UPDATE - Early reports proved to be inaccurate, as Tuukka Rask gets the start vs Toronto.
The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a challenging stretch of three games in four nights against the arch-rival Boston Bruins at Air Canada Center Wednesday night. The uncharacteristic 8pm start (due to NBC Sports Network’s US national broadcast) is their final meeting in Toronto. The two clubs face each other two more times, but the New Year’s Eve and April 4 games are at the TD Garden in Boston.
The Bruins 4-1 victory on October 25 was perhaps the Leafs worst performance of the season, as they were unable to generate any offensive chances against Boston with team captain Zdeno Chara out with an injured knee.
The Bruins have not skipped a beat with the big Slovak on injured reserve, with a 6-1-0 record and winning five games in a row.
*******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.*******
Boston will start backup Niklas Svedberg in goal and will be without center David Krejci, who did not travel with the team after being scratched for the game against New jersey on Monday against. A short-handed Bruins lineup has not made much difference when facing Toronto, who have gone 2-12-2 against the perennial Eastern Conference power in their last 16 meetings.
The most concerning aspect of the loss last month was their complete lack of compete against a team that the Leafs should not have any problem getting up for. Toronto lost most of the puck battles, kept Toronto forwards from getting to the net and dominated puck possession. The aftermath of that contest saw dramatic changes to the Leafs forward lines and more effort throughout the lineup that has lead to Toronto going 5-1-1 in their last seven games.
“We’ve tried to stimulate our memory a little bit about how embarrassed we were.… Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said on Wednesday. “It was an emotional game, we just didn’t perform to the task that we were presented with, that’s for sure.…
Jonathan Bernier, who was pulled after allowing four goals on 25 shots in the previous meeting, will be in goal for the Leafs. Forward Daniel Winnik participated in morning skate at the ACC on Wednesday and indicated that he will return to the lineup after sitting out the weekend after being knocked unconscious by Colorado’s Jan Hejda six days ago.
Danie Winnik taking part in #leafs morning skate #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/jAAg0bfCVL
— David Alter (@dalter) November 12, 2014Getting off to a quick start will be imperative for Toronto, who have fallen behind in the opening five minutes in three of their last four games.
“There is some responsibility that has to be borne by the individuals that are involved.… Carlyle said. “We are not real happy with giving up the first goal in numerous games lately. You cannot continue to have success if you are going to do that. Statistics will bear that out over the course of the season and you’ll see that it’ll be over 70% of the teams that score the first goal usually end up winning the game.…
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.