ST. LOUIS, MO - DECEMBER 12: TheSt. Louis Blues celebrate a goal during an NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 12, 2013 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Mark Buckner/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Honoured to have Leafs TV’s Paul Hendrick join Michael and Michael to talk Leafs.
HBO 24/7 premiers this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Sportsnet.
Placing Tyler Bozak on Long Term Injured Reserve freed up the cap space to call up defenceman John Michael Liles on Friday.
Trying out someone with his puck moving ability and experience on the backend couldn’t hurt based on how the team has been struggling to get out of their zone.
Liles has 13 points and is a plus-nine in 16 games in the AHL this season, and has been a favourite of head coach Steve Spott’s for taking the demotion so well and eagerly embracing a leadership role on a young Marlies team.
What does it mean for Morgan Rielly? Well, if he isn’t playing consistently come decision time for the World Juniors (December 19th), it’s hard to imagine him staying. The Team Canada option remains open. It will depend on the situation in a week and a half, one imagines.
The Sharks enter this game 18-3-5, and are 9-1-2 against fellow Pacific Division opponents, which is easily the strongest division in the NHL. They enter winners of five straight.
This is a dominant team with a deeeeep lineup.
Projected Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Tomas Hertl | Joe Thornton | Brent Burns |
| Patrick Marleau | Logan Couture | Tommy Wingels |
| Martin Havlat | Joe Pavelski | Tyler Kennedy |
| John McCarthy | Andrew Desjardins | Mike Brown |
| Left Defense | Right Defense | |
| Justin Braun | Marc-Edouard Vlasic | |
| Brad Stuart | Dan Boyle | |
| Scott Hannan | Jason Demers | |
| Goalies | ||
| Starter: Niemi |
How can the Leafs beat them? Well, it begins and ends between the pipes with James Reimer, one would think. The Leafs are shorthanded and are the inferior team, so the answer to closing the gap is cliched – ‘outwork them.’ Playing without the puck a lot, which is almost ensured, means ramping up the physical play will be necessary to try to create separation.
Hey, even the Sharks once had a 0-1-4 stretch once, right? These guys are human.
Nazem Kadri won’t play tonight in order to be with his family after the passing of his grandfather. Cody Franson is a game time decision.
In episode #20 of the Maple Leaf Hangout, Michael Langlois and Michael Stephens discuss the Leafs’ recent struggles and the tough month ahead.
Randy Carlyle addresses the media following Toronto’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Sabres in Buffalo.
Jack Goods (@GoodsonSabres) of Die By The Blade joins Michael and Michael to tee up tonight’s Leafs/Sabres matchup.
GO LEAFS GO.
Projected Lines vs. BUF: JVR-Bozak-Kessel. Raymond-Kadri-Clarkson. McClement-Smith-Kulemin. Ashton-Smithson-Orr.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonasTSN1050) November 30, 2013
Projected defence: Gunnarsson-Phaneuf. Fraser-Franson. Gardiner-Ranger. Goaltender: Reimer.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonasTSN1050) November 30, 2013
Introducing new MLHS writer Elliot Saccucci, Elliot will joins Michael and Michael to discuss the NHL-Rogers TV rights deal, the Leafs’ struggles, and more.
A little info on Elliot:
Elliot Saccucci joined BJCTB as an associate in 2013. He completed his articles at the Toronto office of a national full-service firm before leaving to pursue a focused litigation practice. Elliot has studied both civil and criminal trial advocacy, and has acted as a mediator at Toronto Small Claims Court. Elliot currently teaches a negotiation course entitled “Lawyer as Negotiator” at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he graduated in the top 6% of his class, and was a recipient of the McMillan LLP Scholarship. He has written extensively on negotiation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution, and his paper on collective bargaining in the National Hockey League was published in Volume 19 of the Sports Lawyers Journal.
Photo: Getty Images
Try to act surprised, everybody.
Joffrey Lupul is back on the injury shelf. The Leafs’ porcelain man appeared to tweak something as he pivoted in the corner in the second period of last night’s game. He limped off to the dressing room and didn’t return.
Groin strain for Lupul. Will not travel on upcoming trip.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonasTSN1050) November 26, 2013
It’s being described as a grade-2 groin strain, which is defined as a partial tear of the muscles in the groin. LA goalie Jonathan Quick is currently sidelined with the same injury without a clear timetable for a return. Puck Daddy suggested Quick may be looking at a 4-6 week recovery period.
Lupul had been struggling for much of November. Throw out the three-assist game against New York and Lupul has one point in nine other November games.
There’s little doubt that the Leafs were relying on Lupul as a key piece in turning the offense around after scoring just 17 goals in 10 November games.
The injury plague continues to haunt the Leaf forwards, just as Tyler Bozak is returning and the team was looking relatively healthy. With Lupul, however, this is becoming a non-story.
Lupul’s first injury as a Leaf was a separated shoulder in March of 2012, sidelining him for the remaining 16 games of the 2011-12 season. He broke his forearm at the start of the 2013 season courtesy a Phaneuf slapshot, missing 25 games. He was suspended for two games and sustained a concussion in early April of 2013, adding up to seven more missed games and a total of 16 out of 48 games played in 2012-13.
This season he’s missed two games with a bruised foot, after taking a shot to the foot in practice, and now stands to miss a run of games with a groin injury.
Lupul has missed 57% of the games in the last five seasons, a total of 181 since 2008-09.
— James Mìrtle (@mirtle) November 26, 2013
Lupul won’t travel with the team for its upcoming road trip to Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Montreal. Randy Carlyle could shift a few things around and reinsert Trevor Smith into the fold, or he could recall Josh Leivo from the Toronto Marlies.
Randy Carlyle attempts to explain Monday night’s debacle in Leafland.
Peter Hasset of Russian Machine Never Breaks, the leading Washington Capitals blog, joins Michael and Michael to tee up tonight’s Capitals/Leafs meeting on HNIC.
The show will be live a little before 6 p.m. EST.
Randy Carlyle addresses the media after Toronto’s 4-2 loss at home to Nashville.
Globe and Mail Leafs beat reporter James Mirtle (@mirtle) and Nashville Predators blogger Dirk Hoag (@forechecker) join Michael and Michael to tee up tonight’s Leafs/Predators matchup.
Live a little after 6 p.m. EST.
Beautiful snipes from Kessel x2 and Clarkson, plus three point nights for Lupul and Smith, as the Leafs break out of an offensive funk in a big way in a 5-2 win over NYI. The Leafs moved to 13-7-1 on the season.
The Toronto Marlies defeated the Charlotte Checkers, AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, by a score of 3-2 Tuesday night at Ricoh Coliseum.
GO LEAFS GO.
Head to Head: | Leafs | Islanders |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 12-7-1 | 8-10-3 |
| GF/G | 2.75 (14th) | 2.76 (12th) |
| GA/G | 2.30 (9th) | 3.14 (27th) |
| SF/G | 26.5 (28th) | 30.3 (14th) |
| SA/G | 35.8 (28th) | 30.0 (14th) |
| PP | 23.5% (3rd) | 18.9% (17th) |
| PK | 83.5% (11th) | 72.3% (30th) |
| 5 on 5 F/A | 1.14 (9th) | 0.91 (21st) |
| Sh% | 10.3% (4th) | 9.1% (13th) |
| Sv% | 93.6% (2nd) | 89.5% (27th) |
| FO% | 46.7% (25th) | 45.1% (29th) |
Goalie H2H | Record | SV% | GAA | SO | EV SV% | PK SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Bernier | 7-5-1 | .938 | 2.05 | 1 | .945 | .923 |
| Kevin Poulin | 3-5-0 | .909 | 2.52 | 0 | .926 | .793 |
Projected Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| JvR | Holland | Kessel |
| Lupul | Smith | Clarkson |
| Raymond | McClement | Kulemin |
| Ashton/McLaren | Smithson | Orr |
| Left Defense | Right Defense | |
| Phaneuf | Gunnarsson | |
| Gardiner | Franson | |
| Rielly | Ranger | |
| Starter: Bernier | ||
| Reimer |
Photo by Abelimages/Getty Images
Picking up two points versus the Islanders before Kadri and Bozak return with Predators, Capitals and Blue Jackets on the docket could set the Leafs up nicely for the rest of November. The Leafs need to accumulate some points before they embark on a December from hell.
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