Score one for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rather, make that score three for the Leafs. When the smoke from the Def Leppard concert cleared and the Stanley Cup presentation ceremony was over, all that was left was the actual game of hockey between the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Let’s start with the end first. 3-2 Maple Leafs win. While the Red Wings held the Cup over their heads for press photos, the Maple Leafs sat stoically on their bench. Their time would come 60 minutes of play later after scoring a goal in each of the three periods. Though the momentum seemed to favor the Red Wings early on, a misplaced pass in the Red Wings zone led to a Toronto goal with only 25 seconds left in the first period.

From that point on the Toronto Maple Leafs neither lost the lead nor dropped to a tie with the Red Wings. They played with a great sense of attack and intensity, and their goalie Vesa Toskala held his ground during the last minutes of play when the Red Wings offense began to surge and pressure hard–especially during the power play for the final 30 seconds of the game.

The Maple leafs are on a quest to show that this is a brand new Toronto program. So far, in beating last year’s best team, they have proved just that.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have undergone (and are still undergoing) a near complete team makeover. Last January the process started when the Maple Leafs hired General Manager Cliff Fletcher. Fletcher began right then and there making some drastic team changes, but he hadn’t time to complete them all. Now, in the offseason, he has had more time to analyze the Leafs’ situation.

First and foremost Fletcher has hired new head coach Ron Wilson. Wilson’s no-nonsense approach to hockey, as well as his impressive 518 victories (NHL record eighth highest total), should provide a strong foundation for Toronto in the upcoming year. Wilson is highly renowned for his strong defensive schemes, which should fit well in the Leafs depth at defense.

Starting from the goalie, Vesa Toskala will serve as the backbone of the Leafs’ defense. The number one ranked goalie is expected to blank many of the best opposing offensive players, and will be supported by backup goalie Curtis Joseph. Assisting Toskala will be a near impenetrable defense featuring defensive wonder Bryan McCabe.

Questions still remain as to the quality of their offensive lines. While their first line features the powerful triumvirate of Nik Antropov, Alex Ponikarovsky and Alex Steen, their scoring potential is still suspect. For the Maple Leafs, however, perhaps a great defense is the best offense.

The Philadelphia Flyers finished up season 2007 on a positive note, winning three straight to end the calendar year. However, during the four days of 2008, they already showed that their 2008 start leaves much to be desired and has plenty of room for improvement. The Flyers will try to rehabilitate themselves as they continue a six-game road trip Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leaves.

On Friday, Calgary beat Carolina 4-3, Buffalo crashed Washington 5-6, Toronto outplayed Atlanta 4-0, and Minnesota won over Anaheim 5-2.

Eric Lindros, the winner of the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in 1995, retired in his hometown of London, Ontario, yesterday, ending a career derailed by a series of concussions and other minor injuries. Eric Lindros, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound center, had 372 goals, 865 points and 1,398 penalty minutes in 760 games for the Rangers, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Dallas.

The Senators are off to the best start to a season in the National Hockey League history after Tuesday night’s 5-1 win over their rivals Maple Leafs. The Senators improved to an impressive 13-1-0, making this season’s Senators the fastest team in the league to reach the thirteen-win mark. Each Ottawa player got a phone call from John Paddock last summer warning against a letdown following their trip to the Stanley Cup final last year. Paddock warned against the type of meltdown that happened to 2006 Cup finalists Edmonton and the Panthers, both of which missed the playoffs last season.

After Wellwood steps onto the ice at Scotiabank Place tonight, the Maple Leafs will welcome back his brains rather than his brawn. Given Kyle’s medium-sized frame, brawn is in short supply with the player, however, he has lots of brainpower that the Maple Leafs’ moribund power play desperately needs. Before last night’s matches, the Leafs’ power play was 26th among the League’s thirty teams with a success rate of 13.4 %. Toronto had also allowed 4 short-handed goals, the most in the NHL.

Kyle Wellwood, who has not played a match this year after requiring surgery for a 2nd time on his sports hernia, will inject a healthy shot of creativity in the power play.

The most obvious reason for this year’s travails is that Kyle Wellwood, defenseman McCabe and winger Tucker, who were regulars on last year’s power play, have not played on it for the past 2 weeks.

Kyle Wellwood is going to play centre on the 4th line with another newcomer to this season’s lineup. Bell finished his fifteen-game League suspension and will play with Kyle Wellwood and John Pohl. On the power play, Kyle will be on the Number 1 unit with Sundin and Antropov as the forwards, with Blake dropping down to the 2nd unit.

There is no better test for the Toronto Maple Leaf power play than the Senators tonight. At 12-1 before last night’s matches, Ottawa is the Number 1 hockey team in the League and they enjoy a perfect record against Toronto’s power play. In the first 2 matches of the season, Ottawa blanked the Maple Leafs on fourteen power-play opportunities in winning both matches.