Slow Friday

There's not much to report this lunchtime, but I thought that I would throw a couple of tidbits out there.

Matt Cullen will not be making the trip to Pittsburgh. It seems that he is still suffering from vision problems. Luke DeCock covers that story here. That means "waiverdude", Jeff Hamilton will get more playing time as 3rd line center, or maybe Albany all-star Keith Aucoin will need to make a return trip to the parent club?

Nik Antropov did receive a 3 game suspension for tossing his stick in frustration at the ref after the game last night. Coach Mo had a little post-game tirade as well. As a matter of fact, the entire Leaf Nation was a little bit ticked off about the officiating. That's a shame.

A couple of other musings...

Eric Staal had a couple of slick moves where he turned the Leafs defense inside out. Unfortunately, there was no one to pass to at the time. Staal continues to work hard and shine, even if not on the scoresheet.

Sergei Samsonov continues to impress. Talk about a smooth skater and puck-handler. Even when he doesn't get on the scoreboard, he proves his value every game. Plus, he is still back-checking and playing defense. That was one amazing pickup by Jim Rutherford. Question... Will he take Samsonov to Toronto with him if he bolts next year? You heard it here first.

The defense as a whole played a decent game again last night. They were a little loose at times, but for the most part looked good. When Bret Hedican is healthy, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Somehow Hedican has an unbelievable plus/minus rating of plus 11 and leads the defense with that stat, while you have other defensemen like Frantisek Kaberle and Nic Wallin with -9 and -13 respectively. That's a huge difference. Wallin and Kaberle have to be better than that.

Cory Stillman and Erik Cole seem to be off of their games. "Colsie" also seemed in a sour mood last night. Hopefully these two players can pick it up.

TGIF!