They're 2-0, but Leafs have kinks to iron out

One question that must be answered ahead of Saturday night's game at the ACC against the Ottawa Senators, is who will start in goal for the Maple Leafs: James Reimer or Jonathan Bernier? (Martin Chevalier/QMI Agency)

So the Leafs sprint out to a 2-0 start despite having so-so defensive efforts, piled on with the challenge of games on back-to-back nights.

Now they have five of their next six at home, all against teams that had fewer points than they did in last year’s 48-date season.

Easy game, isn’t it?

Not in coach Randy Carlyle’s world, you can be forewarned. Following a day off Thursday to recuperate from the successful break from the gate, the team will return to practice on Friday to prepare for Saturday’s home opener against the Ottawa Senators.

And the coaching staff will have a lengthy to-do list.

Carlyle isn’t about to give any of the four points back — they were well earned in their own way. But before the Leafs get too bullish on the prospects of a brilliant start to the 2013-14 season, there is plenty to address.

In no particular order, you have the rather pleasant problem of deciding who gets the call in net on Saturday, followed by what to do with the early struggles on the blueline and how the mix-and-match game of centres David Bolland and Nazem Kadri plays going forward.

First up, the issue of James Reimer vs. Jonathan Bernier for Game 3 is as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it and was classic sports talk material on Thursday.

Who didn’t have an opinion on it after the first two games? And who can’t wait to see who Carlyle puts in the Air Canada Centre home net on the Saturday morning skate, the point when his decision becomes semi-official?

Bernier was simply brilliant in his Blue and White debut on Wednesday, making big saves when needed and showing big-league poise in his vision and rebound control.

Reimer, meanwhile, was perhaps less spectacular but played an equally clutch role in Tuesday’s victory in Montreal. You could certainly argue that he was the most valuable Leaf on the ice.

“Win and you’re in?” They both did.

If Carlyle opts to continue alternating the tandem, he will get the added boost of Reimer’s killer career stats in the Battle of Ontario.

The ‘start Reimer’ movement’s biggest argument is that his record vs. the Sens includes a goals against average of 1.69, a save percentage of .949 and a win-loss mark of 8-1-1.

The ‘start Bernier’ case is that he was brilliant in Philly not just in the way he stopped the puck, but in the way he managed it.

Decisions on ‘D’ will also be high on the list with the health of rugged Mark Fraser a key factor.

Fraser left the game in the third period and exited the Wells Fargo Center on crutches and was to have what was initially diagnosed as a sprained left knee further assessed on Thursday.

An injury scratch would certainly heighten the prospects of rookie Morgan Rielly making his regular-season debut, but that may have been happening anyway.

Jake Gardiner was skittish in each of the first two games and was used sparingly in the third period vs. the Flyers. Likewise, there’s still some rust on the game of Paul Ranger who had some challenging moments in his return to the big leagues.

Ask yourself this: Where would the Leafs be after two games if the Cody Franson holdout wasn’t resolved days before the opener? You can bet at Friday’s practice, defensive zone work will get some emphasis. As strong as the goaltending has been so far, it won’t bail out sloppy defence every night.

As for the centre situation, Carlyle’s intentions for former Blackhawk Bolland was particularly revealing in Philly. His game-winning goal and last-minute insurance marker were just part of the Mimico native’s influence on the end result. When it became apparent that Kadri couldn’t match up defensively when Carlyle needed to go into shut-down mode, enter Bolland, who was brought here to do just that.

If you can read Carlyle, it will be a fluid situation between the two, depending on team-by-team matchups. Kadri will be relied to create offence. On nights when protecting a lead is paramount, Bolland will be the guy.

Easy game? Not quite.

But given the Leafs have four points and haven’t threatened to be at their best yet creates confidence and momentum.

And with a chance to add to the points pile over the next six games against teams that had a combined 64 fewer points than the Leafs, they are well on their way to lessoning the damaging impact of forward David Clarkson’s 10-game suspension.

As Carlyle said post-game in Philadelphia: Points in October are as important as points in April. In this case, perhaps even more.

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They're 2-0, but Leafs have kinks to iron out

So the Leafs sprint out to a 2-0 start despite having so-so defensive efforts, piled on with the challenge of games on back-to-back nights.

Now they have five of their next six at home, all against teams that had fewer points than they did in last year’s 48-date season.

Easy game, isn’t it?

Not in coach Randy Carlyle’s world, you can be forewarned. Following a day off Thursday to recuperate from the successful break from the gate, the team will return to practice on Friday to prepare for Saturday’s home opener against the Ottawa Senators.

And the coaching staff will have a lengthy to-do list.

Carlyle isn’t about to give any of the four points back — they were well earned in their own way. But before the Leafs get too bullish on the prospects of a brilliant start to the 2013-14 season, there is plenty to address.