Bitter

I've decided I'm only going to watch the first two periods of Leaf games. Just like the 23 guys on the club, I'll celebrate the win at the 40 minute mark and then go do something that doesn't involve hockey.

PPP has his second segment posted comparing this year's Leafs against last year's in all major team categories. It will be very interesting (or galling) to see the comparison at the 30 game mark - JFJ may have signed that extension just in time. It's essential stuff - go check it out.

Will it be the Snow Line, the Millen Line or will a Beaupre write-in campaign strike? Don't forget to cast a vote to to name hockey's Mendoza line - the minimum save percentage required stay in the NHL...

Naming Rights

It's become widely accepted that the cut-off save percentage for a starting goalie is .900. If one drops below that mark (Mr. Raycroft, I'd like you to meet Mr. Gerber) the papers and fans will be calling for a trade, for the back-up to get his turn or for the GM's head (and sometimes all three).

But what is the goaltending equivalent to baseball's Mendoza line - that hypothetical minimum save percentage a goalie has to maintain to stay in the NHL? And, more importantly, shouldn't it be named after a goalie?

Thanks to readers' suggestions, I've nominated following list of goalies for your consideration as the future namesake of hockey's Mendoza line.

The goalie that's voted as exemplifying a career as a back-up*, somehow managing to stick with one team or another, will have the honour of being hockey's Mendoza Line.

Feel free to hit the comment button to make your drunken passionate case for your favourite marginal goalie (or to submit a write-in vote - I'm sure there are plenty of ideal candidates we've missed).

Name Hockey's Mendoza Line
	Millen .876 SV%
	Racicot .879 SV%
	Ing .859 SV%
	Bester .870 SV%
	Bernhardt .866 SV%
	Snow .892 SV%
	Garret .867 SV%
	Pang .865 SV%
	Healy .888 SV%
	Lalime .904 SV%
Free polls from Pollhost.com

*Or maybe you just want to stick it to one of the many ex-goalie mediots out there, that's cool too.

It's a Shame About Ray

Raycroft currently has a .901 save percentage, which puts him 27th in the NHL among goalies who've started 10 games or more.

Here's a look at Raycroft's save percentage on a game by game basis.
In the 12 games that he has posted a .900% save percentage or better the Leafs are 10-1-1.

In the 10 games Raycroft's been below .900, the Leafs are 1-7-2.

I know you can't win without putting the puck in the other teams net, but that's a pretty damning stat.

A note about the chart: The squiggly red line is the trend line, sadly pointing a bit south at the moment... Red bars are losses, blue bars are wins and dark blue bars are games decided by a shoot-out. The horizontal yellow marker is a Mendoza line of sorts - it marks the .900 save percentage point - a mark all starting goalies should be able to stay above. (There has to be a goalie we could name it after to give it a bit of a hockey flavour - any suggestions?)

This is not a rivalry - it's a crime scene

I've written before about why the Leafs-Sens rivalry should just be left for dead. The fading flames of this alleged conflict are nothing more than media heat and noise.

Yes, Sens fans may love to beat the Leafs, but they'll need to get in line if they think there's anything unique about despising the Leafs, Leaf fans or even the city of Toronto. (I've lived in Ottawa and if you're going to pick a place to hate-on, the frozen city that fun forgot is a darn fine place to start.)

At the rate this "rivalry" is going I'm thinking the Leafs should adopt Washington Generals jerseys as a special look for games against the Sens (although judging by the number of people in pink leafs cowboy hats and assorted paraphernalia at the ACC during the Rangers game, those 4th jerseys would likely sell pretty well).



The Leafs are already down in this year's season series 3-1, haven't been close in their three losses and have been outscored 17 to 9 (that total is as of 2:55 of the third period, it could be 20-9 by the time I get this posted).

Last year, the Leafs went 1-7 against the Sens and were outscored 41-19.

There's a reason the papers and airwaves of full of blather about Kilger's spear, McGratton's antics and the Tucker-Eaves match-up (The Hesitant Yob vs. Sideshow Bob) - it's because the game on the ice is so unbalanced it's the least engaging and least interesting thing between these two clubs.

I'll save my energy for Saturday night and the Habs. At least there's a team the Leafs might be able to compete against in a city that actually matters.

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This isn't a knock against Spezza or Corvo (especially not Corvo, I've got him in my pool and am damn happy with his four helpers tonight) but on that sixth Ottawa goal how on earth can anyone be awarded an assist? Spezza blasts a shot into McCabe's shins, the puck bounces at least six feet away and hits Heatley in the chest. Heatley swats at the puck with his arm, it hits the ice and then he buries the shot. Two players get assists for that? Absurd.

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Is there a goalie equivalent to the Mendoza line? With tonight's loss Raycroft's stats are looking more Boston-bust than Rookie of the year. I'm no mathematician but giving up 23 goals in the last five games puts his GAA up to about 3.2 and his save percentage down to about .892

Positively Belfour-esque.
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Wonder if the Leafs three game losing skid will put an end to the ridiculous notion that JFJ should get an extension to his existing deal. With Kubina on the IR, Raycroft coughing up a five-spot with each start, and the Leafs specialty teams struggling there's not a whole lot of good news for Jr. Nor is there a lot to show for the mountains of cash and long-term commitments he gave out this off-season. Speaking of off-season moves, anyone else think McCabe has misinterpreted his non-movement clause thinking it refers to his on-ice activities.