Preseason Game #3 @ Philadelphia

Maple Leaf fans were planning the parade after game 1, but quickly came back to earth after a sloppy second game. The Maple Leafs travel to Philly for round 2.

There weren't many 'good' things last night, but one player who stood out for me was Nazem Kadri. He played strong, and tried to make a few things happen. Also showed some physical play, which is nice to see.

I actually thought Komisarek didn't play that bad. But to determine if he fits in the lineup won't be known until later in the preseason after a few sets of cuts. 

Tonight, I'm excited to see how Frattin bounces back from a 'meh' first game. He should be given a better opportunity to produce on a 'projected' line with Bozak and Armstrong. 

It'll be nice to see Greg McKegg and Jerry D'Amigo hit the ice also. Both players need to prove themselves after going through peaks and valleys at points last season. McKegg is returning to junior unless something drastic happens, and D'Amgio is poised to take a spot in the top-nine with the Toronto Marlies.

On the defense, I'm intrigued to see what Korbinain Holzer can bring. I think he's at least another year away, but he's primed to take a bottom-pairing position in the near future - if he continues to develop. Juraj Mikus has fallen a bit on the depth chart, and may be another two-years away if anything but he has some intriguing offensive ability.

Confirmed names, unconfirmed line-up combination's...

Philadelphia

Andreas Nodl - Danny Briere -Jakub Voracek

Matt Read - Brayden Schenn - Max Talbot

Tomas Hyka - Claude Giroux - Scott Hartnell

Ben Holmstrom - Blair Betts - Jody Shelly

Kimmo Timonen - Erik Gustafsson

Brayden Coburn - Oscar Bartulis

Kevin Marshall - Andrej Meszaros

Ilya Bryzgalov

Jason Bacashihua

Toronto

Matt Frattin - Tyler Bozak - Colby Armstrong

Nikolai Kulemin - Joe Colborne - Greg McKegg

Luca Caputi - Daryl Boyce - Jerry D'Amigo

Ryan Hamilton - Philippe Dupuis - Jay Rosehill

Luke Schenn - Jake Gardiner

Carl Gunnarsson - Mike Komisarek

Juraj Mikus - Korbinian Holzer

Ben Scrivens

Jonas Gustavsson

Notes:

... Gustavsson and Scrivens expected to split the game.....Colborne playing his third game in three nights.....Colton Orr, Cody Franson, Keith Aulie are the healthy scratches.....Puck drops at 7:00pm on Rogers Sportsnet, 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....

Preseason Game #2 vs. Philadelphia

It's a battle of brothers tonight against Philadelphia. Brayden Schenn and newly signed Blake Kessel will square off against their older brothers Luke and Phil.

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....