Maple Leafs vs Predators Preview: Meet the Bizarro Preds
by Dirk Hoag on Nov 17, 2011 2:45 AM EST
in Nashville Predators Game Previews
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Tonight the Nashville Predators welcome in another high-profile Eastern Conference opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team which has been struggling for years now to find their way back into the playoffs, while dealing with the tremendous burden that comes with playing in the largest hockey market in the world. Despite having the greatest financial resources in the league, the Maple Leafs haven't qualified for the post-season since before the Great Lockout of 2004-2005, and although they got off to an encouraging start, their play of late (including four straight losses on home ice) has some wondering if they're in another tailspin.
As Sam mentioned to me yesterday... they really are "the Bizarro Preds".
Follow after the jump as we profile what should be an exciting game...
Tale Of The Tape
| Toronto (10-6-2) at Nashville (9-5-3) | |||||||
| TOR Offense vs. NSH Defense | NSH Offense vs. TOR Defense | ||||||
| 5-on-5 | |||||||
| GF/60 | SF/60 | Shoot % | GA/60 | SA/60 | Save % | ||
| TOR Offense | 2.6 (9th) | 28.1 (21st) | 9.4 (6th) | 2.7 (19th) | 29.3 (15th) | 908 (20th) | TOR Defense |
| NSH Defense | 2.4 (13th) | 32.5 (29th) | 927 (11th) | 2.4 (14th) | 26.2 (26th) | 9.3 (7th) | NSH Offense |
| GA/60 | SA/60 | Save % | GF/60 | SF/60 | Shoot % | ||
| Special Teams | |||||||
| TOR PP vs. NSH PK | NSH PP vs. TOR PK | ||||||
| GF/60 | SF/60 | Shoot % | GA/60 | SA/60 | Save % | ||
| TOR 5-on-4 | 6.7 (7th) | 39.4 (29th) | 16.9 (3rd) | 9.1 (29th) | 46.6 (10th) | 805 (28th) | TOR 4-on-5 |
| NSH 4-on-5 | 3.4 (3rd) | 55.2 (25th) | 939 (3rd) | 4.9 (20th) | 42.5 (25th) | 11.6 (15th) | NSH 5-on-4 |
| GA/60 | SA/60 | Save % | GF/60 | SF/60 | Shoot % | ||
The real opportunity here is when Nashville gets on the power play, as the Toronto PK continues to be a real weakness. By the traditional measure of PK%, the Leafs rank 30th this season, following up on a grand tradition that builds upon a 28th-place finish last year, and rankings of 30th, 30th, 29th, 27th and 24th in the preceding seasons.
Seriously, how does a team stay that bad in a key component of the game for that long a time??? And before you ask about the Nashvile power play, its rankings have been 19th, 26th, 24th, 25th, 27th, 18th and 10th, a paragon of success compared to that Toronto penalty kill.
Anyways, moving on...
Toronto Maple Leafs
Much like the Predators, the Maple Leafs have had to deal with their fair share of injuries lately, including to their high-price free agent pickup from this summer, center Tim Connolly, who is expected to return to the lineup tonight.
Of course, being the Bizarro Preds, the Maple Leafs naturally boast the NHL's leading scorer at this point, a pure sniper in the prime of his career:
Per TSN, the Leafs lines in practice the other day were as follows:
Forwards:
Kessel - Bozak - Lupul
Kulemin - Connolly - Crabb
Lombardi - Steckel - Brown
Rosehill - Dupuis
Defence:
Gunnarsson - Phaneuf
Liles - Komisarek
Gardiner - Schenn
Franson
Goaltenders:
Scrivens
Gustavsson
Of course, this game also marks the return of two former Predators to Bridgestone Arena, just like Tuesday vs. Washington. In this case, it's Matthew Lombardi and Cody Franson coming back to town, under wildly different circumstances. Franson has been scratched often in the early going and is struggling to find a spot in the Toronto lineup, while the hockey world was stunned to see how quickly Lombardi recovered from his post-concussion symptoms once he got traded to the Leafs.
Again, the Bizarro Preds could use their financial might to take a gamble on Lombardi's ability to play, and even though he's not lighting up the scoreboard yet, his return is a superb story and a boost to their forward depth.
Nashville Predators
It looks like "steady as she goes" for the Preds, as neither Teemu Laakso or David Legwand are expected to be ready for duty.
These teams' last two meetings have been wild affairs; last season, the Preds coughed up a 3-goal lead to lose on the road, while in 2009-2010, they staged a comeback from down 3-0 to tie the game, only to lose it late.
Considering Toronto's high-powered offense and porous PK, we could be in for another wacky, high-scoring affair tonight. Unless, that is, this guy has anything to say about it:
As always, I encourage you to surf through the "More Predators Sites" box on the left sidebar of the main page for more game previews, just about every hockey blog in town will have one for tonight's game.
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The very stern Pekka in that picture would not let a goal happen.
Meanwhile, apparently one of the Sedins pulled a Corey @#$% Perry on Corey Crawford last night, although I don’t know what happened. I just saw this tweet this morning:
@KevinisInGoal Kevin Woodley
Don’t worry #Blackhawks fans, Crawford, like most NHL goalies, wears 2 cups (some have 3) #LowBlowSedin #TooMuchInformation
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Respectfully disagree
“the hockey world was stunned to see how quickly Lombardi recovered from his post-concussion symptoms” – I think the only ones stunned were Preds fans. It seems like a year away is about the most you see from a concussion (example, Crosby will probably be back within a year of his). I’m sure there are a few players who have been out longer than a year with a concussion, but I would argue they are the outliers.
One of the main reasons Preds fans thought that Lombardi wasn’t close to returning is because that’s what we were hearing from the Preds. Once he went to Toronto, it was amazing how quickly word got out that he was close to a return.
I think the trade was as much about the Preds thinking Lombardi was not worth the money he was going to be paid if healthy, as it was about him potentially not being able to play. It’s much easier to rationalize a salary dump if there are health issues, rather than we just paid too much.
We have fisher now, So the center spot was taken
And maybe they wanted more room for Honey Badger, But if the Preds thought he was close to a return why would they have taken back salary that they had to buy out.
It was a net reduction in salary this year (and more significantly next year). I think the Preds thought with Fisher, Honey Badger, Geoffrion, Halischuck, Bergfors, etc., they could get the same or better production at lower cost. I’m just saying that the trade had a less to do with his health and more to do with being able to get the same or better production with a lower cost player.
Lombardi in Toronto
since coming back—18GP/2g/4a/6pts/-7 (thats 0.11gpg/ 0.22apg/ 0.33ppg)
before being injured—2009-10 w PHX—78GP/19g/34a/53pts/ +8 (that’s 0.24gpg/0.44apg/0.68ppg)
He may be playing, but he might not be as “back” as some Preds fans want to imagine. The team didn’t lose a world-beater. Poile didn’t get gypped; he made a difficult decision based on the information he had at the time and the needs he foresaw coming up.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
I wasn’t saying Poile got gypped. All I was saying is that I think the trade had more to do with the Preds being able to get the same or better production with a lower cost player (especially with the expectations Poile had of Honey Badger, Bergfors, etc.), and a lot less to do with Lombardi’s health.
Sorry to have misunderstood, but I would bet on at least one person coming on here today saying that the Preds doctors committed malpractice and that we gave Lombardi away for nothing because Poile was stupid.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
It makes sense though.
$3.5M is a lot of money down the tubes for a guy like Lombardi. If he’da had another concussion, he’da been done for potentially his career and we’da never gotten rid of him. He was too high a risk to keep, at that salary, for the return we could have expected.
And Franson, while a good fella, isn’t that good. Hell, he can’t even crack into Toronto’s top-6, not a huge loss. In fact, one could argue that, at least we got something for him.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 11:57 AM EST up reply actions
don’t say that to him. He doesn’t need any bigger an ego than he’s already got. ;-)
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Am I that transparent?
But you’d have a huge ego too, if you were as good as me.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
What doesn't make sense...
Is how Toronto is going to get a much more significant return for Franson alone, than what we got for him and Lombardi.
For example, I’ve been seeing this Linus Omark and a 2nd from Edm for Franson. I would’ve taken that in a heartbeat.
supply and demand. Lots of teams looking for defense right now. Not so much for centers.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
but there are more teams than just EDM looking. TBL, for one.
Plus, Burke has the luxury of being able to hold back on a trade until he gets what he wants. Poile didn’t.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Come back to the Preds Alex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 12:39 PM EST up reply actions
Is that how you spell gypped?
Or did you make it up?
Is it even a word?
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 11:58 AM EST up reply actions
Sure is, even though it was originally a slur against the Roma, or gypsies, who were/are often stereotyped as thieves. Unlike many such negative terms, it’s still commonly used to describe being shortchanged. The “p” is doubled for pronunciation, presumably, because a single letter would lead to a word rhyming with “swiped.”
by Hockey Hillbilly on Nov 17, 2011 12:17 PM EST up reply actions
“Swiped,” of course, is what some Predators fans think Toronto did with Franson.
by Hockey Hillbilly on Nov 17, 2011 12:19 PM EST up reply actions
It’s one of those words that I probably wouldn’t use if I actually thought about where it came from.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
You gonna get in trouble for that one Adolf.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks Mr. Webster.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
I pretty much agree with Grannie
We’ve got about 4 Lombardis on our team. He was expendable…especially after we picked up Fish.
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is where the Stanley Cup can be found.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Nov 17, 2011 11:53 AM EST up reply actions
Actually, speaking as a Leaf fan, we were pretty surprised by it, too. Maybe we were fed the same story you guys were, but it did seem like he went from “maybe never gonna play again,” to, “Hi guys!” really fast.
Also, how are the Leafs the “bizarro Preds”?
by LeafInVancouver on Nov 17, 2011 2:53 PM EST up reply actions
Hmm...
My take on the “Bizarro Preds” was we consistently are in the bottom of spending, we almost always make the playoffs, and the media coverage is nill.
Not trying to be insulting with this post, those were just the immediate “opposites” I thought of…
We'll miss you Belak...
Go Predators!
That was my take on it too, except that I was including the fact that they have THE top scorer right now, but still can’t quite manage to make it all work.
Hands go uuppp..... AND THEY STAY THERE!
-nashvillepredators-
Ah, okay. That makes sense.
And no, no offense taken. Honestly, Nashville is one of the Western Conference teams I kinda-sorta-like-but-don’t-pay-attention-to, like Colorado. I was quietly rooting for ya in the WC semi-finals last season. ;)
by LeafInVancouver on Nov 17, 2011 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
I should amend that to kinda-sorta-like on days they’re not playing the Leafs. rabblerabbledestroyyouallrabblerabble
by LeafInVancouver on Nov 17, 2011 3:19 PM EST up reply actions
Lol!
Yes. As one of my buddies who moved down here from Detroit says, he’s a fan 76 games a year.
We'll miss you Belak...
Go Predators!
I’m from Minnesota and I’m a Preds fan 82+ games a year! The Wild are actually third on my list of teams I care about.
do you like the (not so North) Stars?
by Only Fan In J.C. ? on Nov 17, 2011 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think that’s a very predictable injury, and at the time of the trade we not only had Lombardi dealing with it, but Francis Bouillon as well and it looked at that moment like Cube was closer (he was already skating, iirc). Add in what he expected from Fisher & Smith and the salary considerations, and it’s possible to see why Poile would have felt that he’d rather bet on Cube than Lombardi.
R.I.P. Belak, Rypien, Boogaard, Lokomotiv.
Part Predator, part Lightning.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Conspiracy theory!!
I thought it was strange that Lombardi was cleared to play so soon after he got to Toronto. It’s possible there was some kind of unresolvable conflict between Lombardi and Trotz, like maybe Trotz said, “you must play defense”, and Lombardi said, “oh, I’ve got a concussion” :-) not that I think it’s probably, just throwing it out there.
Another way to explain the mysterious return to health is that there was something about the air in Nashville that Lombardi got suddenly allergic, something that isn’t in the air in Canada or Phoenix, after all, the indigenous people used to call the Nashville Basin, “the valley of fever”. We’ll see if he suddenly develops a headache tonight, being back in Nashville. Or maybe Shea will give him a headache-hit for not healing while he was still in our system.
After all, if he was a making progress – even practicing with the team maybe – before we traded him, we could have got much better return value than Lebda. (and have been able to trade Franson off to someone else for some return value as well)
by Only Fan In J.C. ? on Nov 17, 2011 1:28 PM EST reply actions
Actually...
I remember reading something about drs in Toronto finding that lombardi’s problem stemmed from a neck alignment problem that they were able to fix pretty quickly after treatment started. It sounds like more of a failure on the Nashville drs part than on any “conflict”.
by TitanPredBearFan on Nov 17, 2011 2:59 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Vanberbilt has one of best brain specialist in the country!
Funny how Lombardi never went to see the doc in Nashville but there has been several other NHL stars that have flown to Nashville for concussion related symptoms. A player with a concussion history knows the symptoms better then who is treating them. Lombardi was holding all the cards and DP hostage. DP had to make a move good or bad. Hopefully good for both sides. The preds might have not seen the Honey Badger till next year if Lombardi was still here.
No Joel Ward-quality Megatron tribute tonight?
It would have to say, “Thanks for all 15 minutes last season.” Nope, probably not.
by Hockey Hillbilly on Nov 17, 2011 3:56 PM EST reply actions
I thing we should give Franson a tribute
and nothing for Lombardi, since he never played here. I saw him skate around a little in the season opener against the Ducks (great game, glad I could attend), but he was basically invisible. Like I was saying by mid-season, “Lombardi who?”
I liked Franson (even though I think I defense is more solid without him), and think we should at least do something to welcome him back – before we capitalize on his defenisive liabilities and score against him.
by Only Fan In J.C. ? on Nov 17, 2011 6:28 PM EST up reply actions
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Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats & analysis, and managing editor of On the Forecheck.
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