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Fergie Could Be Watching With One Eye Tonight

November 20, 2007, 2:29 PM ET [ Comments]
Howard Berger
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
TORONTO (Nov. 20) -- Do not be shocked or dismayed if the Rogers Sportsnet TV cameras get a shot of Leafs' GM John Ferguson tonight, peeking through his fingers at the action down below. It is completely understandable that Ferguson might be covering his eyes on the night Tukka Rask makes his NHL debut. Yes, the same Tukka Rask that Fergie traded to Boston at the 2006 NHL Draft in Vancouver for Andrew Raycroft. Fate has been largely unkind to Ferguson during his years here in T.O. and it doesn't come much more biting than tonight. Imagine, with all of the games on the NHL schedule, Rask just happens to be playing his first NHL minutes against the club that drafted him, then dealt him without so much as a look.

The situation has Pepto Bismol written all over it. Knowing Ferguson's luck, his club will outshoot the Bruins 42-12... and lose 2-0. Or, Vesa Toskala will get hurt early in the game, forcing in Raycroft against his trade-mate, and the Bruins will waltz to a 7-1 triumph (now where have we seen THAT score before?). It was bad enough that the Bruins landed the accomplished Manny Fernandez from Minnesota in the summer to virtually off-set Ferguson's deal for Toskala. Having played in only four games at Boston, Fernandez remains sidelined with a knee strain suffered Oct. 30th. Rask had been called up to replace him on the roster two weeks ago, only to be sent back down when it appeared Fernandez had recovered. When Manny was still ailing, up came Rask again, and in he goes tonight at the Air Canada Centre.

Good ol' Fergie must be thinking, "Oy vay."

Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Perhaps the Leafs will summon the same energy and resourcefulness they showed against Ottawa on Saturday, and it simply will not matter who is standing between the pipes at the Boston end. Maybe this is the night Jason Blake finally breaks out. As of this writing, he's on a pace to score seven goals -- merely 33 less than with the Islanders a season ago. Blake got in the way of a Wade Redden slapshot on Saturday, taking the puck off his knee. That's why he skipped practice with the Leafs yesterday, though he claims to be feeling just fine right now.

But, Tukka Rask in goal for the Bruins TONIGHT? Hasn't poor Fergie suffered enough?

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