Goalie debate heating up in Leafland

To casual Leafs fans (if there is such a thing) one might have thought there was legitimate cause for concern following the Buds' 8-2 pounding at the hands of the Sean Avery-deprived Dallas Stars last night at the ACC. Not so, according to coach Ron (Pollyanna) Wilson, the eternal optimist who always sees the net as half-full.

According to the coach, goalie Vesa Toskala played well, despite being yanked and booed off the ice after allowing his seventh goal midway through the second period.

"He didn't have a chance on any of those goals," Wilson said to a stunned media at his post-game briefing. "I don't think it was fair that the fans got on him if that was their intention. Shot, rebound, shot, rebound and then someone puts it in the empty net. It certainly wasn't Vesa's fault, at all."

Hmm. Wilson reiterated his feelings that the schedule-makers pretty much set the stage for his squad's horrible contra-performance last night, as if nobody else had ever played back-to-back games within the same time zone in the history of the league. And yes, the goaltender had been sent home from Atlanta on Sunday to nurse his slightly pulled groin back to health - and rest up.

"It was more fatigue than anything," Wilson argued. "We didn't have our legs. We didn't have our minds. Unfortunately it got ugly. It's already behind me."

Which also can describe seven of the 27 pucks directed at Toskala in his 31 minutes and 35 seconds of work. For the first five, the boos rained down on Toskala. Then after the sixth, chants of Coo-jo, Coo-jo could be heard in the expensive seats.

Finally, after the seventh Stars marker, Curtis Joseph began to stir, located his helmet and mask, pushed himself gingerly over the boards and headed past a probably grateful Toskala to take up his position between the Leafs pipes.

"I guess we were a little bit tired after the road and there wasn't much gas left in the tank," Toskala said, paraphrasing the captain of the Exxon Valdez. "Anyhow, we weren't very good tonight. The fans, they're paying good money to come watch us and we didn't play very well. We can't control the fans, but we have to play better."

That's a huge understatement by Toskala, who was removed from a work in progress for the second time in four games, over six days. So, yeah, they gotta play better.

"It is the coach's decision when they make moves," Toskala shrugged. "As long as I stay in (the game), I just try to do my best. I can't really control the fans."

Nor many of the juicy rebounds on this frightful night that dropped the Leafs back to .500 and may once again cause fans of Leaf Nation to wonder whether there should indeed be a three-way goalie controversy in the New Year.

So if not Toskala, then who? Joseph is not the answer, at least clearly not in Wilson's mind. Last night was just the 41-year-old veteran's second appearance since Nov. 25, both in relief. It shows how little trust the coach has in Joseph that even in Cujo's last game, Dec. 18 in Boston, after the Leafs pulled to within 6-5 after two, Toskala was re-inserted for the third period and an 8-5 loss.

The fact is the future played on Monday in Atlanta. With their struggling starter ready for a night off, the Leafs called up the Marlies' 22-year-old Justin Pogge. Where does that leave Joseph? It has been 263 days since Joseph won, but he hangs on. His next win will be the 450th of his career. He wants it, but the question is will the classy veteran get his milestone before the Leafs bring Pogge up for good? And once Pogge is up, he will play. What then of Toskala? The debate is downplayed by the Leafs, but it won't stop fans from speculating.

As Vesa says, "They pay good money."