Soccer Sports News & Betting

Defenseman Jassen Cullimore sat out Tuesday’s game against the Predators with a hand/wrist injury, but should be ready to play in the Panthers’ next game Friday, coach Pete DeBoer said.

“He had an MRI and it doesn’t look like they see anything on it,” DeBoer said. “But we figured we’d give him the break. It’s still pretty sore.”

With Cullimore out, Noah Welch was in the lineup for the second time in three games since going down to AHL Rochester and playing seven games. DeBoer said Welch has improved.

“He has realized what we need in order for him to get in the lineup and be effective, and that’s for him to be simple and safe and physical,” DeBoer said. “When we’ve stuck him in lately, even before the two-week conditioning, he has played that way.”

Belak returnsRight wing/enforcer Wade Belak made his first appearance at BankAtlantic Center since the Panthers traded him to the Predators on Nov. 27. Belak entered Tuesday’s game with one assist in 11 games. Winger Nick Tarnasky, who came from Nashville in exchange for Belak, was a healthy scratch. Anthony Stewart took Tarnasky’s spot in the lineup.

Fateful moveThe Panthers went 7-2-2 immediately after trading Belak, who was “a casualty of the circumstances and the way we started the season,” DeBoer said. “We needed at that point of the season to shake up the team somehow.

“Everybody on our team needed to be put on notice that status quo wasn’t good enough and nobody’s job was safe.”

Holiday memoriesDeBoer’s best Christmas gift? Winning the gold medal during the holidays at the 2005 World Junior Championship with Sidney Crosby, Dion Phaneuf and Team Canada against Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and the Russians.

Others he remembers?

“When I was 5, I got a Denis Potvin autographed stick,” DeBoer said, laughing. “My kids always get me something great. Usually ties that I’ll never be seen in public with, but I wear to all the family functions.”

The names that top the list of NHL scoring leaders are about as expected as a Zamboni cleaning the ice between periods.

Malkin. Crosby. Ovechkin.

The league’s top goal scorer isn’t nearly as familiar. Don’t worry if Jeff Carter doesn’t ring a bell. The Philadelphia Flyers center isn’t even on the All-Star ballot, but he’s suddenly in the mix as one of the fastest rising stars in the NHL. Only don’t expect the quite standout to tout his All-Star credentials.

“It would be nice for it to happen, but I’m not too worried about it,” Carter said. “I haven’t really thought about it. I’ve got a lot of hockey games before that, so we’ll see.”

The 23-year-old Carter might not want to talk about playing in his first All-Star game, so the Flyers will push the message that he belongs with the likes of Pittsburgh’s star duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin in Montreal for the Jan. 25 game.

Every time Carter scores a goal at home, the Flyers scoreboard flashes a bright and bold message to fans.

“Write Him In!”

“He deserves it,” Flyers forward Simon Gagne said.

Carter has enough goals to make the game - he scored his league-best 26th goal in Philadelphia’s 6-4 win over Ottawa on Tuesday night, helping the Flyers move within two points of the Rangers for the Atlantic Division lead. He just won’t have enough votes to earn a starting spot for the Eastern Conference. Carter had received 30,972 as a write-in candidate as of Dec. 23, not enough to even make a dent in the forward category when a player like Crosby has a record total of more than 1,000,000 votes.

Carter will likely be picked for the team as a reserve.

“He’s a great player. He’s still a young guy but he’s figured out the game,” Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg said. “He’s using his skill, his speed. He’s one of the best two-way players in the league.”

A first-round pick in the 2003 entry draft, Carter has played in stretches of his career like he could blossom into a regular goal-scoring threat. When the Flyers lost All-Star center Mike Richards to a hamstring injury last February, Carter picked up the scoring slack. He had eight goals in the nine games Richards missed, helping the Flyers go 5-2-2.

Carter played in all 82 games last season and had a career-high 29 goals and 53 points, and scored six more goals in the playoffs as he helped the Flyers reach the Eastern Conference finals. The Flyers rewarded Carter with a $15 million, three-year deal in the summer - a contract that suddenly looks like a bargain for Philly.

His 26 goals this season are two more than Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek and his 40 points place him behind Malkin (58) Crosby (47) and Ovechkin (46). Only Reggie Leach with 61 goals in 1975-76 has led the league with the Flyers. With the way he’s playing, Carter feel he can join Leach on the elite list.

“The way things are going, I feel good out there and I get lots of chances,” Carter said. “I’m playing against other teams’ top lines a lot of the nights, so I’m just really worried about not getting scored on, and the other stuff takes care of itself.”

Carter, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, said there were no special offseason workouts, no new tricks added to his game that suddenly made his numbers skyrocket. He credits a fast start that boosted his confidence that allowed him to feel like he could stick the puck in the net every time he fires a shot.

“You can tell right now he’s got high confidence,” Gagne said. “He’s a big guy using his size and he’s got speed, too. He takes those great wrist shots, and every time you see him shooting the puck, you get the feeling it’s going to go in. He’s on a great streak right now.”

Earlier this month, coach John Stevens made Carter the center on a line that includes Joffrey Lupul and Scott Hartnell and the trio has turned the Flyers into one of the hottest teams in the league. Carter’s been rewarded with more ice time, he has great speed, a quick wrist shot, and hits the net hard and with purpose.

“Lup’s is a real finesse guy; he has a lot of speed, which helps my game out, too,” Carter said. “Hartsy just crashes and bangs, gets to the net, creates a lot of space for myself and Lups. So it’s going well.”

Carter has 10 goals this month and has helped the Flyers earn a point in the standings in 12 straight home games. His teammates expect Carter, a Canadian and a NASCAR fan, to keep chipping away at the scoring title.

“I don’t see why not, it’s not like we’re only 10 games in,” Lupul said. “We’re over 30 games in now and it’s not like he’s getting one or two chances a game. He’s getting five or six chances a game so I don’t see why he can’t keep it up.”

Canucks LW Sedin nabs First Star.
Vancouver Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin, who scored his 150th career goal this past week, was named the NHLs First Star of the Week on Monday.

Also honored were Florida Panthers left wing David Booth and New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.

Sedin led all scorers last week with five points in two games, helping the Canucks open their season with a pair of wins over the division rival Calgary Flames.

On Thursday, Sedin recorded three assists in a 6-0 triumph. Two days later, Sedin notched a pair of goals in a 5-4 overtime victory.

Booth received the Second Star for tallying three goals and four points in two games, including an overtime game-winner during Sundays 3-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Brodeur collected the Third Star after helping the Devils pick up back-to-back 2-1 victories over the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Brodeur posted a 0.97 goals-against average and .951 save percentage on the week.

The Philadelphia Flyers on Monday welcomed a familiar face back to the franchise.
The Flyers named Hall of Fame player and former coach Bill Barber as a scouting consultant.

Its great to come back home where I belong, said Barber, who won two Stanley Cups with the team in 1974 and 1975.. I spent 30 memorable years with the Flyers organization and personally, everything was great. I had great experiences and a great association with the Flyers.

Its nice to get back to family and familiar faces. Id like to thank (owner Ed) Snider, Peter Luukko (president and chief operating officer of Comcast-Spectator), Paul Holmgren (general manager) and the Flyers organization for giving me this opportunity. Hopefully, I will be of some help to Paul. I think that he has done a great job. The team is heading in the right direction. A lot of positive things are happening with the Flyers.

Holmgren said that Barber rejoining the Flyers just seemed natural.

Bill Barber is and always will be a Philadelphia Flyer, Holmgren said. We are pleased to add him to our staff. He will bring a great work ethic as well as a vast knowledge of players to the organization.

Barber scoring 420 goals and 1,303 points in 12 seasons - all with the Flyers. He also served 18 years as a coach and scout for the Flyers.

On July 1, Barber resigned as the director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Monday National Hockey League Capsules.
ST. LOUIS 5, TORONTO 4 (SO)

TORONTO Ryan Hollweg is making his presence felt for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it is not the kind of impact the team had hoped for.

Hollwegs five-minute major early in the second period helped the St. Louis Blues rally from a three-goal deficit and defeat the Maple Leafs, 5-4, in a shootout.

Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes beat Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala in the bonus format as the Blues, playing their third game in four days, overcame a slow start.

St. Louis netminder Manny Legace stopped Pavel Kubina on the Maple Leafs third shootout attempt to seal the victory.

During his two-plus seasons with the New York Rangers, Hollweg was known for his physical play but also his penchant for taking bad penalties.

BUFFALO 7, NY ISLANDERS 1

UNIONDALE, New York Thomas Vanek scored twice in a four-goal second period and Patrick Lalime stopped 23 shots in his debut with the team as the Buffalo Sabres coasted to a 7-1 victory over the New York Islanders.

Jason Pomenville and Ales Kotalik each had a goal and two assists for the Sabres, who wore down the Islanders in a game that featured three separate fights in a second period melee and a total of 150 minutes in penalties.

Lalime, who signed as a free agent to serve as the backup to Ryan Miller, had a relatively easy afternoon and did not allow a goal until Trent Hunter tallied early in the third.

Joey MacDonald started his third straight game in goal in place of All-Star Rick DiPietro, who underwent knee and hip surgeries in the offseason.

DETROIT 3, CAROLINA 1

RALEIGH, North Carolina After a surprising defeat on opening night, the Detroit Red Wings appear to have returned to Stanley Cup title form.

Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom each recorded a power-play goals and Ty Conklin made 27 saves as the Red Wings handed the Carolina Hurricanes their first loss of the young season with a 3-1 triumph.

Henrik Zetterberg added an empty-net goal with 16 seconds left to seal the win.

On Thursday, the Red Wings raised their championship banner and promptly suffered a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs to put a slight damper on the celebration.

But an impressive performance by Conklin in his season debut and a pair of successful chances with the man-advantage gave Detroit its second consecutive road win.

NY RANGERS 4, NEW JERSEY 1

NEW YORK Aaron Voros recorded two power-play goals and had an assist as the New York Rangers remained undefeated with a 4-1 triumph over the New Jersey Devils.

Brandon Dubinsky added a goal and set up two others another and Ryan Callahan added an empty-net tally with 58 seconds remaining for New York, which improved to 5-0-0 this season.

Henrik Lunqvist, who finished with 25 saves, has allowed just five goals in four contests this season for the Rangers.

John Madden scored and four-time Vezina Trophy-winner Martin Brodeur made 20 saves for New Jersey, which was bounced in the five games by the Rangers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last season.

MONTREAL 5, PHILADELPHIA 3

PHILADELPHIA Defensemen Roman Hamrlik and Mike Komisarek scored 44 seconds apart in the third period and Robert Lang tallied with 6:20 remaining in the session as the Montreal Canadiens recorded a 5-3 triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Steve Begin added an empty-net goal with 35 seconds remaining in the third period and Andrei Kostitsyn also tallied in the second session for Montreal, which exacted a small measure of revenge after the Flyers eliminated the Canadiens in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

Captain Mike Richards had a goal and an assist and Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne also scored for Philadelphia, which has lost its first two games of the season at the Wachovia Center. The Flyers dropped a 4-3 decision to the New York Rangers in their season-opener on Saturday.

With Philadelphia holding a 2-1 advantage entering the third period, Hamrlik tied the contest just 78 seconds into the session after depositing a goal-mouth feed from Alexei Kovalev past Martin Biron for his second goal of the season.

Just 44 seconds later, Komisarek wristed a seemingly harmless shot toward net, but the puck deflected off the stick of Scottie Upshall and over Birons left shoulder to give Montreal a 3-2 lead.

WASHINGTON 5, VANCOUVER 1

WASHINGTON Alexander Semin scored two goals and the Washington Capitals used a second-period surge to cruise past the Vancouver Canucks, 5-1.

Semin opened the scoring by converting passes from Michael Nylander and defenseman Mike Green just under three minutes into the contest. Alex Edler tied the game with a power-play goal 68 seconds later, but Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson was impenetrable the rest of the way.

With 3:49 remaining in the first, Green scored what proved to be the game-winner on the man advantage. In the second, Milan Jurcina and Semin tallied before Nylander beat Roberto Luongo on a penalty shot with 3:24 left in the session.

The Canucks recorded 10 shots on goal, allowing the Capitals to break a franchise record for shots by an opponent, having never before allowed fewer than 11 in a game.

NASHVILLE 3, CHICAGO 2 (SO)

CHICAGO J.P. Dumont scored in the second round of a shootout to help the Nashville Predators defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2.

Rich Peverley also tallied in the shootout, while Nashville goaltender Dan Ellis denied Patrick Kane and Martin Havlat to secure the victory.

Patrick Sharp tied the game at 2-2 just 29 seconds into the second by converting passes from Havlat and Brent Seabrook and tapped it past Ellis for his first goal of the season..

Havlat opened the scoring on a power play 6:24 into the first, tipping in a pass from Kane while sitting on the doorstep. Nashville pulled even off a slap shot from defenseman Shea Weber on the man advantage, and took a one-goal lead when blue-liner Kevin Klein beat Cristobal Huet on a breakaway with 7:11 left in the session.

Hurricanes look to stay unbeaten vs Red Wings.
The Carolina Hurricanes overcame a pair of multi-goal deficits to capture victories in their first two games of the 2008-09 season.

An early deficit would be a bit more difficult to come back from against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on Monday.

Carolina fell behind, 2-0, against the Florida Panthers and 3-0 vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, but rallied in each matchup to earn the victories.

After upending the Panthers, 6-4, Eric Staal capped the comeback on Saturday with a goal midway through the third period and the game-winner with 24 seconds left in overtime.

Following a 3-2 loss to Toronto in its season opener, Detroit bounced back with a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Saturday.

Johan Franzen scored a pair of goals in the third period, including the go-ahead tally with 1:17 left.

Henrik Zetterberg recorded assists on each of Franzens goals for the Red Wings, who outshot the Senators 41-22.

One down, 81 to go as Sabres open road schedule at Islanders.
A much-hyped opener produced drama worthy of the playoff push and ultimately a pulsating shootout victory. But Friday’s win over Montreal was just Game One of 82 for the Buffalo Sabres. That’s all.

We now bring you the rest of the hockey season.

A busy week of four games in six days begins with a rare afternoon contest today in Nassau Coliseum against the New York Islanders.

Follow Mike Harrington’s live updates at the SabresEdge Blog.

By most forecasts, the Islanders are going to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs to stay out of the Eastern Conference cellar this season, but they gave Buffalo fits with back-to-back losses in the first two games last season and the Sabres are thus wary again.

“There’s no gimmes. We found out last year the first two games,” coach Lindy Ruff said after practice Sunday morning in HSBC Arena. “You’ve got to be ready to put the work in. You have to keep driving home the point that with the parity in this league, if you’re not ready to do the little things and commit to being strong away from the puck and strong with it, any team can beat any other team.”

Both before practice and again when the team gathered on the ice for its 60-minute workout, Ruff made sure to get his message across.

“We enjoyed the first game. Went home, enjoyed it some more and let it all sink in,” said new captain Craig Rivet. “I thought we played a real solid game, got great work from all four lines, our six and our goaltender. That’s what we’re looking for. But as a professional, you need to put games behind you and we’re looking at a new challenge.”

Ruff was impressed with the way the Sabres won physical battles against the Habs and he also liked how his team persevered in a low-scoring affair that seems like it will be more of the norm this season around the NHL. The Sabres won just six games last year when scoring two goals or less, a figure that has to improve as defense becomes a bigger factor in games.

“It was intense. Nobody wanted to make a mistake,” said center Derek Roy. “It didn’t seem like a game in October with everything wide-open and guys out of place. Guys were playing defense first and that’s how we’re going to win.”

With Ruff in charge, there’s no resting on any laurels. Things can quickly fall apart, as they did for the Leafs from the opener (a 3-2 upset in Detroit) to Game Two (Saturday’s 6-1 loss to Montreal).

“There’s plenty of examples around. You can just look across the border ,” Ruff said. “We talked about how well they played, beating the Stanley Cup champions, then they play at home in their opener and it isn’t anything like that. So there’s reminders. I talked to them before we went out about being focused and how hard it’s going to be.”

” was a game with a lot of buildup, one a lot of people had been waiting for,” Roy said. “It’s been a long time since we played on this ice. Especially with the Bills on their bye week, a lot of fans were eager to watch some sports and hopefully they got to see what they wanted. Now we want to keep playing, keep going forward with that momentum.”

—-

Ruff said backup goaltender Patrick Lalime will definitely make his Buffalo debut this week. The Sabres also play Wednesday in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, host Vancouver on Friday and play Saturday in Atlanta.

“He’s going to play in the near future, he’s playing this week and it’s sooner rather than later,” Ruff said, declining to be specific. “I’m just not going to do the scouting for the other team.”

Under new coach Scott Gordon, the Islanders are 1-1 after losing, 2-1, on Friday in New Jersey and then bouncing back to beat St. Louis, 5-2, in their home opener Saturday. Backup goaltender Joey Mac- Donald has played both games while starter Rick DiPietro works back slowly from offseason knee surgery; DiPietro might make his season debut today.

—-

The best goaltending maneuver in Friday’s game may not have been by Buffalo’s Ryan Miller or Montreal counterpart Carey Price. It may have come midway through the second period from Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman, who scooped Roman Hamrlik’s shot away from the goal line as it was dribbling into the net after the puck leaked through Miller.

“I didn’t see it right away because it was on Ryan’s other side,” Lydman said Sunday. “I was standing on his left side, I saw it rolling towards the net and I guess thank God I have a long stick.”

Blackhawks open home slate searching for win.
After dropping their first two games on the road, the Chicago Blackhawks will try and get into the win column on Monday in their home opener against the Nashville Predators.

Chicago was defeated, 4-2, in its season opener at the New York Rangers on Friday and lost by the same score at the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The Blackhawks have not dropped the first three games of the season since the 1997-98 campaign when they began 0-7-0.

A young team that features rising stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Chicago is hoping one of its veteran goaltenders will step forward to help a club that allowed the fourth-most goals in the Western Conference last season.

It has not started out well as free agent acquisition Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin each allowed four tallies in their respective starts.

The Predators dropped their season opener at the St. Louis Blues but bounced back to defeat the Dallas Stars, 3-1, on Saturday.

Captain Jason Arnott, who has recorded nine straight 20-goal seasons, has two tallies and two assists through the first couple games.

Chicago went 5-1-2 against its Central Division rival last season.

Rangers prospect dies during game in Russia.
Alexei Cherepanov, a 19-year-old first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, died Monday during a Continental Hockey League game in Russia.

Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr played a shift with Cherepanov and was talking to his young Avangard Omsk teammate on the bench shortly after they left the ice, when Cherepanov suddenly collapsed, said a Rangers spokesman who talked to Jagr.

There was no collision that preceded the collapse, the spokesman said, but few other details were available. Cherepanov scored the first goal of the game and had eight in 15 contests this season, his third with Avangard Omsk.

“It was really kind of a surreal thing for the players,” Cherepanov’s agent Jay Grossman said. “He was skating in on a 2-on-1 with Jaromir and then they came back to the bench. Jaromir was talking to him and he told him he has to score on that play. The next thing you know, he collapsed.

“(Jagr) went with him into the dressing room area and they revived him for some time and then he didn’t make it.”

Grossman said Cherepanov was eventually taken to the hospital, but he was unable to be saved.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I’ve heard that there wasn’t an ambulance there (at the arena), that it had left, and that there were problems with the defibrillator that they had there,” Grossman said. “Other than that, no details. I don’t know if that would’ve necessarily made a difference.”

The Rangers announced the death of Cherepanov shortly before they played at home against the New Jersey Devils. New York coach Tom Renney said his club was not aware of any health issues with Cherepanov.

“He’s a Ranger and I think it’ll have an impact on people,” Renney said. “We’re going to have to deal with it in our own personal way, but in the interest of a bright, young life that’s over we’re going to have to pursue the objective of tonight and that’s get two points from New Jersey.”

A pregame moment of silence was observed at Madison Square Garden as Cherepanov’s picture was displayed in the midst of a black background on the center ice video board.

“The first thing we can do is honor him with a great effort tonight,” Renney said.

Grossman said Cherepanov had testing at the NHL combine before last year’s draft that didn’t reveal any heart problems. He has been told that players in the KHL receive regular heart and blood tests, similar to those given in the NHL.

Cherepanov surprisingly slipped to the Rangers during the 2007 NHL draft and they grabbed him with the 17th pick. The talented forward dropped because of concerns about his signability and the potential difficulty in getting him to leave Russia.

“He was an exceptionally talented kid,” Grossman said. “He played in the Russian Elite League, in the men’s league, even before he was drafted which in and of itself is an achievement. He was a self-motivated kid that had an inner-confidence about him. A real good attitude.”

New York assistant coach Mike Pelino recently returned from a one-week trip to Russia where he watched Cherepanov play and then dined with him and Jagr.

The Rangers maintained a good relationship with Omsk and the club’s general manager even though there has been feuding between the NHL and Russia’s KHL.

The future appeared bright for Cherepanov, and the Rangers said he definitely figured in their plans.

“I was shocked when I heard. I thought it must be a misprint or something because he just had so much going for him,” Pelino said. “He was someone who I was really excited about and thought, ‘Wow, we did get something special here.’

“He had things to work on. We felt he had to become a little stronger still, he had to probably become a little bit more aware defensively. But as far as raw talent went and the ability to score, he was great.”

Renney kept tabs on Cherepanov every few weeks by checking in with Jagr and new Omsk coach Wayne Fleming, who recently left an assistant coaching position with the Calgary Flames to take the job in Russia.

Renney said Jagr told him that Cherepanov could probably play on New York’s second line now.

“Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future,” Rangers general manager Glen Sather said in a statement. “We are extremely saddened.”

Almost nobody is giving the Toronto Maple Leafs a chance this season. And thats just fine with the guys who play for the team.

They dont mind that interim GM Cliff Fletcher thinks rocky days lie ahead. They have no problem with being labelled a bunch of castaways and unproven talents. Theres no issue with pundits predicting a last-place finish.

Yes, you can officially start calling this years version of the Maple Leafs a willing underdog, but know that it comes with an important caveat - theyll only play the part to a point.

Our whole dressing room believes we can do a lot better than people are giving us credit for, said forward Matt Stajan. Thats fine. Well play that role.

Its a little different than people having high expectations. We have nothing to lose, were going to go out there and play as hard as we can and hopefully prove everybody wrong.

The Maple Leafs reported to training camp Friday morning and were put through a series of medical exams and fitness tests.

Players both old and new are well aware of the low expectations that have been placed on the rebuilding team after a busy off-season. Its the first time in 14 years that Mats Sundin wasnt around for the start of camp and mainstays like Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe werent anywhere to be found either.

In their place were guys like Jamal Mayers, Ryan Hollweg, Mike Van Ryn and Jeff Finger - all potentially useful players, but not a star in the bunch.

Even Stajan enters training camp as something of an underdog. He wont turn 25 until December but suddenly finds himself as one of the longest-serving players on the team - and one unsure of his exact role.

It had to have stung a little when Fletcher said that the Leafs will enter the season with Nik Antropov as their only true top-six forward. Stajan believes he can capably fill one of those spots and thinks other on the team can, too.

Were going to have to play as a team to win hockey games, we know that, he said. We dont have a top-flight guy like Mats Sundin. We have a lot of good players that can score goals and were going to have to play a good system.

I think everybodys excited for the challenge.

Theyll certainly get that from new head coach Ron Wilson.

Hes known for getting a lot out of rebuilding teams and plans to do it again this season with strict attention to defence. Its probably the best place to start given the Maple Leafs were among the worst teams at keeping the puck out of their net last season.

His players should also be on notice because Wilson isnt afraid to tell it like it is.

Im not going to throw anybody under the bus but if we stink, Im going to say it, he said. If our groups not blocking shots, Im going to say it.

Im going to tell you the way I feel.

It could make for an interesting season in Toronto, especially if the team struggles as many have suggested it will.

Some of the new faces in the lineup are intent on making sure that doesnt happen.

Mayers spent his entire career with the St. Louis Blues before being acquired by his hometown Maple Leafs in a June trade. The 33-year-old winger is expected to bring some leadership and a physical game that was sorely lacking a year ago.

Hes been in town for a few weeks and has heard enough about how bad things are going to go this season.

Ive already got a chip on my shoulder about it, said Mayers. Weve just got to take a step back and realize that weve got a lot of growing to do as a team.

The clock is already ticking.

Wilson will supervise on-ice workouts Saturday, the first exhibition game is Monday against Buffalo and the regular season begins in Detroit on Oct. 9.

Fans looking for optimism can start with young forwards like Mikhail Grabovsky, Nikolai Kulemin and Jiri Tlusty. The absence of skilled veterans means that those players will be given an opportunity to carry the load - and one or more of them might thrive in that position.

An older guy like Van Ryn might also experience a renaissance on the blue-line.

The 29-year-old was once a highly touted prospect who has battled injuries recently. Hes had surgery on both wrists but is feeling great after playing just 20 games last season and taking the rest of the time to recover.

Van Ryn essentially embodies the spirit of a team that feels its capable of more than many think.

Sometimes you like to be the underdog, he said. You dont really have any pressure to play, you just go out and do your job. It kind of even pushes you a little more too.

I have no problem with people saying that. I dont think anyone does.