ON THE MARK.

THE "REAL" ACID TEST FOR THE LEAFS.

In years gone by, the Toronto Maple Leafs would come up with a huge win over Boston, Montreal or another top contender, only to lose a night later to a lightweight.  For this reason alone, I am declaring tonight's game against the Florida Panthers a "must win" tilt.   "Wait a minute" you're saying, "How can a game against the last place team in the Conference be such an important one?".   Simple.   This game is a stepping stone.  If the Leafs are for real, and want to be taken seriously, 3 out of 4 points against Boston isn't enough.  They must now win, and win convincingly against a team that has no business being in the same rink with them.   They should dominate the injury-riddled Panthers tonight.   No excuses, such as having to play the night before, travel, fatigue, etc.   The Leafs are as healthy as they've been all year, and the only way they lose tonight is if they beat themselves.
     Remember too, most NHL teams that visit Toronto have at least a few GTA born players on their roster, and therefore get up for games here without much prodding.   The Panthers, however, are so injury depleted that only one player, Shawn Mattias from Mississauga, will have any kind of a cheering section at the A.C.C. tonight.  Having said that, the Leafs only have three men on their roster from the GTA:  Oshawa's Ryan Hamilton, Etobicoke's Mike Kostka and Toronto's Jesse Blacker (just called up).  It used to be that half the team was from the Toronto area.  My how times have changed.
     Whatever Randy Carlyle tells his team tonight, he had better stress the fact that if the Leafs are going to be taken seriously, they have to announce their presence with authority tonight.   Now that they've gotten the Boston monkey off their backs, it's time to put the hammer down.  If the #1 line isn't working out, don't be afraid to send them to the bench, as was the case with JVR last night.  Having said that, I expect a big night from Kessel, Bozak and JVR against the Panthers, and I think they're ripe for a breakout game.  The second unit of Lupul, Kadri and Kulemin has been splendid of late, and watching Kadri and Lupul play together is a joy.   Jake Gardiner's addition to the blueline has given the team a shot in the arm, and speaking of shots, the Leafs still lead the league in fighting majors, so the Panthers may not be overly aggressive tonight.
     I'm going to predict a 4-1 Leafs victory this evening, and make it the turning point of the season.   However, be forewarned:  If Toronto somehow reverts back to the Leafs of old, and stumbles against Florida, all bets are off and those two games against Boston mean absolutely nothing.