Don't look now but the Toronto Maple Leafs are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. They are 8-2-0 in their last 10 and are top of the form table. The host Pittsburgh Penguins have been a thoroughly mediocre 4-3-3 over the same time span but they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Leafs have played the Penguins very well over the past couple of seasons even as the teams have been headed in opposite directions. The buds actually have a 3-2-0 record at Mellon Arena over the past three seasons.
This will be the first time that Alex Ponikarovsky will face the team with which he spent his entire NHL career up until he was traded for Leaf legend Martin Skoula and future Leaf legend Luca Caputi. Since the trade he has two goals, five assists, and is -3 in nine games with the Penguins. Luca Caputi has potted one goal to go along with five assists and a +1 in 12 games as a Maple Leaf.
Jonas Siegel has the following lines for tonight's game:
Nikolai Kulemin - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
John Mitchell - Mikhail Grabovski - Luca Caputi
Viktor Stalberg - Chiristian Hanson - Fredrik Sjostrom
Jamie Lundmark/Wayne Primeau - Rickard Wallin - Colton Orr
Check out Pensburgh for their preview of the game.
Starting Goalies:
And here's one of the best memories from the recent meetings between the two teams.
