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Zach Is Back: Leafs At Hurricanes, Game Day Preview

By Bob Wage

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Zach Boychuk is back in Carolina for the game against Toronto tonight. (photo by LTD)

Zach Boychuk scored a hat trick for the Charlotte Checkers last night, but he was back in Raleigh this morning and on the ice for the morning skate as the Carolina Hurricanes, (23-19-6) prepared to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, (19-23-5)  for a game tonight at the RBC.

The Canes are coming off a disappointing loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday night and have a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games.

The Leafs just lost to Washington at the ACC on Saturday night, and they are also 5-4-1 in their last 10. 

Cam Ward will be starting for the home team and will be facing Jean-Sebastien Giguere across the rink.  

GP MIN W L EGA GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
2010 - Cam Ward 41 2327 20 15 104 2.68 1313 1209 .921 2

GP MIN W L EGA GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
2010 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere 22 1216 9 8 55 2.71 548 493 .900 0


Reports from the morning skate indicate that Boychuk will be starting out on Carolina's first line.

  • Staal, Cole, Boychuk
  • Ruutu, Skinner, LaRose
  • Sutter, Jokinen, Samsonov
  • Carter, Bodie, Tlusty
  • Gleason, Corvo
  • Pitkanen, McBain
  • White, Harrison

Boychuk was recalled to fill in for the injured Patrick Dwyer, but it's not known how long Dwyer will be out of the lineup.

The projected lines for the Leafs are:

Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Joey Crabb – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Colby Armstrong – Darryl Boyce – Kris Versteeg
Jay Rosehill – Tim Brent – Mike Brown

Defence
Francois Beauchemin – Dion Phaneuf
Tomas Kaberle – Luke Schenn
Carl Gunnarsson – Mike Komisarek

For more info about Toronto, check out Leafs Beat by the Globe and Mail.

If you would like to print out some roster information and bring it with you to the rink, hockeymom's game day guide will get the job done nicely.

Canes Country's Game Guide: Hurricanes vs Maple Leafs

The last time these two teams met in Toronto on December 28, GM Jim Rutherford visited the team in the dressing room during the second intermission because he wasn't happy with the team's complacent play and "couldn't take it anymore."  The Hurricanes ended up turning it on and won the game, 4-3. 

Will the GM feel compelled to visit the dressing room again?

The Canes have won 10 of the last 13 meetings between these two teams.  Of course coach Paul Maurice coached for two seasons in Toronto and Jay Harrison, Jiri Tlusty, and Ian White were drafted by Toronto and are former Leafs as well, so these games mean a bit more to these gentlemen.  

Joe Corvo owns Carolina's current longest point streak and has assists in three straight games. 

There is no local television for this one.  You can watch on Center Ice or listen on 99.9 The Fan.  I'll be reporting live from the RBC on the open game game thread starting at 6:30.