LGD – Game 74: Marching In
By Steve Dangle
10 years agoThis was the scene the last time the Leafs faced the St. Louis Blues. James Reimer was shelled for three goals on fifteen shots in the first period alone before being replaced by Jonathan Bernier.
It looks like Bernier will be replacing Reimer against the Blues again, only this time it will be at puck-drop.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Leafs have lost five straight games. Oh you knew that? Sorry, homie. Didn’t mean to remind you.
- Phil Kessel is four goals back of 40. There are nine games left. Can he reach 40 for the first time?
- The St. Louis Blues are 2nd in the entire NHL. A win tonight will allow them to leapfrog Boston for 1st.
- The St. Louis Blues are the 4th-best offensive team in the NHL, scoring 3.10 goals per game.
- Despite having the 4th-most goals per game, you won’t find any St. Louis Blues on the NHL’s top scorers page until you see Alex Steen and T.J. Oshie way down at 37th tied with 54 points. The Blues score by committee.
- The Blues have 18 players with more points than David Clarkson who has 10 points. That’s an entire roster, FYI.
LEAFS LINEUP COURTESY OF DAILYFACEOFF.COM
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Joffrey Lupul – Nazem Kadri – Nikolai Kulemin
Mason Raymond – Dave Bolland – David Clarkson
Troy Bodie – Jay McClement – Colton Orr
Carl Gunnarsson – Dion Phaneuf
Cody Franson – Jake Gardiner
Morgan Rielly – Tim Gleason
You know, one thing that was frustrating to watch for a long time with the Leafs was the constant line-changing. Nobody could ever get used to anybody because their linemates or defensive partners were constantly being juggled or traded. Now I look at the Leafs defensive pairings and wonder why Randy Carlyle wouldn’t try to switch it up. They’re on pace to allow the most shots in a single season since the NHL switched to an 82-game season. No ideas? No? This is it? These are the best pairings? Okie doke.
ST. LOUIS BLUES LINEUP COURTESY OF DAILYFACEOFF.COM
Alex Steen – David Backes – T.J. Oshie
Brendan Morrow – Vladimir Sobotka – Jaden Schwartz
Magnus Paajarvi – Patrick Berglund – Steve Ott
Chris Porter – Maxim Lapierre – Ryan Reaves
Alex Pietrangelo – Jay Bouwmeester
Kevin Shattenkirk – Barret Jackman
Carlo Colaiacovo – Roman Polak
Hey look, Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo are both in the Blues lineup! Hey look, Alex Steen’s on the Blues’ first line! Hey look, here’s me not being super bitter about it. Seriously though, what a nightmare of a team to score on. Not a whole lot of flash up front even when Vladimir Tarasenko is in the lineup, but a pretty crazy defensive core. Oh, and they have Ryan Miller in net. That’s a good hockey team.
GOALIES
Ryan Miller is starting for the Blues. After going 7-0-1 in his first eight games with the Sabres, Miller has lost his last two starts. The former Buffalo Sabre has only allowed 20 goals in 10 games with the Blues so far.
What’s the deal on the Jonathan Bernier front? Well…
I see…
Well every goalie stretches, right?
Sweet! He’s good to go!
Crap. They’re rushing him, aren’t they? Damn it. Oh well. It’s just against the best team in the league.
The puck drop is at 7:00pm on Sportsnet Ontario.
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