12
Considering the way fans at the Air Canada Centre have behaved toward Bryan McCabe recently, the information that the struggling defenceman could be absent from the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup tonight may be considered good news.
McCabe, who is at the bottom of the list for all Toronto players with a plus-minus rating of minus-6 and is well below his offensive numbers of years past, missed practice yesterday with what head coach Paul Maurice termed "a slight strain."
Maurice would not divulge further information on the ailment, other than to say it had nothing to do with the shot blocked by McCabe's left arm on Tuesday and to list McCabe's chances of suiting up against the Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in Pittsburgh tonight as "possible to probable."
If McCabe can't play tonight, the Leafs would dress either Anton Stralman, who made his NHL debut in the Leafs' embarrassing 5-4 shootout loss to the last-place Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, or Staffan Kronwall, who was recalled, along with forward Jiri Tlusty, from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL yesterday.
A fan shows up her sign in support of embattled defenceman Bryan McCabe. (Mike Cassese/Reuters)
Related Articles
Related Information
- Atlanta Thrashers
- Detroit Red Wings
- New York Rangers
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Nik Antropov
- Sidney Crosby
- Boyd Devereaux
- Staffan Kronwall
- Bryan McCabe
- Anton Stralman
- Mats Sundin
- Jiri Tlusty
- Andy Wozniewski
- Henrik Zetterberg
The one bit of information that Maurice was forthcoming on was that Andy Wozniewski will return to action after his one-game benching and that Tlusty, 19, will make his NHL debut alongside centre Nik Antropov and Boyd Devereaux.
While Kronwall didn't get the news of his recall until after he walked his Yorkshire Shih Tzu yesterday morning (he turns off his telephone when he goes to sleep because friends back home in Sweden forget about the time difference), Tlusty was woken up with 1 a.m. phone call from the Leafs yesterday and was so excited he phoned home to immediately tell his parents in Slany, Czech Republic.
"I was very happy because it's my dream, and hopefully I will play good and hopefully I'll stay [up with the Leafs]," Tlusty said.
There were several Marlies forwards who put up better numbers than the teenager's one goal and three points through five games, but Tlusty is a 2006 first-round draft selection for whom the Leafs have high hopes.
"He skates and handles the puck and thinks the game real well," Maurice said. "We're trying to find the right mix of players for [Antropov]. He's creating some things we'd like to see finished."
But neither finishing nor goal scoring has been the problem in the Leafs' disappointing 3-4-3 start. Preventing goals and a lack of discipline have been the deficient areas in Toronto's game.
The Leafs are third in the 30-team league with an average of 3.7 goals scored a game, but 29th in goals allowed at 4.1.
Toronto also has given up a league-worst 35.4 shots a match and a league-worst 66 power plays.
"It's a fine line between winning and losing, but you want to be on the right side of that line," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin, who before last night's games was tied for the league scoring lead with Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg at 17 points.
"We're finding ways to lose right now."
One of the Leafs' losing ways has been their play in the defensive zone. Kronwall was strong in that area in most of his 34 games with the Leafs two seasons ago.
Maybe the time to test Kronwall's NHL ability will be during the Leafs' first two-game trip of the season, After Pittsburgh, the Leafs will stop in Manhattan for a Saturday evening game with the equally struggling New York Rangers.
"You can get those kind of guys into the lineup without them feeling the same kind of pressure with the oohs and aahs [at the Air Canada Centre] if they make a bad play," Maurice said. "We're not bringing them in and saying, 'All right, kid, carry the mail here.'
"Most importantly, I'd like to see them get enough minutes to feel they had an opportunity to show what they can do."
