Exhibition games against the Buffalo Sabres have not been kind to the Maple Leafs and winger David Clarkson. A fight filled contest at Air Canada Center last September in which Clarkson jumped off the bench to aid a teammate got the Mimico, ON native suspended for the first 10 games of the regular season and derailed his debut season in Toronto.
It also resulted in a three-game suspension to Phil Kessel for a stick swinging incident on John Scott that would make Paul Bunyan proud.
UPDATE
Defenseman Stephane Robidas cleared for contact. Expected to play one of the final two preseason games.
Winger David Clarkson to see specialist for cheekbone.
Defenseman Henrik Tallinder suffered dislocated shoulder, no determination of length of injury. No comment from Carlyle whether the veteran will be part of the team past training camp.
The two division rivals renewed hostilities in a 6-4 Toronto victory at First Niagara Center Friday night, dropping the gloves four times in an entertaining, high scoring contest, but it was a win that cost the Leafs their veteran defensive safety net.
Roman Polak, Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf, Leo Komarov, Clarkson and Josh Leivo scored for the Leafs and James Reimer made 34 saves in the victory, but the attention following the game was focused on Clarkson, who was held out of most of the third period for precautionary reasons after receiving a Cody McCormick punch to the face and defenseman Henrik Tallinder, who suffered a dislocated shoulder after being checked into the boards by Buffalo’s Mike Weber. Clarkson’s eye was swollen shut following the game, but there did not seem to be any concern for him being out of the lineup long term. The injury to Tallinder likely ends any chance of the 35-year-old being signed by the club, as that type of shoulder injury could keep him out of action for as long as two months.
With the uncertain status of Stephane Robidas, Tallinder appeared to be a good option as a dependable stay-at-home seventh defenseman, but with him out of the picture, the battle will be between veteran Korbinian Holzer and youngsters Stuart Percy and Petter Granberg.
Holzer in spite of being a dependable defensive presence with the AHL Marlies, showed a propensity for bad decisions in his own zone. Percy was +1 in nearly 23 minutes on Friday with an assist on Leivo’s power play goal, while Granberg played the right side with Phaneuf until Tallinder’s injury forced Randy Carlyle to shuffle the defensive pairings.
*******
Notables From Friday
Tyler Bozak – The Leafs first line center looked in mid-season form in his first preseason game, with a goal and two assists.
Roman Polak – Had three points and was +4 on the night, Polak scored a nice goal coming in from the point after a great pass by Bozak.
Josh Leivo – A goal and two assists for the young winger, worked well with Bozak and Joffrey Lupul. Leivo is very close to being ready for a long look at the NHL level after scoring 23 in the AHL as a rookie. Being waiver exempt, he is likely the first call up for the Leafs if he doesn’t make the team outright.
Sam Carrick – Two fights(one did not result in a major) against Chris Stewart and Tyler Myers. Carrick was one of the best Marlies late last season and into the playoffs and is giving Leafs management something to think about down the road.
William Nylander –The 18-year-old played with Nazem Kadri and David Clarkson and was hardly noticed his presence in over 13 minutes on the ice.
*******
The Leafs reduced their roster to 36 players on Saturday with the demotions of 2011 first rounder Tyler Biggs and goalie Garret Sparks. On Friday, they sent forwards Spencer Abbott, Trevor Smith and defenseman Kevin Marshall down to the Toronto Marlies. The three players sent down on Friday were required to clear waivers and did so on Saturday. Biggs and Sparks still have waiver exemptions.
Current Roster
Forwards(22)
CARTER ASHTON TROY BODIE DAVID BOOTH TYLER BOZAK SAM CARRICK DAVID CLARKSON MATT FRATTIN FREDERIK GAUTHIER(INJ) PETER HOLLAND NAZEM KADRI PHIL KESSEL LEO KOMAROV PETRI KONTIOLA BRANDON KOZUN JOSH LEIVO JOFFREY LUPUL FRAZER MCLAREN WILLIAM NYLANDER COLTON ORR MIKE SANTORELLI JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK DANIEL WINNIK
Defense(11)
CODY FRANSON JAKE GARDINER PETTER GRANBERG KORBINIAN HOLZER VIKTOR LOOV STUART PERCY DION PHANEUF ROMAN POLAK MORGAN RIELLY STEPHANE ROBIDAS(INJ) HENRIK TALLINDER**(INJ)
Goaltenders(3)
JONATHAN BERNIER ANTOINE BIBEAU JAMES REIMER
** - Tryout invitation
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.