Toronto Maple Leafs (0-1-0) at Philadelphia Flyers (0-1-0)
John Labatt Centre - 7:00 PM ET - London, Ontario
TV: NHL Network US, Leafs TV
Radio: 610 WIP
This is the open game thread.
Behind Enemy Lines: Pension Plan Puppets
Night two, game two of preseason action pits the Flyers against those pesky Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. It's technically a home game for the good guys up in London, Ontario, but the Canadian crowd will likely be a pro-Leafs one. If this game lives up to expectations tonight, those fans in attendance could get quite a show.
All signs are pointing to a bruising matchup tonight. Look no further than the Flyers lineup for proof. Dan Carcillo, Arron Asham, Riley Cote, and Matt Clackson are all ready to go for this evening's contest. The Leafs had five fights in their game against Boston last night, so you know they'll be ready to dance again.
Of course, there's more to the game than just the expected brawling. In addition to the four guys listed above, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Jon Kalinski, and Darroll Powe will all make their preseason debuts tonight. Chris Pronger will sit out, as will Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere, and Ray Emery.
After the jump, get a look at the complete lineups for both teams.
Flyers
Forwards: Matt Clackson, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Arron Asham, Dan Carcillo, Jon Kalinski, Darroll Powe, Riley Cote, Blair Betts, Mika Pyorala, Jared Ross
Defensemen: Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Danny Syvret, Logan Stephenson, Ryan Parent, Oskars Bartulis, Joonas Lehtivuori
Goalies: Johan Backlund, Brian Boucher
Leafs, courtesy of Pension Plan Puppets
Goalies: Joey MacDonald, James Reimer
Forwards: Niklas Hagman, Lee Stempniak, Christian Hanson, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ben Ondrus, Jay Rosehill, Nikolai Kulemin, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, Viktor Stalberg, Rickard Wallin, Mikhail Grabovski
Defensemen: Luke Schenn, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Kaberle, Carl Gunnarsson, Andy Rogers, Jesse Blacker
A few more notes on the roster: It's worth noting that JVR is getting another go around, and also that Mark Bell isn't getting a chance to play while Blair Betts is. Also, Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn make their debuts, while potential injury callup Danny Syrvet will get a good look tonight as well.
Johan Backlund will get the start for the Flyers, likely playing the first two periods while Brian Boucher gets the third, as he did last night in Detroit. Backlund, who has played in Sweden for seven years, will get his first taste of North American hockey tonight. He was signed by the Flyers at the tail end of last season while still with his Swedish Elite League team, Timra IK.
As noted, the game tonight is televised on NHL Network in the US, but not in Canada. In Ontario, it's on Leafs TV. If you have Comcast Digital, they've added NHL Network over the summer. It's in the 700's, so don't assume that you don't have it. If you don't have it, though, there might be a loophole to watching the game on Leafs TV's "freeview" tonight. It's available only in the Leafs TV broadcast area, but who knows, there might be something called a proxy that could get you around that. Try the Google thing.
7 PM puck drop. Go Flyers!