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You bring up Ottawa but how about the other Canadian teams:

Besides in order to the win the Cup you have to go thru the top West team

Recent history has proven that the teams usually left standing at the end, run, not stumble, out of the gate in the fall. Tampa Bay, winner in 2004, was 6-0-1 in October. Carolina, winner in 2006, was 8-2-1 the first month of the season. Anaheim, winner last season, started 9-0-3. The past 10 champions were a combined 78-17-14 in October. You get the idea.

Toronto
Where to begin? These guys are on an emotional roller-coaster. They are still not good defensively, they have blown leads and wasted golden opportunities to beat better teams, despite a potent offence the power play has struggled, and they are life and death ever time they lace 'em up.

They managed to battle back to beat Florida, otherwise there would be full panic. They have Chicago and Atlanta on the horizon, two more games that can't give false hope, but can help keep the wolves at bay, not Bay Street.

Leafs into the ice-melt
...Jason Blake was peeved.

Standing in front of reporters in the solemn Leafs dressing room, Blake pulled no punches in questioning his team's work ethic when it comes to closing out games.

"Every time we have a lead, we get burned," the speedy winger calmly said after yet another Leafs collapse, an inexcusable 6-4 defeat to the fatigued Chicago Blackhawks at the Air Canada Centre.

"We sit back, don't play as hard, and that's why you take penalties."

The Leafs "don't play as hard?" As controversial as that suggestion might be, captain Mats Sundin had no quibble with Blake's candid words.

"I agree," said Sundin, whose two-goal effort was one of the few bright spots for an otherwise hot-and-cold Leafs team. "That third period was terrible. We were soft. We took penalties. We didn't skate well...

..."I don't know what's going on, but this is a big concern. When you are up 3-1 going into the third period against a (tired) team, you should be able to close it out."

Let's be honest here. When two prominent team leaders such as Blake and Sundin are wondering in public why this team does not always put out a maximum effort when two points are there for the taking, it does not bode well..

The stats tell the story.

In five of their first nine games this season, the Leafs have entered the third period either leading or tied and failed to go on to victory...

So much for home cooking.

With eight of their first 10 games in the alleged friendly confines of the ACC, the Leafs knew getting off to a good start to the season was vital.

Instead, they will need a win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night to finish that 10-game stint at .500.

And now, Maurice must come to grips with a team that can't hold leads, gives up far too many goals, takes too many penalties (power-play chances were 7-1 in favour of the Hawks last night), and has a couple of its leaders questioning the team's effort

Penalty parade paralyzes Leafs

The Maple Leafs have no trouble seeing the error of their ways.

It's as plain as the growing number in the loss column and the pained expression on their faces after games such as the one they gift-wrapped last night for the Chicago Blackhawks

..."This isn't good enough. We have to play 60 minutes," Chad Kilger said after Chicago scored five third-period goals. "We can't blame anyone but the guys on the ice and we weren't good enough."

Another night. Another third-period collapse. Any thoughts of a comeback ended when Ponikarovsky took another hooking penalty in the offensive zone with less than a minute remaining. He suggested referees Paul Devorski and Dean Warren might as well have shown up wearing Blackhawks jerseys. But, said Maurice, the officiating wasn't why the Leafs lost.

"There's no complaining about the officiating. You don't usually see seven to one (Toronto had one power play to Chicago's seven) at home. But the only blame is on us. We're way over the limit in taking non-intelligent penalties."

Like in Buffalo when the decisive goal came after Pavel Kubina ran amiss of the rules.

"I don't know what it is. Every night it seems to be something else," Raycroft said. "It seems whenever we make a little mistake we get burned by it ... our game is puck possession and when we don't have the puck and

...The Maple Leafs came into last night's NHL action having played short-handed 54 times, the most of any team in the league. That doesn't happen because the refs aren't paid-up members of the Maple Leafs' fan club.

It has happened because too often the Leafs end up running around, as they did in the third period

...In the final 20 minutes the Blackhawks, other than on Kilger's goal that brought Toronto to within a goal, rarely let the puck anywhere near a Maple Leaf. Savard, avoiding anything that might end up on a Maple Leafs' bulletin board, did allow that even after having played Friday night, it was his team that was quicker. "We emphasize here that everyone moves their feet. But you have to have the ability to do it," Savard said.

The Leafs have yet to show they have that ability.

"We've got young bodies in the lineup and they can go all day," Savard said. "We're going to have some tough times but I like the heart of our team. That's all you can ask as a coaching staff, to play hard -- and the results will take care of themselves."

He didn't say what the Maple Leafs looked like. He didn't have to. The evidence was hanging above centre ice.

Another bump in Leafs' rollercoaster ride

TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs will miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season if they continue at their current pace.

They are 3-4-2 for eight of a possible 18 points.

Their rollercoaster ride through the NHL schedule is torturing their fans, who were forced to walk a bed of nails Saturday night. The Leafs entered the third period up 3-1 and lost 6-4 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ouch...

...The Blackhawks beat Colorado 5-3 the previous night at home and didn't get to their Toronto hotel until 3 a.m. ET. Yet, they still had too much jump for the rested Leafs.

As soon as Chicago tied it 3-3 with two goals in 30 seconds early in the third, the Leafs appeared to become mesmerized.

"We're slowing down in the third period," said coach Paul Maurice. "It's not a conditioning issue, it's an attention issue

...As of Sunday, they were third (3.67 goals a game) in offence and 29th (4.11 goals a game) on defence in the 30-team league.

"The way I see it the most is that easy things that should happen just aren't happening," said Maurice. "D-to-D passes - there's a turnover and we just can't handle it."

Toronto is 28th in power-play efficiency and 18th in penalty killing

Another colossal collapse

Ahead 3-1 going into third period, club allows yet another opponent to storm back for the win.

..."We are doing some strange things with the puck," said Maurice. "(The problem) is above the shoulders, but it's in the reflexes of the feet and the hands."

Normally, a team might feel pretty good about themselves. But nothing's normal with the Leafs this year. They've had seven of their first nine games at home but are under .500 despite facing five backup goalies in a row, including former Ottawa whipping boy Patrick Lalime last night.

... said Maurice. "We've tried some different approaches. We've tried barking at them, we've tried perking up and being positive.

A turnover on the next shift resulted in Duncan Keith' first goal of the year and a 3-3 tie.

The Leafs are supposed to be a hard forecheck, puck control team, and they were for two periods, but forgot all about it in the third.

"We're not playing well," said Maurice. "We're not handling the puck. There's no ease in any parts of our games. We're so tight, and it affects all parts of our game.

"The way I see it the most is that easy things that should happen just aren't happening. D-to-D passes. There's a turnover, and we just can't handle it."

...As a certain over-rated rock band once sang: Sending out an S.O.S.

Can't anyone 'round here stop a few pucks, like maybe with that clearly intolerable two-goal lead?

Three times in the past week, the Maple Leafs have built up just such a cushion and three times they've gone down to defeat, doing so again last night 6-4 to Chicago in a textbook final-frame collapse.

Now, most coaches will tell you they don't much like getting a deuce ahead early. Paul Maurice was saying just that very thing, in the aftermath of this woeful loss. "You're not far enough away and you're one goal away from making the other team feel great.''

Earlier in the day, it was suggested to Maurice that there is significance – an implicit insult – in the fact that opposing teams have repeatedly started No. 2 goaltenders against his Leafs. He retorted wryly: "We play our backup every night.'' Chuckle-chuckle.

Some 10 hours later, it wasn't so funny.

...On the scoring tables, Toronto has benefited from the poor quality of masked men at the other end of the rink – Patrick Lalime last night, fifth consecutive second-stringer faced – with 35 goals. But that offensive spate hasn't translated much into corresponding wins because Toronto gives up goals by the bushel.

Asked about this worrisome phenomenon of Leafs' inability to protect a lead, these dreadful third-period implosions – whether it's due to a crisis of confidence or insufficient skills – Raycroft was hard-pressed to pick between trapdoor No. 1 and trapdoor No. 2. "Obviously, we don't have a lot of both.''

Cue the penalty alibi. "The last period, we were 10 minutes short. You can't keep momentum.''

There were rebounds galore in the final 20, nobody much helping Raycroft clearing pucks. "He suffered with the rest of the club in the third,'' said Maurice.

You focus on leaf negatives,

Making the playoffs would be a successful season for the Leafs. I think that is coming.