Preview: Hurricanes at Leafs

by Chemmy on Mar 2, 2010 2:24 PM EST in Maple Leafs Game Previews

The NHL is back. I don't really like Olympic hockey that much; it tears cohesive fanbases apart and subjects us to a week of good teams vs. Norway and Belarus before spending two days on the actual good games.

In a lot of ways watching the Toronto Maple Leafs is like cheering for Switzerland. They're terrible now but they show some promise and in thirty or forty years they might get their act together and go on a run.

Tonight real hockey's back when the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs will both sit their pending UFAs in advance of tomorrow's trade deadline. Rookie goaltender Justin Peters gets the start for Carolina. He's played two NHL games and let in 3 goals total for a 1.50GAA and a .950SV%. In Toronto's end of the ice J.S. Giguere gets the nod.

So far Giguere has either shut the other team out or ended the night stopping less than 90% of the pucks he saw. I don't know what to make of that at all to be honest. It's an obviously small sample size but so far Giguere's been flawless or mediocre.

Expect Alexei Ponikarovsky to sit out tonight: the Leafs had one odd man out at practice today and Poni is the most likely person to be moved tomorrow at 3PM.

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So… anyone else hoping Burke/Wilson managed to smuggle the US Olympic team back to Toronto with them, and gave them all Leafs jerseys?

"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky

by Karina on Mar 2, 2010 2:29 PM EST reply actions

Cheering a Maple Leafs team made up of 100% Americans? Hey if it meant a Stanley Cup win they could all be green Martians as far as I’m concerned.

leaf fan stuck in ottawa, a localized black hole that will suck everything in that area to oblivion.

by stucky on Mar 2, 2010 2:37 PM EST up reply actions

They wouldn’t have needed to smuggle Kessler back, and Kesler can stay in Vancouver as far as I’m concerned. Although he is a superb hockey player. What kind of reception did he get in Vancouver during the Olympics I wonder?

by Pyramid Power on Mar 2, 2010 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

Ooops! Kessel.

by Pyramid Power on Mar 2, 2010 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

Kesler was cheered when they were handing out the medals.

by Evening News Team on Mar 2, 2010 2:57 PM EST up reply actions

I hate him even more, what a mouth piece

Puns, Innuendo and Bad Spelling, Yes We Got That

by JaredFromLondon on Mar 2, 2010 3:04 PM EST up reply actions

he is a toal douchebag

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:08 PM EST up reply actions

I dislike his face. Cocky asshole, he is.

by PhilSpecter on Mar 2, 2010 3:14 PM EST up reply actions

if he was a Leaf, I would love him.

"The only way out is in a body bag. Go Leafs Go." - Blinky

by Karina on Mar 2, 2010 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

yeah, but he is not, and he lips off about teams i love like it aint no thang
i would have been dissapointed that Pronger didnt turn him into a red smear on the boards, but then he went home with silver

Puns, Innuendo and Bad Spelling, Yes We Got That

by JaredFromLondon on Mar 2, 2010 3:25 PM EST up reply actions

i wouldnt really be too fond of any leaf who said they “hated canadians”

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:37 PM EST up reply actions

i guess i took it out of context a little….. i guess he was reffering more to the canadian team than actual canadians…

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:37 PM EST up reply actions

GO LEAFS GO!

by Army13 on Mar 2, 2010 2:29 PM EST reply actions

Let’s go Leafs. Colton Orr, knock out Whitney so Poni’s trade value is higher!

Hockey Fights

by Cat Smasher on Mar 2, 2010 2:30 PM EST reply actions

Lundmark probably makes his debut tonight. I’d forgotten we even got him.

Leaf, the universe and everything.

by 1967ers on Mar 2, 2010 3:04 PM EST reply actions

I’m excited to see what he can do.

by Jo4nny on Mar 2, 2010 3:52 PM EST up reply actions

hmm…. Tim Thomas told NHL.com that the atmosphere in the gold medal game wasnt even as good as the atmosphere for a boston-montreal playoff game……. i just cant buy that

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:08 PM EST reply actions

Ya, ’cause you were on the bench.

Leafs Nation: A drinking team with a hockey problem.

by nhlcheapshot on Mar 2, 2010 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

And he does host a popular game show where people scream like animals as you bid $1 and win.

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Mar 2, 2010 3:19 PM EST up reply actions

kessel could score more tonight than he did the entire olympics

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:09 PM EST reply actions

“Tonight real hockey’s back when the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs will …. "

Carolina and Toronto. Ugh. I don’t like real hockey =(

by Theodles on Mar 2, 2010 3:12 PM EST reply actions

Battle of the Basement. I predict Staal scores a hattie.

by PhilSpecter on Mar 2, 2010 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

if by staal you mean kessel, im on board

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Mar 2, 2010 3:17 PM EST up reply actions

Alexei Ponikarovsky-Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel
Nikolai Kulemin-Rickard Wallin-Fredrik Sjostrom
Viktor Stalberg-Christian Hanson-Lee Stempniak
John Mitchell-Wayne Primeau-Colton Orr

Defence

Luke Schenn-Tomas Kaberle
Dion Phaneuf-Francois Beauchemin
Garnet Exelby-Carl Gunnarsson

Hockey Fights

by Cat Smasher on Mar 2, 2010 5:13 PM EST reply actions