Pre-Game: 4:30 PM, Leafs TV
Broadcast: 5:00 PM, Leafs TV,
AM640, Leafs TV Interactive, Availalbe Streams
Post-Game: 7:30 PM, Leafs TV
Post Video: mapleleafs.com



I wonder what the playoff picture would have looked like if the Leafs had been able to play the Blue Jackets more often in the past three seasons...

Courtesy Hawkeye19 here are the line-ups for this rare afternoon game:

Columbus

F1: Fredrik Modin -- Manny Malhotra -- Andrew Murray
F2: Jason Chimera -- Jiri Novotny -- Jake Voracek
F3: Nikita Filatov -- Michael Peca -- Jared Boll
F4: Alexandre Picard -- Craig MacDonald -- Derek Dorsett

D1: Ole-Kristian Tollefsen -- Rostislav Klesla
D2: Marc Methot -- Mike Commodore
D3: Kris Russell -- Christian Backman

G1: Fredrik Norrena
G2: Dan LaCosta

Toronto (my guesses)

F1: Alex Ponikarovsky - Nik Antropov - Jason Blake
F2: John Mitchell - Mikhail Grabovski - Niklas Hagman
F3: Alex Steen - Matt Stajan - Jiri Tlusty
F4: Jamal Mayers - Boyd Devereaux - Ryan Hollweg

D1: Luke Schenn - Tomas Kaberle
D2: Carlo Colaiacovo - Mike Van Ryn
D3: Jonas Frogren - Anton Stralman
Swingman: Ian White

G1: Vesa Toskala
G2: Curtis Joseph

The big attraction to this game will be the appearance of Nikita Filatov. He would have been drafted by the Leafs in the seventh overall slot if they had not moved up to buy Niklas Pronmayer from Kelowna. The upside for Schenn would be that he would be a franchise player if the Leafs had drafted in their original slot since he would have been in the coveted top six positions. As it stands he's just a blue and white flash in the pan.

Save for Kubina and Finger this is pretty close to the Leafs opening night roster (four more sleeps!) while the Blue Jackets counter with a lot of guys I've never heard of before and that's not being dismissive. I honestly don't know half of those guys so it will be noted in the papers if the Leafs do well tonight.