Burke sold on Tavares as top pick

OTTAWA-As far as Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is concerned, there is no longer any debate over who ought to be the No.1 pick in this summer's NHL draft. It's John Tavares.

"He's proved it at this tournament as far as I'm concerned," said Burke. "He's scoring different goals, power goals, finesse goals, running the power play. He's a special player.

"No debate anymore. Not for me."

The other player in the debate is Swedish blueliner Victor Hedman.

But while Tavares has been Canada's best player at the world junior hockey championship, many believe Hedman is not even Sweden's best defenceman.

That would be Erik Karlsson, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, who has two goals and four assists to lead the Swedish attack. Hedman has two assists.

That may be why Sweden coach Par Marst called out Hedman, saying he needs more from his 6-foot-6 defender, who has drawn comparisons to Chris Pronger, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mattias Ohlund.

"He can play better," said Marst. "He can do better. He should control the puck better, set the other guys up with the good passes, that's the main thing Victor has to do."

Hedman, who has missed most of the season in the Swedish Elite League with a shoulder injury, agrees with his coach.

"I can be better," said Hedman. "I can be more creative with offence. I think I play a good defensive game. It's not every game you can play at your top level."

The Swedes take on Slovakia today in the semifinals.

Hedman's slower-than-expected start at this tournament aside, Marst says the defenceman is the complete package, the kind of player a general manager can build a franchise around.

"Some guys are better than him in certain things, but as a whole package - he's strong, he's a good skater, a good shot - he is at that franchise-player level," said Marst.

Burke said it would be a mistake to take Hedman just because you need help on the blue line.

"Otherwise you pass on a guy who becomes a star," he said.

450 Wins for Curtis Joseph

The 4-3 overtime win over the Thrashers at the ACC last night was easily Curtis Joseph's best performance since his return to the Leafs ... although in fairness it was versus Atlanta. The victory was a significant one. It was the classy veteran's first win of the season, the 450th of his career and the first since April 5 with the Flames. But fans don't care about details and neither does Cujo. Nevertheless, he appreciated the moment.

"Wins are the most important measure for goalies, I think," Joseph said of his 29-save performance. "It's certainly a great accomplishment each win you get later in your career. It certainly wasn't to pass anybody, but it's a nice round number."

Joseph still ranks fourth in NHL history with his 450 wins behind Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour and he's locked in, not moving up any time soon.

In any case, it was a little bit of retro Leafs feeling in the building, with 19,000 fans chanting "Cu-Jo, Cu-Jo" in the second period as he withstood a barrage of Thrasher shots on back-to-back power plays, preserving a 2-2 tie. He was named the game's first star and when he skated on to the ice, the love-in started up again.

"You block out the negative stuff, but you hear the good stuff," Joseph said. "It's a great feeling. They want you to do well for sure. This is my dream job and sometimes you don't realize it till you're gone."

It's funny he should say that. Was last night the beginning of an unofficial and brief farewell tour - without the parting gifts - for the popular 41-year-old?

Think about the unusual Leafs decision to start Joseph at all in the midst of a three-game losing skid and then announce in advance that he would also start versus the Sabres. It was a head-scratcher for many. The Leafs may have started Joseph to get that pesky milestone win out of the way against one of the league's doormats out of loyalty. After all, the team knows that, "What the hey, it can't hurt our playoff chances."

Another factor may be that GM Brian Burke knows it will be relatively painless to get out from under Joseph's one-year, $700,000 (U.S.) contract. With Joseph out of the way, he can get rookie Justin Pogge into the mix then maybe look to deal Vesa Toskala.

At the same time, Burke as the newcomer doesn't want to appear like a heartless boor. The Leafs want the classy veteran to go out having proved that he can still play rather than callously releasing the loyal warrior without a final kick at the can.

Think about it. The last time the Leafs had won a game before yesterday, they were playing the same Thrashers, Dec. 22 in Atlanta. With Toskala suffering a groin injury, instead of entrusting the blue ice to Joseph, already on hand, they called up the 22-year-old Pogge from the Marlies.

So, eight days later, same opponent, same need to rest Toskala, why not call Pogge up again to face a team that he beat in his debut? Why not repeat a formula that produced a victory just a week ago? The next night, when the Leafs returned home to face the Stars on Dec. 23, the night after Pogge's debut, with Toskala still feeling groin woes, coach Ron Wilson wouldn't give Joseph the start. Instead, he sat on the bench for the first seven goals against Toskala before entering in relief.

The Leafs' philosophy somehow changed in the space of a week. After three straight losses by the frying Finn heading into last night, instead of Pogge, Joseph got the nod. One may be excused for thinking Joseph's swan song is at hand. If he is indeed going to exit stage right - certainly not a slam-dunk - it should be with the dignity he deserves. The Leafs, if that is the plan, seem to be allowing that to happen.

Leafs need to ticket for Tavares lottery

It's a derby in which the Maple Leafs, not yet bad enough to get better, must have a horse

Brian Burke knows it, Dave Nonis knows it and even Ron Wilson, you have to believe, knows it.

John Tavares' special performance on a big stage for Team Canada in the opening game of the world junior championship in Ottawa on Friday night was just the latest piece of compelling evidence that made it clear the Leafs need to be at least in a position to win the draft lottery and land the No. 1 overall pick next June.

True, the world juniors is just one competition, and in an 8-1 trampling of the Czech Republic, there were a few Canadians who looked flashy on the attack.

But Tavares' two goals were both scored early when the game was competitive, and his setup to Angelo Esposito displayed the kind of on-ice vision that scouts love to see from elite players.

That it happened as the Leafs were simultaneously showing how lousy they can be in Long Island without a special player up front to make a difference seemed, well, painfully symbolic.

For those who fallaciously argue that the Leafs are basically a .500 team and therefore an over-achieving squad on the rise, ask yourself this: If they lost 82 straight games in overtime and thus ended the season with 82 points, would they still be .500?

Just wondering.

After temporarily losing his status as the No. 1 prospect available in the world to Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman, meanwhile, Tavares appeared to have won that honour back before the world juniors even started after a strong half-season in Oshawa.

While former Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher argued earlier this year that there are no franchise players available in the '09 draft, Tavares and Hedman may prove him wrong.

As of yesterday, the lowest five teams in the NHL - and thus the clubs with the potential to land the No. 1 pick in June via the draft lottery - were the Islanders, Lightning, Thrashers, Blues and, surprise surprise, the Senators.

The Leafs, after humiliating losses to Dallas and Long Island, sat 23rd yesterday, otherwise known as no man's land. Last year, being in that kind of position cost them first-, second- and third-round picks to move up from the seventh pick (after finishing 24th overall) but didn't get them within shouting distance of Steven Stamkos or Drew Doughty.

They now have no second- or third-rounder next June, and no second- or third-rounder in 2010. So that's the kind of expensive transaction they just can't afford to make again any time soon.

(Interestingly, the five teams that drafted after the Leafs last June and didn't sacrifice draft picks to move up still corralled prospects as promising as steady Luke Schenn. Vancouver, for instance, snagged Canadian national junior team star Cody Hodgson at 10th overall, and imagine the rejoicing in Leaf Nation today if this talented young man were owned by Toronto's NHL entry.) After 35 games, the Leafs go into Washington tonight again sitting too high in the standings to have a shot at the most coveted teenagers in the world next June. That said, they have both the time to get worse and clearly the potential to be much worse after their dreadful performance on Long Island.

Wilson, as a first-year coach on a long-term deal, can at least comfort himself knowing that if the Leafs finish low enough to land Tavares or Hedman, he'll actually get the chance to coach them.

Now Burke's got to manoeuvre the Leafs to where they need to be. While goaltending that wavers between acceptable and atrocious will help, it still won't be simple.

The Atlantas and Tampas of the NHL's nether regions, you see, will be difficult to overcome.

Then again, nobody said getting to the bottom was going to be easy.

Leaf guns no match for Caps

WASHINGTON-Suddenly, a Maple Leafs offence that seemed so surprisingly explosive just a week ago, has dried up.

And so have Toronto's victories.

So last night, when it finally appeared the Leafs were getting the goaltending necessary to win, the goals just weren't there to cover up for the defensive gaffes the way they once were.

So the Leafs, who for the second time this month played a mostly solid game against Alexander Ovechkin and the dynamic Caps, lost 4-1. It was their third consecutive defeat, a stretch in which they have scored four times. On this two-game road swing, Toronto produced two goals from Lee Stempniak and, last night, one from Niklas Hagman.

"Bottom line is we can't win a game scoring just one goal," said forward Nik Antropov. "I don't think we're going to the net as hard as we can go. (Washington goaltender Jose) Theodore was leaving lots of rebounds there but none of us was there to tap them in."

That lack of production won't be helped by the loss of No.1 centre Matt Stajan for up to two weeks. He suffered a freak eye injury Saturday when he was hit with a soccer ball during warm-up. The Leafs just don't have the depth up front that the Caps are showing themselves to possess with their own mounting injuries.

Puzzling about this Toronto drought is that, in the previous six games that produced five wins, the Leafs were on fire with 27 goals, including a stretch of 18 in three games.

"There's some things we've gotten away from offensively. We're not shooting enough pucks towards the net and creating scrambly situations," said coach Ron Wilson.

Despite the pop-gun attack, the Leafs were hanging in with time ticking down in the second period. No easy feat considering Washington is now 15-1-1 on its own ice this season.

It was 1-1 late in the middle frame when the Leafs decided to throw the puck away a couple of times, including a giveaway by Mikhail Grabovski at the Toronto blue line. Not a smart move when, a) it was a four-on-four situation and the Leafs skaters had been caught out on a long shift, and, b) one of the Washington skaters was Ovechkin.

"We should have realized the time, the score and who was on the ice," said Wilson. "When the best player in the league is on the ice, or one of the best, you can't mismanage the puck and we did."

Ovechkin steamed down the right wing and snapped a shot that squeezed between goaltender Vesa Toskala's left arm and body. That gave Washington a 2-1 lead with 10 seconds remaining in the period.

"That goal killed us," said Antropov. "You just can't make those mistakes in our zone."

"Turnovers have been killing us and it happened again tonight," said defenceman Ian White.

Another giveaway by Tomas Kaberle with less than five minutes remaining allowed Brooks Laich to pop in his second of the game for a 3-1 lead. Then Ovechkin clinched matters with his second of the game, and 12th in the last 10 games, into an empty net.

The goal helped prolong what has been a remarkable run for the Caps, who have won six straight games on their own ice despite numerous injuries. Last night they were without, among others, Alexander Semin (back), Tomas Fleischmann (pneumonia) and Sergei Fedorov (shoulder), three players who would probably form Toronto's top line if they wore blue and white.

Stajan eyeing down time

WASHINGTON-Matt Stajan's status for tonight, like his vision, is a little fuzzy.

In a freak accident, the Maple Leafs centre was hit in the eye with a soccer ball before yesterday's practice here as he and his teammates played a common limbering-up game. Stajan's vision was blurred, according to coach Ron Wilson, so the team had him forgo practice and, instead, sent him for further examination, the results of which weren't immediately available.

"I don't know what the prognosis is," said Wilson.

Before games and practices, it's typical to see a few of the players in shorts, T-shirts and running shoes under the stands in a circle, kicking a ball, trying to keep it from touching the ground. While the players have a few laughs, these being top-level athletes, it can get fairly competitive as players lunge and stretch to keep the ball in play.

Stajan's injury is not thought to be overly serious but if he has to sit out against the Capitals here tonight, his likely replacement in the Toronto lineup will be veteran Jamal Mayers.

Mayers has been out since breaking his right hand on Dec. 1 when he slid into a goalpost during a game in Los Angeles. He had an X-ray taken on Tuesday that showed the bone had healed and he is hoping to receive final medical clearance today. If he gets it, he'll be back whether Stajan can play or not.

"Obviously, they were happy with the direction it's heading in. Now I think it's just based on how it feels and my pain tolerance," said the 34-year-old Mayers. "Hopefully I'll be in there."

The news was not so good for defenceman Mike Van Ryn, who is dealing with his second concussion of the season, this one suffered when the Leafs played at Boston on Dec. 18. Van Ryn was on this trip with the team but went home yesterday morning.

"He's going to be out a while," said Wilson. "He doesn't feel well. We just have to be patient till he feels well."

If Stajan misses any time, it will be a significant loss for Toronto. The 25-year-old impressed this season by working his way back from being a healthy scratch early in the campaign to being nearly a point-a-game player as the Leafs' No. 1 centre.

Playing with wingers Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky, Stajan has six points in the last four games. Antropov went through a recent stretch where he had nine points in four games and the trio found some chemistry.

Nikolai Kulemin, the highly touted Russian who has yet to find his scoring touch in the NHL, worked out on the top line yesterday.

"Hopefully (Stajan) is okay," said Antropov. "But that's sport today; somebody can get injured and we've got people to replace him. Obviously someone is going to be new on our line so we just have to get used to each other and play as simple as we can."

The banged-up Capitals may be without several stalwarts, including Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Semin and Mike Green, for tonight's game against the Leafs. But Toronto will still have to contend with whiz kid Alexander Ovechkin, who scored another dazzler on Friday, his 23rd goal of the season.

With that in mind, Wilson did a lot of work with his defencemen during practice yesterday, putting them in positions where they were facing one-on-one counterattacks and getting them to concede less room.

Winger overlooked in OHL draft now playing on Canada's top line; `A dream come true'

OTTAWA-Chris DiDomenico appears to be adding another chapter to his never-quit, feel-good, out-of-nowhere story that landed him on Team Canada.

The Woodbridge native and Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick finds himself skating on Canada's top line, with John Tavares and Angelo Esposito, at the world junior hockey championship.

Not bad for a kid who has never represented Canada before and who was overlooked two years running in the OHL draft only to land with the Saint John expansion team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"It could be motivation for younger kids who didn't get drafted in the OHL, that they can find a future somewhere in hockey," said DiDomenico.

"A few years ago, I was playing midget AAA. This is a dream come true for me so far.

"Growing up, watching (this tournament) with my dad. I couldn't ask for a better thing than to put on this red and white jersey."

One of Team Canada coach Pat Quinn's chief worries was finding the proper wingers to play with Tavares. Quinn seems to have found some chemistry with Esposito and DiDomenico.

"He (DiDomenico) has got good hockey smarts," said Quinn. "He has an ability to play a two-way game. He gets himself in good positions. He can make plays."

Quinn said Esposito - a one-time phenom who made this team in his fourth attempt - got the prime real estate on Tavares' other wing through hard work.

"I don't think we gave him any leeway; he earned it," said Quinn. "And he's changing his game. He was an offensive element. That offence started to dry up for him and he figured out he'd better be a better player in a lot of different ways."

The line clicked in the opener, combining for four goals in the 8-1 win over the Czech Republic, with Tavares scoring twice, Esposito and DiDomenico one each.

"We're working hard, there's chemistry between us," said DiDomenico. "During the exhibition games, we didn't score enough. But now we're getting our chemistry back."

There's pressure, though, that comes with landing on the first line.

"There's going to be quite a bit of pressure because of the offensive ability (Tavares) brings to the team," said DiDomenico. "You've got to put that aside, you got to do whatever the coach asks. If he wants me to play more of a defensive role so Johnny can take more risks, then I'm going to have to do it."

Esposito says he doesn't feel the pressure quite as much, thanks to Tavares.

"Johnny's a great player and playing with great players makes it that much easier," said Esposito. "My job is to come with a lot of energy and just move my feet. Johnny finds you on the ice. Me and Chris, we just have to make sure we're always moving our feet and creating things.''

Tavares, who played against DiDomenico in leagues around the GTA, says the line is improving.

"We're getting a little more used to each other and we're communicating a lot more, which is important," said Tavares.

As with all matters in the round-robin portion of this tournament, Quinn believes the Tavares-Esposito-DiDomenico unit is still a work in progress.

"We tried it a couple of days in the (pre-tournament games)," Quinn said of the line. "It was spotty. They had some good shifts and some not-so-good shifts.

"We think if we can get some more consistency, it will be a good unit."

Leafs fall to Islanders

Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Bill Guerin scored twice for 400 career goals, and the New York Islanders stopped their longest losing streak in 11 years with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

New York goalie Rick DiPietro made his return after a 27-game absence following knee surgery and stopped 28 shots for his first win of the season. DiPietro also notched an assist, the 14th of his career.

Kyle Okposo and Freddy Meyer also scored for the Isles, who had not won since beating Ottawa on November 29. They had been 0-9-1 in the 10 games since.

Lee Stempniak notched the only goal for the Maple Leafs, who have lost two straight games. Vesa Toskala was unimpressive in net, allowing four goals on 31 shots in taking the loss.

DiPietro made his presence known early, assisting on the Isles' first goal. The goaltender came out of his net to dish the puck to Okposo, who flew down the right side of the ice and directed the puck toward the net from a bad angle. Somehow Toskala whiffed on the incoming shot, and it ended up in the back of the net just under four minutes into the game.

Toronto tied it up later in the first, when Stempniak took a rebound off DiPietro's right pad and shoved it into the net at 15:44.

New York went back on top, as Guerin re-directed Joshua Bailey's wrister out of the air and past Toskala 6:27 into the second period.

The Islanders took a two-goal lead early in the third. Guerin found a loose puck in front of the net and slammed it home before Toskala could locate it just 2 1/2 minutes into the frame.

Meyer added a goal for New York on a slapshot from the slot to make it 4-1, and the Isles cruised to the victory from there.

Game Notes

DiPietro holds the single-season and all-time records for assists as a Islanders goaltender, recording his sixth of the 2007-08 season and 13th of his career on March 12, 2008 against Tampa Bay...Bailey was originally credited with Guerin's first goal, which would have marked Bailey's first career NHL tally, but replays showed that Guerin clearly tipped the puck...Doug Weight, who leads the Isles with 29points, sat out the contest with a groin injury...The season series is tied, 1-1.