College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

On Wednesday night the Toronto Raptors used the luck of the Irish and their green unis to pull of a 106-105 upset of the Atlanta Hawks to snap a five game losing skid. They hope to build on that win when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder to the ACC tonight. Chris Bosh had an off night, by his standards, but when the game was on the line he hit the game winning shot over Atlanta’s Al Horford. Rookie DeMar DeRozan came out aggressive from the get-go and kept it going ending with 19 points. Forward Andrea Bargnani had his best game in a while, leading the team with 22 points to go along with 11 boards. With the w, Toronto opened it’s lead over the ninth place Chicago Bulls to two and half games. They also gained some ground on seventh place – they trail the Miami Heat by a half game. The Raps will need a similar effort tonight with the Thunder in town. Oklahoma City is fifth in the West and one more win will secure their first winning season in franchise history (or five years if you go back to the Seattle days). Over their last ten games the Thunder are 8-2, but are coming off a big 100-92 lose to the Charlotte Bobcats on St. Patrick’s Day. The Thunder have a solid core of young players, led by third-year man Kevin Durant. Durant continues to develop into one of the NBA’s elite and is beginning to be included in conversations about this season’s league MVP. He’s averaging a career high 29.7 points (24.8 career average) and 7.5 (6) rebounds per game. The last time these two teams played was back on February 28 in Oklahoma City and it was the Thunder who earned the 112-96 win. Toronto had no Bosh in that one, but he’ll be in the line up tonight and could be the difference between a sweet victory or bitter defeat – just ask Atlanta.

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

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs played the New Jersey Devils, the Leafs had a 3-1 lead with less then four minutes left in the third period, only to blow it and lose in overtime. Tonight Toronto gets a shot at revenge as they host New Jersey at the hangar. A lot has changed in Leaf-land since that tough defeat. Gone are players like Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jason Blake and Alexei Ponikarovsky. Instead it’s all about the youth movement in TO. The first line doesn’t have another player over 24 and the entire team is the second youngest in the league. It seems to be paying off as the Leafs have won four of their last five games, including a 4-1 win over their division-rival Ottawa Senators. The Devils are coming off a big-win as well. They beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 for the sixth time this season. The Devils are tied with the Pens for the lead in the Atlantic division and for the second in the East. Zach Parise has continued his hot play since winning silver with the US back in the Olympics. Last night he had a goal and an assist for his fourth multi-point night this month.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

With 17 games left in the season the Toronto Raptors are in the home stretch of their season and fighting for their playoff lives. Rewind back to the All Star break and Toronto was comfortably in fifth place looking to jump into the top four. Today the Raptors are in eighth and checking out their rear view to see who is coming from behind. Toronto has lost five straight and trail the fifth place Milwaukee Bucks by four games. The Charlotte Bobcats and Miami Heat are tied for sixth and seventh a game and a half ahead of Toronto. The Chicago Bulls are in ninth and in a worse tailspin then Toronto. Their losing skid has reached eight and counting. The New York Knicks are in tenth and nine games back of the Dinos, so there’s no chance they can catch them right?!? Which brings us to tonight – the Raptors are back home following a disastrous 0-4 game trip out West. The Atlanta Hawks are in town tonight and it’s fair to say they’ve owned the Raptors this season. In their last two meetings Atlanta has beat Toronto by an average of 26.5 points. The big difference for Atlanta this season is who they have coming off the bench. The addition of Jamal Crawford gives the team a scoring threat while their starters are resting. Crawford is averaging 17.6 points per game, over two points better then his career average. The good news for Toronto is that Atlanta played last night. In 15 games on the back end of a back-to-back the Hawks are 7-8. Toronto on the other hand is well rested. The last time they played was Sunday night in Portland, where they dropped a 109-89 decision to the Trailblazers. If the Raptors don’t get things going they’re either going to stay in eighth and deal with LeBron James in the first round of the playoffs or miss the postseason all together.

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

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Although the chances of making the playoffs for the Toronto Maple Leafs are slim to none, a win tonight equates provincial bragging rights until the next season. The Leafs are on the road tonight as they travel down the 401 to take on the Ottawa Senators. It’s the sixth and final meeting between these two rivals. Ottawa took the first two games and Toronto has answered back with three wins in a row. Before their loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon the Leafs put together a three-game winning streak. Since trading away several veterans the Leafs are the second youngest team in the league and have turned the last half of the season into a dress rehearsal for next season. Over it’s last four game games Toronto has scored 15 goals and the average age of the scorer is 24.1 years old. Most impressive has been the top-line of 22 year old Phil Kessel, 21 year old Tyler Bozak and the veteran of the group 23 year old Nikolai Kuleman. The trio has combined for eight goals and nine assists in their last four games. Ottawa returns home coming off a three game road trip to Western Canada. Things started off well with a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, but the good times ended there. Two nights later the Sens were blanked by the Calgary Flames 2-0 and then on Saturday night the Vancouver Canucks blasted them 5-1. Unlike their provincial rivals, Ottawa is in the middle of the playoff hunt. They’re fifth in the East with 79 points, three ahead of the sixth seeded Philadelphia Flyers and three points behind the division leading Buffalo Sabres. A win tonight for Ottawa would not only even its series with Toronto, but help towards its post season push.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

If the Detroit Red Wings played in the East they would be the sixth seed with their sights set on the Ottawa Senators – who are only one game ahead of them. Unfortunately for them, that is not the case. They play in the West where 78 points is only good enough for eighth and if things don’t go their way tonight they’ll be in ninth. The Red Wings are on the road tonight in Calgary to take on a Flames team that only trails them by a single point. The good news for Detroit is they’ve been able to string together back-to-back Ws and have won five of their last seven games. On Saturday night the Red Wings needed overtime to secure a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Special teams has been one of the reasons for Detroit’s recent success. The Red Wings have scored a power-play goal in nine straight games including Brian Rafalski’s OT winner in their last game. Calgary had won four in a row before losing 3-1 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Included in that winning streak was a 4-2 win over the Red Wings in Detroit. So you can be sure the Red Wings are looking to return the favour tonight.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Who would of thought that a game between the two hottest teams in the East would include one with the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina has spent most of the season battling for the bottom of the conference with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but over their last ten game the Canes are 8-1-1 and only eight points out of a playoff spot. Carolina is at home tonight as they welcome the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins into RBC Centre. Pittsburgh has won four straight games including a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night. There’s been no one better for the Pens then their captain Sidney Crosby. The Kid has 10 points over his last six games and is tied for the league lead in goals with 44. This is the third meeting this season between these two clubs and the winner tonight holds the edge in the season series.

For anyone still interested in the Leafs, they’re at home tonight. Toronto got a big 4-3 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday and tonight they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

All four teams jockeying for the final three playoff spots in the East were in action last night and this morning things are that much closer as the home stretch for the postseason kicks into over-drive. Currently in sixth place is the Toronto Raptors, but there is only a one and a half game difference between them and the ninth place Chicago Bulls. Toronto watched Kobe Bryant drain a last second shot to lead his LA Lakers to a 109-107 win over the Raptors. Chicago started the night in eighth, but they got pummeled 132-108 at the hands of the Utah Jazz. The seventh seeded Miami Heat were in action last night against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats got the 83-78 win and leap-frogged the Bulls into a tie with the Heat for seventh in the East. Confused – don’t be positions will continue changing up until the very last day of the season. Three of the four teams are back at it again tonight. Charlotte is in the City of Brotherly Love to battle the Philadelphia 76ers. Miami returns home as they welcome the LA Clippers to South Beach. Both these squads are dealing with a little change. Yesterday LA dropped coach Mike Dunleavy, while Miami is moving on without guard Rafer Alston. Alston dumped his team via text message. The Raptors continue there West coast swing as they’re in Sac-town to take on the Kings. Both teams have dropped seven of their last ten and are looking to end losing streaks. Back on February seventh these two went at it in the ACC with the Raps coming out with a 115-104 win. Chris Bosh had 36 points and Toronto had its third straight over Sacramento. Bosh will need to be just as good if the Raptors want to push the streak to four.

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