Leafs/Stars Preview Nov 25th 2011

Leafs are in Dallas tonight, and unless you have been living under a rock the last 48 hours, you would have heard already that Reimer is back practicing with the team.  They had an early practice yesterday and then jumped on a bus and went to the Cowboys game.  Which the Cowboys won 20-19 on a field goal with 3 seconds left. 

The Leafs find them selves almost instantly hot again, going 2-1 in their last 3 games outscoring their opponents 16-5 in those games.  Two convincing wins, over Tbay and Washington, has the Leafs bandwagon bulging out at the sides again.

Leafs are 12-8-2 with 26 points good for 2nd in the North-East Division
Stars are 13-8-0 with 26 points good for 2nd in the Pacific Division

Gustavsson will get the start tonight. In his last 5 appearances he has 2.48 GAA and a .920 save%.   Gustavsson also is 1-0-1 in his career vs Dallas, with a 2.44 GAA and a .914 save%

Also, in a press release today, it has been announced that The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is not selling it's 79% stake in MLSE.  Probably so they don't miss out on the playoff revenue this year when the Leafs make it.

I think tonight, the Leafs win 4-2.  Kessel, Lupul, Steckel, Connolly.

Check out some Leafs stats here: Leafs Stats

Random Stats

 I was bored at school today so I thought I would check into some stats for you guys.  Check them out!

• Last season the Leafs were at 19 points through 22 games (8-10-3)
• This season they are at 26 points through 22 games (12-8-2)
• They didnt get their 12th win until Dec 14 last year. 
  Leafs are on pace for 96 points this season, which would be their highest total since 03-04 when they set a franchise record for most points in an 82 game season.
• Wilson's record as the Leafs coach 113w 115l 40otl.
• Formula for the next three goalie stats is (minutes played)/(60) to get games played.  Then (goals for)/(games played) to give you goals per game.

• Leafs score 3.17 goals per game for Reimer (based on minutes played) over the last 40 games.
• Leafs score 2.83 goals per game for Gustavsson (based on minutes played) over the last 30 games.
• Leafs score 2.12 goals per game for Scrivens (based on minutes played) over his  7 game career.

• Kessel didnt get his 16th goal until Jan 6 and 30th point until Jan 10th.
• Kessel is on pace for: 59g 52a 111p, passing both his career highs of 36g, 32a, and 64p.
• Only once in Kessel's 5 full seasons in the NHL has he finished with more assists than goals. 

• Lupul took 40 games last year to get his 26th point of the season, he already has 26 points through 22 games this year.
  
• Lupul is on pace for: 41g 55a 96p beating his careers highs of 28g, 26a, and 53points

Leafs/Canes Preview Nov 20th 2011

What a win last night for the Leafs!  7-1 over the High Scoring Capitals!  I think all the Gustavsson haters can sit down and shut up for a few weeks now.  It's another game to add to his well played list, and when you compare his well played games to Scrivens well played games, Gustavsson comes out on top.  The Monster has beaten New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and now the Washington Capitals.  Scrivens has only beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the St Louis Blues.  At the time, both teams were not in the playoffs.  Gustavsson deserves to start tonight, but we will see who Wilson goes with.  Since Gus hasnt played much lately, he should be plenty rested for tonight's game in Raleigh, NC.



Leafs:11-7-2 good for 24 points and 2nd in the North-East Division
Canes:6-11-3 good for 15 points and 5th in the South-East Division

Leafs are 2-2-1 in their last 5 and the Canes are 1-4-0 in their last 5.

Kessel and Lupul lead the way for the leafs with 27 points and 24 points respectively.



Its been a while since the Leafs had 2 players high up in the scoring race.  Infact, Henny tells us that its been since the 32-33 season that they had two players in the top 2 in scoring.  Kessel sits 1st Lupul sits tied for 3rd.








Tonight the Leafs can take over the Division lead again if they beat the Canes.  Connolly got his 400th and 401st career points last night, congratulations goes out to him.

The Canes have 5 ex-Leafs on their roster.  Tim Brent, Alexei Ponikarovski, Thomas Kaberle, Jiri Tlusty and Jay Harrison.  They have a combine points total of 25.
The Leafs need to beat this team good tonight.  They need to beat them by 2 or 3 goals and put it away early.  The Leafs can not afford to lose this game.  Every game now for the rest of the season is a must win game.  Tonight, Leafs win 4-1 - Kessel 2 - Lupul - Frattin.