The Toronto Maple Leafs rematch against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday has an ample supply of drama and anticipation, stemming from the clubs previous meeting; a 6-3 Leafs victory on November 5.
The game got out of hand when Morgan Rielly hit Jannik Hansen at center ice and Kadri followed with a hit up high to Daniel Sedin. Vancouver responded as Alex Burrows speared Rielly in retaliation for the Hansen hit, Derek Dorsett jumped Leo Komarov, Burrows and Rielly tussled at center ice, Matt Martin jumped Canucks rookie defenseman Troy Stecher, goalie Ryan Miller jumped in to save Stecher and Frederik Andersen skated to the other end of the ice to even up the two sides
The two clubs combined for 171 penalty minutes and there is an expectation that Kadri and Martin will be the focal point of the Vancouver fans and players ire at the Rogers Arena on Saturday
Andersen did not skate on Friday due to an unspecified illness and on Saturday morning, the club recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau from the AHL Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis.
The Marlies lost 3-2 in Rochester on Friday, but veteran Jeff Glass started for Toronto and Garret Sparks served as the backup, which indicates that his suspension lasted six days. Sparks is getting the start against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday
According to
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Andersen is still expected to make the start in Vancouver, but flying cross-country necessitated the emergency recall.
The Leafs did not have a morning skate on Saturday, so the only indication of a lineup change was the Friday’s practice. Martin Marincin, who has been a healthy scratch the last three games, skated with Jake Gardiner, while Connor Carrick was paired with Frank Corrado and will likely be the odd man out.
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In other news, 2015 second round pick Jeremy Bracco extended his consecutive point streak to 24 games. The 19-year-old forward had an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to Kingston on Friday and three helpers in a 5-4 win over the Ottawa 67’s on Saturday.
Bracco is third in OHL scoring with 49 points (16 goals and 33 assists) in 24 games.
Swedish outlet Expressen reports on Friday that Leafs 2016 second rounder Carl Grundstrom will be among the 15 forwards selected for the preliminary roster of Team Sweden for the 2017 IIHF World Junior later this month.
Grundstrom (selected 57th overall last June) scored a goal and assist in a 4-0 Frolunda win over Lulea on Friday, tying the 19-year-old winger with Libor Hudacek for the SHL goal scoring lead.
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Listen to the latest edition of Off The Post with Anthony Mingioni, Russ Cohen, myself and special guest Joe Yerdon of NHL.com.
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