I'm really interested in seeing this lineup tonight, probably more so then yesterday's because they are icing a few more question marks tonight. My darkhorses to make a push for the LW spot in Luca Caputi and Marcel Mueller will get their chance and I'm hoping both have strong games. Greg Scott is another player who has put in his time with the Marlies the last few seasons and could be in the mix for a 4th line position. He's likely Marlie bound, but could see a call-up this season. Joe Colborne should be a bit more engaged this time as his timing comes back. I thought he looked a step behind last night in terms of timing, so I expect that to fix itself as the preseason continues on.
On the defensive side of things, there are tons of players looking to compete for spots. I'm specifially interested in Simon Gysbers and Jesse Blacker. Gysbers had a very productive season with the Marlies, but I want to see how he handles NHL competition. He has darkhorse potential to push for a roster spot in the coming year. I expect Blacker to have a similar 'wow' factor that Gardiner did - although Blacker will have the less experienced/talented defensive group to work with.
There are a handful of Flyers I'm interested in seeing also, so it should be a really fun game! Lots of youth on both sides.
Confirmed names, unconfirmed line-up combination's...
Philadelphia
James Van Reimsdyk - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds
Harry Zolnierczyk - Sean Couturier - Mark Testwuide
Matt Read - Michael Nylander - Eric Wellwood
Tom Sestito - Ben Holmstrom - Zac Rinaldo
Matt Carle - Oscar Bartulis
Erik Gustafsson- Matt Walker
Oliver Lauridesen - Blake Kessel
Michael Leighton
Sergei Bobrovski
Toronto
Joffrey Lupul - Tim Connolly - Phil Kessel
Clarke MacArthur - Joe Colborne - Marcel Mueller
Nazem Kadri - Daryl Boyce - Luca Caputi
Greg Scott - Mike Zigomanis - Colton Orr
Cody Franson - Mike Komisarek
Jeff Finger - Luke Schenn
Simon Gysbers - Jesse Blacker
James Reimer
Mark Owuya
Notes:
... Reimer is expected to play the entire game.....MacArthur, Colborne and Kadri draw back into the lineup for their second game in two nights.....Dion Phaneuf and Jay Rosehill are healthy scratches Finger will look to rebound after an injury filled season last year..Ditto for Caputi.... Puck drops at 7:00pm on Leafs TV, and I'm sure you'll be able to catch a live-stream somewhere. Check out the game thread at Hockey's Future - Toronto Maple Leafs Forum to find live-streams of the game....Here's the list of those at Maple Leafs Training Camp List....the roster will be trimmed to 40 on Wednesday expect all junior players and tryouts to be returned to their teams....
