Edmonton
The Torontosaurus Rex for Week 21 is ....
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The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their homestand tonight against the visiting Oilers, in a game that marks former Leafs' coach Pat Quinn's return to the Air Canada Centre.
The Oilers have had a disappointing season, to say the least, and are the leading contenders for the Hall/Seguin sweepstakes this summer. Edmonton fans are salivating at the thought of Taylor Hall one day lining up alongside Canadian Junior team hero Jordan Eberle, wearing copper and blue.
For the time being, however, the Oilers are a team in the midst of yet another rebuilding phase, a process with which Leafs' fans can certainly relate. In many ways, the two teams are quite similar: inconsistent youth, underachieving veterans, untimely injuries and weak goaltending have plagued both rosters throughout the season. The Leafs look to have begun the process of righting the ship; the Oilers will look to make similar moves (purging of veteran contracts in favor of youthful exuberance) during the summer.
(On the road ... so here is a quick thread for tonight's action.)
The Toronto Maple Leafs (21-33-12), who are coming off a hard-fought overtime win over the Boston Bruins, are host to the Tampa Bay Lightning (27-27-11), tonight at 7pm.
The Leafs, who are all but officially out of the playoff race, are playing for jobs next season. To that end, the young players on the roster have put together a string of impressive efforts, and if their resilient play continues, few players will anonymously refer to them as an "AHL team".
From USA Today - 3/1/2007:
Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke has always been among the NHL's most colorful wheeler dealers. In 2005-06, he overhauled his [more…]
Mike Peca, also known as the little engine who could, has officially called it a career today. The 35-year old grinding leader played 864 career games with the Canucks, Sabres, Islanders, Oilers, Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets. During that time, he tallied 176 goals, 289 assists and 798 penalty minutes.  On two seperate occasions, he reached the Stanley Cup Finals (Buffalo in 1999 and Edmonton 2006). He also helped Canada capture the gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A shining example and further proof of New Jersey's dominance recently. Even when blanked for the first time this season, the Devils still ended up with a win, the full two points, and Martin Brodeur extended his record string of shutouts.
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With the World Junior Championship gold medal game taking centre stage tonight (7:30pm, TSN), Leafs' fans can be forgiven for overlooking tonight's matchup against an inconsistent Florida Panthers squad (7:00pm, Sportsnet).
Coming off a disastrous mini-road trip out West, featuring losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, the Maple Leafs will look to inject some confidence into their lineup with a victory against the visiting Panthers, who sit only 4 points ahead of the Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings.
Happy Boxing Day, hockey fans!
It's a great day for hockey here in Leafland. Â The World Junior Championship Tournament, featuring the Leafs' highly-touted Nazem Kadri, officially gets underway this afternoon as Canada takes on Latvia. Â Following the tournament opener, we are in for a treat Leafs take on their long-standing rival, the Montreal Canadiens. Â And for those who are able to remain awake after all the holiday parties of the past two days, the Edmonton Oilers will visit the Vancouver Canucks in what should be a typical Saturday night Western Conference barn-burner. Â Does it get any better?
Now, onto the Leafs-Habs preview:
By: Gus Katsaros
Prior to the season starting, I had written about the impact of schedules. In particular, as the Leafs face the Habs tonight after playing the previous night, while Montreal is rested. Interesting enough, the last time this happened, Toronto beat Detroit 5-1.
Schedules make a big difference in the results of NHL teams fates during the season. In some instances, it could be the difference between a playoff spot and a tee time (and I thoroughly enjoy both – FORRRREEEE!!).
Big thank you to Mark Seidel, Chief Scout of North American Central Scouting and contributor to The Hockey News, for taking the time to chat about the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft. His agency's latest rankings can be seen here on THN. This time around, Leaf fans won't be having the opportunity of watching one of the draft's elite youngsters, such as projected top pick Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall, fall into their lap. But nonetheless, the draft is always a hot topic in the hockey world.
Last season in a draft, I chose Evgeni Nabokov for an H2H league organized by James Mirtle. It seemed early, but I had reasons. To win in fantasy GMs must find an edge using unconventional analysis and strategy.
That's what I try to do.
Facts don't lie and I liked Nabokov (and Backstrom from Minnesota) better than any goalie last season. It's also why Tim Thomas ranked higher. This season both Nabby and Thomas weren't ranked as high. Maybe the Bruins and Sharks struggle this season.
Why? Find out here.
