Leafs Blank Devils; Raptors Can't Keep Pace

It was as close to an alternate universe as I've seen.

The new look Maple Leafs were calm, hard-working, even truculent, and cruised to a 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils. Meanwhile, somewhere in Indiana, the Toronto Raptors struggled mightily to stop six-foot-one Earl Watson drive his way past seven-footer Andrea Bargnani.

Toronto fans are used to these mixed feelings. You know -- you win some, you lose some.

But it's been a while since the Buds got the W and the Dinos did not, or since the Leafs looked like a well-oiled machine while the Raps were caught running around. The Leafs snapped their six-game losing skid just as the Raptors' winning-streak halted at five.

It was a satisfying win for the Leafs, but we all know that one game doesn't mean a thing. J.S. Giguere, Dion Phaneuf (or as I like to call him -- DP3), and Freddy Sjostrom were impressive enough to be the game's first, second and third stars, respectively. Phaneuf rocked the house with some big hits, big shots, and a fight as his rite of passage. Sjostrom assisted on Nik Kulemin's game-winning goal, and J.S. Giguere was quiet and almost unnoticeable. In this alternate universe that's a positive thing. The Toskala and Gustavsson tandem often made games...interesting when in net, letting in questionable goals at times when the team needed a stop. That's why, in Giguere's case, no news is good news.

Martin Brodeur was not in net last night, but I'm sure he will be on Friday for the rematch. That's the game to watch. Yesterday's game was the honeymoon; on Friday it's back to the real world. Again, the Leafs were on a high last night after Burke's Sunday Shuffle. I'm interested to see how the new team plays in game two.

On the other end, the Raptors had been playing really well of late, but they were due for a loss. For some reason, Indiana has been a thorn in the side of Jay Triano and his troops the entire season. Almost every tilt has been close, and the Jan. 11 loss where they blew a 23-point lead was surely one of the more sour grapes they've eaten all season. The Italian duo of Bargnani and Belinelli were outstanding -- Il Mongo had a career best 34-points and Marco had 14 points in the first quarter -- but the team couldn't play defense and had several dry spells in the game. Like CBForce said in yesterday's post, the season's a pendulum. But if the Raptors lose to the New Jersey Nets tonight, watch out for that return swing.

The chances of that happening are slim. And with the Leafs playing the Devils, Sens and Sharks next, and the Raps playing the Kings and Sixers, expect things to be back to normal, the win columns straightened out, the stars re-alligned.