Letting the Lead Slip Away

Day #13 brought heartache to the diehard Toronto fans when the Maple Leafs fell to the New Jersey Devils and then to the Montreal Canadians by a score of 3-2 in both games. On each occassion the Leafs were ahead early and just let the lead slip away. Gary Roberts was back in the lineup, but Alexander Frolov was still out. Toronto also lost Martin Lapointe to injury in the game against the Devils, making him the 7th player injured in 7 days for the club. This injury problem has everyone skating on thin ice wondering if they will be the next to fall in; everyone except for Ryan Malone. He is playing with no fear and it showed during the game with the Habs. At 18:27 into the second period Clowe and Mitchell squared off and Malone paired up with Hulse. Clowe managed to squeak by with a draw due to the linesmen jumping in early, but Malone proceeded to beat Hulse like he was a dog that just ate his Xbox 360 controller. Toronto GM, Shaun Butler, appreciated the heart that Malone was showing but not the brains. The severe pummeling costed Malone the rest of the game and in return costed the whole team the game. Malone has 6 points and 49 PIMs in 13 GP; the organization is considering anger management classes but will hold off for the time being.