Preview: Baby Stepping v. Running Men

 The last meeting between these two teams was the wild 8-5 game in Boston which saw Toskala replaced by Old Yeller and then returned to the net at the beginning of the third period. Of course, it didn't work but it represented one of the last times that the Leafs showed their never-say-die attitude.

 Previous Meetings

The Bruins come into the game rather banged up and are no doubt looking forward to the upcoming All-Star Break in order to rest up and heal. Actually, it's not really a doubt because I asked Evan at Stanley Cup of Chowder (Showdair!) and he told me as much:

To complain about the B's recent play seems a little ridiculous considering that I am writing this for Leafs fans that have had a lot more to complain about this season, but the Bruins have played with about as much intensity as the 50 year old guy on your beer league team that just coasts his way through shifts. I know blaming it on injuries is a cop out, but the Bruins are banged up right now. Lucic is dealing with a shoulder injury and will likely be out of the lineup on Wednesday, Ward has a "charley horse" (or some other injury that the B's don't want you to know about), Bergeron is still trying to get the cobwebs out of his head, Sturm is done for the year, Ference is still trying to rehab from a broken tibia, and Kessel has the dreaded kissing disease. The All-Star break could not come at a better time for the B's. Too bad they still need to play one more game before then.

Tom at Here Come The Bruins! takes a deeper look at the effect that the injuries have taken on the East-leading Beantowners. What injuries you ask?

Marco Sturm is actually out for the season which is a massive loss. He's the only remnant of the return that the Bruins got in the Joe Thornton trade. It's missing from the damn dirty widget but as Evan mentioned, Patrice Bergeron is still recovering from the vicious hit that that douchebag Alberts laid on him.

The Leafs have their own muddle-brained player as Mike Van Ryn recently failed his baseline test. It was actually in the last Leafs-Bruins game that he re-injured his brain muscle as Milan Lucic hit his head into the glass. Unfortunately, this time the glass held its own against Van Ryn. That evens the season series: Van Ryn 1 - Boston Garden Glass 1. There is still one meeting left in the year.

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