LGD: Phil!

It’s not the first time the Toronto Maple Leafs have seen Phil Kessel in a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, but it will be the first time Leafs fans see their former star winger suit up against them in Toronto. On Hockey Night in Canada, no less.

And apparently, there isn’t expected to be any warm welcomes. Kessel himself says he expects to hear some boos while the Leafs organization has no plans to honour his return. It’s a very weird situation, considering Kessel was very much the best player the Leafs had since Mats Sundin left for Vancouver and wasn’t universally loved, but still very much liked.

Besides the drama surrounding Kessel’s return, though, there’s still hockey to be played. The Penguins got off to an uncharacteristically slow start this year with three straight losses, but have since gone 6-1 and will look to continue their climb up the Eastern Conference standings. The Leafs, on the other hand, have a single win on the season.

Yeah, this should be fun.

We’re likely looking at the same lineup Toronto had last night in New York. That means Leo Komarov is a first line forward. This is a scary-bad lineup just in time for Halloween!

You’ll see Phil Kessel on the Penguins’ “second” line with Perron and Malkin. That’s terrifying. I’m assuming he’s there because nobody can actually play well with Sidney Crosby, they can only hope to keep up (or stay out of his way altogether).