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

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

Game Time: 7:00pm

Leafs Lineup

FORWARDS

Niklas Hagman – Matt Stajan – Jason Blake
Alexei Ponikarovsky – Mikhail Grabovski – Tyler Bozak
Viktor Stalberg – John Mitchell – Christian Hanson
Jay Rosehill – Nazem Kadri – Jiri Tlusty
 
DEFENCE
Ian White – Garnet Exelby
Luke Schenn – Carl Gunnarsson
Jonas Frogren – Andy Rogers

GOALIES
Vesa Toskala
Joey MacDonald

Sabres Lineup
FORWARDS:
Clarke MacArthur – Derek Roy – Drew Stafford
Jochen Hecht – Paul Gaustad – Mike Grier
Philip Gogulla – Tim Kennedy – Jason Pominville
Cody McCormick – Matt Ellis – Jeff Cowan

DEFENCE:
Chris Butler – Tyler Myers
Toni Lydman – Henrik Tallinder
Nathan Paetsch – Steve Montador

GOALIES:
Ryan Miller
Jhonas Enroth

After tonight, the Leafs will have only 3 more pre-season games left.  Wilson will need to make some decisions so that the regular season crew has a game or two to play as a unit.  Tlusty hasn’t looked like a guy on the bubble – this could be his last game.  TSM got lots of feedback re: Kadri…could this be his last game too?

Puck Drop: 7:00pm

Tonight’s line-up according to the Toronto Star.

TONIGHT’S LINEUPS

The Leafs

Forwards:

Jiri Tlusty – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin

Jay Rosehill – Nazem Kadri – Lee Stempniak

Viktor Stalberg – Tyler Bozak – Christian Hanson

Colton Orr – Wayne Primeau – Jamal Mayers

Defencemen:

Mike Komisarek – Tomas Kaberle

Luke Schenn – Francois Beauchemin

Carl Gunnarsson – Ian White

Goaltenders:Vesa Toskala and Joey MacDonald

The Penguins

Forwards: Jordan Staal, Dustin Jeffrey, Paul Bissonette, Mike Rupp, Wyatt Smith, Chris Conner, Tim Wallace, Matt Cooke, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Bayda, Nick Johnson and Tyler Kennedy.

Defencemen: Nate Guenin, Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, Mark Eaton, Jonathan D’Aversa, Robert Bortuzzo, Jay McKee.

Goaltenders: Brent Johnson, John Curry

No Malkin or Crosby…unfortunate for the Fans who go to see the game…

LT

from sportsnet

Is it just me or did any of you find tonight’s 4-0 Leafs win less interesting than the 3-2 loss last night?

Not to take anything away from the Leafs win but; the Flyers didn’t look very good…only a few players looked interested.

Two words to describe tonight’s performance: Speed and stamina.  As a group; the Leafs had more speed on the ice tonight and seemed to be able to maintain their legs straight through to the last minute of the 3^rd.  The forwards did a great job getting back to help the defencemen.  While Reimer and Macdonald came up with a few big saves, it didn’t look like a tough night for the goalies – the Flyers were only able to muster 18 shots on goal.

Leafs Scoring: 

1. Stempniak from Kaberle and Hagman
2. Kadri from Kaberle and Hagman
3. Grabovski from Kulemin
4. Hanson (unassisted)

Comments

Grabovski: Does anyone take a hit like Grabovski?  After the first two big ones in the 1^st; Grabs jumped back onto his skates without issue…others would have crawled off the ice.  The 3^rd one (an illegal hit) was a big on…a bone rattler.  It took a few minutes but Grabovski got up.  If the muscle on this team doesn’t set things straight early in games this season; I fear for Grabovski’s life (and ability to play 82).

Rosehill: He was not on my radar at all.  Two straight “spirited” games.  He isn’t going to make the team but he can throw them as well (or better) than Deveaux and isn’t a defensive liability.

Young Guns Score:  Two games into the pre-season and all 4 “young guns” (Stralberg, Kadri, Bozak and Hanson) have scored…BTW; the “young guns” moniker is already bothering me.  All four players put in a solid effort once again.  Ponikarovsky needs to wake up and realize there are some hungry kids after his ice time.

Kadri’s goal tonight was the highlight.  It was off a great give-and-go with Hagman…Nice for him in front of the London crowd.  Hanson’s goal was sheer persistence.  He went to the net and stuck with the play to bang in his first after a couple of whacks at it.  Watch Kadri’s goal…

Wallin: Fourth line honours, fourth line ice time and honestly; I almost forgot he was in the line-up.  I hope Wilson gives him some more ice time this weekend.

I Hope You Enjoyed Your 60 Min of Fame: 4 in 4 and 9 in 11 forces Wilson to use a lot of players.  Tonight; he used 3 defencemen that have no chance of making the team.  Sometimes it’s also about rewarding players for their hard work in practice…who knows.  Tonight; Blacker, Gunnersson and Rogers got their chance to play…Early in the game, you could really tell why these guys aren’t NHL calibre (at least right now).  They didn’t get beat or make glaring mistakes…they simply played too simple of a game…the puck was like a hot potato – they weren’t going to generate any offence.  As the game went on they were a bit sloppy. 

Kaberle: I know his contract and offensive style made him a tradable asset and many TSM readers hoped that he’d be moved for a top 6 forward.  But man, very few control the puck and move it out of the defensive end like Kabs.  Maybe trading him would have been a good move, I’m not necessarily saying it wouldn’t have been.  But Leafs fans should really appreciate this guy more.  He picked up two assists tonight.

Kulemin: Saw very little from him tonight….Will be in tough to make the team this season (need to check his contract – 2 way?)

Schenn: He moved the puck well and showed composure when pressured…He also continued to show that he’s not afraid of the leagues tough guys.  He held his own against Flyer enforcer Dan Carcillo.  I did see some of what we saw at the end of last season tonight. ..he’s going to need to win more battles for loose pucks.

That’s it for tonight…

LT

Courtesy of Sportsnet

I have to admit I got a little excited this afternoon in anticipation of tonight’s pre-season game against the Bruins.  I love watching hockey…add the intrigue associated with the number of new players that have been added to the mix and I couldn’t wait to get home to watch…pathetic, perhaps.

Prior to the game; I heard Wilson’s comment; “we outlawed fighting in camp…we have some guys that are itching to go”.  I’m not against fighting in hockey and I generally like Wilson…I just thought it was dumb for the coach to come out and say what he did.  On the one hand, it was an entertaining comment and I’m glad we’ve got some tough guys to keep opponents in check but it’s the kind of stuff that won’t serve the Leafs well as it won’t be viewed favorably by NHL on-ice and head office officials.

The game…

If I were to summarize tonight’s performance with only a couple of thoughts I’d say that toughness and youth is what stood out.

I know it was only a pre-season game and we shouldn’t read too much into specific performances but Duthie on TSN got it right when they asked the panel “how many years in a row were there Leafs camps and pre-season games where there was absolutely nobody, especially up front, for fans to get excited about…we saw more in the 1^st period than we have for several years…”.  He was bang on.  Aside from Schenn, the players of interest last year were Kulemin, Grabovsky and perhaps Frogren.  This season there is a longer and better list…I’m sure some will end up being much ado about nothing but…a few of the new acquisitions will give us reason to believe that we are truly coming out of the drought.  So, with that in mind, a few comments on specific performances.

Tyler Bozak:  Was noticeable on every shift.  He scored an “NHL goal”…in a short handed situation; he undressed Matt Hunwick and cleanly beat Dany Sabourin. 

Viktor Stralberg: Scored a nice goal as well (set up by Kadri)…but what impressed me most was his speed on the rush and his attention to defensive responsibilities….He was the first man back to help out on many occasions…

Nazem Kadri: Going into the pre-season; my expectation based on analysts comments was that this guy was a good pick but would be nowhere near ready for the NHL.  In his first big league game; he did not look out of place.  He was much tougher on the puck and the boards than I expected for a guy his size.

Truculence: Burke wanted and promised toughness…well he delivered.  We faired well in all 5 fights tonight.  Orr and Exelby were noticeable as they took the body whenever possible…Last year we had Hollweg…this year we have Orr, what a difference a year (and GM) make. 

Jason Allison: With 60 players in camp, Allison better hope that Wilson gives him more than 1 game to see what he can do.  Bob Mackenzie and others have said that Allison is going to have to be significantly better than the competition at centre – tonight I saw nothing.

Ian White: I tried to keep an eye on Ian White tonight.  He’s in tough again this season to crack the top 6 to start the season.  He has the type of heart that Burke likes and fans appreciate.  He did nothing tonight to help or hurt his case…Let’s hope he stands out a bit more as the rest of the pre season plays out. 

Jiri Tlusty: Another player I was curious about.  He ended up having a great season in the AHL.  Tonight, he still looked too one dimensional for the NHL.  And didn’t stand out like Bozak, Kadri and Stralberg who I thought he should be ahead at this point.  He’ll need to step it up if he has any desire to make the team this year.

Anyway; I wont go through the entire line up…there is a game almost every night between now and the season opener and TSM will keep an eye on how the team is coming together.  The new young guns put a stake in the ground tonight…if they keep it up, Wilson has some tough decisions to make.

LT