Jonas Gustavsson posted his first career NHL shutout at the expense of the undermanned Boston Bruins tonight, but to be fair- the Toronto Maple Leafs played well and deserved to win by a 2-0 score.
The Monster got the better of his goaltending counterpart, Tuukka Rask, who gave up a soft, soft goal to Tomas Kaberle in the second period and allowed a third frame tally to Jason Blake to lose his first career game against the team that drafted him.
When the Bruins defense consists of Johnny Boychuk, Andy Wozniewski and Adam McQuaid (playing in his 1st NHL game- h/t to "Quaider" who played his junior hockey in nearby Sudbury) in your top six to go with Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference and Matt Hunwick, you know you're going to have issues. But, on this night, it wasn't the D that was the problem- it was the lack of scoring punch from the forwards.
Marc Savard? 0 points in 6 games, with only one shot on net.
Michael Ryder? Ineffective and really hurt his team with a lazy boarding penalty on Luke Schenn late in the game when they were trying to break the whitewash.
Marco Sturm? Simply not getting the job done no matter who his center happens to be.
Byron Bitz? Couldn't convert several golden opportunities, but he is what he is- a grinding, plumber-type who can't be counted on as a top-six forward.
So, there it is. Rough night for the B's, who hung 4 on Chicago last night before falling in the shootout, but couldn't solve the Leafs. Montreal, Ottawa also gained two points in the standings, while Buffalo added one.
Celebrate good times tonight, Leafs fans- you weren't all that pretty either- and you essentially beat an AHL defense tonight, but the scoreboard don't say how, just how many.
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