LGD – Toronto Tanks Roll On Washington

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to bounce back from an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night when they meet up with the Washington Capitals this evening. On the other hand, Toronto Maple Leafs fans will look for their favourite team to continue their losing ways, as they are so, so, so near the bottom of the standings, and looking ever more likely to secure a top-5 draft pick.

Toronto made a nice little pick up today, plucking defenceman Tim Erixon off the waiver wire from the Chicago Blackhawks. That being said, Erixon won’t join up with his new team until tomorrow, so it looks like we’re going with the same lineup we saw last night in Montreal. 

Tonight’s player to watch is definitely Olli Jokinen. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the 36-year old posts a multi-point game; it’s his last chance to show off what he’s got left, and position himself to get moved off this lousy team before tomorrow afternoon’s trade deadline.

Like the Leafs, the Capitals also made a move today, acquiring Curtis Glencross from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a couple draft picks. That trade will certainly help Washington as they prepare for the playoffs, but it won’t help them at all tonight. Glencross won’t arrive in D.C. before tonight’s game.

Can we also talk about how good Nicklas Backstrom has been this season? Sure, Alex Ovechkin leads the league with 39 goals, and he’s an enormous talent all by himself, but man it must be nice to have a centre like Backstrom setting you up. Backstrom is tied for second in league scoring with 64 points in 63 games. He’s a hero, in my opinion, and I’m not just saying that because I drafted him in my fantasy league. (GO MASTIFFS!)