The Maple Leafs lost to the Bruins last night in a game where both the stats and the eye-test sai they started very well. They squandered the advantage of their excellent play in the first period and wound up losing 4-2. To top off that, the Leafs also lost Trevor Moore, who now joins Mitch Marner and Alex Kerfoot on the list of Leafs not available tonight due to injuries.

Recap: Bruins outduel Leafs 4-2
Toronto Maple Leafs Trevor Moore injured vs Boston Bruins
Alexander Kerfoot has a broken face

Sometimes being a hockey fan sucks. This was one of those games.

Pick up. Move on.

And put Kasimir Kaskisuo in net for the Penguins game tonight? Now that’s a trial by fire for your NHL debut.

This afternoon, the Marlies start a back-to-back weekend series against the Texas Stars. The Stars are the Western Conference team the Marlies defeated to win the 2017-18 Calder Cup Championship. Many of the players on that Marlies squad have since graduated to join the Maple Leafs full time, including: Trevor Moore, Frederik Gauthier, Travis Dermott, Andreas Johnsson, Martin Marincin, and Dmytro Timashov. However, there are still some Marlies on the team from that series and they will of course want to prove themselves capable of defeating the Stars again this weekend.

That doesn’t seem to be as difficult a prospect this time. Instead of being the best team in the AHL Western Conference like back in 2018, the Stars are now the worst. In fact, they are the last place team in the whole league having won only 3 of 15 games so far this season. It’s would actually be an embarrassment if the Marlies didn’t win both games.

And they need to.  After a great start to the season, the team has slipped a with a 5-2-2-1 record in their past ten games. Fortunately, the other teams in the North Division have all had mixed results as well. While the Marlies are still on top, you never want your path to victory to be reliant on other teams losing.

The Marlies games both start at 4:00 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Coliseum in Exhibition Place. Please note the Santa Claus Parade is Sunday afternoon, so if you are on the east side of downtown it will be take some extra time to get over to the west side for the game.

Other News

All aboard the Alex Ovechkin train. Next stop, the Canadiens.

We wish T.J. Brodie of the Flames a speedy recovery from what preliminary reports suggested was a scary seizure incident at a team practice, but on further evaluation is hopefully not a symptom of a serious or permanent medical condition.

Brodie To Miss Upcoming Flames Road Trip - Matchsticks and Gasoline
"We're not going to leave any stone unturned in the testing." - Brad Treliving on T.J. Brodie.

Another Day in Quicksand: Why Refusing Help is Only for the Weak - InGoal Magazine
"From 2014 to 2018, I sank to depths I didn’t previously know even existed. While all the other hockey players played games, practiced and went on road trips, my routine was a bit different."

Liam Charles’ recipe for toffee-apple buns - The Guardian
[SPECIES: Here’s what we all need this morning.]

From The Branches