Leafs Aim For Good Start On Home Ice
Posted October 2, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After losing five of their fist seven home games last year, The Toronto Maple Leafs know that a good start at the Air Canada Centre is crucial should they hope to advance to the playoffs for the first time in three years. This season the Leafs play eight of their first 10 games at the A.C.C., starting with Ottawa on Wednesday, and they’re determined not to regain their reputation as a team that’s soft on home turf.
“We want to make it known around the league that we’re a tough team to play on home ice,” said Leafs captain Mats Sundin. “Last year we were slow out of the gate playing on home ice.
“If we want to be a playoff team this year we need to have a good home record. So it’s going to be very important to have a good start this year.”
Sundin will play between newcomer Jason Blake and Nik Antropov. Blake, who scored 40 goals last season with the Islanders, is anxious to start producing again.
“It’s nice being the new guy on the block, the new guy on the line,” he said. “You always want to have a good first game just to get it under your belt and maybe feel a little more at ease.
“We’ve had a good training camp. I know the wins and losses aren’t what we wanted but we learned a lot and we’ve got some systems in place. The guys are ready to go.”
