Toronto Maple Leafs Surging, Goaltender James Reimer, Grabovski Are Key

With last night’s 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings the Toronto Maple Leafs have now won four of their past five matches, leading many Leaf fans to suggest that their beloved Buds are indeed turning the corner on their way to respectability.

While it is still a tad early to be throwing accolades towards the Blue and White, one cannot help but see that the Leafs now occupy 26th spot in the standings, leaving them just one point away from surpassing the Florida Panthers, which, while the Panthers still have a game in hand, would bring the Buds out of a lottery pick position.

For Leafs general manager Brian Burke, having his team finish out of a lottery position would be the first step towards that elusive respectability, both in terms of on-ice product and with regard to his many offseason moves (which were supposed to have the Maple Leafs competing for a playoff spot.

Leading the way for the Leafs has been the team’s second unit of Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin, a.k.a. “the misfits.”

Grabovski, Kulemin and MacArthur have combined for 19 points their past five games, making them one of the hottest trio’s in the entire NHL.

Another key contributor has been goaltender James Reimer, who, through five games, owns a 3-1-0 record to go along with a sparkling 1.90 goals against average and an equally impressive .945 save percentage.

Reimer’s only blemish came against the Boston Bruins on January third, in which the Leafs lost a tough one by a final score of 2-1.

Prior to being called up to the big club Reimer posted a 14-8-2 record with the Marlies. His .925 save percentage and 2.25 GAA stands out as one of the best in the AHL, this on a Marlies team that has just 19 wins on the season.

To many, Reimer’s promotion to the big club came as a surprise, but when you look over the numbers and consider his success, it was a no-brainer to bring him up, especially when you consider how inconsistent both J.S. Giguere and Jonas “don’t call me the monster” Gustavsson have been thus far.

A win tonight against the San Jose Sharks will only further Leafs Nation's confidence in their newly found diamond in the rough and give the Blue and White their fifth straight road victory.

With 41 games in the books on the season the Maple Leafs can hardly be impressed with their paltry 17 wins on the season. But as the saying goes, sometimes it’s not how you start, rather how you finish that people remember you for.

For the Maple Leafs, a strong finish will go a long way towards erasing the ugly memories of the first 41 games and get the team into a desirable position in the standings, mainly, out of a lottery position.

Until next time,

Peace!