The Fifth Liners

Brendan Shanahan delivered a lot on the ice during his glorious 21 year NHL career that took in stints with the New Jersey Devils, St Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers and most famously the Detroit Red Wings (where he won three Stanley Cups). But it appears that his legacy is spreading further in his new role as Director of Player Safety. Since his appointment in 2011, Shanahan has taken a hard line on player safety and if someone crosses over with an illegal hit, then the infamous 'Shana-ban' will be enforced. Raffi Torres has twice been on the receiving end as his horrendous hit on Martin Havlat whist playing for Phoenix landed him with a 21 game ban (the longest of the 21st century so far!) and last year whilst a San Jose he his illegal check on LA King's Jarret Stoll landed him with a ban from the playoff second round! Many would use this assignment as a cushy job to keep them in the hockey world, Shanahan however has been praised for his involvement...

48 saves from James Reimer gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a much needed 2-1 shootout win over the Washington Capitals at the Air Canada Center last night. David Clarkson got the ball rolling when he deflected in Jake Gardiner's long shot after 10:08 of the second period. But Alexander Ovechkin then tied the game with 5 minutes remaining of the third to send matters to overtime! After an uneventful overtime, the game was pushed to a shootout where Grant Fehr gave the Caps an initial advantage when he deeked past Reimer but James Van Reimsdyk scored to level the shoot out. Niklas Backstrom then had his penalty shoot saved by the glove of Reimer which allow Joffrey Lupul to seal the win for the Leafs!

Last night whilst sat high up in the stands of the Air Canada Center in Toronto, I was witness to an offensive feast as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 5-2 in an entertaining game. The Leafs got off to a flying start when Trevor Smith beat Isles goalie Kevin Poulin after only 22 seconds played after great work by 1st star Joffrey Lupul The score remain this way for the rest of the period remainder but Jonathan Bernier was forced to make several impressive saves in net for Toronto! Mid way through the second period, Phil Kessel put the Leafs 2-0 up before Casey Cizikas gave the Isles a lifeline with 11.5 seconds left. Mason Raymond put Toronto firmly in charge after scoring a rebound early in the third period before a first leafs goal for David Clarkson pushed them 4-1 ahead! Frans Nielsen briefly gave New York hope with a goal late in the third before Kessel scored his second with 2.43 remaining. Bernier made 35 saves in net in an impressive performance but ...

Toronto Maple Leafs gave back strong against the Boston Bruins last night to tie their series at one game all with an entertaining 4-2 win at TD Garden. Nathan Horton gave the Bruins the lead early in the second period which was eventually given after a video replay confirmation. But they found themselves shocked soon after by a Joffrey Lupul double that put the Leafs in control! 53 seconds into the third period, former Boston man Phil Kessel raced away to beat Tuukka Rask and to leave his former fans in a state of silence and give Toronto a 3-1 lead. The Bruins briefly rallied with a goal from defensemen Johnny Boychuk which deflected off Bozak, but with three minutes remaining- James Van Riemsdyk scored a bizzare goal where as he fell to the ice he knocked the puck into the Bruins net to seal a 4-2 win! The Maple Leafs were aided by an impressive goaltending performance by James Reimer- Optimus Reim may have had his fair share of critics this year but this performance is the ki...

Last night’s tie between Toronto and Carolina was a cracker in every sense of the word, and its 6-3 score line ensured that every fan got their money’s worth. Both teams may be on form which may not put them in line to have a championship banner raised at their respective arenas, but it does prove that they have an abundance of young talent to get excited about! The moment of the game came from Joffrey Lupul’s stunning goal towards the end of the third period where he literally skated from one end to the other to slot past Hurricanes goalie Justin Peters- it was goal that even the great Mario Lemieux would envy, check it out here http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=230741&lang=en