Maple Leafs Come to Town on Hockey Fights Cancer Night

If Thursday night's game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs heads to a shootout, all bets are off. The Bruins currently holds a two-point lead on the Maple Leafs through six games, but the glaring statistic is the lack of success in the shootout. Boston's shooters have gone 2-for-13, while Toronto's goaltenders have stopped just one of seven attempts. This has led to an 0-3 record for both teams when penalty shots are used to decide the outcome.The 2008-09 Toronto Maple Leafs have been a bit of a mystery in the early part of the season. With veterans such as Mats Sundin and Bryan McCabe moving on, and ten new faces on the roster, the original thought was that this would be a rebuilding team. The Maple Leafs started out well by winning on opening night against Detroit, but has gone winless in five straight. However, Toronto has picked up a point in three of those five games.In goal, the Maple Leafs have two familiar faces. Vesa Toskala returns for his second tour of duty in Toronto, following a 33-25-6 season a year ago. So far this season, Toskala has posted a 1-1-2 record with a 2.85 goals against average, and will be expected to carry the load between the pipes once again. With Andrew Raycroft moving on to Colorado, the Leafs needed a replacement, so they called on old friend Curtis Joseph. Joseph spent four seasons in Toronto from 1998-2002, before moving on to the Detroit Red Wings. Last season, the 41-year old signed on with the Calgary Flames in mid-January, and went 3-2 in nine regular season appearances. This season, Joseph is 0-1-1 in three games.On defense, Toronto returns their top two scorers from a year ago in Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. Each player has a goal and an assist so far, trailing newcomer Mike Van Ryn, who leads the blueliners with three assists. The most anticipated defenseman for the Maple Leafs is Luke Schenn. Toronto took Schenn with the fifth overall pick in this summer's Entry Draft. The 18-year old has yet to record a point, but they're hoping that will change. Another new face on the blueline is Jonas Frogren. Frogren signed on with the Leafs after spending his entire career in his native country of Sweden. He has one assist in five games. Rounding out the defense, are Carlo Colaiacovo and Anton Stralman.Up front, the Maple Leafs did lose the likes of Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker, but were able to retain a few of their other top offensive players. Nik Antropov is Toronto's leading scorer with three goals and two assists, while linemate Andrei Ponikarovsky is right behind him with one goal and three assists. Jason Blake is tied for third on the team in scoring with one goal and two assists. Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Leafs has been rookie Nikolai Kulemin. As Joe Beninati said on Boston's opening night broadcast in Colorado, "Five dollars to anyone who knew that name prior to tonight." Kulemin has two goals so far, putting him in second place behind Antropov in that category.Face-off for Thursday night's game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs takes place at 7:00 from the TD Banknorth Garden. Thursday will be a big night in Boston, as the Bruins will also be holding Hockey Fights Cancer Night.Source