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The Toronto Maple Leafs play in their second New Year’s Day spectacle against the Detroit Red Wings, but the anticipation for Sunday’s Scotiabank Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium (aka BMO Field) is nowhere close to the fever pitch for the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, MI nearly three years ago.
University of Michigan’s “Big House… had a record attendance of 105,491 fans for the contest between two Stanley Cup winning coaches (Mike Babcock and Randy Carlyle) with teams that made the playoffs the previous season.
Sun's out,
— NHL (@NHL) December 30, 2016
Goalie's out.#CentennialClassic
🌞😎🌞😎🌞😎#NHL100 pic.twitter.com/pyFkSPLuko
The sequel takes place at the home of the MLS’s Toronto FC and the CFL Argonauts with extra seating erected for the Grey Cup to reach a seating capacity of 40,000, between Babcock and understudy Jeff Blashill with one club that appears to coming to the end of a 25-year streak of consecutive playoff appearances and the other emerging from a nearly organizational upheaval.
Three years ago, Leafs GM Dave Nonis signed team captain Dion Phaneuf to a seven-year contract extension the day and traded defenseman John-Michael Liles to Carolina for Tim Gleason moments before the game.
Three years later, only five players (Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner) remain from the club that won a 3-2 shootout victory on that snowy Wednesday (as compared to 11 on Detroit’s roster).
The remaining core of 2014 has become the supporting cast for Toronto’s future stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander and based on the ever-changing landscape in Toronto, only one or two of those remaining five will be Leafs if they play another outdoor game three years from now.
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The Leafs will practice outdoors at Exhibition Stadium on Saturday. The only expected lineup change will be goalie Frederik Andersen, who got a rare night off in Tampa.
Rookie Antoine Bibeau made 25 saves in his first NHL victory, a 3-2 overtime win over the Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.
First @NHL win ✅.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 30, 2016
Congrats @BibeauAntoine01!#TMLtalk #StandWitness pic.twitter.com/ma6xfm6rzA
Auston Matthews scored his club-leading 18th goal of the season and assisted on Nazem Kadri’s OT winning power-play goal, moving the 19-year-old into a tie with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine for the NHL’s rookie scoring lead.
Watch: Kadri wins it in overtime for the Leafs against the Lightning. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/Np9uhgNREl
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 30, 2016
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