stuff like that, lol. Other than that it was the most boring hockey to watch, as always, but it was also a lot of fun to see the skill that exists amongst the players in the NHL.

As a Leafs fan, Kessel and Lupul played well, whereas Phaneuf played horribly.

Cheers, now bring on the real hockey... NHL gets back under-way on Tuesday.

Silver Stick Scores - Leafs 4 - Islanders 3 (OT) - Game #49

A big win for the Buds tonight, although not without its heart stopping moments. With Clarke MacCarthur scoring the game winner, despite the best effort a goalie could possibly make in Montoya's glove save that wasn't.

Jake Silver Stick Gardiner scored his first NHL goal tonight, a goal that tied it up in the middle of the third. Although it could easily be argued that perhaps he had some help with MacCarthur possibly creating a little goalie interference. Though as a Leafs fan, who cares!

More After the Break

Other notes include Kulemin's huge hit near the end of the second, as he and an Islanders defencemen went into the corner after a puck in the Islanders zone. Unfortunately, at the same time Lupul was also "accidentally" running into Tavares so Kuli's hit didn't get much air time, but way to go Kuli. Just an aside, Kulimen has definitely stepped up his game and his hitting has reached a new level ever since his huge open ice hit against the Sabre's Patrick Kaleta.

Lastly, Kessel needs a knight to fight his battles, because as a Leaf fan I know and appreciate Kessel's skill, but I also recognize his limitations. The reason I bring this up is not to re-hash the controversy that was stirred up when Burke made his comments about sending down Colton Battleship Orr, but because it was clear that Islanders' (usually considered a soft team) physicality with Kessel was affecting Kessel and throwing him off his game.

Moreover, if you watched the game and saw some of the ridiculous scrums that occurred after the whistle, it is clear that a sheriff is necessary for the Leafs. You could argue that Phaneuf, Brown or even Komisarek could fill that role, but the trade off of 5min without your topD-Man is not worth it for Phanuef to fill the role, Komisarek needs to watch his shoulders, and lastly Brown, while a fighter, is not a heavy weight and thus incapable of taking on all comers.

Again, Rosehill is needed, or perhaps Orr has learned to skate at an NHL level, but I highly doubt it.

As always let me know your thoughts.

- Corey S.

1, 2, 3, 4 - LEAFS 3 Islanders 0 - Game #48

A Monster shoutout tonight, as Gustavsson won one tonight, had his second shoutout in January, his third of the season and his fourth of his NHL career. The Monster looked brilliant tonight, calm and composed even when pucks were bouncing all over the place in front of him.

More After the Break

Lombardi with his 2 goals tonight has really impressed me these past few games. His speed has clearly improved back to where it was before he suffered the concussion that occured when he was still with Nashville, that kept him out of NHL lineups for nearly an entire year. I think he might be the key to the Leafs success down the road. Since, he is just as fast if not faster than Kessel, making his line a real tough matchup for teams playing against him. Since, teams will now have to choose whether to try and shutdown Kessel's speed and his line with their top D-Man pairing or Lombardi's speed and line.

It was also nice to see the Leafs go a whole 60 minutes without taking one penalty, for while there is no doubt that the Leafs penalty kill has been phenomenal in January, not testing it that much goes a long way in keeping confidence in our ability to kill penalties.

As far as the Islanders, Jonathan Tavares was really the only player of note, his speed was phenomenal and just as the commentators pointed out his stride has really improved, making him an explosive player and allowing him to create space for himself to get off that deadly shot. Yet, with a lack luster performance by the rest of his teammates the Leafs had a fairly easy go of it, simply able to swarm Tavares whenever he was in the Leafs zone to get the puck back.