"It took Dion Phaneuf 319 days to finally face off against his former team. It took the Calgary Flames just 57 seconds to spoil his party.

In a game that had enough hype to be considered a Super Bowl on blades, Phaneuf and his Maple Leaf teammates were thoroughly embarrassed by Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and the rest of the Flames in a 5-2 loss at the Saddledome on Thursday night.

"That was not acceptable," Phaneuf said. "They outworked us. We are fighting for our playoff lives and can't play like that.

"Like I've said all along, this wasn't Dion Phaneuf against the Calgary Flames."

Referring to the fact that he was jeered, Phaneuf replied: "They have great fans here. They have the right to do what they want, but it was nice to hear some cheers, too."

With Phaneuf directly in the spotlight in the days leading up to the contest, it was the former Leafs who ended up stealing the show.

Most observers around the NHL would acknowledge that the Leafs came out ahead in the blockbuster deal that took place back on Jan. 31, a trade that saw Phaneuf, defenceman Keith Aulie and forward Fredrik Sjostrom go to Toronto for Stajan, Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers.

But that's not the impression one would get after watching this dog's breakfast of a performance by the Leafs, who were done in by a three-goal Flames outburst in a 57 second span late in the second that snapped a 1-1 tie.

Hagman had a goal and an assist while Stajan chipped in with a helper, making it a successful evening for the former Leafs.

Phaneuf, Aulie and Sjostrom could not make the same claim.

Aulie, in particular, struggled on this night. In fact, Calgary's first goal, which tied the game 1-1 midway through the first period, deflected off Aulie's skate and slid past helpless goalie J-S Giguere.

The Flames could have blown the Leafs out far earlier had it not been for Giguere.

But the Leafs goalie finally could not cover up for the moribund effort of his teammates any more, resulting in goals by Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen and Rene Bourque in less than a minute late in the second period to put the Flames up 4-1."