Weekend Recap, Leafs vs. Canes Tonight

Didn't write this weekend or Monday since there wasn't much Leafs news, but there are some news around the hockey league.

On the injury front, Sidney Crosby is out again with concussion-like symptoms.  Along with Sid, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers, and league points leader, is out with a concussion as well after getting kneed by his own teammate.  Chris Pronger, Flyers' captain, joins this group as well with a concussion.  So many concussions, I thought they were trying to get rid of them!  I'm not sure how they can reduce the number of injuries anymore.  People just don't follow the rules and everyone is getting hurt.  These 3 guys are only a few of those who are suffering from concussions. When will it end?

Los Angeles Kings' coach Terry Murray was fired yesterday and will be replaced by John Stevens as the interim coach for the time being.  Although it was Murray who took the bullet for the teams lack of offense, the players should be the one to be punished.  With an average of 2 goals per game, the Kings are one of the leagues worst in that category.  Hopefully being yelled by their GM Dean Lombardi will spark the team to do better because they should be one of NHL's top teams with the players they have.

A couple of NHL shows are going to premiere soon with the return of the '24/7 Winter Classic' on HBO this Wednesday featuring the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.  In addition, the NHL is introducing 'NHL 36' which follows the life of a NHL player for 36 hours.  The first player to debut on the show is Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane.  It will be debutting on Wednesday as well but only on VERSUS.  We'll be able to watch it on the NHL Network on Saturday December 17 at 4:00pm.  Going to be two awesome shows!

Now on to the Leafs!

Toronto will be playing against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at the ACC.  This is a game they need to win, especially at home.  Not only is it a must win, it's a game that they should be able to win considering how badly the Hurricanes are playing this season.  Even with the new head coach change, the Canes are only 2-7-0 with Kirk Muller.

With the amount of time to rest and practice, the Leafs' penalty kill should be better this game.  They just need to remember not to chase people around and leave their positions.  As well, their speed game needs to show up again along with the physical presence from their tough guys.  I understand the need for James Reimer to be the one in net since he needs to get his game back, but if he doesn't win this game then Gustavvson should be in net against Buffalo on Friday.  You can only give a guy so many chances to come back.  And with Gustavvson playing the way he is, there shouldn't be a problem for Ron Wilson to put him in whenever they need him.