OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Turning Over a New Leaf(s): The 1988-89 Maple Leafs

uWoHollywood · 06-20-2023, 11:54 AM

Game 68 - 4-1 L v QUE
Two straight losses to sub-.500 Adams Division teams is not a great look. Toronto outshot Quebec 48-27, and it was tied 1-1 after the 1st. Mario Gosselin, apparently hearing the Leafs traded for McLean over him, took it personally and played a near-perfect game with 47 saves. Sean McKenna had an assist for his new team.

Game 69 - 6-2 L @ STL
Cliff Ronning and Brett Hull each had 2G and 2A, with Hull also getting his 50th goal of the season. Russ Courtnall had both Leaf goals, but no one played a very strong game, and the Leafs have now dropped four straight. Belfour only stopped 30 of 36, while Greg Millen saved 26 of 28. After the game, STL D Paul Cavallini was given a 5-game suspension after a nasty collision which saw him receive a 5-min interference major.

To make matters worse in the loss to STL… Leafs’ star C Ed Olczyk suffered a concussion and would be out for four months. Which basically means the Leafs have lost their #1 C for the playoffs, and AFTER the trade deadline. Peter Stastny will take the #1 C slot, and the Leafs called up RW Danton Cole as a depth forward.

Game 70 - 5-3 W v DET
The Leafs snap their skid, as Peter Stastny decided to show his new teammates what he can do in an offensive role: 1G, 3A, 3 SOG and even 2 hits. His linemates also did well: Leeman had 2G, while Courtnall had 3A. Belfour was decent, stopping 23 of 26. After the game, Freddy Olausson’s knee was sore from a bad collision; he is expected to miss a week

NHL News: C Brent Sutter went 1-4-5 in the NYR’s 10-3 drubbing of WSH

Game 71 - 9-3 W @ WPG
Toronto outshot the Jets by a shocking 42-15 margin. Mike Hough had 1G and 2A, while SEVEN other Leafs had 2-point nights. McLean didn’t look great in giving up 3 on 15, but he certainly did better than Dan Berthiaume, who only stopped 4 out of 11 before getting yanked. And in another injury blow, Greg Pawslawski strained his achilles tendon, and will miss 2-3 weeks.

Game 72 - 6-3 L @ MIN
Leafs were outshot 34-20 and trailed 4-1 after one period. Vinny Damphousse had 1G and 1A, as Ed Belfour (6 goals on 34 shots) and the rest of the team laid an egg. Norm Maciver had 3A for the North Stars in a decisive win.

NHL News: Ray Sheppard went 1-4-5 for BUF in a 6-3 win over HFD

Game 73 - 8-6 W v WPG
Run-and-gun hockey. In the first period alone, the Leafs went up 3-3 and the Jets tied it 3-3. The teams traded goals for the rest of the games, but Toronto never trailed. Mike Bullard’s 2G 1A night was Winnipeg’s highlight. Russ Courtnall (1G 3A), Peter Stastny (3A), Gary Leeman (2G 1A) and Craig Muni (3A) all had strong nights. The less said about the game’s goaltending performances, the better.

NHL News: Petri Skriko went OFF, notching 6A for VAN in an 8-3 win over NYI

Game 74 - 4-2 W @ PHI
A hard-fought win on the road against the #1 team in the league. Not bad! Steve Konroyd put Toronto up 3-2 with 5 min left, and then Mike Hough sealed it on an ENG with just 4 seconds remaining. Peter Stastny had 2A, and is determined to make sure the top line doesn’t stumble; he is now 3-8-11 in five games since taking over for the injured Ed Olczyk. Ed Belfour turned in a stellar performance, stopping 28 of 30.

NHL News: Jari Kurri went 3-2 for EDM in their 7-3 W over LAK

Game 75 - 8-3 W v VAN
Toronto dominated Vancouver, outshooting them 43-21 and scoring four goals in the game’s first 6 minutes. Virtually the entire team played well, with the highlight being the 2nd line of Damphousse (2G 2A), Cullen (1G) and Daniel Marois (1G 2A).

Game 76 - 8-2 L @ DET
The Leafs turned in a clunker, thanks in large part to Glen Hanlon stopping 34 of 36. Belfour was chased after giving up 7 on 31. Steve Yzerman (2G 1A) and Gerard Gallant (4A) led the Wings to victory. To add literal insult to injury, Daniel Marois strained an abdominal muscle and would miss 2-3 weeks. With Minnesota 6 points back (but with a game in hand), this couldn’t come at a worse time. Mark Recchi was called up from Newmarket to help ease the loss of Marois (and Gary Leeman, who was day-to-day).

Game 77 - 4-1 L v DET
Greg Stefan decided to take a page out of Glen Hanlon’s book and stonewall the Leafs, stopping 30 of 31. Toronto dropping both parts of a home-and-home is making their Norris division lead even more tenuous.

NHL News: Michel Goulet reached 900 points with QUE 763 GP

Here we go. The Leafs are only up on the North Stars by 3 points, whom they play tonight. This is a must-win game if the Leafs want to win the division. But GUESS WHO’S BACK… The Captain himself, Wendel Clark. And Gary Leeman is healthy! Clark is a natural LW, but Taylor asked him to play RW in Daniel Marois’ spot. Clark agreed, as long as he was allowed to hit anything that moved in a Minnesota uniform.

Game 78 - 4-4 T v MIN
And absolutely nothing was solved standings-wise. The teams traded goals all game, with Kelly Kisio tying the game on a clutch goal with 3 minutes left. Belfour did his best, stopping 34 of 38. Don Beaupre was just good enough, saving 26 of 30. Wendel Clark had 1A and 2 hits in his first game of the season, and was ALL over the offensive zone.

C Pierre Turgeon and G Tom Barrasso, both from BUF, were POTM

Game 79 - 4-3 L @ STL
Toronto blew a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd, and Sergio Momesso scored the winner with 4:44 left. Gary Leeman tried his best with 2G and 1A, but Vincent Riendeau’s 28 saves on 31 shots allowed the Blues to take the game. The silver lining however is that the North Stars had lost the prior evening, meaning Toronto would finish first in the Norris. This would be the Leafs’ first time winning a division in 26 years (going back to 62-63)!

Game 80 - 11-1 L @ CHI
Ouch… the Leafs must have been hungover from celebrating the night before, because none of them showed up tonight. Outshot 40-15, and only Wendel Clark turned in a strong performance. Rick Vaive stuck it to his old team with a hat-trick, while another ex-Leaf in Steve Thomas had 1G and 3A. And with Detroit losing on the last night of the season, Toronto would be playing these same Blackhawks in the playoffs.

March (and Early April) Lookback

In March (and early April), the Leafs were 6-9-1 with 69 GF and 78 GA. The Leafs had a 4-game losing streak in early March, and then finished on a brutal 0-4-1 streak (with all of those games against Norris division rivals).
Toronto’s final record was 43-31-6 with 345 GF and 326 GA. They finished the regular season 1st in the Norris Division and 6th overall. The media and fans were behind them, but their streakiness meant serious risk to a meaningful playoff run. And playing without Star C Eddie O definitely left the team shorthanded: Olczyk was 2nd in the league in assists before he was hurt.

Some other details about the Leafs’ Regular Season:

23-14-3 at home, and 17-16-7 on the road
6th in offense (4.31 GF/G) and 2nd in shots for (33.83/G)
13th in defense (4.08 GA/G) and 7th in shots against (29.44/G)
17th (5th-worst) in PP (17.8%)
9th best PK (79%), but their 22 SHG was 7 ahead of 2nd-place MIN
Toronto sold out all 40 home games (101% attendance), and 15 of 40 away games

Other Highlights:

Peter Stastny did well after arriving in Toronto, going 3-15-18 in 17GP; but he had an ugly -13, which caused some concern.
Kirk McLean was… not very good. He went 4-4-0 with a 4.47 and an UGLY .839. Coach Taylor would likely be starting the playoffs with rookie Ed Belfour in net, and Captain Kirk on the bench.
Gary Leeman had 48G (and 39A) in 67 games; had it not been for injuries he would have certainly scored 50 goals.
The Leafs had good offensive performances from the top 2 lines, with 5 of the 6 forwards scoring at least 22 goals.
The checking line was a very pleasant surprise, with Dave Reid (23-31-54), Ron Wilson (17-35-52) and Mike Hough (13-30-43) all turning in decent production considering their role as a shutdown line.

Other Key Callouts:

Gary Leeman finishing 13th in goals with 48, 13th in PPG with 16 and 15th in GWG with 6
Ed Olczyk finishing 16th in assists despite missing 11 games
Ron Wilson and Dave Reid both tied for 1st with 7 SHG EACH
John Cullen (2nd, 31G), Zarley Zalapski (4th, 28) and Daniel Marois (5th, 22) were among rookie goal-scoring leaders
Among all rookies, Zalapski was also 4th in assists (39), 2nd in points (67), 2nd in +/- (+23), 1st in PPG (13), 1st in PPP (30) and 1st in shots (295)

Now it was time for the playoffs… and for Toronto to show what if they were a young team on the rise, or an inexperienced group to be pushed aside.

06-20-2023, 11:54 AM	#25
uWoHollywood Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 55	March Part III Game 68 - 4-1 L v QUE Two straight losses to sub-.500 Adams Division teams is not a great look. Toronto outshot Quebec 48-27, and it was tied 1-1 after the 1st. Mario Gosselin, apparently hearing the Leafs traded for McLean over him, took it personally and played a near-perfect game with 47 saves. Sean McKenna had an assist for his new team. Game 69 - 6-2 L @ STL Cliff Ronning and Brett Hull each had 2G and 2A, with Hull also getting his 50th goal of the season. Russ Courtnall had both Leaf goals, but no one played a very strong game, and the Leafs have now dropped four straight. Belfour only stopped 30 of 36, while Greg Millen saved 26 of 28. After the game, STL D Paul Cavallini was given a 5-game suspension after a nasty collision which saw him receive a 5-min interference major. To make matters worse in the loss to STL… Leafs’ star C Ed Olczyk suffered a concussion and would be out for four months. Which basically means the Leafs have lost their #1 C for the playoffs, and AFTER the trade deadline. Peter Stastny will take the #1 C slot, and the Leafs called up RW Danton Cole as a depth forward. Game 70 - 5-3 W v DET The Leafs snap their skid, as Peter Stastny decided to show his new teammates what he can do in an offensive role: 1G, 3A, 3 SOG and even 2 hits. His linemates also did well: Leeman had 2G, while Courtnall had 3A. Belfour was decent, stopping 23 of 26. After the game, Freddy Olausson’s knee was sore from a bad collision; he is expected to miss a week NHL News: C Brent Sutter went 1-4-5 in the NYR’s 10-3 drubbing of WSH Game 71 - 9-3 W @ WPG Toronto outshot the Jets by a shocking 42-15 margin. Mike Hough had 1G and 2A, while SEVEN other Leafs had 2-point nights. McLean didn’t look great in giving up 3 on 15, but he certainly did better than Dan Berthiaume, who only stopped 4 out of 11 before getting yanked. And in another injury blow, Greg Pawslawski strained his achilles tendon, and will miss 2-3 weeks. Game 72 - 6-3 L @ MIN Leafs were outshot 34-20 and trailed 4-1 after one period. Vinny Damphousse had 1G and 1A, as Ed Belfour (6 goals on 34 shots) and the rest of the team laid an egg. Norm Maciver had 3A for the North Stars in a decisive win. NHL News: Ray Sheppard went 1-4-5 for BUF in a 6-3 win over HFD Game 73 - 8-6 W v WPG Run-and-gun hockey. In the first period alone, the Leafs went up 3-3 and the Jets tied it 3-3. The teams traded goals for the rest of the games, but Toronto never trailed. Mike Bullard’s 2G 1A night was Winnipeg’s highlight. Russ Courtnall (1G 3A), Peter Stastny (3A), Gary Leeman (2G 1A) and Craig Muni (3A) all had strong nights. The less said about the game’s goaltending performances, the better. NHL News: Petri Skriko went OFF, notching 6A for VAN in an 8-3 win over NYI Game 74 - 4-2 W @ PHI A hard-fought win on the road against the #1 team in the league. Not bad! Steve Konroyd put Toronto up 3-2 with 5 min left, and then Mike Hough sealed it on an ENG with just 4 seconds remaining. Peter Stastny had 2A, and is determined to make sure the top line doesn’t stumble; he is now 3-8-11 in five games since taking over for the injured Ed Olczyk. Ed Belfour turned in a stellar performance, stopping 28 of 30. NHL News: Jari Kurri went 3-2 for EDM in their 7-3 W over LAK Game 75 - 8-3 W v VAN Toronto dominated Vancouver, outshooting them 43-21 and scoring four goals in the game’s first 6 minutes. Virtually the entire team played well, with the highlight being the 2nd line of Damphousse (2G 2A), Cullen (1G) and Daniel Marois (1G 2A). Game 76 - 8-2 L @ DET The Leafs turned in a clunker, thanks in large part to Glen Hanlon stopping 34 of 36. Belfour was chased after giving up 7 on 31. Steve Yzerman (2G 1A) and Gerard Gallant (4A) led the Wings to victory. To add literal insult to injury, Daniel Marois strained an abdominal muscle and would miss 2-3 weeks. With Minnesota 6 points back (but with a game in hand), this couldn’t come at a worse time. Mark Recchi was called up from Newmarket to help ease the loss of Marois (and Gary Leeman, who was day-to-day). Game 77 - 4-1 L v DET Greg Stefan decided to take a page out of Glen Hanlon’s book and stonewall the Leafs, stopping 30 of 31. Toronto dropping both parts of a home-and-home is making their Norris division lead even more tenuous. NHL News: Michel Goulet reached 900 points with QUE 763 GP Here we go. The Leafs are only up on the North Stars by 3 points, whom they play tonight. This is a must-win game if the Leafs want to win the division. But GUESS WHO’S BACK… The Captain himself, Wendel Clark. And Gary Leeman is healthy! Clark is a natural LW, but Taylor asked him to play RW in Daniel Marois’ spot. Clark agreed, as long as he was allowed to hit anything that moved in a Minnesota uniform. Game 78 - 4-4 T v MIN And absolutely nothing was solved standings-wise. The teams traded goals all game, with Kelly Kisio tying the game on a clutch goal with 3 minutes left. Belfour did his best, stopping 34 of 38. Don Beaupre was just good enough, saving 26 of 30. Wendel Clark had 1A and 2 hits in his first game of the season, and was ALL over the offensive zone. C Pierre Turgeon and G Tom Barrasso, both from BUF, were POTM Game 79 - 4-3 L @ STL Toronto blew a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd, and Sergio Momesso scored the winner with 4:44 left. Gary Leeman tried his best with 2G and 1A, but Vincent Riendeau’s 28 saves on 31 shots allowed the Blues to take the game. The silver lining however is that the North Stars had lost the prior evening, meaning Toronto would finish first in the Norris. This would be the Leafs’ first time winning a division in 26 years (going back to 62-63)! Game 80 - 11-1 L @ CHI Ouch… the Leafs must have been hungover from celebrating the night before, because none of them showed up tonight. Outshot 40-15, and only Wendel Clark turned in a strong performance. Rick Vaive stuck it to his old team with a hat-trick, while another ex-Leaf in Steve Thomas had 1G and 3A. And with Detroit losing on the last night of the season, Toronto would be playing these same Blackhawks in the playoffs. March (and Early April) Lookback In March (and early April), the Leafs were 6-9-1 with 69 GF and 78 GA. The Leafs had a 4-game losing streak in early March, and then finished on a brutal 0-4-1 streak (with all of those games against Norris division rivals). Toronto’s final record was 43-31-6 with 345 GF and 326 GA. They finished the regular season 1st in the Norris Division and 6th overall. The media and fans were behind them, but their streakiness meant serious risk to a meaningful playoff run. And playing without Star C Eddie O definitely left the team shorthanded: Olczyk was 2nd in the league in assists before he was hurt. Some other details about the Leafs’ Regular Season: 23-14-3 at home, and 17-16-7 on the road 6th in offense (4.31 GF/G) and 2nd in shots for (33.83/G) 13th in defense (4.08 GA/G) and 7th in shots against (29.44/G) 17th (5th-worst) in PP (17.8%) 9th best PK (79%), but their 22 SHG was 7 ahead of 2nd-place MIN Toronto sold out all 40 home games (101% attendance), and 15 of 40 away games Other Highlights: Peter Stastny did well after arriving in Toronto, going 3-15-18 in 17GP; but he had an ugly -13, which caused some concern. Kirk McLean was… not very good. He went 4-4-0 with a 4.47 and an UGLY .839. Coach Taylor would likely be starting the playoffs with rookie Ed Belfour in net, and Captain Kirk on the bench. Gary Leeman had 48G (and 39A) in 67 games; had it not been for injuries he would have certainly scored 50 goals. The Leafs had good offensive performances from the top 2 lines, with 5 of the 6 forwards scoring at least 22 goals. The checking line was a very pleasant surprise, with Dave Reid (23-31-54), Ron Wilson (17-35-52) and Mike Hough (13-30-43) all turning in decent production considering their role as a shutdown line. Other Key Callouts: Gary Leeman finishing 13th in goals with 48, 13th in PPG with 16 and 15th in GWG with 6 Ed Olczyk finishing 16th in assists despite missing 11 games Ron Wilson and Dave Reid both tied for 1st with 7 SHG EACH John Cullen (2nd, 31G), Zarley Zalapski (4th, 28) and Daniel Marois (5th, 22) were among rookie goal-scoring leaders Among all rookies, Zalapski was also 4th in assists (39), 2nd in points (67), 2nd in +/- (+23), 1st in PPG (13), 1st in PPP (30) and 1st in shots (295) Now it was time for the playoffs… and for Toronto to show what if they were a young team on the rise, or an inexperienced group to be pushed aside.