The Toronto Maple Leafs finished any realistic chance of improving their positioning for the upcoming NHL Draft with an unexpected 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Air Canada Center on Tuesday and will try to extend their winning streak to three games in the second of back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on Wednesday.
Toronto took advantage of a Lightning squad coming off an emotional victory in Montreal on Monday and playing with an extremely short-handed blueline, as Nazem Kadri and David Booth staked the Leafs to an early 2-0 lead, Ryan Callahan scored on the power play late in the first, but Tampa could not score the equalizer on James Reimer, who made 40 saves and earned first star honors in his second straight victory.
Morgan Rielly added his eighth goal of the season in the Toronto win, which moved the club to 64 points on the year, five points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers and three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who lost to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
The only matter of consequence left to be determined in the remaining five games of the regular season is whether the Leafs will end up in 27th or 26th in the NHL standings and have a 9.5% or 8.5% chance of winning the Draft lottery on April 18th.
The Sabres are in the same situation as the Leafs, with a lot to lose by winning and everything to gain by losing, but that is not the attitude of the players or of head coach Ted Nolan, who earned three of a possible four points against the 29th place Coyotes in an overtime loss in Buffalo last Thursday and a 4-1 win in Glendale on Monday.
Buffalo trails Arizona by four points with six games to go, but no matter how undermanned or low in the standings, the Sabres always save their best for Toronto. Buffalo dominated in a 6-2 victory over the Leafs at First Niagara Center on November 15 and led late at ACC on March 11 before Tyler Bozak tied the game with 2:25 left in regulation.
The dynamic at FNC is always exciting, as many Leafs fans make the trip down the QEW to watch their team, but with the negative consequences of victory for both squads, it is likely that Leafs fans wearing Blue and White will be rooting for Buffalo goals, while the Blue and Gold clad Sabre fans will be chanting “Go Leafs Go….
How perfect is it that this game is on April Fool’s Day.
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The Leafs sent center Sam Carrick to the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, as the AHL affiliate plays a critical contest in their pursuit of a Western Conference playoff berth against former Marlie Spencer Abbott and the Chicago Wolves at Ricoh Coliseum.
The Marlies have 73 points in 66 games played, trailing seventh place Milwaukee by three points, eighth place Chicago and ninth place Hamilton by two and have games in hand on all three teams.
With the reassignment of Carrick, either Brandon Kozun or Casey Bailey will step into the lineup in Buffalo, with Zach Sill likely moving to center on the fourth line.
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The first decision to likely come down after the season is the status of Leafs GM Dave Nonis and while many fans feel that Nonis should be held responsible for the misfortunes of the club, it is beginning to look as if he will stay on and not be dismissed.
Darren Dreger indicated on TSN 1050 radio on Tuesday that Nonis has been included in strategy sessions with Team President Brendan Shanahan and the management staff for the coming offseason and that it is likely that he will return as Leafs GM.
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McEichel Race – Points(Games Played)
8. COLUMBUS 78(76), 7. PHILADELPHIA 77(76), 6. NEW JERSEY 75(77), 5. CAROLINA 67(76), 4. TORONTO 64(77), 3. EDMONTON 59(76), 2. ARIZONA 54(77), 1. BUFFALO 50(76)
Current Leafs odds at winning Draft Lottery(9.5%) Same
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