Montreal Canadiens Vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Time: 26 Dec 2009 at 7:00 PM ET
League: NHL – United States of America
Last 10 matches: Montreal 5-4-1; Toronto 5-4-1.
This is the fourth of six meetings between the “Original Six” rivals. The Leafs took the most recent showdown in a 3-0 victory on Dec. 1 at the Bell Centre, while the Canadiens won 5-4 in a shootout on Oct. 31 in Montreal after earning a 4-3 overtime victory at the Air Canada Centre on Oct. 1. Montreal defenseman Paul Mara suffered a wrist injury Monday and was scratched Wednesday. His status for Saturday is uncertain. Roman Hamrlik (knee), who also didn’t play against the Hurricanes, is day-to-day, as is forward Brian Gionta (foot). … Leafs center John Mitchell (knee) and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson (elbow) are both expected back early next month. Mike Van Ryn (knee) is out for the season.
The Christmas turkey will barely have time to digest before these heated rivals hit the ice in Toronto on Saturday night. While neither team enters this game in playoff position, both are still very much involved in the race. The Canadiens have as many points as the No. 8 New York Rangers (39) but have played two more games, while the Leafs are just five points back with plenty of time to catch up.
Habs forward Tomas Plekanec has a goal and eight assists in his last three games, while Andrei Kostitsyn has nine tallies in his last 10 contests. … Niklas Hagman scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season on Wednesday night. Results and goal’s highlights, will be available soon..