Preview: Maple Leafs versus Philadelphia

Pre-Game: 6:00 p.m., Leafs TV
Broadcast: 7:00 p.m., CBC, AM640, NHLN-HD (US)
Post-Game: 10:00 p.m. Leafs TV
Post Video: mapleleafs.com

Tonight is the first meeting of the year against the Philadelphia Flyers. Here's what happened last time these two teams met:

One of the awesomest games of the year and I fell asleep on the couch at 3-0. If they could recreate it for my benefit I would appreciate it. The Leafs have actually wo 10 of their last 13 games against the Flyers which I find hard to believe because in my mind they always beat us.REMEMBER YOUR SPG PICKS

Official Preview

The Flyers are having a pretty good season with points in their last 9 games and are led by two players that are and will be constantly used to bash in Leaf fans' brains.

As we all know, Gagne was selected in the same draft as Nik Antropov...but later. So you would think that every team's fanbase was subject to hearing about how awesome Gagne has become right? Wrong. Anyway, he's second in league scoring and seemingly fully healed from his concussion problems and other assorted injuries. Pencil him in for two goals. As for the other one that got away:

Oh yeah, remember when Kaberle was almost traded for Jeff Carter and the Flyers' first overall pick but he didn't want to waive his no-trade clause because all of his buddies would still be around? Well, now they are almost all gone and Jeff Carter has 16 goals. That's as many points as the very awesome Nik Antropov has this year. Shoot me now.

Tonight will mark Brian Burke's first game in charge as he was introduced today at 2pm. Check out the official site for video of the press conference so that you can avoid the media spin. Today marks the beginning of three months of evaluating the players in the system to determine who will be moved and who will form the nucleus of the Leafs' 2013 Stanley Cup Champions team. He will report only to the head of the MLSE board, Mr. Richard Peddie, and will likely do so only at budget time.

This is the beginning of a new era in Leafs' history. If, five and a half years from now, Burke is above the man that gave him his start in NHL management on this chart then he will likely have built a Stanley Cup contender. From that point on, it's as much about luck as possible and for us it's about time that luck start being good.