This is blog about hockey, my favourite sport.  It'll feature recent news in the hockey world along with my opinion on past games.  Since I'm a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs I will be mainly focusing on them but I'll take stabs at other teams as well.

So let's talk hockey!

Leafs:
They've been playing pretty well in the month of November.  With all the injuries they've sustained it's a miracle they're still 2nd in the North-East Division and 5th in the Eastern Conference.  I've watched all their games so far and I can say they get better with each win.  There are still plenty of things they can change (ex. reduce the number of turnovers, allow less shots on goal, better defense in front of their own net), but right now this is the best team I've seen since the Sundin-Roberts-Mogilny days.  The Leafs aren't a big team, but they're fast and they use it to their advantage.  They fight for the puck along the boards and have some pretty good forechecking.

What the Leafs need right now is secondary scoring and better defense.  The first line of Kessel-Bozak-Lupul has put up 34 goals, 44 assists (78 points) while the second line of MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin has 17 goals, 17 assists (34 points).  They cannot keep relying on their top line to help win games, they need more guys to step up and score.  Thankfully there has been random guys putting the puck in the net but what's going to happen when their #1 line goes on a slump?  With their defense, oh man, it's pretty bad in my eyes.  Too many holes in their defense right now.  They're letting guys through a bit too easily, allowing players to walk around in their own zone with the puck without much contest and they simply can't stop a guy from scoring in front of their net.  Watching the previous Boston vs. Toronto game, you can see some of these weaknesses.  Let's take a look:
1. Turnovers, turnover, turnovers.  It seems whenever a Boston player forechecks and pressures the Toronto defenseman to move the puck, they just give it away rather than clear their own zone.  Can't keep doing that!  It kills me every time I watch their games.  Happens in each game they play!
2. Lucic standing in front of the Leafs' net and easily tapping in a goal.  Sure, Lucic is a pretty big guy and pushing him out of the way isn't the most easy thing to do, but lift his stick up so he can't get the puck!  Too many, just too many times this has happened in the season already.  The Leafs get out-muscled in front, leaving a man wide open.  To me the Lucic goal was what killed the Leafs' hopes of catching up and I that's what helped Boston win the game.
3. Is it just me or does it seem like Toronto players fall down a lot?  I understand in faceoffs people tend to fall down, but other times...is it that hard to make a turn?
4. Positioning in their own zone is just bad.  They're not in position to receive passes from their defenseman resulting in turnovers.  They're not in position to move up and out of their zone with ease.  They're not in position!!!

I'm not too worried about their goaltending.  Gustavsson has stepped up and finally looks like a real NHL goalie during the time Reimer was out.  Yes, he hasn't played extremely well, but I've seen major improvements compared to past seasons.  I wish they had more confidence in him rather than put Ben Scrivens in net.  Don't get me wrong, Scrivens played well but he isn't ready for the NHL.  He definitely needs more time to work on his skills.  For now, the Leafs can count on Gustavsson to be their man.  He'll become a solid backup once Reimer is back in net and I'm sure he'll make the decision harder for Ron Wilson to pick a starting goalie.

The Leafs will head to Boston to face them again on Saturday.  They're 0-3-0 against them now but there has been a lot of improvements in the 3rd game.  Maybe they'll get them this time...I hope.  At least Reimer is back (though as the backup only).

Rest of the Hockey World:
1. Boston's record for November (12-0-1): WHAT?!  Seriously, that's amazing for a team that had a horrible October.  Way to turn it around and well deserved.  They brought back their gritty and tough style of play and dominated everyone in the league.
2. Sidney is back: Kind of old news now but might as well give a comment on it.  Crosby already has 2 goals and 9 assists (11 points) in 6 games.  Impressive start!
3. Minnesota and Vancouver turning it around: Both didn't have great starts to the season but November seems to have been nice to both teams.  They're last 10 games were 7-3-0 putting them #1 (Minnesota) and #2 (Vancouver) in the North-West Division.  Minnesota is 1st in the Western Conference thanks to a better start while Vancouver is sitting 9th.
4. Coaching changes galore: 4 coaching changes and counting now.  St. Louis, Washington, Carolina and now Anaheim.  All understandable and I'm glad Bruce Boudreau gets to have another go at being a NHL coach (now in Anaheim).
5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is rookie of the month: Well deserved with 6 goals and 10 assists in November.  He has a 27 points in the season already!  This kid no doubt will win the Calder Trophy this season.