Leafs Host Sabres In First Meeting Between QEW Rivals Sep 26, 2007, 7:30 PM (ET)
TV Information
Local start: 7:30 PM
Local Home:
LEAFS TV
Change is the constant in the NHL and no team exemplifies that fact better than the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres, 1-2 in the exhibition season, meet the Maple Leafs tonight at 7:30 at Air Canada Centre on Leafs TV or right here on mapleleafs.com .
Buffalo made the biggest noise in the off-season by losing free agents Chris Drury to the New York Rangers and Daniel Briere to the Philadelphia Flyers. The news got worse with word steady veteran defenceman Teppo Numminen had been lost to a potentially career-ending heart surgery. Even veteran television announcer Jim Lorentz called it a day, opting for retirement instead of the rigours of travel.
But the Sabres will find a new voice, retired player Matthew Barnaby is one of the candidates, and under coach Lindy Ruff, a return to the same high-flying style. Numminen should be out of hospital in a couple of days and even at 39, a return can’t be discounted.
Buffalo has one of the game’s great young goalies in Ryan Miller and a slew of talented forwards in Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek.
The Leafs meanwhile will continue to sharpen a revamped lineup against their traditional nemesis.
Vesa Toskala returns to the net for his second preseason game. He played in a 3-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.
The loss of Kyle Wellwood to a recurring groin injury has resulted in a shuffled lineup. Boyd Deveraux, sidelined by a foot infection will play, probably with Matt Stajan and Alex Steen.
The game offers coach Paul Maurice another chance to watch Anton Stralman. Just 21, Stalman is making a strong bid to step directly into the Leafs lineup from the Swedish Elite League. He figures to see plenty of playing time in the club’s last three exhibition games.
Maurice figures to see more of Stralman’s game as the preseason wears on and the quality of players improves.
“With most really good players, it’s really easier to play at a higher level,” he said.
Carlo Colaiacovo will not. Colaiacovo had off-season knee surgery. Maurice said Colaiacovo could play but will keep him out of tonight’s game but he will at least try to get him into one of the remaining two to let him strengthen his knee.
Here is tonight's lineup:
Andrew Raycroft
Vesa Toskala - Starting
Wade Belak
Alex Steen
Mats Sundin
Matt Stajan
Tomas Kaberle
Darcy Tucker
Chad Kilger
John Pohl
Boyd Devereaux
Bryan McCabe
Hal Gill
Pavel Kubina
Bates Battaglia
Anton Stralman
Jiri Tlusty
Staffan Kronwall
Jason Blake
Nik Antropov
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(TORONTO) - Derek Roy is ready to pitch in to help fill the void left in Buffalo's lineup by the departures of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.
Henrik Tallinder, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek each scored before Roy applied the exclamation mark with three consecutive goals in a 7-2 pre-season win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Roy added three assists in an impressive six-point performance.
Coach Lindy Ruff will be looking for Roy to help offset the loss of the 69 goals Drury and Briere took down the free-agent highway. The five-foot-nine centre scored 21 last season and with an increased role and added ice time this season he'll be setting his aim a lot higher.
``With Dru and Dan leaving, it leaves a lot of room,'' Roy said. ``You've got to be confident out there and you've got to make plays, trust in yourself and believe in yourself. As a player, you always want to get better and you always want to play more to move up.
``They were our leaders. They're great players. We're going to miss them. You can't replace players like that.''
The Sabres finished first overall in the NHL last season and they'll be hard pressed do it again without Drury and Briere, but Leafs captain Mats Sundin was certainly impressed with them.
``They've lost some key players but they look like they're already in regular-season form,'' said Sundin.
He couldn't find a ray of sunshine in his team's woeful effort.
``We were standing around watching them play,'' Sundin said. ``We have a big, strong team and playing a team like that we've got to use our bodies and move our feet.
``We were watching them play hockey. It was a long night.''
The Leafs, using most of their regulars, got goals from Pavel Kubina and Chad Kilger. The only impact player in blue and white was Kris Newbury, said coach Paul Maurice.
``We were bad from start to finish _ front and back,'' Maurice said.
Ryan Miller was his usual solid self in the Sabres nets, while Vesa Toskala was worse than he was in his first start with his new team, and the critics panned him after that one.
In his defence, he was screened when he let in Buffalo's first shot of the game, and two more Sabres goals were scored with two Leafs in the penalty box. After Buffalo went up 4-0 early in the second period, fans cheered when Toskala made his next save.
``I felt sorry for Vesa,'' Sundin said.
Toskala hasn't played a regular-season game in eons so it is taking him time to come around.
``I think my timing has been good,'' he said. ``I've been in the right spots when they've been scoring.
``(The puck) has just been going through myself. I have to get those holes covered in the future.''
He added a comment that will be downright scary to Leafs fans: ``I'm close to where I want to be at this point.''
While skeptics insist the revamped Sabres can't possibly do as well as they did last season, the message from this one was that they remain far superior to the Leafs.
``They sent us to us tonight,'' Kilger said, confirming the message was received. ``We got it. I don't know if any other teams got it this pre-season but they sure gave it to us.''
The Leafs play their regular-season opener at home next Wednesday against Ottawa.
``It's still pre-season, you know,'' Kubina said. ``We don't need to panic. But it was a tough lesson.''
The best Leaf on the ice was Darren Roanoke.
Actually, Roanoke is a character played by Romany Malco in the Mike Myers comedy ``The Love Guru'' that sent cast members and extras onto the ice on skates and in full uniforms during the intermissions as scenes were filmed for the flick that'll be released next June. The Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,892 cheered loudly when Roanoke, outfitted in a dark blue Leafs home uniform, scored a goal on a goalie dressing in a Red Wings uniform.
The fans got more worked up for the few minutes of theatre than for the real thing.
``We were pretty awful in the first period and then for the first two minutes of the second we watched them play their game and we had not a clue what we were doing it seemed like,'' Kilger said. ``We have to find our identity.''
They have seven days to find it.
Notes: On power plays, Buffalo was 2-for-5 and Toronto was 0-for-4 . . . The pre-season records now stand at 2-2-0 for the Sabres and 2-2-2 for the Leafs . . . The Leafs were without C Kyle Wellwood, who had abdominal surgery last Saturday, LW Alexei Ponikarovsky, D Ian White, D Carlo Colaiacovo and D Andy Wozniewski . . . Among Sabres not playing were C Tim Connelly were D Teppo Numminen, who is recovering from open heart surgery, F Paul Gaustad, F Maxim Afinogenov and D Dmitri Kalinin . . . Stafford's uncle, Barrie Stafford, has been equipment manager for the Edmonton Oilers for the last 23 years . . . The Leafs assigned forward David Ling to the AHL's Toronto Marlies earlier Wednesday . . . In eight Toronto-Buffalo meetings during 2006-2007, Toronto won three and lost five . . . The first clash of the new season will be Oct. 15 at Buffalo . . . Toronto completes its eight-game exhibition schedule with a home game against the Red Wings on Friday and a visit to Detroit on Saturday . . . Buffalo hasn't lost a pre-season game to Toronto since 2001.
Canadian Press
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Dead Wings to bitch slap the Laughs in back to back games this weekend. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be limping into this weekend where they have two games with the powerful Detroit Red Wings. In the only match up in the past three years in regular season hockey last year, the Red Wings made sure the Leafs looked like a second tier team as they walked all over them. This preseason tilt should be no different from last seasons meeting.
Both teams are in a different part of the stratosphere with the Leafs plugging holes in a leaky dyke and the Red Wings filling space on a well oiled machine. Look for multiple point nights from Detroits two big lines and a checking line that should be able to shut the Leafs almost number one line down.
In net the Leafs are struggling to find a solid starter to fill the pipes where they may be better off hanging a jersey and telling the other team just to pick the corners if they want to score. The Red Wings will probably sit their number one goalie and play both their backups against Toronto to see who will win the number two job. Watch for the Leafs to start two different goalies too, but one of them is going to end up as the number one and that could spell a very long season.
Last year the Leafs were in the top five in goals scored but failed to make the playoffs. Of course when you are in the top five for goals allowed, things don't cancel out all so well. As they missed the playoffs after showing up with two weeks left in the season to give their die hard fans some faint hope in yet another dismal season. This writer sees another long season and another missed playoffs this year. The Leafs and their owners learned well from their cousins the Blue Jays who won back to back world series in the 90's only to watch the fan base wane. Banking on a good thing at the ACC, the powers that be know that if they do win the cup, that the place could become a Loblams in the near future. "Keep the fans on the edge (of the playoffs) of a cup winner and they will keep coming back for more", was a quote from a source we can't name.
Dead Wings to bitch slap the Laughs in back to back games this weekend. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be limping into this weekend where they have two games with the powerful Detroit Red Wings. In the only match up in the past three years in regular season hockey last year, the Red Wings made sure the Leafs looked like a second tier team as they walked all over them. This preseason tilt should be no different from last seasons meeting.
Both teams are in a different part of the stratosphere with the Leafs plugging holes in a leaky dyke and the Red Wings filling space on a well oiled machine. Look for multiple point nights from Detroits two big lines and a checking line that should be able to shut the Leafs almost number one line down.
In net the Leafs are struggling to find a solid starter to fill the pipes where they may be better off hanging a jersey and telling the other team just to pick the corners if they want to score. The Red Wings will probably sit their number one goalie and play both their backups against Toronto to see who will win the number two job. Watch for the Leafs to start two different goalies too, but one of them is going to end up as the number one and that could spell a very long season.
Last year the Leafs were in the top five in goals scored but failed to make the playoffs. Of course when you are in the top five for goals allowed, things don't cancel out all so well. As they missed the playoffs after showing up with two weeks left in the season to give their die hard fans some faint hope in yet another dismal season. This writer sees another long season and another missed playoffs this year. The Leafs and their owners learned well from their cousins the Blue Jays who won back to back world series in the 90's only to watch the fan base wane. Banking on a good thing at the ACC, the powers that be know that if they do win the cup, that the place could become a Loblams in the near future. "Keep the fans on the edge (of the playoffs) of a cup winner and they will keep coming back for more", was a quote from a source we can't name.
Not a biased preview at all lol, but ill put up the brief preview that mapleleafs.com has, and you can watch the game on LeafsTV or there website.
You know I am ribbing ya ken with that post. I made if funny so we could have a laugh. I live and bleed hockey and I would actually like to see the Laughs do well. But when I and most of the fans could fix the problem and their GM can't. Well they will be the butt of jokes for years to come.
The bias was what made it funny.
Why would I watch the game on LeafsTV?
Im telling anyone who cares they can watch on LeafsTV or there website, i also believe LeafsTV is on freepreview for anyone with Rogers digital cable lol.
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Im telling anyone who cares they can watch on LeafsTV or there website, i also believe LeafsTV is on freepreview for anyone with Rogers digital cable lol.
I was just kidding cause I don't like the Leafs :P
Specially with that Romulan wearing the 'C'!
You know I am ribbing ya ken with that post. I made if funny so we could have a laugh. I live and bleed hockey and I would actually like to see the Laughs do well. But when I and most of the fans could fix the problem and their GM can't. Well they will be the butt of jokes for years to come.
I know ur teasing, that's why i lol, i got a few chuckles in that preview.
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He's no fighter, so we can excuse him that, but yeah, at all times he looks like he's about to die....
He looks like a chain smoker when they show him on the bench, always out of breath lol, but i love mats, he'll get back on track this year and blake will help him out alot, i think.
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He looks like a chain smoker when they show him on the bench, always out of breath lol, but i love mats, he'll get back on track this year and blake will help him out alot, i think.
It'll be interesting to see how they pair up. Wellwood is out for how many weeks?
It's the color that always makes him look so close to death. He's always yellow-green. He looks like a vampire...or a Romulan, as stated earlier :P
He looks like a chain smoker when they show him on the bench, always out of breath lol, but i love mats, he'll get back on track this year and blake will help him out alot, i think.
Now we are on the same page. Sudin is great. And I like your visual of him sucking air on the bench. Cause it's true. He has to be one of, if not the best defensive centre in the league.
Sundin is underrated and under appreciated. There are so many Leaf fans who give him shit, but they clearly don't know their hockey. He's a workhorse.
It's the way of the (vocal majority) of Leafs' fans (among other teams the case is the same). They do that to most of the team, but there's always a scapegoat. The fans/media in Mtl are equally ruthless, for example.
The Leafs fans/media guilty of this are among the worst - lose 5 in a row in October and the playoffs are impossible, win your first 5 games of the season and everyone is predicting Stanley Cup Finals.
Mind you, the coach almost guaranteed playoffs this year.
Sundin is underrated and under appreciated. There are so many Leaf fans who give him shit, but they clearly don't know their hockey. He's a workhorse.
any Leaf fan who bashes Sundin is an uneducated Leafs fan who just rides the bandwagon when its convenient and they are winning, which around here, is many
1998 ~ Barrie
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
Watch Original Six Battle OnlineSep 28, 2007, 7:30 PM (ET)
TV Information
Local start: 7:30 PM
Local Home:
LEAFS TV
The Leafs play their final home preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Air Canada Centre.
Don't forget that you can watch the game online right here at mapleleafs.com or on Leafs TV starting at 7:30 p.m.
The two longstanding rivals face-off tonight at Air Canada Centre (7:30 p.m.) and meet again Saturday at Joe Louis Arena.
The Leafs goaltending, a hot topic in the pre-season, takes another turn tonight when Andrew Raycroft returns to the cage. In two games, Raycroft accrued 2.98 goals against average and .889 save percentage. Vesa Toskala has struggled and he will bring a bloated 5.04 goals against average and .844 save percentage into tomorrow night’s game with the Wings.
All that means not a lot. There is a reason they call them exhibition games. Leafs' Coach Paul Maurice suggested fans hyperventilating about the club’s pre-season netminding should drink a long cup of team. Herbal maybe.
Still, there are races, meaningful ones. The loss of Kyle Wellwood to abdominal surgery has prompted a rethink of a host of players, from Tony Salmelainen, Jiri Tlusty and Kris Newbury. Defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo, still putting the final touches on a knee rehab, is not expected to play either game against the Wings. Talented rookie Anton Stralman was roughed up in Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to Buffalo but he, Staffan Kronwall and Andy Wozniewski are locked in a race to gain a spot on the training camp. Stralman has obvious gifts but Wozniewski has enjoyed a solid training camp.
The Wings, meanwhile, continue to roll as one of the NHL’s elite franchises. The Leafs will see prospect Jimmy Howard in goal tonight. Detroit will save Dominik Hasek for Saturday night. The Wings will bring a nice mix of new and seasoned talent. Russian forward Igor Grigorenko, the Red Wings first choice, 62nd overall in the 2001 entry draft may finally be ready for prime time. He scored a shootout goal in a win over Tampa Bay, Thursday. The club has added experience in defenceman Brian Rafalski who will step in for Mathieu Schneider. Dallas Drake, who began his career with the Wings is back for another go-around.
Andrew Raycroft gets the start in net for the Leafs.
Leafs Lineup
Andrew Raycroft
Vesa Toskala
Ian White
Alex Steen
Mats Sundin
Matt Stajan
Tomas Kaberle
Darcy Tucker
Chad Kilger
John Pohl
Boyd Devereaux
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Hal Gill
Pavel Kubina
Bates Battaglia
Staffan Kronwall
Kris Newbury
Jason Blake
Andy Wozniewski
Nik Antropov
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TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs' 6-4 pre-season win over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night was just what they needed.
After losing to Phoenix, Ottawa and Buffalo on home ice, another defeat in their final home exhibition game would have thrown Leafs fans into a tizzy awaiting the regular-season opener at home Wednesday against Ottawa.
``That was big going into the weekend and hopefully we can get another one before we play Ottawa,'' said defenceman Andy Wozniewski, who scored one of the Leafs' three power-play goals and was outstanding in his own end.
Toronto and Detroit wrap up the pre-season with a game in Detroit on Saturday.
Also scoring for the Leafs were Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, Boyd Devereaux, Ian White and Chad Kilger, who got his team-high fourth.
``It's only pre-season but it's nice to contribute,'' said the veteran forward. ``I'm making some better plays this year and capitalizing.
``I just hope it continues. It'd be nice to carry it over. Hopefully, I can do that.''
Kris Draper scored twice and Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk once each for Detroit, which didn't use seven regulars.
It was Toronto's first win on home ice since last April 7. It seemed like forever.
``It was a wakeup call, no doubt about it,'' said Kilger. ``There wasn't a big panic button pressed or anything.
``We just realized we had to play better and had to bear down defensively and limit the other team's chances. We skated better, and if we're skating and finishing checks our game is going to fall into place.''
It was a welcome win for goaltender Andrew Raycroft, who was No. 1 last season but might find himself sitting on the end of the bench as a backup to Vesa Toskala against the Senators in five days.
``It was good for all of us to hang in there,'' said Raycroft. ``It's a good building block.''
Kronwall scored with a slap shot on Detroit's first shot 42 seconds in. The 26-year-old Swede was on the same ice on this night as his kid brother Staffan, who is trying to win a job with the Leafs.
Blake hammered in a cross-ice Mats Sundin pass on a power play to tie it at 5:28.
Seven goals were scored in the second period.
Sundin set up Tucker the same way he set up Blake for another power-play goal at the 39-second mark.
Toronto took its first lead after John Pohl stripped Datsyuk of the puck in the neutral zone. Pohl passed to Kilger, who faked a shot to draw goalie Jimmy Howard towards him and slid the puck to Devereaux for a tap-in into the vacated net at 2:38.
Draper got behind Tomas Kaberle to score at 2:58, Datsyuk replied by reaching into the crease to push in a free puck behind Raycroft on a power play at 3:22, White dashed out of the penalty box to get a long clearing lob by Staffan Kronvall and slip a breakaway shot through Howard's legs at 11:18, and Draper redirected in a Dallas Drake pass at 11:59.
Wozniewski scored the winner with a slap shot on a power play at 16:43 while Nik Antropov was falling into Howard after being pushed.
Kilger got the only goal of the third period when he beat Howard with a long shot at 17:27.
For a change, the Leafs were able to protect a lead.
``We stuck in there and won the game,'' said Sundin. ``For some reason we make it harder on ourselves than it should be.''
Tucker was happy with the effort.
``That's one thing about teams, you have to learn to bend and not break,'' he said.
Notes: On power plays, Detroit was 1-for-5 and Toronto was 3-for-9 . . . The pre-season records now stand at 5-3-0 for the Red Wings and 3-2-2 for the Leafs . . . While D Bryan McCabe was the only big-name Leaf not to dress, Detroit sat out G Dom Hasek, D Nick Lidstrom, D Chris Chelios, D Brian Rafalski, F Dan Cleary, F Tomas Kopecky and F Kirk Maltby . . . Injured Leafs: C Kyle Wellwood had abdominal surgery last Saturday and D Carlo Colaiacovo continues to feel discomfort in his surgically-repaired knee . . . The only regular-season meeting Detroit and Toronto will be Feb. 9 in Toronto . . . Niklas Kronwall is one of only eight players to win Olympic and world championship gold in the same year, in his case 2006 . . . The Leafs open the regular season at home against Ottawa on Wednesday, play in Ottawa on Thursday and are back home against Montreal on Saturday . . . Eight of their first 10 games are on home ice
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DETROIT (AP) -Dominik Hasek posted a 13-save shutout, and Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists in the Detroit Red Wings' 4-0 victory Saturday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs that wrapped up the preseason schedule for both teams.
Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for Detroit (6-3). Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler each added two assists.
Vesa Toskala stopped 28 shots for Toronto (3-3-2).
Franzen gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 38 seconds into the second period, and Datsyuk scored just under three minutes later.
Cleary, who missed six games due to a rib injury, scored a power-play goal 58 seconds into the third period and Samuelsson made it 4-0 with 4:45 left.
Both teams will open the regular season on Wednesday. The Red Wings will host defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim, and the Maple Leafs will welcome the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators.
Associated Press
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Greg Millen Becomes Lead Analyst On Regional Broadcasts Oct 1, 2007, 4:22 PM EDT Leafs TV announced Monday that Greg Millen will fill the void as lead game analyst on Toronto Maple Leafs regional broadcasts created by the departure of Harry Neale to Buffalo. Neale, a resident of East Amherst, NY, has chosen to take a similar position with the Buffalo Sabres and step down from his role as analyst on Leafs broadcasts after 21 seasons.
“For more than two decades Harry Neale has teamed with Joe Bowen to form one of the most talented, entertaining and highly-regarded broadcast teams in the National Hockey League,” said Tom Anselmi, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., which has operated Leafs TV since its inception in 2001. “We are sad that Harry’s unique presence on our broadcasts will not be continuing, but at the same time we’re very happy for him that he has such a great opportunity near his home and won’t be commuting so frequently. Harry’s commitment to the Leafs broadcasts has been remarkable, and he moves on with our deepest appreciation for his dedication and contributions.
“Replacing a legend like Harry Neale is no easy task, but we’re very fortunate to have a talented veteran in Greg Millen who will bring his experience and knowledge to our broadcasts,” Anselmi added. “Greg has been an NHL broadcaster for 14 seasons, and being a member of our Leafs TV broadcast team is already intimately familiar with our hockey club. Together with Joe Bowen, Greg’s talents will ensure that our broadcasts continue to be among the best in professional hockey.”
Millen served on the Ottawa Senators broadcast team for 14 years beginning in 1992 and has been an analyst with Hockey Night in Canada since the 1994-95 season. He’s in his third season with Leafs TV as both analyst and reporter. Millen covered the Olympic Games in 1994, 2002 and 2006. He has worked numerous Stanley Cup playoffs for Hockey Night in Canada and the Stanley Cup finals for ESPN International.
Millen has been very active in Ontario hockey circles outside of the broadcast booth. He has managed hockey schools and clinics, written and produced radio and television programs, and is a popular public speaker. He is co-founder of the Peterborough Professional Hockey Alumni Association, a group of former professional hockey players that raises money to benefit children in the Peterborough area. Millen is a resident of Bridgenorth, Ontario.
Neale debuted on Leafs broadcasts in 1986 and has also been a popular analyst with Hockey Night in Canada since 1985. He was part of the CBC broadcast team at the Winter Olympics in 1998 and 2002. Neale is renowned for his insight, sense of humour and ability to utilize his extensive experience as a coach to provide his audience with an entertaining as well as informative view of the game.
The Leafs open the season Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. match-up against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. The two teams square off again the following night in Ottawa.
Holy shit i never thought i'd see the end of this duo, i thought they'd be paired untill one of them died, Harry and his witty comments will be missed on Leafs telecasts.
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I've been psyched ever since Saturday, watching the Ducks and Kings play in England, i can't wait to see how Blake and Sundin play together in real games, i know your psyched to see Gomez and Drury in real game action
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I've been psyched ever since Saturday, watching the Ducks and Kings play in England, i can't wait to see how Blake and Sundin play together in real games, i know your psyched to see Gomez and Drury in real game action
ah yes thurs night im ready
i gotta order my hockey package so i can watch u guys tom night
i gotta order my hockey package so i can watch u guys tom night
good luck on ur season
Good Luck to the Rangers to, they prolly have one of the best teams on paper, but you never know what's gonna happen in an 82 game sched.
Here's my fantasy team what do u think lol.
1 17 Pronger, Chris D
2 1 Crosby, Sidney C
3 2 Thornton, Joe C
4 3 Heatley, Dany RW
5 4 Jagr, Jaromir RW
6 5 Lecavalier, Vincent C
7 6 Staal, Eric C
8 7 Ovechkin, Alexander LW
9 8 Spezza, Jason C
10 9 Vanek, Thomas LW
11 10 Gagne, Simon LW
12 11 Cheechoo, Jonathan RW
13 12 Savard, Marc C
14 13 Souray, Sheldon D
15 14 Gonchar, Sergei D
16 15 Lidstrom, Nicklas D
17 16 Kaberle, Tomas D
18 18 Whitney, Ryan D
19 19 Kiprusoff, Miikka G
20 20 Fleury, Marc-Andre G
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Comments
TV Information
Local start: 7:30 PM
Local Home:
LEAFS TV
Change is the constant in the NHL and no team exemplifies that fact better than the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres, 1-2 in the exhibition season, meet the Maple Leafs tonight at 7:30 at Air Canada Centre on Leafs TV or right here on mapleleafs.com .
Buffalo made the biggest noise in the off-season by losing free agents Chris Drury to the New York Rangers and Daniel Briere to the Philadelphia Flyers. The news got worse with word steady veteran defenceman Teppo Numminen had been lost to a potentially career-ending heart surgery. Even veteran television announcer Jim Lorentz called it a day, opting for retirement instead of the rigours of travel.
But the Sabres will find a new voice, retired player Matthew Barnaby is one of the candidates, and under coach Lindy Ruff, a return to the same high-flying style. Numminen should be out of hospital in a couple of days and even at 39, a return can’t be discounted.
Buffalo has one of the game’s great young goalies in Ryan Miller and a slew of talented forwards in Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek.
The Leafs meanwhile will continue to sharpen a revamped lineup against their traditional nemesis.
Vesa Toskala returns to the net for his second preseason game. He played in a 3-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.
The loss of Kyle Wellwood to a recurring groin injury has resulted in a shuffled lineup. Boyd Deveraux, sidelined by a foot infection will play, probably with Matt Stajan and Alex Steen.
The game offers coach Paul Maurice another chance to watch Anton Stralman. Just 21, Stalman is making a strong bid to step directly into the Leafs lineup from the Swedish Elite League. He figures to see plenty of playing time in the club’s last three exhibition games.
Maurice figures to see more of Stralman’s game as the preseason wears on and the quality of players improves.
“With most really good players, it’s really easier to play at a higher level,” he said.
Carlo Colaiacovo will not. Colaiacovo had off-season knee surgery. Maurice said Colaiacovo could play but will keep him out of tonight’s game but he will at least try to get him into one of the remaining two to let him strengthen his knee.
Here is tonight's lineup:
Andrew Raycroft
Vesa Toskala - Starting
Wade Belak
Alex Steen
Mats Sundin
Matt Stajan
Tomas Kaberle
Darcy Tucker
Chad Kilger
John Pohl
Boyd Devereaux
Bryan McCabe
Hal Gill
Pavel Kubina
Bates Battaglia
Anton Stralman
Jiri Tlusty
Staffan Kronwall
Jason Blake
Nik Antropov
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(TORONTO) - Derek Roy is ready to pitch in to help fill the void left in Buffalo's lineup by the departures of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.
Henrik Tallinder, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek each scored before Roy applied the exclamation mark with three consecutive goals in a 7-2 pre-season win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Roy added three assists in an impressive six-point performance.
Coach Lindy Ruff will be looking for Roy to help offset the loss of the 69 goals Drury and Briere took down the free-agent highway. The five-foot-nine centre scored 21 last season and with an increased role and added ice time this season he'll be setting his aim a lot higher.
``With Dru and Dan leaving, it leaves a lot of room,'' Roy said. ``You've got to be confident out there and you've got to make plays, trust in yourself and believe in yourself. As a player, you always want to get better and you always want to play more to move up.
``They were our leaders. They're great players. We're going to miss them. You can't replace players like that.''
The Sabres finished first overall in the NHL last season and they'll be hard pressed do it again without Drury and Briere, but Leafs captain Mats Sundin was certainly impressed with them.
``They've lost some key players but they look like they're already in regular-season form,'' said Sundin.
He couldn't find a ray of sunshine in his team's woeful effort.
``We were standing around watching them play,'' Sundin said. ``We have a big, strong team and playing a team like that we've got to use our bodies and move our feet.
``We were watching them play hockey. It was a long night.''
The Leafs, using most of their regulars, got goals from Pavel Kubina and Chad Kilger. The only impact player in blue and white was Kris Newbury, said coach Paul Maurice.
``We were bad from start to finish _ front and back,'' Maurice said.
Ryan Miller was his usual solid self in the Sabres nets, while Vesa Toskala was worse than he was in his first start with his new team, and the critics panned him after that one.
In his defence, he was screened when he let in Buffalo's first shot of the game, and two more Sabres goals were scored with two Leafs in the penalty box. After Buffalo went up 4-0 early in the second period, fans cheered when Toskala made his next save.
``I felt sorry for Vesa,'' Sundin said.
Toskala hasn't played a regular-season game in eons so it is taking him time to come around.
``I think my timing has been good,'' he said. ``I've been in the right spots when they've been scoring.
``(The puck) has just been going through myself. I have to get those holes covered in the future.''
He added a comment that will be downright scary to Leafs fans: ``I'm close to where I want to be at this point.''
While skeptics insist the revamped Sabres can't possibly do as well as they did last season, the message from this one was that they remain far superior to the Leafs.
``They sent us to us tonight,'' Kilger said, confirming the message was received. ``We got it. I don't know if any other teams got it this pre-season but they sure gave it to us.''
The Leafs play their regular-season opener at home next Wednesday against Ottawa.
``It's still pre-season, you know,'' Kubina said. ``We don't need to panic. But it was a tough lesson.''
The best Leaf on the ice was Darren Roanoke.
Actually, Roanoke is a character played by Romany Malco in the Mike Myers comedy ``The Love Guru'' that sent cast members and extras onto the ice on skates and in full uniforms during the intermissions as scenes were filmed for the flick that'll be released next June. The Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,892 cheered loudly when Roanoke, outfitted in a dark blue Leafs home uniform, scored a goal on a goalie dressing in a Red Wings uniform.
The fans got more worked up for the few minutes of theatre than for the real thing.
``We were pretty awful in the first period and then for the first two minutes of the second we watched them play their game and we had not a clue what we were doing it seemed like,'' Kilger said. ``We have to find our identity.''
They have seven days to find it.
Notes: On power plays, Buffalo was 2-for-5 and Toronto was 0-for-4 . . . The pre-season records now stand at 2-2-0 for the Sabres and 2-2-2 for the Leafs . . . The Leafs were without C Kyle Wellwood, who had abdominal surgery last Saturday, LW Alexei Ponikarovsky, D Ian White, D Carlo Colaiacovo and D Andy Wozniewski . . . Among Sabres not playing were C Tim Connelly were D Teppo Numminen, who is recovering from open heart surgery, F Paul Gaustad, F Maxim Afinogenov and D Dmitri Kalinin . . . Stafford's uncle, Barrie Stafford, has been equipment manager for the Edmonton Oilers for the last 23 years . . . The Leafs assigned forward David Ling to the AHL's Toronto Marlies earlier Wednesday . . . In eight Toronto-Buffalo meetings during 2006-2007, Toronto won three and lost five . . . The first clash of the new season will be Oct. 15 at Buffalo . . . Toronto completes its eight-game exhibition schedule with a home game against the Red Wings on Friday and a visit to Detroit on Saturday . . . Buffalo hasn't lost a pre-season game to Toronto since 2001.
Canadian Press
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Both teams are in a different part of the stratosphere with the Leafs plugging holes in a leaky dyke and the Red Wings filling space on a well oiled machine. Look for multiple point nights from Detroits two big lines and a checking line that should be able to shut the Leafs almost number one line down.
In net the Leafs are struggling to find a solid starter to fill the pipes where they may be better off hanging a jersey and telling the other team just to pick the corners if they want to score. The Red Wings will probably sit their number one goalie and play both their backups against Toronto to see who will win the number two job. Watch for the Leafs to start two different goalies too, but one of them is going to end up as the number one and that could spell a very long season.
Last year the Leafs were in the top five in goals scored but failed to make the playoffs. Of course when you are in the top five for goals allowed, things don't cancel out all so well. As they missed the playoffs after showing up with two weeks left in the season to give their die hard fans some faint hope in yet another dismal season. This writer sees another long season and another missed playoffs this year. The Leafs and their owners learned well from their cousins the Blue Jays who won back to back world series in the 90's only to watch the fan base wane. Banking on a good thing at the ACC, the powers that be know that if they do win the cup, that the place could become a Loblams in the near future. "Keep the fans on the edge (of the playoffs) of a cup winner and they will keep coming back for more", was a quote from a source we can't name.
This is the best preview ever!
Not a biased preview at all lol, but ill put up the brief preview that mapleleafs.com has, and you can watch the game on LeafsTV or there website.
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TV Information
Local start: 7:30 PM
Local Home:
LEAFS TV
The Leafs play their final home preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Air Canada Centre.
Don't forget that you can watch the game online right here at mapleleafs.com or on Leafs TV starting at 7:30 p.m.
Andrew Raycroft gets the start in net for the Leafs
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The bias was what made it funny.
Why would I watch the game on LeafsTV?
You know I am ribbing ya ken with that post. I made if funny so we could have a laugh. I live and bleed hockey and I would actually like to see the Laughs do well. But when I and most of the fans could fix the problem and their GM can't. Well they will be the butt of jokes for years to come.
Im telling anyone who cares they can watch on LeafsTV or there website, i also believe LeafsTV is on freepreview for anyone with Rogers digital cable lol.
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I was just kidding cause I don't like the Leafs :P
Specially with that Romulan wearing the 'C'!
The guy has maybe been in one fight and JESUS does he not wear his age well.
I know ur teasing, that's why i lol, i got a few chuckles in that preview.
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He's no fighter, so we can excuse him that, but yeah, at all times he looks like he's about to die....
He looks like a chain smoker when they show him on the bench, always out of breath lol, but i love mats, he'll get back on track this year and blake will help him out alot, i think.
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It'll be interesting to see how they pair up. Wellwood is out for how many weeks?
It's the color that always makes him look so close to death. He's always yellow-green. He looks like a vampire...or a Romulan, as stated earlier :P
Now we are on the same page. Sudin is great. And I like your visual of him sucking air on the bench. Cause it's true. He has to be one of, if not the best defensive centre in the league.
It's the way of the (vocal majority) of Leafs' fans (among other teams the case is the same). They do that to most of the team, but there's always a scapegoat. The fans/media in Mtl are equally ruthless, for example.
The Leafs fans/media guilty of this are among the worst - lose 5 in a row in October and the playoffs are impossible, win your first 5 games of the season and everyone is predicting Stanley Cup Finals.
Mind you, the coach almost guaranteed playoffs this year.
any Leaf fan who bashes Sundin is an uneducated Leafs fan who just rides the bandwagon when its convenient and they are winning, which around here, is many
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
TV Information
Local start: 7:30 PM
Local Home:
LEAFS TV
The Leafs play their final home preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings tonight at Air Canada Centre.
Don't forget that you can watch the game online right here at mapleleafs.com or on Leafs TV starting at 7:30 p.m.
The two longstanding rivals face-off tonight at Air Canada Centre (7:30 p.m.) and meet again Saturday at Joe Louis Arena.
The Leafs goaltending, a hot topic in the pre-season, takes another turn tonight when Andrew Raycroft returns to the cage. In two games, Raycroft accrued 2.98 goals against average and .889 save percentage. Vesa Toskala has struggled and he will bring a bloated 5.04 goals against average and .844 save percentage into tomorrow night’s game with the Wings.
All that means not a lot. There is a reason they call them exhibition games. Leafs' Coach Paul Maurice suggested fans hyperventilating about the club’s pre-season netminding should drink a long cup of team. Herbal maybe.
Still, there are races, meaningful ones. The loss of Kyle Wellwood to abdominal surgery has prompted a rethink of a host of players, from Tony Salmelainen, Jiri Tlusty and Kris Newbury. Defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo, still putting the final touches on a knee rehab, is not expected to play either game against the Wings. Talented rookie Anton Stralman was roughed up in Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to Buffalo but he, Staffan Kronwall and Andy Wozniewski are locked in a race to gain a spot on the training camp. Stralman has obvious gifts but Wozniewski has enjoyed a solid training camp.
The Wings, meanwhile, continue to roll as one of the NHL’s elite franchises. The Leafs will see prospect Jimmy Howard in goal tonight. Detroit will save Dominik Hasek for Saturday night. The Wings will bring a nice mix of new and seasoned talent. Russian forward Igor Grigorenko, the Red Wings first choice, 62nd overall in the 2001 entry draft may finally be ready for prime time. He scored a shootout goal in a win over Tampa Bay, Thursday. The club has added experience in defenceman Brian Rafalski who will step in for Mathieu Schneider. Dallas Drake, who began his career with the Wings is back for another go-around.
Andrew Raycroft gets the start in net for the Leafs.
Leafs Lineup
Andrew Raycroft
Vesa Toskala
Ian White
Alex Steen
Mats Sundin
Matt Stajan
Tomas Kaberle
Darcy Tucker
Chad Kilger
John Pohl
Boyd Devereaux
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Hal Gill
Pavel Kubina
Bates Battaglia
Staffan Kronwall
Kris Newbury
Jason Blake
Andy Wozniewski
Nik Antropov
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TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs' 6-4 pre-season win over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night was just what they needed.
After losing to Phoenix, Ottawa and Buffalo on home ice, another defeat in their final home exhibition game would have thrown Leafs fans into a tizzy awaiting the regular-season opener at home Wednesday against Ottawa.
``That was big going into the weekend and hopefully we can get another one before we play Ottawa,'' said defenceman Andy Wozniewski, who scored one of the Leafs' three power-play goals and was outstanding in his own end.
Toronto and Detroit wrap up the pre-season with a game in Detroit on Saturday.
Also scoring for the Leafs were Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, Boyd Devereaux, Ian White and Chad Kilger, who got his team-high fourth.
``It's only pre-season but it's nice to contribute,'' said the veteran forward. ``I'm making some better plays this year and capitalizing.
``I just hope it continues. It'd be nice to carry it over. Hopefully, I can do that.''
Kris Draper scored twice and Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk once each for Detroit, which didn't use seven regulars.
It was Toronto's first win on home ice since last April 7. It seemed like forever.
``It was a wakeup call, no doubt about it,'' said Kilger. ``There wasn't a big panic button pressed or anything.
``We just realized we had to play better and had to bear down defensively and limit the other team's chances. We skated better, and if we're skating and finishing checks our game is going to fall into place.''
It was a welcome win for goaltender Andrew Raycroft, who was No. 1 last season but might find himself sitting on the end of the bench as a backup to Vesa Toskala against the Senators in five days.
``It was good for all of us to hang in there,'' said Raycroft. ``It's a good building block.''
Kronwall scored with a slap shot on Detroit's first shot 42 seconds in. The 26-year-old Swede was on the same ice on this night as his kid brother Staffan, who is trying to win a job with the Leafs.
Blake hammered in a cross-ice Mats Sundin pass on a power play to tie it at 5:28.
Seven goals were scored in the second period.
Sundin set up Tucker the same way he set up Blake for another power-play goal at the 39-second mark.
Toronto took its first lead after John Pohl stripped Datsyuk of the puck in the neutral zone. Pohl passed to Kilger, who faked a shot to draw goalie Jimmy Howard towards him and slid the puck to Devereaux for a tap-in into the vacated net at 2:38.
Draper got behind Tomas Kaberle to score at 2:58, Datsyuk replied by reaching into the crease to push in a free puck behind Raycroft on a power play at 3:22, White dashed out of the penalty box to get a long clearing lob by Staffan Kronvall and slip a breakaway shot through Howard's legs at 11:18, and Draper redirected in a Dallas Drake pass at 11:59.
Wozniewski scored the winner with a slap shot on a power play at 16:43 while Nik Antropov was falling into Howard after being pushed.
Kilger got the only goal of the third period when he beat Howard with a long shot at 17:27.
For a change, the Leafs were able to protect a lead.
``We stuck in there and won the game,'' said Sundin. ``For some reason we make it harder on ourselves than it should be.''
Tucker was happy with the effort.
``That's one thing about teams, you have to learn to bend and not break,'' he said.
Notes: On power plays, Detroit was 1-for-5 and Toronto was 3-for-9 . . . The pre-season records now stand at 5-3-0 for the Red Wings and 3-2-2 for the Leafs . . . While D Bryan McCabe was the only big-name Leaf not to dress, Detroit sat out G Dom Hasek, D Nick Lidstrom, D Chris Chelios, D Brian Rafalski, F Dan Cleary, F Tomas Kopecky and F Kirk Maltby . . . Injured Leafs: C Kyle Wellwood had abdominal surgery last Saturday and D Carlo Colaiacovo continues to feel discomfort in his surgically-repaired knee . . . The only regular-season meeting Detroit and Toronto will be Feb. 9 in Toronto . . . Niklas Kronwall is one of only eight players to win Olympic and world championship gold in the same year, in his case 2006 . . . The Leafs open the regular season at home against Ottawa on Wednesday, play in Ottawa on Thursday and are back home against Montreal on Saturday . . . Eight of their first 10 games are on home ice
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DETROIT (AP) -Dominik Hasek posted a 13-save shutout, and Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists in the Detroit Red Wings' 4-0 victory Saturday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs that wrapped up the preseason schedule for both teams.
Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, and Mikael Samuelsson also scored for Detroit (6-3). Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler each added two assists.
Vesa Toskala stopped 28 shots for Toronto (3-3-2).
Franzen gave Detroit a 1-0 lead 38 seconds into the second period, and Datsyuk scored just under three minutes later.
Cleary, who missed six games due to a rib injury, scored a power-play goal 58 seconds into the third period and Samuelsson made it 4-0 with 4:45 left.
Both teams will open the regular season on Wednesday. The Red Wings will host defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim, and the Maple Leafs will welcome the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators.
Associated Press
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It is a clean slate come the first game with Ottawa.
“For more than two decades Harry Neale has teamed with Joe Bowen to form one of the most talented, entertaining and highly-regarded broadcast teams in the National Hockey League,” said Tom Anselmi, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., which has operated Leafs TV since its inception in 2001. “We are sad that Harry’s unique presence on our broadcasts will not be continuing, but at the same time we’re very happy for him that he has such a great opportunity near his home and won’t be commuting so frequently. Harry’s commitment to the Leafs broadcasts has been remarkable, and he moves on with our deepest appreciation for his dedication and contributions.
“Replacing a legend like Harry Neale is no easy task, but we’re very fortunate to have a talented veteran in Greg Millen who will bring his experience and knowledge to our broadcasts,” Anselmi added. “Greg has been an NHL broadcaster for 14 seasons, and being a member of our Leafs TV broadcast team is already intimately familiar with our hockey club. Together with Joe Bowen, Greg’s talents will ensure that our broadcasts continue to be among the best in professional hockey.”
Millen served on the Ottawa Senators broadcast team for 14 years beginning in 1992 and has been an analyst with Hockey Night in Canada since the 1994-95 season. He’s in his third season with Leafs TV as both analyst and reporter. Millen covered the Olympic Games in 1994, 2002 and 2006. He has worked numerous Stanley Cup playoffs for Hockey Night in Canada and the Stanley Cup finals for ESPN International.
Millen has been very active in Ontario hockey circles outside of the broadcast booth. He has managed hockey schools and clinics, written and produced radio and television programs, and is a popular public speaker. He is co-founder of the Peterborough Professional Hockey Alumni Association, a group of former professional hockey players that raises money to benefit children in the Peterborough area. Millen is a resident of Bridgenorth, Ontario.
Neale debuted on Leafs broadcasts in 1986 and has also been a popular analyst with Hockey Night in Canada since 1985. He was part of the CBC broadcast team at the Winter Olympics in 1998 and 2002. Neale is renowned for his insight, sense of humour and ability to utilize his extensive experience as a coach to provide his audience with an entertaining as well as informative view of the game.
The Leafs open the season Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. match-up against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. The two teams square off again the following night in Ottawa.
Holy shit i never thought i'd see the end of this duo, i thought they'd be paired untill one of them died, Harry and his witty comments will be missed on Leafs telecasts.
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I've been psyched ever since Saturday, watching the Ducks and Kings play in England, i can't wait to see how Blake and Sundin play together in real games, i know your psyched to see Gomez and Drury in real game action
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ah yes thurs night im ready
i gotta order my hockey package so i can watch u guys tom night
good luck on ur season
Musta' went splits on the keg.
Good Luck to the Rangers to, they prolly have one of the best teams on paper, but you never know what's gonna happen in an 82 game sched.
Here's my fantasy team what do u think lol.
1 17 Pronger, Chris D
2 1 Crosby, Sidney C
3 2 Thornton, Joe C
4 3 Heatley, Dany RW
5 4 Jagr, Jaromir RW
6 5 Lecavalier, Vincent C
7 6 Staal, Eric C
8 7 Ovechkin, Alexander LW
9 8 Spezza, Jason C
10 9 Vanek, Thomas LW
11 10 Gagne, Simon LW
12 11 Cheechoo, Jonathan RW
13 12 Savard, Marc C
14 13 Souray, Sheldon D
15 14 Gonchar, Sergei D
16 15 Lidstrom, Nicklas D
17 16 Kaberle, Tomas D
18 18 Whitney, Ryan D
19 19 Kiprusoff, Miikka G
20 20 Fleury, Marc-Andre G
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