Set The Wayback Machine to 2008: Hawks 2, Maple Leafs 1

What a fun game.  It wasn't always pretty or well executed, but it was close, fast and entertaining. Let's Go:
More about John Hayden, who scored his first NHL goal and point tonight. That was actually a heck of a goal, what with the puck even or slightly ahead of his body, where it's tough to get much power behind a shot.  It could be that he kind of knows what's going on with the puck, but I wonder about his skating. His turns and sudden direction changes are about on par with B. Mashinter, and he charges around like he's breaking out of jail, but it's early days yet and it could still be jitters causing this dartiness.  
Freddy Anderson was fine but Crawford was better, stopping fewer shots but making the tougher saves, including a pair of breakaways by players who know what they're doing.

The Maple Leafs, I believe, will be an outstanding team very soon, providing no bad luck befalls them with major injuries or free agent signings that go awry.  They're building a core of extremely talented young forwards that, once they begin to hit their stride in anywhere between one-to-three years, will dominate to the tune that Kane-Toews-Sharp once did. They have a decent enough group of complimentary forwards, too, and even if someone like James van Riemsdyk sets sail elsewhere they should have little trouble attracting free agent talent while they still have some money to throw around. (In fact, I'm betting that John Tavares ends up in Toronto sooner than later...).  They have only a couple of goofs wasting roster spots among the forwards, so they're not far off from having three lines stacked with 20+ goal-scorers.  Their defense, however, is very much a work in progress, with really only one fully-realized D-man in Jake Gardiner, although Rielly and Zaitsev will likely be very good, very soon.  As long as they persevere with the likes of Polak and Hunwick, though, they're not going to get results that are indicative of the team's potential.  ANYWAY, the stage is set, Mike Babcock & Lou Lamoriello know what they're doing, and all Brendan Shanahan needs to do is stay out of the way and let Mike & Lou handle things.  I can't see how they'll fail to excel, and probably for a long time, at that.

Yeah, maybe it seems too easy to pin a medal on the guy who scores the game winner, but Ryan Hartman had a solid game regardless of his last-minute goal.  I was unexcited by the prospect of a Kruger - Hartman - Jurco trio, but they put together several solid shifts in which they could have scored if not for Kruger's hands and Jurco's damn near everything being found wanting.  I loved the subtle little hitch that Hartman employed to shake off a check late in the second. It was a good game in less than ideal circumstances for no. 38.