A week off between Maple Leafs games to start the season - while probably good for the recovery of the injured players - is hell for the fans. Hopefully some charts can ease the pain.

Matthew Lombardi was drafted twice - initially by the Edmonton Oilers in the 7th round of the 2000 NHL entry draft, and again by the Calgary Flames in the 3rd round of the 2002 draft. Known mostly for his speed, his career almost came to an end merely 2 games into a new contract with the Nashville Predators:

Matthew Lombardi came to the Predators as their big offseason acquisition last year. When he tested skating during training camp, several players came out of the locker room to see his speed. Lombardi barely got to show it in the regular season. In the second game of the season at Chicago, he went into the boards awkwardly and suffered a concussion. He continued playing, and only later realized he suffered a head injury.

Jarret Stoll was, eerily enough, also drafted twice - initially by the Calgary Flames in the 2nd round of the 2000 NHL entry draft and again by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round of the 2002 draft. He had several decent seasons with the Oilers before being traded to the Kings along with Matt Greene for Lubinor Visnovsky. For several seasons he had been the #2 center for LA behind Anze Kopitar, until the Kings traded Brayden Schenn along with Wayne Simmonds in return for Mike Richards, which pushed Stoll down the depth chart.

Like Lombardi, Stoll is looking like he may fit a more bottom 6 role with his team going forward, but unlike Lombo it's not because of an incredibly dangerous injury. But which player will have the better 2011/2012 season?

How they compare over their last 400 games played:

The two players are clearly very similar in a lot of ways - age, cap hit, and stats over the last 400 games are almost spot on. Let's dig a little deeper into each stat over this stretch of play.

Average Time-on-Ice per game:

Over the last 400 games played, Stoll has the advantage in ice-time, however we can see it becoming very similar in more recent games. Whether Lombardi can reclaim that ice-time post-concussion we'll have to see, but it would seem likely with the addition of Richards, Stoll may see his ice-time drop.

Shots on Goal per 60 minutes:

Lombardi and Stoll both shoot almost the exact same amount per sixty minutes, and have consistently done so over the last 400 games played. Even stephen in this category.

Goals per 60 minutes:

Goal scoring is also a dead heat per minute of ice-time.

Points per 60 minutes:

Over the last 400 games played it's a dead heat, however in the most recent games Lombardi was producing better. Going forward, we have no idea type of playing situation Lombardi will have - he could end up beside Phil Kessel or Colton Orr. Stoll seems likely to man LA's 3rd line barring an injury, but seems to be capable enough in that kind of role that he'll probably stay in-line with his previous production per sixty minutes.