Date: March 18, 2010

Rink: ACC (Toronto)

Puck Drop: 7:30PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: TSN

Once again the Leafs are fairing quite well when it doesn’t matter….that’s what most of the critics will say.  While this may be true, the difference in my opinion is that it’s not a bunch of under performing veterens like in past years.  We’re seeing marked improvement and strong performances from young players that will likely be part of this squad for years to come.   At least we are seeing entertaining hockey.

Though Jonas Gustavsson has played extremely well of late, Ron Wilson will continue with the alternating games approach so expect to see JS Giguere between the pipes.  Fredik Sjostrom returns from injury and various reports indicate that it will be Wayne Primeau that takes a seat.  Garnet “trade me” Exelby got back into the line-up against the Sens and TSN Ice Chips has him playing again tonight.  Finger must have missed his press box seat. 

I know it’s the day after St. Patricks Day but….I wonder if we’ll see this tonight?

Forwards
Kulemin Bozak Kessel
Stalberg Grabovski Caputi
Mitchell Hanson Lundmark
Orr Wallin Sjostrom

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Schenn
Exelby Gunnarson

Goalie
Giguere (start)
Gustavsson

Scratch: Finger, Primeau

Inured: Van Ryn (ofs), Komisarek (ofs)

LT

Date: March 16, 2010

Rink: Scotia Bank Place (Ottawa)

Puck Drop: 7:30PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

Let’s hope that the flight into Ottawa was better than the one into Long Island on Sunday….The Buds had a rough outing after winning 3-straight.

Aside from another opportunity for the kids to get some playing time, tonight is about winning the Battle of Ontario and Orr v. Carkner…..Orr has had the best of Carkner so far this season but I have a feeling his classless “three-fingered” salute after the last battle will motivate Carkner to get into the win column.

No line-ups were posted today so I’d have to imagine that nothing has changed.  Poor Exelby…Lesson #1…if you want ice time, don’t tell your GM to move you – and definitely let it out into the public.  Queue in Jeff Finger again – he’s probably exhausted with all of the ice time he’s had since the deadline.  The Sens have struggled of late and it appears as though they will be without Mike Fisher.  Let’s see if Jonas Gustavsson can win his 4th straight….

Forwards
Kulemin Bozak Kessel
Stalberg Grabovski Caputi
Mitchell Hanson Lundmark
Wallin Primeau Orr

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Gunnarsson
Finger Schenn

Goalie
Giguere
Gustavsson (Start)

Scratch: Exelby

Injured: Komisarek (ofs), Sjostrom, Van Ryn (ofs)

UPDATE: EXELBY IN, FINGER OUT. 

LT

Date: March 9, 2010

Rink: ACC (Toronto)

Puck Drop: 7:00PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

The kids return from an entertaining and reasonably productive 3-game road trip.  They looked much better than they did against the Caines on March 2nd.  Let’s see what they can do against the Savardless Bruins…..Kessel is certainly due against his old mates.

Tonight’s Notables:

Luca “Truman” Caputi makes his ACC debut….should be a fun night for the Toronto born winger that was recently acquired from the Pens for Pony.  Jeff Finger is on a streak….this will be his 3rd straight game!!  Exelby sits.  Mikhail “Put Up Your Dukes” Grabovski is back from injury….Let’s see if he steps in for Orr if Lucic gets out of hand tonight.  Rosehill is back out of the line-up for Grabbo.  With the alternating games strategy, look for Gustavsson to get the start.

Forwards
Caputi Bozak Kessel
Stalberg Grabovski Kulemin
Wallin Hanson Lundmark
Mitchell Primeau Orr

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Schenn
Finger Gunnarsson

Goalie
Gustavsson (start)
Giguere

Scratch: Exelby

Injured: Komisarek, Sjostrom, Van Ryn

LT

Date: March 2, 2010

Rink: ACC (Toronto)

Puck Drop: 7:00PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: Sportsnet

I don’t know about you but, as excited as I am to get the NHL going again, nothing is going to compare to the hockey we got to see out of Vancouver over the past 2 weeks.  I’m not just talking about the Canada vs. USA or Canada vs. Russia games…aside from a few blowouts, the hockey overall was fantastic.

Hanson, Stalberg and newly acquired Jamie Lundmark will be in the line-up….presumably that means Mikahail “Put Up Your Dukes” Grabovski is not ready to play.  The same is true for Mike Komisarek as it looks like Garnet Exelby will be in the line-up as well.  I’ll give you one guess as to who is scheduled to be riding the pine from the defence corp…..you got it, Jeff Finger.  I wonder if Ron Wilson and Brian Burke make Cliff Fletcher communicate his game status for them?

Anyway, it will be a very emotional night at the ACC….not because they will honour the Olympians, but because it will likely be Ponikarovsky, Primeau, Exelby and perhaps Stempniak’s final games in their storied careers as Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Here is the expected line-up….

Forwards
Ponikarovsky Bozak Kessel
Stalberg Hanson Stempniak
Kulemin Wallin Sjostrom
Mitchell Primeau Orr

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Schenn
Exelby Gunnarsson

Goal
Giguere (start)
Gustavsson

Scratch: Finger

TSM and I will be at the game….looking forward to getting back to the ACC.

LT

Here’s your bikini of the day from GetABikini.com

On Fan 590 Tonight-

- Grapeline with Don Cherry & Brian Williams at 4:45
- Bob McCown’s co-host from 5:00 to 7:00 is
- Olympic hockey is on the air

On 640 with Brady and Watters thanks to Mike S.:

- Bill Watters is on vacation in Florida so Greg Brady is solo today

- Mike Komisarek

- John Buccigross of ESPN on hockey

- hockey insider Scott Morrison at 6:10

Date: February 8, 2010

Rink: ACC (Toronto)

Puck Drop: 7:00PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

Cliff Fletcher just announced that Nazem Kadri will play tonight!!!  Emergency recall.

There were indications earlier in the day that some Leafs have fallen ill and Deveau was recalled from the Marlies.  But Kadri?  Wow.  I don’t know who’s out yet…I will update if I find out before departing for the game.

UPDATE: Christian Hanson and Freddy Sjostrom sit out with the flu.

LT

Date: February 5, 2010

Rink: Prudential Center 

Puck Drop: 7:00PM EST

Radio: AM 640

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

What a difference a 3-days makes….The Leafs will face the Devils #1 goalie this time around and the introduction of Ilya Kovalchuk as a Devil.  Tonight’s game will likely be a completely different experience for the Blue and White.  Let’s hope they do as much of what they did on Tuesday tonight again tonight.  Also, the Leafs will start Jonas Gustavsson – JS Giguere will play tomorrow night.  Jeff Finger – well, you know where he’ll be….

Forwards
Ponikarovsky Bozak Kessel
Mitchell Hanson Stempniak
Kulemin Wallin Sjostrom
Rosehill Primeau Orr

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Gunnarsson
Exelby Schenn

Goalie
Giguere
Gustavsson (start)

Scratch: Finger

LT

Date: February 2, 2010

Rink: ACC (Toronto)

Puck Drop: 7:00PM ET

Radio: AM 640

TV: Rogers Sportsnet

Let’s see if what we got back will fare better than what we sent packing…..While the Ducks won their game, neither Blake nor Toskala showed up on the boxscore.  The new look Flames fizzled and couldn’t muster a goal, let alone more than 15 shots last night.  Yes, it’s too early to tell whether or not any of the aforementioned will have an impact on their respective new teams.

Now for the debut of our new additions….While Phaneuf may not be paired with Kaberle 5 on 5, I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do together on the power play.  Our PK has been surprisingly brutal most of the season; will Sjostrom make a difference?  I think Burke and company will be holding their breath until Giguere makes his first couple of stops.  Remember Eddie Belfour’s first shot on goal (pre-season that is)?

As expected, 1 call up from the Baby Leafs (how come nobody calls them that anymore? Probably not a bad thing – but I do miss references to “the rock”)…Christian Hanson gets another chance.  This time he will play center on the 2^nd line – though his line mates look more like 3^rd or 4^th liners.  I actually like the idea of Mitchell on the wing versus center. 

The odd man out again is Jeff Finger…..what a tough season for him.

The Leafs may have gotten a bit of a break – Yann Danis will start for the Devils…though history has shown that back-ups shine against the Leafs when given a chance….and even more likely with less fire power coming his way.

Forwards
Ponikarovsky Bozak Kessel
Mitchell Hanson Stempniak
Kulemin Wallin Sjostrom
Rosehill Primeau Orr

Defence
Phaneuf Beauchemin
Kaberle Gunnarsson
Exelby Schenn

Goalie
Giguere (start)
Gustavsson

Scratch: Finger

LT

The Leafs look to bounce back after a disastrous couple of games .  They’ll need a solid effort with significant improvement on the back-end – especially with the surging Flyers in town.

Line-up changes of note …. Rosehill is in for Stalberg and Toskala is back in replacing Gustavsson.

Projected Lines vs. Flyers

Forwards:
Kulemin Bozak Kessel
Ponikarovsky Stajan Hagman
Blake Mitchell Stempniak
Rosehill Mayers Orr

Defencemen:

Gunnarson Beauchemin
Kaberle White
Exelby Schenn

Goaltenders:
Toskala
Gustavsson

LT

Interesting reading the papers today as the experts respond to Brian Burke’s selection for the USA Olympic team:

“Burke would choose a Canadien over his dead body simply for his having been nearly booed out of the Bell Centre last June at the NHL entry draft. A Size XL ego who is loved or loathed with no grey area beyond his snowy scalp, Burke immediately claimed that he didn’t take the podium abuse personally. But …”

That from Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette.

Choosing the team is thankless, unless of course you win. No one is ever going to be happy and neither Brian Burke or Steve Yzerman are exempt from the criticism.

However, Burke, if nothing else wants to win. I can’t imagine that being booed in Montreal entered Burke’s mind for 1 second when he was picking his roster. His ego, as Stubbs points out is too big. There is no way he would let being booed get in the way of winning gold.

“There will be no better time for Gionta and Gomez to thank Brian Burke for Friday’s vote of non-confidence than on March 20 and April 10, when they personally can stick it to his Maple Leafs.”

We shall see then how much Gionta and Gomex are insulted by their omission from Burke’s roster.

Meanwhile, Larry Brooks, Burke’s number one fan chimes in:

“So if Tim Gleason played for the Maple Leafs and Mike Komisarek played for the Hurricanes, which defenseman do you suppose would have been named to the Olympic squad by Team USA (and Maple Leafs) GM Brian Burke and which would be left at home?”

All kinds of thoughts on this one. My first response is identical to the one above. Burke isn’t going to pick his own players as opposed to others if he knows better. He wants to win. Having said that, he did go out and sign Komisarek this off season, he must like him. Would I think for one second that familiarity played a role in say a tie-breaker situation where it was down to 2 players of, in Burke/Wilson’s minds, equal talent- then the answer is yes. If they were trying to decide between 2 guys whom they thought were equally talented I could see them giving the advantage to the one who plays for the Maple Leafs- the old devil you know adage right?

Then, as Burke was being interviewed on TV tonight during the Swedish game at the WJHC fans rinkside were chanting “Leafs Suck”- according to Damien Cox on Twitter. I would think that of all the attention, Burke enjoys this one the most.

I am having my knee scoped tomorrow so may not be many posts during the day

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Stubbs is here

Brooks is here