The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a couple of familiar faces in the lineup tonight when they face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Air Canada Center. Both Colby Armstrong and John-Michael Liles are expected to be in the lineup Wednesday night, which should give the Buds an element of grit in the form of Armstrong and a shot in the arm offensively in Liles. Armstrong has suffered through a number of injuries this season, limiting him to just nine games. Meanwhile, Liles will be coming back from a concussion that saw him miss five weeks of game action. To the Leafs’ credit, they have found a way to keep their offense and power play hot in the absence of Liles, but the team has sorely missed the physical game that Armstrong plays for most of the season. With

With only a few more games to be played before the NHL starts it’s playoffs, there are a few teams that are emerging as the definitive favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Goaltending is often key to a teams playoffs success, that said, the Chicago Blackhawks took home Lord Stanley’s Cup last year—even with inconsistent goaltending from Antti Niemi. Power play and penalty kill success also comes into play, as does a teams ability to gel at the right time. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the NHL’s eight most dangerous playoffs teams of 2010-11. Philadelphia Flyers: Key Stats: Current Record: 46-22-10 (102 points)—Second in Eastern Conference GF: 245 GA: 207 Diff: +38 PP: 16.4% (20th overall) PK: 83.8% (Ninth overall) Key Players: Mike Richards (F) Jeff Carter (F) Chris Pronger (D) Sergei Bobrovsky (G) The

NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell issued a statement today saying:  “Mr. Cooke, a repeat offender, directly and unnecessarily targeted the head of an opponent who was in an unsuspecting and vulnerable position. This isn’t the first time this season that we have had to address dangerous behavior on the ice by Mr. Cooke, and his conduct requires an appropriately harsh response.” Campbell was referring to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke’s suspension for his dangerous hit on New York Rangers forward Ryan McDonagh for which Cooke will be suspended for the rest of the regular season and the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What it amounts to is a suspension that will last at least 14 games (ten regular season, four or more playoff games).  This latest suspension marks the second time Cooke has

Whether you are a staunch supporter the game or merely a perimeter fan, one thing has become very clear in today’s NHL—head shots are the main cause of concussions…or are they? NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman discussed concussions today at the NHL general manager meetings in Boca Raton, Florida. From what he was quoted as saying to the media, Bettman appears to be making a good case that (contrary to popular belief) head shots are not the main cause of concussions. “If there is one thing that is clear, there is no one single thing causing concussions. In fact, the trend as to why concussions happen is different than what a lot of people are suggesting or speculating,” Bettman said. Bettman’s report revealed that 44 percent of all concussions were the result of legal hits, 26 percent were the result of

Quietly, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager is righting the wrongs that he made in off-seasons past. Gone is veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin, as is speedy forward Kris Versteeg, with a real possibility of more changes to come. At Monday nights press conference Burke announced that the Maple Leafs would receive the Philadelphia Flyers first and third round draft choice in 2011 in return for Versteeg. Along with that announcement Burke stated that he already had the Flyers third round draft choice in play in hopes of landing another forward to help fill the void left by Versteeg. When you look at next years payroll the Maple Leafs have a total of 12 players under contract at a cap hit of $35,170,000. That leaves Burke with $24,230,000 with which to sign ten players, one of which must be a top six forward,

The debate over which NHL player reins supreme received plenty of ammunition this weekend when the NHLPA and Hockey Night in Canada conducted a poll of 318 current NHL players with regards to hockey issues, coaches and their peers. Questions ranged from which rink had the best ice (Edmonton) to which coach you’d most want to play for (Dan Bylsma- Pittsburgh Penguins), but in the end, there was really only one question that mattered most- what player would you build a franchise around? The overwhelming response was none other than Sidney Crosby, who received a whopping 69% of the vote. Surprisingly, Alexander Ovechkin was a distant fourth, receiving a puzzling 2% of all votes, behind Jonathan Toews (3%), Steven Stamkos (5%) and veteran defenseman Nik Lidstrom (6%). Crosby, was also voted the toughest forward to play against , the games