In most of three seasons as a Maple Leaf, the Finnish goaltender morphed into an avatar for the hopelessness of Toronto’s post-lockout era, when the team missed the playoffs a franchise-record seven straight seasons.
asserted
team → morph → playoffs
Perhaps most infamous for an embarrassing glove-hand whiff on a shot launched from 197 feet away, Toskala became a Leafland punching bag, at times jeered by the home crowd almost every time he touched a puck.
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he → launch → puck
So Toskala is a name best forgotten.
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Toskala → forget → ?
And yet, after the Leafs dropped a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday night, there it was.
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it → drop → night
With the defeat, Sergei Bobrovsky had become the first Toronto netminder to allow three or more goals in each of his first six games since … Toskala in 2009, according to Sportsnet Stats.
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Bobrovsky → become → Stats
That’s not to compare the goalies.
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That → ’ → goalies
Bobrovsky is a surefire Hockey Hall of Famer with two Vezina Trophies to go with his two Stanley Cup rings.
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Bobrovsky → go → rings
Toskala, though he carved out a long pro career that included eight seasons in the NHL, isn’t in that class.
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that → carve → class
In his first six games of the 2009-10 season, Toskala registered a minus-5.63 goals saved above expected, meaning he was allowing nearly a goal a game over and above the league standard, according to the website Evolving Hockey.
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he → register → website
By the same measure, Bobrovsky’s first six games as a Leaf have seen him save 3.06 goals above expected.
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him → see → goals
Underlying numbers can indicate an athlete is performing better than his results suggest.
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results → indicate → ?
But when you give a goaltender a three-year deal worth $21 million (U.S.), as the Leafs did Bobrovsky this past summer, the expectation is he’s going to win you games.
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he → give → games
As a Leaf, Bobrovsky has just one win in six appearances.
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Bobrovsky → have → appearances
His save percentage is an underwhelming .891, equal to the league average heading into Sunday’s games.
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percentage → head → games
That’s neither a great leap forward from last season’s career low of .877 nor a heartening introduction to life in the centre of the hockey universe.
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That → ’ → universe
What’s worse for the Leafs is this: Their other goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, has given up four or more goals in two of his three starts.
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goaltender → ’ → starts
Which means the Leafs have given up fewer than three goals in precisely one game in nine: Stolarz’s 2-1 win over the Islanders on the second night of the season.
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Leafs → mean → season
Given the mounting list of concerns in Leafland — including injuries to foundational pieces John Tavares and Chris Tanev — you’ll understand why head coach Jim Hiller spent part of Saturday night’s post-game press conference stumping for his No. 1 goaltender.
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Hiller → give → goaltender
“He’s been good … he’s been good,” Hiller said of Bobrovsky.
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Hiller → say → Bobrovsky
“We’ve got to score some more goals for him.
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We → get → him
I think if you look at a lot of his starts, we haven’t scored many goals.
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we → think → goals
The Leafs have averaged three goals a game in Bobrovsky’s six starts, which isn’t untenable run support.
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which → average → starts
Toronto scored four against the Buffalo Sabres with Bobrovsky in net Thursday night and couldn’t get a key save or two to eke out a win.
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Toronto → score → win
In Bobrovsky’s only win, the Leafs put up six goals in Colorado.
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Leafs → put → Colorado
On Saturday, Bobrovsky chalked up the rough beginning to the newness of an off-season roster overhaul.
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Bobrovsky → chalk → overhaul
“It’s a new team,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“We’re all working to get together to build the chemistry, to build the belief.”
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We → work → belief
What’s holding them back?
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What → hold → them
Hiller lamented his team’s tendency to play on the perimeter, while avoiding the more perilous territory closer to the opposing net.
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Hiller → lament → net
The coach was asked why the Leafs couldn’t get to the inside more frequently.
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Leafs → ask → inside
“I don’t know,” Hiller said.
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Hiller → know → ?
“It’s a good question.”
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It → ’ → ?
And the Leafs better have answers soon.
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Leafs → have → answers
They woke up Sunday in last place in the Atlantic Division, a spot they occupied at the end of last season.
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they → wake → season
They’ve been outscored 25-18 at five-on-five, the eighth-worst ratio in the league.
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They → outscore → league
Part of that is because their blue line has at times looked overwhelmed.
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line → look → times
And part of that is because their goaltenders haven’t exactly shone amid the net-front chaos.
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goaltenders → shine → chaos
Heading into Sunday, Toronto’s netminders ranked 30th in five-on-five team save percentage.
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netminders → head → percentage
Of the 36 goaltenders who’d played at least 200 minutes at five-on-five, Bobrovsky’s save percentage ranked 33rd, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
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percentage → play → NaturalStatTrick.com
That helps explain how Bobrovsky found himself linked to Toskala Saturday night.
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himself → help → Toskala
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
