Toronto Maple Leafs add to Montreal Canadiens' misery

I don't know about you, but I find the Monday after the Maple Leafs beat the crap out of the Montreal Canadiens, on Hockey Night in Canada, on a Saturday night, for all the country to see, to always be the greatest Monday of all.

The boys took no mercy against a fragile Habs squad. It was the type of game - the type of performance - that gets me excited about next season. It was all business. And you know, of course, who took care of said business: Mikhail "Mickey Grabs" Grabovski. A goal, three assists, and another reminder of just what Montreal will be missing out on for years to come. With 40 points, he's now third in NHL rookie scoring, and his 18 goals rank fourth among freshman. Those 40 points; they're as many as Andrei Kostitsyn has, and more than Saku Koivu, Tomas Plekanec, Sergei "AHL" Kostitsyn, and Chris Higgins have. Looking like a pretty svelte trade now, eh Damien Cox? Keep booing our boy Mickey, Montreal. We love it when you do that. I can't talk about Saturday night and not mention Alexei Ponikarovsky. It was his second four-point game in March, and it couldn't have come at the expense of a team I dislike more. My man crush for the big Ukrainian somehow continues to grow. No Mats Sundin? No problem. The trade-age of Nik Antropov? No big deal. Poni's simply gone about his business all season, cracking the 20-goal mark once again, and putting up a career-high 53 points. With a salary cap hit of only $2.105 million, there isn't a better bargain in the NHL, period. If you don't love Ponikarovsky and what he brings to this team, you need to check yourself. And how about the Habs' goaltending? Yikes. A veteran keeper like Martin Gerber sure would look good in the Montreal crease right about now, don't you think? It's a good thing he wasn't on waivers, you know, and available to any team, twice before the trade deadline. Well done, Bob Gainey. Well done. Saturday night was another coach killing performance by the Leafs. Gainey's just out of coaches to fire. Happy 100th anniversary, Montreal. See you on the golf course next month.