OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Turning Over a New Leaf(s): The 1988-89 Maple Leafs

uWoHollywood · 05-25-2023, 12:49 PM

Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard was satisfied with a slightly-better-than .500 record, especially given the Leafs being in rebuilding mode. Ballard reiterated to GM Jason Taylor that he had a green light to make trades focused on prospects and picks, in order to drive success in the (near) future.

Game 14 - 5-1 W v BOS
Toronto dominated Boston, outshooting them 34-12. John Cullen (2G), Vincent Damphouse (2A) and Ed Olczyk (2A) led the offense against Andy Moog and the Bruins. During the game, BOS D Michael Telven was assessed a 5-min Boarding Major. The NHL was NOT pleased, and he was suspended by the NHL for 7 games.

Game 15 - 4-2 W v LAK
Dave Reid scored a SHG midway through the 1st. Wayne Gretzky tied the game at 2-2 early in the 3rd, but Ed Olczyk put the Leafs up with 7:40 left. David Volek iced the game on an ENG with just 25 seconds left. Rollie Melanson stopped 34 of 37 in the loss, while Belfour stopped 23 of 25.

NHL News:

Former Maple Leafs winger John Anderson reached 600 career points
Brian Bellows went 4-1-5 and Dino Ciccarelli went 1-4-5 for MIN in a 7-3 W vs CHI
Dale Hawerchuk had an amazing 3-3-6 night in a 10-6 win for WPG over QUE

Game 16 - 6-3 W @ PIT
In their first (regular season) game since their blockbuster trade, Toronto outplayed the Penguins. The Leafs outshot them 44-25, and came back from being down 3-0 with six unanswered goals. Toronto’s ex-Penguins led the way: Zarley Zalapski had 2A, while John Cullen had 1G and 2A. Ex-Leaf Allan Bester did his best to keep Pittsburgh in it, with 38 saves on 43 shots. Tom Fergus, the other key ex-Leaf from the trade, had an awful game going -2 with just 1 SOG.

Game 17 - 5-2 W v EDM
The Leafs stunned the Oilers for their 7th-straight victory. Ex-Oiler Craig Muni was fired up, leading the Leafs with 3A in his best performance of the season. Ken Wregget was also clutch for Toronto, stopping 33 of 35. Dave Reid didn’t score, but he was a beast defensively with 10 Hits. Reid and Ron Wilson were also critical in shutting down the Oilers’ powerplay (EDM was 0-for-5).

NHL News: Wayne Gretzky’s 1-4-5 night powered the LAK to a 7-4 W vs PIT

Game 18 - 9-5 W v MIN
Make it Eight! The Leafs were down 4-2 after 9 minutes, but Gary Leeman scored with 1:10 left in the 1st apparently opened the floodgates. The Leafs scored 4 in the 2nd and never looked back. Neal Broten’s 1G 2A effort was about all there was to celebrate on the MIN side. Meanwhile, the Leafs’ first line dominated; Olczyk was 3-2-5, Leeman was 1-3-4 and Courtnall was 0-2-2. Zalapski was 1-1-2 and +6 (!!!) on the blueline. Ed Belfour wasn’t great, giving up 5 on 17… but when your team scores 9 no one really cares.

Game 19 - 6-5 W v PIT
NINE! The Leafs led 4-0 after 19 minutes, but Penguins narrowed that lead with 3 goals in just over 3 minutes. Pittsburgh tied the Leafs 5-5 with 14 minutes left in the 3rd, and it looked like the Leafs would choke. Then Dave Reid scored a BUZZER BEATER; his GWG came with just one second left on the clock. Mario Lemieux was a beast, but Toronto kept him off the scoresheet. Fergus scored a goal but overall was unimpressive, while Bester was shelled for 6 goals on 35 shots. Ken Wregget was unfortunately awful, stopping just 18 of 23. Fortunately, Zalapski’s 2-2-4 and +2 evening was a difference-maker for Toronto.

Game 20 - 8-7 W @ WPG - TEN!!!
What a game! A goalie battle this was most definitely not. Brent Ashton tried to win single-handedly for Winnipeg, going 1-4-5 and playing probably the best game of his life. Andrew McBain also went 1-3-4 in the loss. But the Leafs were not losing on this night: Toronto led 2-1 after 1, and 4-3 after 2. Then things went crazy in the 3rd. Mike Bullard tied it 4-4, Vinny Damphousse restored the 5-4 Leafs’ lead, and then Dale Hawerchuk made it 5-5 (all in the first 3:30 of the 3rd period). Borje Salming, Russ Courtnall and Al Iafrate then each scored during a 6-minute span to make it 8-5. Bullard scored again with 3 min left, followed by Thomas Steen cutting the lead to 8-7 with 1:42 left… but the Leafs held on. And shockingly, only 2 of the combined 15 goals were on the PP! Toronto’s first line again won the day; Ed Olczyk 4A, Gary Leeman 3A and Russ Courtnall 2G 1A. Al Iafrate also had 2G.

Game 21 - 7-7 T @ EDM
The winning streak is over, but the Leafs are still unbeaten in 11. Sadly, this featured a nearly-epic collapse by Toronto. The Leafs led 6-1 with 21 minutes left, and 7-4 midway through the 3rd. Unfortunately, Edmonton scored three goals in the final 8:30 to come away with a draw. Grant Fuhr and Ed Belfour were both awful. Jari Kurri led the way with 4A and Craig Simpson had 2G and 1A. On the Toronto side, the first line again came though: Olczyk 2A, Leeman 3G, Courtnall 2A. Zalapski also had his best performance of the season, going 2-1-3 and +2 with 7 SOG, 2 blocked shots, 3 hits and 3 takeaways. Absolutely brilliant, and Zalapski was now riding a 5-game goal streak.

05-25-2023, 12:49 PM	#11
uWoHollywood Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 55	November Part I Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard was satisfied with a slightly-better-than .500 record, especially given the Leafs being in rebuilding mode. Ballard reiterated to GM Jason Taylor that he had a green light to make trades focused on prospects and picks, in order to drive success in the (near) future. Game 14 - 5-1 W v BOS Toronto dominated Boston, outshooting them 34-12. John Cullen (2G), Vincent Damphouse (2A) and Ed Olczyk (2A) led the offense against Andy Moog and the Bruins. During the game, BOS D Michael Telven was assessed a 5-min Boarding Major. The NHL was NOT pleased, and he was suspended by the NHL for 7 games. Game 15 - 4-2 W v LAK Dave Reid scored a SHG midway through the 1st. Wayne Gretzky tied the game at 2-2 early in the 3rd, but Ed Olczyk put the Leafs up with 7:40 left. David Volek iced the game on an ENG with just 25 seconds left. Rollie Melanson stopped 34 of 37 in the loss, while Belfour stopped 23 of 25. NHL News: Former Maple Leafs winger John Anderson reached 600 career points Brian Bellows went 4-1-5 and Dino Ciccarelli went 1-4-5 for MIN in a 7-3 W vs CHI Dale Hawerchuk had an amazing 3-3-6 night in a 10-6 win for WPG over QUE Game 16 - 6-3 W @ PIT In their first (regular season) game since their blockbuster trade, Toronto outplayed the Penguins. The Leafs outshot them 44-25, and came back from being down 3-0 with six unanswered goals. Toronto’s ex-Penguins led the way: Zarley Zalapski had 2A, while John Cullen had 1G and 2A. Ex-Leaf Allan Bester did his best to keep Pittsburgh in it, with 38 saves on 43 shots. Tom Fergus, the other key ex-Leaf from the trade, had an awful game going -2 with just 1 SOG. Game 17 - 5-2 W v EDM The Leafs stunned the Oilers for their 7th-straight victory. Ex-Oiler Craig Muni was fired up, leading the Leafs with 3A in his best performance of the season. Ken Wregget was also clutch for Toronto, stopping 33 of 35. Dave Reid didn’t score, but he was a beast defensively with 10 Hits. Reid and Ron Wilson were also critical in shutting down the Oilers’ powerplay (EDM was 0-for-5). NHL News: Wayne Gretzky’s 1-4-5 night powered the LAK to a 7-4 W vs PIT Game 18 - 9-5 W v MIN Make it Eight! The Leafs were down 4-2 after 9 minutes, but Gary Leeman scored with 1:10 left in the 1st apparently opened the floodgates. The Leafs scored 4 in the 2nd and never looked back. Neal Broten’s 1G 2A effort was about all there was to celebrate on the MIN side. Meanwhile, the Leafs’ first line dominated; Olczyk was 3-2-5, Leeman was 1-3-4 and Courtnall was 0-2-2. Zalapski was 1-1-2 and +6 (!!!) on the blueline. Ed Belfour wasn’t great, giving up 5 on 17… but when your team scores 9 no one really cares. Game 19 - 6-5 W v PIT NINE! The Leafs led 4-0 after 19 minutes, but Penguins narrowed that lead with 3 goals in just over 3 minutes. Pittsburgh tied the Leafs 5-5 with 14 minutes left in the 3rd, and it looked like the Leafs would choke. Then Dave Reid scored a BUZZER BEATER; his GWG came with just one second left on the clock. Mario Lemieux was a beast, but Toronto kept him off the scoresheet. Fergus scored a goal but overall was unimpressive, while Bester was shelled for 6 goals on 35 shots. Ken Wregget was unfortunately awful, stopping just 18 of 23. Fortunately, Zalapski’s 2-2-4 and +2 evening was a difference-maker for Toronto. Game 20 - 8-7 W @ WPG - TEN!!! What a game! A goalie battle this was most definitely not. Brent Ashton tried to win single-handedly for Winnipeg, going 1-4-5 and playing probably the best game of his life. Andrew McBain also went 1-3-4 in the loss. But the Leafs were not losing on this night: Toronto led 2-1 after 1, and 4-3 after 2. Then things went crazy in the 3rd. Mike Bullard tied it 4-4, Vinny Damphousse restored the 5-4 Leafs’ lead, and then Dale Hawerchuk made it 5-5 (all in the first 3:30 of the 3rd period). Borje Salming, Russ Courtnall and Al Iafrate then each scored during a 6-minute span to make it 8-5. Bullard scored again with 3 min left, followed by Thomas Steen cutting the lead to 8-7 with 1:42 left… but the Leafs held on. And shockingly, only 2 of the combined 15 goals were on the PP! Toronto’s first line again won the day; Ed Olczyk 4A, Gary Leeman 3A and Russ Courtnall 2G 1A. Al Iafrate also had 2G. Game 21 - 7-7 T @ EDM The winning streak is over, but the Leafs are still unbeaten in 11. Sadly, this featured a nearly-epic collapse by Toronto. The Leafs led 6-1 with 21 minutes left, and 7-4 midway through the 3rd. Unfortunately, Edmonton scored three goals in the final 8:30 to come away with a draw. Grant Fuhr and Ed Belfour were both awful. Jari Kurri led the way with 4A and Craig Simpson had 2G and 1A. On the Toronto side, the first line again came though: Olczyk 2A, Leeman 3G, Courtnall 2A. Zalapski also had his best performance of the season, going 2-1-3 and +2 with 7 SOG, 2 blocked shots, 3 hits and 3 takeaways. Absolutely brilliant, and Zalapski was now riding a 5-game goal streak.