Saturday, March 13, 2004

More Goaltending woes for the Maple Leafs!

Breathe deeply Leaf fans, No Eddie Belfour did not put his back out at practice (or at the team meal either). But the back up ranks, are getting thinner and thinner. St. John’s goaltender, Mikael Tellqvist injured his knee in Friday’s AHL game against the Toronto Roadrunners. Eliciting a collective gasp from the 7,000 fans in attendance at Toronto’s Ricoh Centre, Tellqvist lay on the ice for a few minutes before finishing the first period, he however sat on the bench for the rest of the game. Tellqvist who was spelling off Trevor Kidd during Ed Belfour’s recovery period, is keeping sharp on the farm in case he’s needed during the final stretch and playoffs...

With Kidd struggling in the Leaf’s net and Belfour just a bad back day from bed rest, goaltending is the one aspect of the Leaf’s game that has Maple Leaf fan’s just a little bit nervous.

For whatever reason, GM John Ferguson chose not to upgrade his back up position by the trade deadline. Going instead with Trevor Kidd on the standby should Belfour go down again. With the news of Tellqvist’s slight injury making the rounds of Toronto, that decision may be like rolling the dice and hoping for lady luck to smile. For the moment GM John Ferguson won’t be showing his pearly whites.

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