The Toronto Maple Leafs have been successful thus far in making the Air Canada Center a difficult place to play, reeling off six straight wins on home ice. The Leafs are 20-10-1 and rank behind only Eastern Conference division leaders Pittsburgh (23-4-0) and Boston (21-6-2) for victories at home.
The same cannot be said for Toronto’s road record, where they are currently under .500(10-11-5), ahead of only bottom dwellers Washington, New Jersey, the N.Y. Islanders, Florida and Buffalo.
Toronto will have to improve on that record to lock down a playoff spot, with 15 of their remaining 25 games away from the friendly confines of the ACC. The Leafs hope to take a step in that direction as they try for their fourth win in a row against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, FL on Tuesday.
The game is the first of a brief road trip to the Sunshine State, with the Leafs playing in Tampa on Thursday before returning home Saturday to face the Vancouver Canucks before the 19 day Olympic hiatus begins.
Tuesday night’s contest is the first of two visits to the BB&T Center for Toronto, who split their two home games against Florida(a 3-1 loss on December 17 and a 6-3 win at the ACC last Thursday).
James van Riemsdyk joined the club for the morning skate, travelling from Toronto separately after coming down with flu symptoms on Monday and is expected to be in the lineup. David Clarkson skated with Jay McClement and Mason Raymond for the second day in a row and will likely come off injured reserve and play in his first game since January 14.
Recent call-up Jerred Smithson is expected to be in the lineup as well, playing on a fourth line unit with Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren. Carter Ashton(hand), Trevor Smith(muscle pull),Peter Holland(lace bite) and Dave Bolland(ankle), Paul Ranger(healthy) are out.
Winger Troy Bodie will sit after playing in eight straight games, most likely because he has only one game remaining before having to clear waivers to be returned to the Toronto Marlies.
Jonathan Bernier, who had a 2.67 GAA and .925 save percentage in the three home wins over Tampa Bay, Florida and Ottawa will start for Toronto, while veteran Tim Thomas makes his first start as a Panther against the Leafs. Thomas has a career record of 20-6-5 against Toronto.
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Listen to the latest edition of Leaf Buzz with former player agent, broadcaster and Toronto assistant GM Bill Watters, as we discuss the maturation of Phil Kessel, the contract of Dion Phaneuf, the goaltending situation and many more Leafs issues:
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The Score’s Justin Bourne has some interesting thoughts regarding 10 NHL players who are most in need of a change of scenery and two members of the Maple Leafs made the top 10.
Goaltender James Reimer ranks sixth on the list, based on the fact that the 25-year-old is vastly underappreciated by the Leafs now that Jonathan Bernier has supplanted him as the primary starter and that after his experience in Toronto, Reimer would be able to go to another NHL club where the focus on the ups and downs of a typical NHL season is less, like the New York Islanders.
Defenseman Jake Gardiner is at the top of the list, based mostly on his fantastic offensive skills and how Leafs coach Randy Carlyle is trying to augment them by playing a more responsible two-way game. It is clear from Gardiner’s performance over the last two seasons that he has not progressed defensively. With the emergence of rookie Morgan Rielly, the Leafs may be able to use Gardiner in a deal to get a player who fits their overall concept better.
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