Jonas Gustavsson didn't see his shadow. That means there will be spring hockey in Toronto.

The race for the final few playoff spots is on. The Leafs are battling with a number of teams and have wavered in and out depending on the week. They had a good run in January and are in a position where they just need to keep winning at a reasonable pace, which is a nice change from the last few seasons when a .700 winning percentage was a minimum.

"God may be your saviour, James, but I'm Toronto's."

For the longest time I waited on the Jonas Gustavsson bandwagon. I waited for it to get going. I thought this is a player adjusting to a new league, and one battling a few serious health concerns to boot, he just needs some time. I gave it time. I gave it a lot of time. Too much time by most reasonable standards. Then finally, after sitting for so long and watching almost everyone get off, I thought that this bus is broken, it's never starting.

And on Nov. 9, I was off. Loudly.

In Gustavsson's next start, just over a week later against the Washington Capitals, the Monster put in a 40 save performance, holding the Capitals to just one goal, and the bandwagon was off and running. It hasn't looked back, and I'm pretending I never got off.

Oh, look, a rebound.

It's over. Jonas Gustavsson must be stopped. He isn't stopping anything, so the only reasonable course of action is to stop him.

The NHL regular season concludes on Monday and the playoff races in both the East and West won’t be determined until the final weekend of play. Only the final two playoff spots are open in the East, whereas the West has spots 5 to 8 available (although at this point only one new team in each conference can actually make it in). Madness. Last year’s Stanley Cup Champions are holding on desperately to the final playoff spot. Their reward: playing the President’s Trophy winners and their yearly opponent – the Canucks. Interesting indeed.

There is also a heated race for the major trophies, specifically the Hart Trophy awarded to the league’s most valuable player. Corey Perry is making a late charge by essentially scoring on a nightly basis. Earlier this week he scored a hat-trick to become the first (and likely only) player to hit 50 goals this season. He’s now only five points behind Daniel Sedin for the league lead in points, while scoring nine more goals, more short-handed goals and more overtime goals. Perry plays more minutes each night and carried the team during Ryan Getzlaf’s absence. Of course, Sedin is the best player on the best team in the league. It's being debated.

There’s enough talk about the real NHL Awards that you can find detailed arguments anywhere on the net. But what I really want to do is introduce the First Annual Alternative NHL Awards. I know the season isn't over yet, but these races are.

The Maple Leafs goaltending situation heading into next season has become much clearer ever since James Reimer grabbed hold of the number one job in early January. Reimer has been a revelation in goal and shows no signs of relinquishing the starter’s role. Ron Wilson will certainly play Reimer for the remainder of the Leafs’ games as they continue their unlikely charge to the post-season.

But apart from Reimer there is an uncertainty surrounding the Leafs’ crease. J.S. Giguere will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and Jonas Gustavsson hasn’t played an NHL game since allowing six goals in an ugly 7-0 loss to the New York Rangers on January 19th.

I’m pretty high on Reimer, but I’m pretty sure he won’t play 82 consecutive games (plus playoffs!) next season, so what will the Leafs do to support their young netminder?

The Leafs’ organizational depth between the pipes is actually one of the areas of strength for the team. This is surprising considering both Jonas Gustavsson and J.S. Guguere, the goalies supposedly capable of handling the NHL duties, rank at the bottom of the league in save percentage. However, James Reimer’s promotion from the Marlies, necessitated by Giguere’s third groin injury of the season, has highlighted the talent that lies beyond those two.

It's only two wins in a row - both of which the Leafs needed a shoot-out to finish - but it's a start. Jonas Gustavsson said it best when he described it as two small steps in the right direction.

This win probably says more about the Washington Capitals than it does about the Leafs. What sort of Stanley Cup contender lets the lowly Leafs back into a game after being up 4-1 in the third period.

The Leafs are still seven points behind the Bruins for the final playoff spot, but, somehow, they're only two points behind 9th place Ottawa with two games at hand (which speaks to the atrocity of the Eastern Conference).

The rest of the week will determine whether the Leafs mini-streak is anything more than luck. The Leafs play the Penguins on Wednesday, followed by the Flyers on Thursday, and the loathsome Habs on Saturday.

Despite how ugly tonight was, it was a win, and, at least for tonight, that's all the matters.

You see what I did with that title? That’s the type of literary genius that will get you job offers from the Toronto Sun. At least this post will have better grammar and fewer boobs than the average Sun column. I also contemplated naming this post Monster of a Situation as a thinly veiled segue into discussing the Jersey Shore. Unfortunately, that title didn’t make as much sense, so you’ll have to wait to see which Toronto Maple Leaf player is most like Snooki. Not even the Sun would print that. Luckily this is the internet and you can find anything and everything compared to the Jersey Shore.

Where is this going besides revealing my intense fascination with New Jersey's beach side? I’m trying to discuss the Leafs goaltending situation and the potential solutions available to Brian Burke.