The Maple Leafs had been searching nervously for goaltending since Curtis Joseph's hand was broken three weeks ago, and they believe they finally found someone by acquiring Tom Barrasso.
Funny thing is, they might have found one under their noses even as the hunt was going on.
Corey Schwab, forever a backup despite being 31, has a 2.11 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in eight games since Joseph went down. More important by far, Toronto's players seem to have embraced him, as the team has shown marked improvement of late.
Which might explain why Bill Watters was going out of his way to reject the notion Barrasso was brought in to send Schwab back to the end of the bench.
"No, that's not the case at all," Watters told the Toronto Star. "I think what you have to look at is what the risks are as we sat with one goaltender. If Corey gets hurt, we're in big trouble."
If Barrasso thought the media in Pittsburgh was tough -- and he most assuredly did -- he's in for quite a picnic in Toronto.
An equally intriguing duel in net could blossom in Philadelphia. With starter Roman Cechmanek out another week or so because of a sprained ankle, Brian Boucher has rediscovered the superb form he was flashing early in the season. General Manager Bob Clarke told a radio station Cechmanek would be back in net when healthy, but Coach Bill Barber responded to that comment by saying there will be "no closed doors" for Boucher. Clarke quickly deferred to Barber.
A banner hung at the MCI Center Tuesday for the Capitals' 5-2 loss to the Stars: "Jagr, You Stole Ted's Wallet Then You Stole Our Hearts." The reference, of course, was to Jaromir Jagr, who was signed by owner Ted Leonsis to a seven-year, $77 million extension.
Speaking of familiar faces having a rough go in other places, the blue-seat fanatics at Madison Square Garden are booing Petr Nedved with each touch of the puck. He has 16 goals, 22 assists to show for his $4.2 million salary.
With little fanfare, the Devils' Scott Stevens played in his 1,500th game Wednesday, putting him in spectacular company. Only seven have played more: Gordie Howe (1,767), Larry Murphy (1,615), Raymond Bourque (1,612), Mark Messier (1,601), Ron Francis (1,558), Alex Delvecchio (1,549) and John Bucyk (1,540).
Wonder what makes a player such as Michael Peca so valuable? Check out his words in Newsday after the Islanders' 3-2 loss to the Devils Wednesday: "Some of the responsibility lies on the leadership, but we can't be expected to babysit everybody in here. We're all paid professionals, and everybody has to do their part to get motivated to play hockey games. It's inexcusable at this time of the year, in games of this magnitude, to have somebody babysit you. It's disgusting."
Bigger nets? The Bruins' Byron Dafoe bristled about it in the Boston Globe: "I think goaltenders have gotten better over the years, and it is getting tougher to score. But I don't think you can actually change the dynamics of a game that's 100 years old. If you want to take out a red line or add some obstruction rules to increase the speed of the game, that's fine. But I don't think you can tinker with the nets. They've already made our equipment smaller, so how much can you penalize a goaltender just because we're getting better?"
Eastern Conference Notebook: Barrasso not acquired to be No. 1 
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