Gameday 64 - Maple Leafs
7:00 pm
Air Canada Centre
TV: FSN/NHLN-US/CBC
The first of two games in Toronto. The Leafs believe they can make the playoffs and beating the Pens will just reinforce that idea.
That can't happen.
Late edit:
From our boy Fitz:
Know your enemy: Puckin' Eh
Lessons learned. Dealing defensemen for futures, good. Dealing two of your top four defensemen when you are three games out of a playoff spot, bad. Almost instantly after Kaberle was shipped out, the new Brian Burke meme became it's time to land a defenseman. I don't think anyone who has seen Brett Lebda play can argue this fact either. Toronto has quickly gone from having an underachieving blueline, to having an inexperienced/bad blueline.
Season series: Series Tied 1-1
Last meeting: December 8, 2010 - Penguins Won 5-2
What we said in our recap:
Bing and the Pens were dominating so hard at one point in this game that they even made Oprah cry. This wasn't even a game until Toronto used some theatrics and a gift four-minute powerplay to make things interesting for ten minutes in third period. Don't even think about discounting some saves that Marc-Andre Fleury made in the third to prevent a disaster from occurring. It would have been a disaster, too, because the Penguins completely humbled the goon Leafs through the first two periods. It all culminated in a three-minute monster mash in which the Pens scored three goals. The Pens have now won 11 straight games. Sidney Crosby is on a 17-game scoring streak. He has reached DEFCON 1 of FU mode.
Penguins notes:
Maple Leafs notes:
The Leafs are hoping to make the playoffs.
Favorite Leafs-related Photoshop or gif:
Penguins lines:
James Neal - Jordan Staal - Alexei Kovalev
Matt Cooke - Max Talbot - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Dustin Jeffrey - Pascal Dupuis
Craig Adams - Mark Letestu - Chris Conner/Joe Vitale
Kris Letang - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Deryk Engelland
Ben Lovejoy - Brian Strait
Marc-Andre Fleury
Maple Leafs Lines from Empty Netters:
Clake MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Mike Brown - Darryl Boyce - Colby Armstrong
Fredrik Sjostrom - Tim Brent - Joey Crabb/Jay Rosehill
Keith Aulie - Dion Phaneuf
Luke Schenn - Carl Gunnarsson
Mike Komisarek - Brett Lebda
James Reimer
"It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!"
Do It.
Go Pens.