[Game Preview] Just going through the motions now? - Leafs @ Predators

The Leafs will play only 2 games in the first 10 days of February. It's a chance for everyone to take a breather and resign themselves to once again just sitting and waiting to see what happens next. Who will get traded? What management changes are coming? Has Franson been re-signed? Etc... Just sit and wait and twiddle your thumbs.

It's so dull and uninteresting right now PPP has already reverted to summer mode; debating salad dressings and pizza toppings. Mercifully, there's only 30 games of this fucking crap left before we can all sit through the playoffs, cruise through the draft and free agency, the off-season, and finally get back that sweet feeling of hope knowing that 2015-16 will be the year this team finally gets its act together.

When you're done laughing....

The Leafs are playing in Nashville tonight. You may recall what happened the last time these two teams met: the Predators won in a blowout, 9-2. That was on the heels of losing to the Sabres 6-2. Yet at that time many were still saying it could still work out in the end.

As deflating as the recent losses might have seemed, they still only counted for two points in the standings. The Leafs are still one game above .500 and are still tied for the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. It is not quite as bad as it looks. Yet.

- Michael Traikos

Well now it is as bad as it looks. And the Predators just came off a big 4-0 shutout win over the Penguins.

Basically, all you can do now is cheer for your favourite player to do well for the rest of the year and not be traded, or at least not be traded for peanuts. It really feels like this "generation" of the Leafs is on the cusp of ending. But these things don't happen quickly. They usually drag on for one or two seasons, like how after Sundin left, there was a brief mix of the old and new eras that took a while to wrap up.

I suspect Shanny is now also about to embark on that awkward transition season or two where we have to get used to many welcome new faces in the lineup while some old faces stick around for one last gasp at Leafdom. It's going to be a rough couple of months, maybe years ahead. But for tonight, I say let's just have one win, for old times sake. It will be especially nice for some revenge against this team. There's still another 29 games to tank with.

Tonight's game starts at 8PM and is on TSN 4

Leafs lines from yesterday's practice per Mark Masters:
JvR - Bozak - Kessel
Winnik - Kadri - Lupul
Komarov - Holland - Clarkson
Booth - Santorelli - Panik
Holzer - Franson
Gardiner - Granberg
Rielly - Polak
Bernier
Reimer
Injuries: Phaneuf, Robidas(?)
Leave of Absence: Smith
Recent Predators lines:
Forsberg - Ribiero - Smith
Wilson - Fisher - Neal
Cullen - Jarnkrok - Bourque
Nystrom - Gaustad - Beck
Josi - Weber
Bartley - Jones
Ekholm - Volchenkov
Hutton
Mazanec
Scratched: Jokinen
Injuries: Rinne

Which would you choose if you had to pick one right now?