Toronto-Carolina: Second Win There for the Taking

By Louis "King of Roncesvalles" Pisano Toronto will be facing a Carolina team that some predicted to be in the hunt for the playoffs this year and at this point, Carolina is just hoping to get off the slide they’ve been on. The Hurricanes actually are below the Leafs in conference standings yet with the same mere seven points, though the Leafs have a game in hand. As we have seen the problems continue to mount for this Carolina team that beat the Bruins in seven games before falling four straight to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Penguins in last year’s playoffs. Toronto showed that they are battling tooth and nail for points and have gotten them in five straight games, though have lost three in OT and one in a shootout. With Phil Kessel in the line up and the goal tending tandem of Gustavsson and Toskala healthy the Leafs should be primed to win a few games and none better than tonight against this struggling Carolina team. Without their leader Eric Staal and veteran Ray Whitney this ... (link)