Leafs tweak lines to spark some offence

The Maple Leafs shuffled their lineup and their lines before shuffling off to Raleigh, N.C. for a game with the Hurricanes tomorrow night.

Toronto demoted defenceman Jamie Sifers, who had played 14 games with the big club, and called up Anton Stralman from the Marlies. Stralman played 21 games with the Leafs earlier in the season, picking up a goal and six assists.

"Hopefully (Stralman) will be able to move some pucks quick and help out on our power play," said coach Ron Wilson.

Wilson also changed his lines. Nik Antropov was dropped from the first line where he had skated with Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky, and replaced by Lee Stempniak. Antropov is now on a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

Centre Dominic Moore will stay together with Jason Blake, with recent call-up Jiri Tlusty on the other wing. The fourth line is the troika of Brad May, Andre Deveaux and Jamal Mayers.

"Just trying some tweaks to get a couple of guys going. Maybe a different look is what they need," said Wilson.

Antropov has gone 11 games without a goal; Stempniak has just three goals in 24 games since being acquired from St. Louis.

Jeremy Williams had his first full practice with the team since he injured his shoulder on Dec. 30. He travelled to Raleigh but isn't expected to dress tomorrow or Friday when the Leafs visit Atlanta.

Burke feels fans' pain but has no short-term relief

It was a night for even optimistic Maple Leafs fans to feel despondent, a night when it seemed abundantly clear just how their favourite club has fallen.

The Leafs were so non-competitive and so unexciting in a 2-0 loss to Nashville on Tuesday night that it seemed after the game as if the entire city's shoulders sagged with hopelessness.

Hundreds of miles away, Brian Burke felt that sag.

"I understand the frustration of our fans," the Leafs' president and general manager said yesterday. "We weren't good enough in our last two home games, not by a mile."

Prior to the loss to the Predators, the previous Leafs home start had produced a desultory effort in a 4-2 loss to Florida. In both games, there seemed very few players in Toronto jerseys determined to prove to their new hockey boss that they want to stay with the club.

Burke, set to move into his new Toronto house in the next two weeks, caught only the third period of the Nashville loss, having spent most of the evening in Boston carefully watching defenceman Matt Gilroy of the Boston University Terriers, probably the most sought-after U.S. college free agent available this spring.

If fans wonder what exactly Burke is doing these days, there's your answer. Looking for players.

Along with Tyler Bozak of Denver University and Notre Dame centre Christian Hanson, son of Dave Hanson of the famed Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot, the 24-year-old Gilroy might be ready to step right into an NHL lineup this spring.

That, of course, is the kind of opportunity only a weak sister like the Leafs can offer, although it didn't help them lure Swedish free agent Fabian Brunnstrom last summer.

"The way we've drafted, we've got to try and sign as many college free agents as we can," Burke said. "The idea is, sign five and hope two make it."

On the NHL front, Burke's just starting to get some trade nibbles. Anton Stralman's back with the parent club, perhaps to be showcased. The Leafs were toying with the idea of putting in a waiver claim for Vancouver goalie Curtis Sanford, but probably won't.

And bigger moves? Well, if you're expecting Burke to get in on the bidding for Vinny Lecavalier, if there is bidding to be had, you can forget it.

The Leafs aren't in a position to be offering a package of futures for the Tampa captain and every team should be leery of enormous contracts when the salary cap could be going down in a year.

There will be those, of course, who will remember how Cliff Fletcher turned a very bad Leafs team into a competitive one partway through the 1991-92 season by acquiring Doug Gilmour in a blockbuster trade.

But that was before the salary-cap era and NHL trades in general, let alone monster deals, seem to have all but evaporated these days.

"Significant trades do not exist in the NHL until much closer to the trade deadline," Burke said.

"We have to wait for the market to work in our favour."

The trades Burke has in mind, of course, are those that will see assets from his NHL roster - Nik Antropov, Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Alexei Ponikarovsky - converted into draft picks.

Demand for experienced help won't noticeably increase until February, however, so right now there's not much Burke can do except wait and scout.

That won't provide much solace to Toronto fans, some of whom are already growing restless, perhaps expecting Burke's thunderous arrival in late November to have paid more obvious dividends by now.

But this franchise is in too big a hole and the NHL is now a league in which major transactions appear only rarely.

Burke wishes he had a different message to send to Leafs fans, a stronger message of hope.

Defeat not resting lightly with Nik

The impact of the ongoing rebuild is in full evidence with the Maple Leafs now: four consecutive losses, two wins in the last 10 games, 17 goals in those 10 games.

The illusion of competitiveness was only going to last so long.

But even if the downward spiral seemed inevitable, it doesn't mean a player can't rage against it.

"Even if you're rebuilding, it doesn't mean you have to lose every single game," Nik Antropov said yesterday. "We have a lot of pride on this team. It's the Toronto Maple Leafs. We can't just lose every game, you know."

In that spirit, coach Ron Wilson yesterday shuffled the resources he does have in an effort to kick-start the offence and his squad.

For starters, Antropov was dropped from the top line where he had been skating with centre Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky. He has been replaced by Lee Stempniak for tonight's game at Carolina. Antropov drops back to a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

"Just trying some tweaks to get a couple guys going," Wilson said. "Maybe a different look is what they need."

The two principals in the underachieving department are Antropov and Stempniak, though modest expectations for the latter are based on a 27-goal season two years ago rather than anything he has achieved this campaign.

Antropov's scoring slump reached 11 games in Toronto's 2-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Stempniak has only three goals in 24 games since arriving in a trade from St. Louis.

Wilson also demoted defenceman Jaime Sifers, who has looked jittery in recent outings, and called up Anton Stralman from the Marlies. Stralman stuck with Toronto out of training camp and played 21 games as a semi-regular, picking up a goal and six assists, before he was demoted in mid-December.

"Hopefully (Stralman) will be able to move some pucks quick and help out on our power play," Wilson said.

While the situation has turned ugly for a Leafs team that saves its worst performances for home ice, an upside has been the emergence of Antropov as a team leader. The good-natured forward has repeatedly gone public with his desire to stay in Toronto, although his name is frequent fodder for the rumour mongers ("It's the centre of the hockey universe; why would I want to leave?") and his ease with the language now has made him a go-to spokesman for the team and a beacon of optimism in the dressing room.

But yesterday he conceded the weight of his scoring slump was getting to him.

"It's not as easy as you think to push it aside when you go 11 games without a goal," he said. "I'm always hard on myself. I don't think it's the right thing to do. The harder you're pushing yourself, the harder it gets to get scoring chances."

Stempniak figures the line shuffling is just a coach's attempt to "create a spark, to change things up." But to do that, Antropov has been pushed out of the comfort zone he had working - and working very well in the past - with Stajan and Ponikarovsky.

"The coach has to do what he has to do. It's not unusual," Antropov said. "Hopefully we can get some chemistry going."

Another mainstay on the team who will be a frequent source of trade speculation this season, defenceman Tomas Kaberle, didn't practise yesterday.

He said he had a "lower body" issue but expects to play tonight against the Hurricanes and tomorrow in Atlanta.

"I'm feeling good. It was just for precautionary reasons with two games coming back-to-back," he said. "I didn't want to make it worse. I'm expecting to play."

Several scouts watch Leafs lose fourth straight game

TORONTO - It was moments after the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 2-0 to the Nashville Predators that a fire alarm sounded inside Air Canada Centre.

For a team that might be preparing a fire sale, it was a foreboding omen.

The NHL trade deadline is less than two months away, but with the Leafs sitting well out of a playoff spot, teams have already begun to hover over the 11th-place club like hungry vultures preparing to pick apart its carcass.

Pro scouts from 15 different teams - including three from the Florida Panthers, two from the Chicago Blackhawks and one from the Vancouver Canucks - attended Tuesday night's game.

Most of them were there to see defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who announced last week that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause. But with the Leafs on a four-game losing streak, few Toronto players may actually be in high demand.

Leafs general manager Brian Burke said Tuesday that he had received several trade offers since he took over on Nov. 29. So far, none have been worth pursuing.

After Tuesday night's game, the offers are not likely to improve.

"We haven't been able to find a way (to win) in the last few weeks," Leafs centre Matt Stajan said. "We just have to go back to basics. Hopefully, we can get a few early goals in our next game and get out of this."

In what was a goaltending duel between two Finnish netminders, neither the Leafs nor the Predators could find the net in the first two periods. At 5:33 of the final frame, Radek Bonk finally broke the scoreless tie with a power-play goal.

Nashville went up 2-0 less than eight minutes later on a goal from David Legwand as the Leafs wasted one of Vesa Toskala's better performances.

"I feel bad for him," Leafs forward Nik Antropov said of Toskala, who stopped 21 shots. "He was holding us there almost to the point where they scored the first goal. As I said, we just have to shoot the puck more."

The Leafs directed only 17 shots at Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.

Toskala, who has been wildly inconsistent this season, may have been the only Toronto player who increased his trade value Tuesday night, stopping all 16 shots in the first two periods. Though most of Nashville's attempts appeared to come from the periphery, Toskala made a crucial save on a partial breakaway opportunity by J.P. Dumont.

The Predators were on a power play when slick-skating Steve Sullivan moved around a fallen Jamal Mayers, and stutter-stepped past Stajan before firing a wrist shot that Bonk deflected.

"It hit his pants," Toskala said of Bonk's goal, which was initially credited to Sullivan.

Toronto, meanwhile, could not solve Rinne.

The Predators goaltender, who headed into Tuesday night's game having won his previous two starts, recorded his fourth shutout of the season. Of course, he was not challenged much.

The Leafs' 17 shots marked their the lowest output of the season. In the third period, when the game was up for grabs, Toronto could muster only four.

"In the last five to 10 games, we have struggled with that," defenceman Pavel Kubina said of the Leafs, who have scored just nine goals in the last six games.

"We have to go back to how we played in the first 25 or 30 games of the season, where we outshot every team and pretty much were shooting over 35 shots every game . . . it doesn't have to be fancy."

MID-TERMS

It was a month before the season began when the Toronto Maple Leafs' then-general manager invited the city's hockey reporters to Air Canada Centre for an informal state-of-the-union address.

In an attempt to temper expectations, Cliff Fletcher stated the obvious: Nik Antropov was the only player to be considered a top-six forward; its stable of youngsters might not develop into anything more than middling NHLers; and management was not budgeting for the playoffs.

"There are rocky days ahead," Cliff Fletcher warned. "The key for us is patience."

After 41 games, the team has lived up -- or, rather, down -- to expectations.

The Leafs, who completed the first-half of the season with a one-sided 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, are 16-19-6. They have two fewer points than they did at this point last year. And they are now closer to a lottery pick than a playoff spot.

Not that anyone in the Leafs' dressing room is particularly surprised.

"We have to be patient," centre Dominic Moore said. "We knew all along that there was going to be ups and downs in the season. There's plenty of time to continue to improve. That's what we have to do."

Aside from whether they will continue their downward spiral to the bottom of the standings, here are five questions as the Leafs enter the second-half of the season:

WHO WILL BE PACKING HIS SUITCASE?

After five weeks on the job, Brian Burke's sole move has been acquiring Brad May. But with his team lacking a second-and fourth-round selection at the June draft, the Leafs general manager is expected to be a very busy man by the time the March 4 trade deadline approaches.

Defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who refused to be traded last season, told reporters on Thursday that if was not in the team's long-term plans than he would be willing to waive his no-movement clause. Pavel Kubina has hinted that he might follow suit.

The question is whom will Burke keep?

Rookie defenceman Luke Schenn is considered untouchable. And Vesa Toskala's erratic play may have cooled any interest. But every other person in the dressing room should be essentially up for grabs -- unless they fit the GM's long-term plan.

"[Dominic]Moore might be a guy he keeps," said Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley. "He may end up as a Sammy Pahlsson-type player. Guys like that are valuable."

WILL THE KIDS GROW UP?

The Leafs are supposed be rebuilding with youngsters. But with a roster where the average age is 28, little ground has been broken.

Sure, Mikhail Grabovski is amongst the top six rookies with 12 goals and 23 points. And first-round pick Schenn has already established himself as Toronto's most physical and defensively responsible player. But the rest of the team's prospects have given little hope for future.

After starting the season with the Leafs, defenceman Anton Stralman and forwards Nikolai Kulemin and Jiri Tlusty have all been assigned to the minors.

"Everybody keeps saying we're a young team," head coach Ron Wilson said. "I don't even know if we're in the top 10 of young teams."

Mixed emotions saddle Pony

PHILADELPHIA-Alexei Ponikarovsky is in a unique situation.

As he gets his offence in gear, he may be increasing his trade value on a Maple Leafs team that is bent on reinventing itself. A tough thought for the winger when his preference is to remain in Toronto.

"It all depends on how our management looks at it," he said after a 4-1 loss last night. "Basically, I go out and play and whatever happens, happens."

With his third goal in the last four games, Ponikarovsky last night passed Nik Antropov for the team lead in goal scoring with 14.

Ponikarovsky's ability to score consistently and a relatively modest contract - he earns $2.24 million (all figures U.S.) this season - would make him an easy fit for a contending team looking for another big body up front. But it is that size and his strength in cycling the puck that makes him a player general manager Brian Burke might like to keep as a building block. He has another year on his Toronto deal at $2.5 million.

Ponikarovsky would rather not go anywhere. He lives in Toronto year-round and he met his wife, who is also Ukrainian, in Toronto. They have three children and are entrenched in the community.

He also has the personality to deal with living in a hockey hotbed, with an ability to shrug off rumours and criticism.

"Being in Toronto, there's always a lot of pressure. Over the years you learn how to deal with it. For me, I just have to go out on the ice and produce," he said. "If you get sour and stuff, it's not going to help your team and it's not going to help you."

But he also understands that he might have to move at any time.

"I'm not really nervous. Basically, it's a part of the business. I can't control what's going to happen there," he said. "The only thing I can control is my game so I just try to do my best on the ice."

Ponikarovsky is on pace to score 25 to 30 goals this season, which would be a career high. What makes that interesting is that the left winger often, in the past, played with centre Mats Sundin but now the 28-year-old is finding his touch with Matt Stajan in the middle, largely by driving to the edge of the crease.

"My job basically is to get in front of the goalie and use my body there," said the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder. "I go hard for rebounds and try to get the puck out from the corner and create chances for my linemates."

Slumping Leafs no match for Flyers

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Martin Biron made 41 saves and Jeff Carter scored twice, including the game-winner, as Philadelphia got past Toronto, 4-1, at the Wachovia Center.

Mike Richards and Andrew Alberts lit the lamp for the Flyers, who have won two in a row and improved to 4-0-2 in their last six games.

Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three in a row and seven of nine. Vesa Toskala stopped 26 shots in defeat.

Ponikarovsky's backhanded poke through the crease 41 seconds into the third period produced a 1-1 tie, but that was as close Toronto got to a win.

Carter broke out of a four-game goal slump and gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead, streaking down the right side and lifting a backhander under the crossbar for a power-play goal at 5:59.

Alberts then snapped a 163-game goal drought with 8:59 left in regulation. Scottie Upshall carried down the right wing, turned at the bottom of the right circle and dished to the defenseman at the inner edge of the left circle for a snap shot through Toskala's pads.

"I do remember," said Alberts of the last time he scored. "It was short-handed off a pass from Glen Murray and it was against Marty Biron. The guys were hassling me in the dressing room and it was good to get it over with."

Toskala went to the bench with a little over two minutes to play and Carter picked up his second of the game into the empty net with 1:48 remaining.

"I felt we played very well. The difference in the game was their goalie," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "It wasn't Vesa's fault by any stretch of the imagination. We scored that one goal at the start of the third and I thought we were going to completely control the game. Unfortunately, we made a mistake on the penalty kill and that was about it."

Richards connected off a cross-ice feed from Simon Gagne for a power-play goal and 1-0 Flyers lead 6:41 into the contest.

In a scoreless second period, Biron made 18 saves and Toskala had 11 stops. The Toronto netminder had more quality chances to halt, including several short-handed opportunities by Carter along with twin stops on a Richards breakaway and follow-up from Gagne.

"I think our team does a good job of getting to the net," Flyers head coach John Stevens noted. "It's not always perimeter stuff. There's consistency in the way we play. We probably had more good chances short-handed than any other way in the hockey game but we didn't put them away. Toskala played great in those situations but I'd like to see us shoot the puck more."

Game Notes

The triumph extended the Flyers' home win streak to eight and they improved to 12-0-2 in their last 14 home games, after a regulation 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on November 8...Carter broke a tie with both Thomas Vanek of Buffalo and Washington's Alex Ovechkin -- both of whom were held scoreless on Saturday -- and leads the NHL with 29 goals...Alberts' last goal came as a member of the Boston Bruins on March 12, 2006...Philly improved to 17-1-5 when scoring first.