"The best and worst of Dion Phaneuf was laid bare on Monday night.

The open-ice check on Carolina Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu was vintage Phaneuf, which sounds a little strange considering the Maple Leafs captain is all of 25 years old.

The defensive breakdown by Phaneuf on Brandon Sutter's first goal in the third period also was something that will become familiar to Leafs fans as Phaneuf honours his contract in the next 31/2 seasons.

Sutter beat Phaneuf to the puck in the corner, and then was faster than Phaneuf to get to the front of the net and start the scoring in what evolved as a wild final 20 minutes."