Leaf Shootout Switcheroo Loss Has Some Fans Questioning Wilson’s Decision
Posted October 22, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In the Leaf-mad city of Toronto, every move the coach makes is analyzed, counter-analyzed, torn up and put back together. Which is why Leaf Nation is having its own field day with a controversial move Ron Wilson made in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Ducks.
It came after the Buds improbably tied the game with just 52 seconds left, sending it into a non-deciding overtime and yet another shootout, the fourth one on the still young season. The endlessly debated decision saw Curtis Joseph replace Vesa Toskala in net for the sniper-fire ending, a highly unusual strategy that some are questioning.
Those questions got louder after Anaheim’s Corey Perry and Teemu Salame managed to get the puck past the straight-off-the bench goalie.
Wilson makes no apologies for his actions, noting Joseph has the better record in shootouts, allowing only 28 per cent of opponents to score vs. Toskala’s 54 per cent.
“I was playing the percentages,” the outspoken bench boss explains. “I’m not going to hesitate to do that until we get Tosk a little more practice – a different way of thinking on stopping the other team in shootouts. I had nothing to lose.” The Leafs have lost three of them so far this year.
Wilson had previously told both netminders the switch would be on if the game reached that point, which it inevitably did.
Some fans have raised eyebrows over the move, but Toskala isn’t one of them.
“I don’t have any problem at all,” he maintains. “As a team we just have to find a way to get those points because they’re going to be huge (at the) end of the season. Today we were trying this – it didn’t work.”
But some of the lucky Ducks beg to differ. “I’ve never seen it happen before,” Perry admits. “I saw (Joseph) warming up and I turned to the bench and said, ‘They’re putting him in?'”
Joseph agrees it’s unorthodox to have someone who was sitting for 65 minutes come in at that point, but he knows the Leafs have to try different things if they’re to succeed at all this season. “It’s entertainment, right?” he asks. “I have had some success at shootouts but those were two good shots. I’ve got to like being in that position, at least you can come in and you’ve got a chance.
“Unfortunately, the quick releases look a little quicker when you’ve been sitting.”
The Leafs may get a chance to continue the experiment when they face the Bruins in Boston on Thursday.
Photo credit: Dave Sandford/Getty Images
