Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Kaberle returns, hopes Janssen doesn't shoot the messenger

The rumors out of Toronto are that Tomas Kaberle will return to the ice tonight, ironically against the team that knocked him out of the lineup earlier this month.

Kaberle is the offensive catalyst for the Toronto Maple Leafs and arguably there best defenseman to boot. If you have been sitting the Leaf players on your roster tonight might be a good time to put them back in your starting lineup... ummm Maybe Not.

Martin Brodeur was pulled from his last start after allowing 4 goals on 12 shots. If history has any bearing Marty will be on fire tonight and a shutout is a distinct possibility.

On the PIM side, all reports out of the Leaf dressing room say that no Leaf player will be looking for revenge on Cam Janssen, not even Darcy Tucker. I'm not sure how much of that medicine you are willing to swallow but I tend to believe it. More because the Leaf's don't truly have a player capable of taking Janssen to task than anything else.

Both Darcy Tucker and Wade Belak have dropped the gloves with Janssen this year and both fights went to Janssen, although Tucker did give a good account of himself (if my memory serves). It can be difficult to send a physical message when you get the snot beat out of you by the guy you are trying to give the message to.

If there is an attempt to send a message tonight, expect Janssen to shoot the messenger.

2 comments:

hockey dude said...

The Leafs are in desperate need of two points tonight. Any thought of retaliation on Janssen should be put on the backburner until next season, assuming that Janssen and his limited skills will still be in the league. However, if the Leafs are down by a couple of goals and need to wake themselves and the comatose crowd up at the ACC, I suggest a one on one with Janssen by either Tucker or Hal Gill. Belak shouldn't even be in the lineup as he's a waste of a roster spot. If the Leafs find themselves ahead in the game, I'd suggest leaving Janssen alone, and I'd also pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming.

hockey dude said...

Well it turns out that all of the hype is over nothing as Canoe is reporting that Kaberle won't be playing tonight. Of course you can't belive everything you read, but this report seems to be the real deal. This might be in the Leafs best interest as Kaberle is the best defenceman Toronto have had this the great Borje Salming. They need him back in the lineup as soon as possible, but if it means jeopardizing his career in anyway, then they have no choice but to wait until Friday.