Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Scotiabank Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: CBC Hockey Night in Canada
Opponent SBNation Site: Blueshirt Banter

Toronto Marlies vs. Rochester Americans
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: Coca-Cola Coliseum
Broadcast/Streaming: AHL TV / Leafs Nation Network

It’s Saturday night! Get ready for prime-time Maple Leafs hockey.

For your appetizer this evening, the Toronto Marlies are facing the Rochester Americans. It’s the first of two games played this weekend at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. The Marlies have ten games left in the season, including tonight. While they are getting close to officially clinching a playoff spot, even winning out these two games against the Amerks won’t be enough to make it official, and we’ll have to wait another weekend to see what happens. The Amerks would be the Marlies opponent if the playoffs did start today, but they would also have the home-ice advantage.

At 7:00 p.m. we have our lovable Maple Leafs. They’re fresh off snapping a long and terrifying losing streak with a big win on Wednesday night against the Amerks’ big brothers in Buffalo. Tonight they face the Rangers who are so far down in the NHL standings a win tonight by the Leafs will officially eliminate them from the playoffs.

It’s been a long time since Henrik Lundqvist made his NHL debut in the 2005-06 post-lockout season—where he played with a Swede you may have heard of named Michael Nylander.

This will be only the third time his Rangers don’t make the playoffs over those 14 seasons, and, of course, another season without winning the Cup. Now at 37 years old, you have to think he could be yet another very famous NHL player to hang up his hat and call it a career without a single Cup win. It would be quite something if William Nylander were to score the game winning goal tonight, eliminating the team his father played on in Lundqvist’s rookie season.

For tonight, though, Hank isn’t even starting. Here’s our game preview with the lineups.


Game Preview: The Rangers come to Toronto looking for rebuild tips


It’s not the very end for Lundqvist yet, though. His contract goes on for another two years. Anything can happen, right?

Maybe William Nylander will host the Cup this year.

GO LEAFS GO!

Will Lundqvist ever win a Stanley Cup?

Yes. The Rangers will somehow pull it off with him in the next two seasons.0
Yes, but with another team. The Rangers will find a way to trade him to a real contender.7
No. He will be traded, but he still will not win it.4
No. It’s too late for Hank.44
No. The Leafs are winning the Cup for the next 10 years straight.26