Saturday

Hockey Night in Philadelphia


tonight the Flyers will be playing the Toronto Maple Leafs. Other than the fact that the Leafs have given the Flyers problems in the past there are more reasons to fear theese Leafs. The Leafs current sit atop the Northeast Division, grabbing 9 of a possible 12 points in their first 6 games.

The Leafs made a bevy of trades last year and are starting to turn the corner and becoming a eastern conference powerhouse. Last year the Leafs traded for their now captain, Dion Phaneuf, they also got their netminder , JS Giguere from the Ducks mid-season. The youth is where the Leafs thrive however, the youthful skill of Tyler Bozak, Phil Kessel, Nik Kulemin, and Mikael Grabovski.

Their defensive corps are umongst the league's best. There is formentioned Dion Phaneuf, along with veteran Tomas Kaberle and youngster Luke Schenn. They also picked up Brett Lebda this offseason to bolster their back end. Giggy and The Monster share the reps in net, with Giguere as the starter.

The Flyers are currently on the longest skid of the season, having dropped their last 3 games. A lot has been questioned lately, from their young goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, to their captain Mike Richards. Bottom line they're just getting outplayed from start to finish.

Another blow came yesterday in practice when Ville Leino and Chris Pronger collided, going knee-on-knee. Leino will be a game-time decision tonight. If he does not play Dan Carcillo will play in his place.

It seems reasonable to think that after 2 straight losses with Bobrovsky in net that the Flyers will turn to veteran Brian Boucher. Brian Boucher is 0-1-1 this season playing against St.Louis and Tampa Bay.

Game starts tonight at 7pm live on CSN Philly.

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