NHL Preview Roundup: Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Islanders, Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders (7:00 p.m. ET)
The Toronto Maple Leafs proved too strong for the New York Islanders on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 as they beat the Americans 3-0 as Jonas Gustavsson got his third shutout of the season.
The Leafs were brilliant all round keeping the Islanders All-Star John Tavares at bay while the offence ratcheted up the score at the other end.
They will get another opportunity for a repeat on Tuesday when the Leafs face the Islanders in a second straight game this time at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.
"He's obviously been on a pretty good streak lately, and he still looked dangerous tonight," Lupul said. "Again we're going to have to shut him down (Tuesday)."
With the Islanders three game winning streak coming to an end on Monday against the Leafs, the team will be out for revenge. The surging Islanders had played brilliantly to deflect some of the gloom around the team but were back to square one against the
Leafs.
Toronto may well prove to be too strong once again and a victory on Tuesday will put them in the playoff spot at eighth since their rivals for the spot Washington Capitals face a tough game against the Eastern Conference’s second ranked Boston Bruins.
At home the Leafs have a greater chance of winning and if they perform in the same manner they can comfortably run out the winners and finally end a string of inconsistent records to move into eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals (7:00 p.m. ET)
The Boston Bruins slugged out in a tough encounter on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 with a 6-5 shootout victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in what was one of the best games of the 2011-12 season.
On Tuesday however, they will face a much easier opponent in the Washington Capitals who have underperformed recently and now are down to eighth in the Eastern Conference rankings.
The Bruins tough victory on Sunday will be a big boost to confidence and they would look to win against the Capitals and move to the top of the Conference where they are now in points with the New York Rangers.
The Capitals meanwhile have a tough task ahead of them. The Capitals have lost two games in row including a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins where they rallied from 2-0 down to secure an important point that kept them in the playoff rankings.
A defeat on Tuesday could send the Capitals out of the playoff position and they cannot take any chances.
There is hope for the Capitals however, the Bruins visited the White House on Monday to meet with the President of the United States Barack Obama, who toasted their last year Stanley Cup win but goaltender Tim Thomas refusal to attend may create an unnecessary
distraction in the Bruins locker room and may give the Capitals a slight mental edge over their illustrious opponents.
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