Leafs Vs. Quacks

Puck Drops: 9 p.m. EST
TV: Sportsnet, PRIME

Some good news for the Leafs just emerged, if you haven't already seen it:

Losing Steckel is definitely unfortunate, but I'd definitely rather have Mikhail Grabovski in the lineup. That Carl Gunnarsson's presence was even a possibility tonight is good news as well, as the Leafs can't afford to have him out for long.

It will be interesting to see how Keith Aulie plays, if given the chance. I confess to not having seen any Marlies games so far this season, so I'm not overly prepared to assess his readiness to step into the lineup right now. That said, it's nice that he'll get a chance.

The Leafs are currently 2-1-0 on this road trip, and although it wouldn't be bad to wrap up a 4-game road trip with two wins, three sounds a whole lot more appealing, if you ask me. The Ducks have the worst record in the league at home, having posted 4-7-0 so far, so let's hope that the Buds can capitalize on that. Oh, and did I mention that the Ducks are 1-7-2 in their last 10? The Ducks have the second-fewest goals-per-game. Ryan Getzlaf hasn't scored in 13 consecutive games.

Think all this is just bad luck? Think again. Look at those terrible Fenwick numbers. Second last in the league when tied. Only fourth last in the league on the road.

In other news, Chemmy and a number of other PPPers are going to be present at this one, so we'll know exactly who to blame if we see any Ducks getting peppered with batteries.

Full rosters have not been released yet, but if you're following the debate on Twitter, let me just be clear that Tim Connolly is not going to center the 4th line.