SHOOTER TUTOR
The Leafs haul out a white plywood silhouette of a goaltender at the end of every practice when their two human stoppers exit and few players have punished the target more of late than defenceman Luke Schenn.
But his extra practice, supervised by assistant coaches Rob Zettler and Keith Acton, have given the sophomore more bang for his buck and likely contributed to his career-best two-goal game on Saturday against Ottawa.
"It's nice that all the work has paid off," Schenn said. "It's more keeping your head up, transferring your weight, bending your stick and putting your whole body into it. If you work on all parts of your game, you'll find a way to get better. The big thing in this league is not to be complacent."
Coach Ron Wilson is more happy that Schenn is moving his feet again than putting more mustard on his shot. Schenn's wooden movements in his zone had set his development back, but the arrival of Dion Phaneuf has given Schenn "a role model," Wilson said.
"They're just a couple of years apart," Wilson said. "Dion's career has been much different in that he is a lot more offensive minded and has learned how to play (defence), the exact opposite of Luke."
DUCK SOUP FOR JIGGY
As odd as his Anaheim Ducks mask looks with a Leafs sweater, Jean-Sebastien Giguere will keep it for now until a Toronto-themed cage arrives later in the month.
"I'm not too superstitious," Giguere said of using the Anaheim mask while his shutout streak is going. "Whenever (the new one) comes in, I'll wear it."
