Pregame: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Columbus Blue Jackets – October 25, 2013

Columbus’ Notes:

Last Game:  NJD 1 at CBJ 4 (10/22/13)

 

Injury Report:

• M. Calvert (lower body); had surgery on 10/15, expected to miss 6 weeks
• N. Horton (shoulder), out indefinitely
• C. Bass (hand), out indefinitely

 

Recent Transactions:

• 10/11/13 – Recalled R. Craig (F) from Springfield (AHL)
• 10/11/13 – Assigned T. Erixon (D) to Springfield (AHL)

 

Streaks:

• Goal: Marian Gaborik (2 / 2 Games)
• Assists: James Wisniewski (3 / 2 Games) ; RJ Umberger (2 / 2 Games)
• Points: Marian Gaborik (2-1-3 / 3 Games) ; James Wisniewski (1-3-4 / 2 Games) ; RJ Umberger (1-2-3 / 2 Games)

 

Team Notes:

• Dating back to last season CBJ is 23-10-5 in their last 38 games and 13-3-3 in their last 19 home games
• CBJ has outhit opponents in 7 of their 9 games this season (245-199 total)
• CBJ is currently T-9th in the NHL in total team hits (245) this season
• CBJ is 29-0-0 when leading after 2 periods under head coach T. Richards (since 1/9/12)
• CBJ is 86-80-28 all-time vs. Eastern Conference opponents
• CBJ is 151-59-29 all-time when scoring the 1st goal of a home game
• CBJ is 71-66-13 all-time in Friday games
• CBJ ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a team FO% of 52.2 in 2013-14
• CBJ recorded the best winning % (.573) in franchise history in 2012-13 (24-17-7)
• CBJ had the 2nd-best record in the NHL in March/April 2013 (19-5-4)

 

Player Notes:

• R.J. Umberger’s next GP will give him sole possession of 5th place in CBJ team history (currently tied with J. Shelley, 380) // Umberger is 2 PPG behind G. Sanderson for 3rd place in CBJ history (34)

• S. Bobrovsky has the best SV% in NHL history among Russian-born goalies with at least 100 career appearances (.917)  // Bobrovsky is 13-5-5 (1.74 GAA, .942 SV%) in 23 career appearances at Nationwide Arena

• C. McElhinney is 2-1-0 (2.44 GAA, .923 SV%) in 4 career appearances at Nationwide Arena

• R. Johansen scored his 1st career NHL goal (also GWG) 2 years ago today – 10/25/11 vs. DET  // Johansen has tallied 2G-2A-4P in his last 4 games and is currently T-26th in the NHL in FO% (54.4)

• J. Wisniewski is T-8th in the NHL in scoring by a D (1G-6A-7P)

• B. Comeau (w/NYI) dished out a career-high 3 assists vs. TOR on 3/14/10 // Comeau has tallied 4G-7A-11P in his last 11 games vs. TOR

• M. Letestu has registered 3G-1A-4P in his last 4 games vs. TOR

• M. Gaborik has recorded 11G-9A-20P in his last 12 games vs. TOR  // Gaborik has tallied 46G-52A-98P in 97 career October games, has recorded 9G-6A-15P in his last 12 games at Nationwide Arena and Gaborik’s next PPG will tie him with Z. Palffy for 5th place in NHL history among Slovakian players (92)

• A. Anisimov (w/NYR) recorded a career high 4 points (0G-4A) vs. TOR on 1/19/11

• B. Dubinsky (w/NYR) dished out a career-high 3 assists vs. TOR on 12/29/07

• N. Foligno (w/OTT) made his NHL debut vs. TOR on 10/3/07

• B. Jenner is T-1st in the NHL in PPG by a rookie (2)  //  Jenner is T-6th among all NHL rookies in hits (21)

• J. Johnson is T-1st in the NHL in PPG by a defenseman (2)

• R. Murray is T-3rd in the NHL in plus/minus rating by a rookie defenseman (+3) and T-6th in blocked shots by a rookie D (15)

• D. Savard is currently T-17th among all NHL defensemen with a plus/minus rating of +5; he has logged 129:12 of 5-on-5 TOI this season without being on the ice for an ESG against which is the 2nd-highest total of any D in the NHL (C. Stoner, MIN – 130:06)

• F. Tyutin’s next goal will tie him for 9th place in NHL history among Russian-born defensemen while his next point will give him sole possession of 9th place in CBJ history and his next assist will give him sole possession of 4th place in team history

 

vs Toronto:

Last Game: TOR 4 at CBJ 1 (11/3/11)  – TOR Goals by: Joey Crabb, Clarke MacArthur(2), John-Michael Liles // CBJ Goals by: Ryan Johansen

Record: 3-6-1 // Home Record: 1-3-0

———-

Toronto’s Notes: 

Last Game: OCTOBER 22 – TORONTO 4 vs. ANAHEIM 2 – Phil Kessel registered a hat trick to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Air Canada Centre. Dion Phaneuf also scored for the Leafs while Jonathan Bernier turned aside 23-of-25 shots in the victory. Nick Bonino and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal for the Ducks. Jonas Hiller suffered the loss for Anaheim after allowing four goals on 23 shots. TOR PP: 1-3 / ANA PP: 0-4 / Shots: 23-25  Additional Note: Kessel’s fourth career NHL hat trick and second as a Maple Leafs was only the second hat trick by a Leafs player in a home game over the last five seasons. The other one was also by Kessel in a 6-5 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 8, 2011.

 

Injury Report:

• Mark Fraser – Knee – Expected to miss approx 4 weeks, injury occurred on October 2 at PHI. Fraser started practicing prior to the main group’s practice on Thursday morning – Games Missed: 8

• Nikolai Kulemin – Ankle – Expected to miss at least 2 weeks. Injury occurred October 4 during practice. Kulemin started practicing prior to the main group’s practice on Thursday morning – Games Missed: 8

• Frazer McLaren – Broken Finger – Occurred on September 13 during practice at training camp. He has been removed from IR and is expected to be in the line-up tonight against the Blue Jackets – Games Missed: 10

• Joffrey Lupul – Bruised Bone in foot -Occurred during practice on October 24th. Lupul was briefly in the Leafs dressing room this morning (October 25th). He was walking with a slight limp, having trouble putting pressure on his bruised foot. He did do a 20-minute workout on the stationary bike outside the Leafs dressing room in Columbus during the team’s skate. Seems doubtful (but possible) to play tonight.

 

Recent Transactions:

• Oct. 23 – Assigned Josh Leivo to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
• Oct. 24 – Recalled Josh Leivo from the Toronto Marlies (AHL)

 

Streaks:

• Goals: None
• Assists: Cody Franson (2 / 2 Games)
• Points: Cody Franson (0-2-2 / 2 Games)

 

vs Columbus:

• 2012-13 Series: DNP
• All-Time Record: 6-1-1-2 (3-0-0-1 at Columbus)
• Last Game: November 3, 2011 at Columbus (Maple Leafs 4, Blue Jackets 1)
• Next Game: November 25, 2013 at Toronto
• Current Streaks: Toronto (one win)

~ Jay McClement leads all Toronto players in career games played (40), assists (11) and points (16) against Columbus.

~ Dave Bolland leads all Toronto players in career goals (9) in 25 games against Columbus. Bolland has registered more career goals against Columbus than against any other NHL club.

~ Dion Phaneuf has registered more career penalty minutes (54) against Columbus than against any other NHL club

 

Player Notes:

~ Dion Phaneuf – Leads Maple Leafs in +/- (+5), TOI per game (24:36) and hits (32), is 2nd in blocked shots (tie-20) and 3rd in PIMs (14)

~ Cody Franson – Leads Maple Leafs in assists (8), is 2nd in hits (30) and blocked shots (tie-20), and 3rd in points (tie-8) and TOI per game (21:41)

~ Jay McClement – Leads Maple Leafs in total SH TOI (37:00)

~ Mason Raymond – 3rd on Maple Leafs in points (tie-8) and shots (28)

~ Paul Ranger – 3rd on Maple Leafs in hits (26)

~ Joffrey Lupul – Leads Maple Leafs in goals (6) and PPG (tie-2), and is 2nd in points (10) and shots (33)

~ James van Riemsdyk – 2nd on Maple Leafs in goals (tie-5), +/- (tie +4) and 3rd in points (tie-8) and collected 2 assists October 22 vs ANA

~ Colton Orr – Leads Maple Leafs in PIMs (26)

~ Josh Leivo – Collected 1st NHL assist October 22 vs ANA

~ Carl Gunnarsson – Leads Maple Leafs in blocked shots (28)

~ Tyler Bozak – Leads Maple Leafs in PPG (tie-2), SHG (1) and faceoff % (tie-47.4), and is 2nd in +/- (tie +4) and TOI per game (21:48)

~ Nazem Kadri – Leads Maple Leafs in PPG (tie-2) and faceoff % (47.4), and is 3rd in assists (5) and points (tie-8)

~ Dave Bolland – Leads Maple Leafs in GWG (tie-2) and OTG (1)

~ Phil Kessel – Leads Maple Leafs in points (11), GWG (tie-2) and shots (40), and is 2nd in goals (tie-5) and assists (6) also registered his 4th career hat trick and named 1st star October 22 vs ANA

 

Additional Notes:

~ The Maple Leafs, who have scored at least one powerplay goal in eight of their 10 games this season, are currently ranked second in the NHL with a 28.2% success rate. The top powerplays in the NHL so far this season are as follows:

• Washington – 29.7% (11-for-37)
• Toronto – 28.2% (11-for-39)
• NY Islanders – 28.1% (9-for-32)

 

Upcoming Milestones:

• Jake Gardiner needs 3 games for 100 NHL games played
• Phil Kessel needs 8 games for 300 Maple Leafs games played ; needs 10 goals for 200 NHL goals ; needs 10 points for 400 NHL points
• Colton Orr needs 13 games for 200 Maple Leafs games played
• Mason Raymond needs 16 games for 400 NHL games played ; needs 16 goals for 100 NHL goals ; needs 10 points for 400 NHL points ; needs 14 points for 200 NHL points
• David Clarkson needs 3 goals for 100 NHL goals
• Cody Franson needs 15 assists for 100 NHL assists
• Dion Phaneuf needs 16 assists for 100 Maple Leafs assists
• Joffrey Lupul needs 17 assists for 200 NHL assists
• Jay McClement needs 6 points for 200 NHL points
• Paul Ranger needs 6 points for 100 NHL points

 

Record By Days Of The Week:

2013-14 Season:                                                              2012-13 Season:

• Sunday: 0-0-0                                                                Sunday: 0-0-0
• Monday: 0-0-0                                                              Monday: 6-2-1
• Tuesday: 3-1-0                                                              Tuesday: 3-3-0
• Wednesday: 1-0-0                                                       Wednesday: 3-2-1
• Thursday: 1-1-0                                                            Thursday: 6-6-1
• Friday: 0-0-0                                                                   Friday: 0-0-0
• Saturday: 2-1-0                                                             Saturday: 8-3-2

Pregame: Colorado Avalanche @ Toronto Maple Leafs – October 8, 2013

Toronto’s Notes:

Last Game:

• OCTOBER 5 – TORONTO 5 vs. OTTAWA 4 (SO) – Mason Raymond registered a goal, two assists and the game-deciding shootout goal to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs, while James van Riemsdyk also tallied in the win. Jonathan Bernier replaced starter James Reimer (17 saves – 21 shots) between the pipes in the second period for Toronto, stopping all 15 shots he faced. Four different Senators scored for Ottawa in the loss and Craig Anderson made 38 saves on 42 shots in defeat. TOR PP: 2-6 / OTT PP: 0-1 / Shots: 42-36

 

Injury Report:

• Mark Fraser – Knee -> Expected to miss approx 4 weeks. Injury occured October 2 @ PHI
• Nikolai Kulemin – Ankle -> Expected to miss at least 2 weeks. Injury occured during practice on October 4
• Frazer McLaren – Broken finger -> Injury occured during practice at training camp on September 13

 

Recent Transactions:

• October 6 ->  Assigned Spencer Abbott and Jamie Devane to the Toronto Marlies
• October 7 -> Recalled Jamie Devane and Trevor Smith from the Toronto Marlies

 

Toronto / Colorado: Head to Head:

• 2012-13 Series:  DNP
• All-time Record: 25-35-9-1 (16-17-4-1 at Toronto)
• Last Game: October 17, 2011 at Toronto (Leafs 2 Avalanche 3 (OT)
• Current Streaks: Colorado – 1 win

 

Toronto Notables:

• Dion Phaneuf leads all Toronto players in career games played (36), assists (13), points (19) and penalty minutes (36) against Colorado

 

• Mason Raymond leads all Toronto players in career goals (7) in 30 games against Colorado. Raymond has more career assists (11) against Colorado than against any other team

 

• Cody Franson has registered more career goals (3) against Colorado than against any other team

 

• Jay McClement played 104 games with Colorado over two seasons (2010-11, 2011-12), registering 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) with 43 penalty minutes

 

Starting Goaltenders:

• Jonathan Bernier – Bernier has been rock solid in his first two appearances as a Leaf.  He has faced Colorado just once in a no-decision where he made 15 saves, posted a .938 sv% and a GAA of 1.50

 

• Semyon Varlamov – Varlamov has had a great start to the season. Varlamov has faced the Leafs twice going 1-0-1 with a SV% of .929 and a GAA of 2.40

 

Additional Mentions:

• With a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on October 5, Toronto collected it’s 2700th win in franchise history. (Maple Leafs – St.Pats-Arenas). Toronto has played 6171 games since the team has founded in 1917, posting an all-time record of 2700-2587-783-101. Also during this game, Morgan Rielly, Spencer Abbott and Jamie Devane all made their NHL debuts for Toronto. The last time 3 Leafs made their NHL debut in the same game was: October 9, 2008 at Detroit – Nikolai Kulemin, Luke Schenn and Jonas Frogren. To date, 898 players (809 skaters, 89 goaltenders) have played at least one game for the Maple Leafs.
  • Note: With Jay McClement out of tonight’s game due to wife going into labour with their first child. Trevor Smith will make his Leaf debut – bringing the total players to 899

 

• Also from the Ottawa / Leafs game, Jonathan Bernier came off the bench to relieve James Reimer in the middle of the second period with Toronto trailing Ottawa 4-2. Leafs rallied to tie the score at 4-4 as Bernier stopped all 15 shots he faced in regulation time and overtime, ad won the shootout in which Bernier was unscored upon by the Senators. It’s only the second time that a Maple Leafs goaltender has recorded a shootout win in a game he did not start. The first Toronto netminder to post a shootout win in relief was Curtis Joseph on March 29, 2009 against Washington. The Leafs’ starting goaltender in that game was Martin Gerber

 

Upcoming Milestones:

• Jake Gardiner needs 3 games for 100 NHL games played
• David Clarkson needs 3 goals for 100 NHL goals (Currently Suspended)
• Phil Kessel needs 14 goals for 200 NHL goals ; needs 4 assists for 200 NHL assists
• Dave Bolland needs 1 assist for 100 NHL assists
• Jay McClement needs 6 points for 200 NHL points (not playing tonight)
• Paul Ranger needs 8 points for 100 NHL points

 

Record By Days Of The Week:

2013-14 Season:                                                              2012-13 Season:

• Sunday: 0-0-0                                                                Sunday: 0-0-0
• Monday: 0-0-0                                                              Monday: 6-2-1
• Tuesday: 1-0-0                                                              Tuesday: 3-3-0
• Wednesday: 1-0-0                                                       Wednesday: 3-2-1
• Thursday: 0-0-0                                                            Thursday: 6-6-1
• Friday: 0-0-0                                                                   Friday: 0-0-0
• Saturday: 1-0-0                                                             Saturday: 8-3-2

Additional Links:

• Leafs Reports
• Game Summaries

—– * —–

Colorado’s Notes:

Last Game:

• (Oct. 4): Nashville 1 at Colorado 3  – P.A. Parenteau scored twice to lead the Colorado Avalanche past the Nashville Predators 3-1 at Pepsi Center. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26-of-27 shots and Patrick Bordeleau notched the game winner as the Avs opened the season 2-0 for only the third time since moving to Denver

 

Injuries:

• Ryan Wilson – Knee

 

Recent Transactions:

• None

 

Notables:

• The Avs will head to Boston next before wrapping up the trip on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. The Avs are off to a 2-0-0 start for the first time since 2009-10 and for only the third time since moving to Denver (2001-02 was the other). Colorado has never started a season 3-0-0.  Prior to moving to Denver, the Nordiques started 3-0 or better four times: 1985-86 (7-0-0), 1994-95 (5-0-0), 1992-93 (4-0-0) and 1987-88 (3-0-0)

 

• Semyon Varlamov has allowed just one goal in each of his first two starts. He is the first Avs netminder to allow one goal or less in each of his first two starts since David Aebischer in 2000-01

 

• The Avalanche’s nine goals scored this season are its most through two games since moving to Denver, and its two goals allowed matches the fewest given up through two games (2009-10, 2003-04). As of Monday, Colorado’s +7 goal differential ranked second in the league behind St. Louis (+9)

 

• This marks the first time that Colorado and Toronto will meet more than once in a season since 1997-98. The Avs have won their last three trips to the Air Canada Centre, outscoring the Leafs 11-4. The Avs won 3-2 in their last visit to the ACC on Oct. 17, 2011. Colorado/Quebec is 36-25-9 all-time against Toronto, which includes a 13-9-2 mark since the team moved to Denver.

 

• The Avalanche did not face an Eastern Conference opponent during the shortened 2012-13 campaign. Two seasons ago (2011-12), the Avalanche finished 13-4-1 (.750%) against Eastern Conference teams, 7-2-0 at home and 6-2-1 on the road. Only St. Louis (14-2-2, .833%) had a higher winning percentage versus the East (Avs and Blackhawks tied for second at .750%). The Avs are 33-14-7 against Eastern Conference opponents since 2009-10 and 61-34-7 since 2005-06

 

• Nathan MacKinnon made his NHL debut at the age of 18 years, 31 days on Oct. 2, making him the youngest player in franchise history. He was over 200 days younger than the previous record holder, Owen Nolan, who was 18 years, 235 days when he debuted for Quebec on Oct. 4, 1990 at Hartford. MacKinnon was the youngest player at the time of his first NHL game since Nino Niederreiter was exactly the same age for his debut on Oct. 9, 2010. MacKinnon, the first overall selection in this year’s draft, picked up a pair of assists in that debut for his first career points. He became the youngest NHL player to record two or more points in a game since January 8, 1944, when Ted Kennedy tallied four points (1g/3a) for the Maple Leafs in a 12-3 win over the Bruins in Toronto at the age of 18 years, 27 days

 

Milestones:

• Paul Stastny – 1 point for 400 NHL points
  • Stastny sits 10th on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 399 points (135g/264a) in 469 games. He needs one point to become the 10th player in franchise history and fifth in Avalanche history to surpass 400 career points

 

• Cody McLod – will play in his 399th career NHL game