Howdy! It’s Game Day in Dallas, the weather is beautiful, and your Leafs are on the second game of a back-to-back against a surging Stars team with Curtis McElhinney (bless him) in net. Happy Thursday!

Two things really jump off the page here — first, Kasperi Kapanen is BACK, baby! That fourth line is as close to optimal as it’s been all year, and I am all about that. Also, those top three lines? That’s got the potential to be world-ruining.

The Matthews line is as it always is, but the addition of Marner to that Kadri line looked like it was working well against the Hawks, and frankly, I think Connor Brown is a nice fit for JVR and Bozak. He’s smart defensively, has a good bit of offensive upside, and deserves to be not stuck on the fourth line.

For as good as I’m feeling about the forward lines today though… That defense… Morgan Rielly is out until after the All-Star break. (I almost feel cheated by the universe because I was like, “PLEASE why don’t we try all THREE of Borgman, Carrick, and Dermott at once” and the universe was like “Haha, is this what you meant??” and I was like, “Wait, hang on, no–“)

Anyway we’ll see Gardiner and Hainsey with the bulk of the tough assignments, which is fine. I fall more in love with Dermott every time I watch him, and, well. Good luck, Borgman!

HOLY WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FIRST LINE!!!

When the Stars first signed Radulov, everyone had stars in their eyes (pun fully intended) imagining him playing with Benn and Seguin. The chemistry wasn’t there initially though, and Hitchcock didn’t play them as a line for a while. Now, though — the three are flying. They’re legitimately game-breakers, and Babcock is going to be careful about his matchups today.

The other guy you really have to worry about is — dare I say it — potential Norris-winning defenseman John Klingberg. Klingberg probably won’t win because there’s this perception that he “can’t play defense” and after all, somebody else is probably “due,” but he’s having a historic season. Shut him down, and you’re well on your way to a win against the Stars.

So… As mentioned earlier, the Leafs will go with Curtis McElhinney tonight as they’re coming straight from a game in Chicago. Now, if I were Mike Babcock, I maybe would have saved Freddie for the red-hot Stars (they’ve scored 13 goals in their last two games) instead of the slumping Blackhawks, but I am not Mike Babcock!

McElhinney is like, an old-school goalie. Every once in a while, he pulls a real gem out of his hat. FINGERS CROSSED IT’S ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS, because I WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE and I DO NOT want to watch the Stars obliterate our boys!!

The Stars should be going with Ben Bishop in net. He was good against Florida on Tuesday, but all due respect to the Panthers — the Leafs are probably more of an offensive threat.