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The Toronto Maple Leafs final meeting with the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday is not only a critical two points in their pursuit of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, it is the final time that they will play at historic Joe Louis Arena.
The Wings vacate “The Joe… after 38 years in favor of the newly built Little Caesar’s Arena in downtown Detroit, leaving behind the memories four Stanley Cup wins and a 25-year consecutive playoff streak.
“As much as the building makes it special, it’s the people that make it special. From Al Sobotka, who drives the Zamboni, to Leslie, who hands out the food, to Frankie, who brings the coaches the beer, to all the guys that did the cleaning, to the Illitch family and what they made so special.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said on Saturday. “It’s been an unbelievable building, lots of fond memories, and it’s great what Mr. I is doing for the city of Detroit and rebuilding downtown.…
The Leafs have a record of 40-47-5-3 at Joe Louis, including three playoff series during the Norris Division days.
Toronto won twice at the Joe in the Division final in 1987(which Detroit won in seven after coming back from a 3-1 deficit), twice in 1988 (again won by the Wings in six) and a pair of overtime victories in 1993.
The worst Leaf memory at the arena had to be in November 1986, when Hall-of-Famer Borje Salming suffered a facial laceration after being stepped on by Detroit’s Gerard Gallant. Salming needed over 200 stitches to repair the damage and missed over a month due to the gruesome injury. The best is undoubtedly the Game 7 overtime winner by Nikolai Borchevsky in 1993, which catapulted the Leafs to the Western Conference Final. Former Wing Mike Foligno scored an OT winner in Game 5 to give Toronto a 3-2 series lead, but the Leafs lost 7-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Game 6 to force the deciding game.
The Bruins 5-2 victory over Florida on Saturday move them one point ahead of Toronto, but the Leafs have two games in hand on the Beantowners.
Frederik Andersen and Jimmy Howard will be in goal and based on the morning skate, there will be no lineup changes for the Leafs lineup. Kasperi Kapanen will start his third straight game on the fourth line with Matt Martin and Brian Boyle.
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The Leafs rookie class of 2016-17 continues to the pile of the honors, as William Nylander has been named the NHL Rookie of the Month for March.
The 20-year-old winger led all rookies with 14 points (four goals and 10 assists) in 14 games and scored in 12 straight games, establishing a new rookie club record.
Watch as William Nylander fires a rocket past Michal Neuvirth for his 18th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/9pLYvcWG5Z
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 10, 2017
It is the fourth time that a Toronto rookie has won this award. Nylander won Rookie of the Month honors in October, Auston Matthews in December and Mitch Marner in January.
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