About the Maple Leafs - 03-07-12
A preview of the Maple Leafs.
When and where: 7:30 p.m., EST. Consol Energy Center.
TV: NBC Sports Network, TSN, RDSI.
Record: 30-29-7, 67 points. The Maple Leafs are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and fourth place in the Northeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Phil Kessel, 70 points (33 goals, 37 assists).
Last Game: 5-4 home loss to the Bruins last night. Jake Gardiner and John-Michael Liles each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs.
Last Game against the Penguins: 1-0 home win, Feb. 1. Brent Johnson made 23 saves for the Penguins.
Maple Leafs Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Clarke MacArthur. He has five points in three games against the Penguins this season.
Ex-Penguins on the Maple Leafs: Colby Armstrong, RW; Randy Carlyle (right), head coach.
Ex-Maple Leafs on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Steve Sullivan, LW.
Useless Maple Leafs Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Carlyle is one of three Norris Trophy winners who have also won the Stanley Cup as a head coach. The others are Tom Johnson and Larry Robinson.
Best Maple Leafs Video We Could Find: This isn't really a Maple Leafs video, but given today's activities, we have to go with this:
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Probable goaltenders: Brad Thiessen (1-0-0, 2.01 GAA, .917 SV%) for the Penguins and James Reimer (11-11-4, 3.07 GAA, .899 SV%) for the Maple Leafs.
Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Deryk Engelland ("lower body") and goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) are day to day. Center Dustin Jeffrey (illness) and defenseman Kris Letang (head) are out. Centers Sidney Crosby (head/neck) is on injured reserve. For the Maple Leafs, right wingers Colby Armstrong (nose) and Mike Brown (hand) are day to day. Left winger Joffrey Lupul (shoulder) are out.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines at today's morning skate were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Craig Adams - Richard Park
-Paul Martin skipped today's skate but is expected to play. Consider this a guess at the defensive pairings:
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Paul Martin
Brian Strait - Ben Lovejoy
-Based on injuries, today's call up of right winger Carter Ashton and last night's lineup, consider this a guess at the Maple Leafs' lines and defensive pairings:
Matt Fattin - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Clarke MacArthur - Mikhai Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Tim Connolly - David Steckel - Carter Ashton
Jay Rosehill - Matthew Lombardi - Joey Crabb
Carl Gunnarsson - Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner - Luke Schenn
John-Michael Liles - Mike Komisarek
Notes:
-Neal has 199 career points and 96 career assists.
-Malkin has 499 career points and 196 career goals.
-Kennedy has 146 career points.
-A shoulder injury will sideline Lupul three to four weeks.
-Liles has 299 career points.
-Our live blog beings at approximately 6:30 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Post-Gazette archives)