Gordon Anderson RSS

I'm just a small time sports guy looking to get to the big time. I have one semester left of Sports Journalism to finish. I've done sports freelancing for papers in Western Canada, Eastern Canada and the United States. Stay tuned...
  • Leafs get rolled by the Rangers

    Published at 9:56 pm on April 7, 2010
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    Recently, Toronto has made life difficult for teams on the playoff bubble but not on Wednesday night.

    The New York Rangers, in a must-win scenario, dismantled the lacklustre Leafs 5-1 at Madison Square Garden.

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  • Leafs end the Buffalo dominance

    Published at 10:18 pm on April 1, 2010
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    The futility against the Buffalo Sabres, stretching back nearly two seasons, is finally over for Toronto.

    Luke Schenn scored the winner at 8:30 of the third period as the Maple Leafs ended a 10 game-losing streak against the Sabres with a 4-2 win at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.

    Schenn let a shot go from the right point that deflected off the stick of Raffi Torres and found the top corner over the shoulder of Ryan Miller.

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  • Thrashers keep playoff hopes alive

    Published at 11:36 pm on March 30, 2010
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    A former Maple Leaf was the difference on Tuesday night.

    Nik Antropov scored his first goal against his former team and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 29 stopped shots as the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 at the Air Canada Centre.

    Antropov tipped a point shot from Ron Hainsey that got between the arm and body of Jonas Gustavsson, just 4:44 into the third period.

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  • Leafs halt Canadiens’ winning streak

    Published at 12:01 am on March 21, 2010
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    The Leafs broke two streaks on Saturday night.

    They ended Montreal’s pursuit of seven consecutive wins and ended Jaroslav Halak’s run of six-straight victories in a narrow 3-2 shootout win at the Air Canada Centre.

    John Mitchell beat Halak with a tidy backhand in round three and Jonas Gustavsson turned away Brian Gionta to secure the win.

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  • It’s official: the Leafs have the Senators number

    Published at 12:03 am on March 17, 2010
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    There is a solution to the Leafs’ woes this year; play the Senators more often.

    Goals by John Mitchell and Mikhail Grabovski, 19 seconds apart in the second period, paced the Leafs to a 4-1 win on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Place.

    Toronto won four of six meetings against Ottawa this season, outscoring them 18-7 in that span.
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  • Isles end Leafs’ modest win streak

    Published at 10:02 pm on March 14, 2010
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    In their recent tour around the bottom half of the NHL, the Leafs have managed to win a season-high three straight but that came to an end against the New York Islanders on Sunday night.

    Richard Park scored the game winner at 8:55 of the first period and Martin Biron turned aside 26 shots as the Islander beat the Leafs 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

    Park’s eighth goal of the season came while the Islanders were short handed. He collected a turnover near the Toronto blue-line and beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the slot with a quick wrister to the blocker side.

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  • Leafs dismantle Oilers to win third in a row

    Published at 12:48 am on March 14, 2010
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    Two teams with the worst plus minus in the league met up for a goal fest on Saturday night as the Leafs beat the Oilers 6-4 in a high-speed affair at the Air Canada Centre.

    Mikhail Grabovski got the winner at 6:50 of the second period on the power play when Viktor Stalberg blew around Tom Gilbert and centred the puck into the low slot for the easy tap in.

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  • Leafs battle Flyers but come up short

    Published at 11:10 pm on March 7, 2010
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    Simon Gagne and Daniel Briere scored 1:16 apart, late in the second period, and Michael Leighton stopped 27 shots as the Flyers won a hard fought 3-1 decision over the Leafs at the Wachovia Center on Sunday night.

    Gagne scored at 17:09 on a quick wrist shot and Briere converted a cross-ice pass from Braydon Coburn at 18:25.
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  • Bosh returns but Raps lose to the 76ers

    Published at 5:39 pm on March 7, 2010
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    The main man returned after a seven-game hiatus but it made no difference to the 18, 736 in attendance.

    Chris Bosh’s dramatic return to the court had little positive effect as the Toronto Raptors dropped a 114-101 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon.
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  • Leafs take the fifth round in the Battle of Ontario

    Published at 12:07 am on March 7, 2010
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    It doesn’t seem to matter what the standings say, the Leafs always play the Senators tight and Saturday night was no different.

    Phil Kessel scored in regulation and had the shootout winner as Toronto brushed by Ottawa 2-1 in a chippy affair at Scotiabank Place.

    Kessel scored in the first round when he came from the right boards and skated to the middle of the ice, cut back and beat Pascal Leclaire with a backhand. Nikolai Kulemin scored the other shootout goal for the Leafs.
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  • Bruins end 10-game home winless streak with a win over the Leafs

    Published at 11:47 pm on March 4, 2010
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    It was an uninspiring game between two teams looking for a win.

    Miroslav Satan scored in regulation and got the shootout winner, as the Boston Bruins squeezed by the Leafs 3-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden on Thursday night.

    Satan faked Jean-Sebastien Giguere to his knees, skated around him and threw the puck into the empty net before Giguere could get his skate to the left post.
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  • A national holiday/obsession?

    Published at 3:54 pm on March 3, 2010
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    Only 2:53:55 to go and I am counting the digital minutes.

    The 3 p.m. (EST) deadline is closing and I am live blogging.

    I have too much time on my hands in Canada.

    Today is NHL trade deadline day and it is an unofficial national holiday in the land of toques and Timbits.

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  • Leafs flatline in a loss to the Hurricanes

    Published at 1:19 am on March 3, 2010
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    With the trade deadline less than 16 hours away, and trade rumours swirling around the Leafs, they looked like a team waiting for the hammer to fall.

    It showed in a distracted and dispirited effort as Toronto lost 5-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre.

    Jussi Jokinen got the winner just 46 seconds into the second period when Ray Whitney feathered a saucer pass to Jokinen streaking down the slot, the winger let a quick wrist shot go that beat Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the glove side for his 24th goal.

    Brandon Sutter, Tuomo Ruutu, Sergei Samsonov and Chad Larose also scored for Carolina (25-30-7) as they extend their winning streak to six games. Justin Peters (3-0-0) stopped 32 shots in his third NHL start.
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  • Raptors drop another one without Bosh

    Published at 12:40 am on March 1, 2010
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    Kevin Durant dropped 29 points and Nenad Krstic added 16 as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 119- 99 at the Ford Center on Sunday evening.

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  • Rock drop another game and fall out of first place

    Published at 1:27 pm on February 28, 2010
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    It was a virtuoso performance by Matt Vinc on Saturday night.

    Vinc stole the spotlight and the game, turning aside 52 shots as the Orlando Titans defeated the Toronto Rock 16-12 in front of 10, 984 at Air Canada Centre.
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