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Hall of Fame game Justin Dahan (HV) On Saturday November 11th marked the annual Hall of Fame game. Patrick Roy, Jean Beliveau, Johnny Bower, and many other Hall of Fame members were on hand to witness a game between two arch rivals: The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
These two teams met twice previously this year, both swapping shootout wins. It was expected that this Hall of Fame game would exhibit another close game. Such was not the case; there must have been a typo in the memo, because the Montreal Canadiens played as if it were the Hall of Shame game. They played decent in the first period scoring one goal, which showcased a great passing play, with Saku Koivu getting the goal. After that it was all downhill for the Canadiens. They ended the game with 8 penalties, five of which came in the second period.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were at the opposite end of the spectrum. Many people didn’t think they had much of a chance; they were missing many key players. Captain Mats Sundin was out with a torn ligament in his elbow, Leafs starting goalie Andrew Raycroft missed the game due to a sore groin, and Leafs defenseman Pavel Kubina has been missing since October 10th with an injured knee and was on a plane to the Czech Republic to see the birth of his first child. The Leafs didn’t use their injuries as an excuse and pounced on the Habs team that made many mistakes. Their power play played well, they converted on 3 of their 8 chances, and had a goal right after one before Canadiens defensemen Andrei Markov was able to get back in the play.
Thomas Kaberle extended his point streak which now stands at 8 games. He had three points (1 goal 2 assists) and was named the Toronto Maple Leafs player of the game. Kabrele’s streak had started against Montreal on October 28. Before that he was struggling, much as Bryan McCabe was before this game. McCabe ended the game with two goals; perhaps it is his turn to have a point streak of his own. Both these defenseman were huge factors in the Leafs 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
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