The Pittsburgh Penguins are in town tonight (7pm, CBC) and are feeling pretty good about things after dismantling the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 in their first game of the season.
Per Jonas Siegel, Jonathan Bernier is the starter tonight, which presumably makes Reimer the starter tomorrow vs the New York Rangers. Also, newly acquired waiver wire pickup, Richard Panik, looks to draw in tonight with Matt Frattin being a healthy scratch. Cody Franson says he’s healthy and ready to go for tonight, which could spell trouble for Stu Percy, who was the best defenceman for the Leafs in their home opener vs the Montreal Canadiens. The top pairing of Phaneuf/Franson struggled mightily on the power play last year; the Leafs were 29th in the league for short handed goals against and these numbers heavily reflect having two players—one of whom isn’t fleet of foot, and the other not far behind—being sitting ducks on the blueline when speedy penalty killers pressure them and regularly picking their pockets. It wasn’t uncommon for the Leafs to give up more scoring chances on the power play than they generated. I’m not sure that things are going to improve 5v5.
Lines look to be:
JVR-Bozak-Kessel
Lupul-Kadri-Kozun
Komarov-Santorelli-Clarkson
Winnik-Holland-Panik
Phaneuf-Franson
Gardiner-Robidas
Rielly-Polak
MLHS Links
- Re-Evaluating Dion Phaneuf — A Victim of Miscalculation
- Maple Leafs claim Richard Panik off the waiver wire
- Game Review: Game #1, Montreal Canadiens 4 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs 3
- Randy Carlyle Post Game — Canadiens 4 vs. Leafs 3
- MLHS Bloggers Predict the Maple Leafs’ 2014-15 Finish
- Viktor Loov staying in Toronto; Pridham’s cap manoeuvring
- Which Leaf Forwards Contribute their Fair Share of Offense?
- Maple Leafs cut Colton Orr, Fraser McLaren, William Nylander; Roster down to 23
