Game Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers

Feb 3, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier (45) during the first period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs will head into New York with the same lineup that got them the win against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Maple Leafs twitter account confirmed the speculation.

That means for the second straight game Leafs forward David Clarkson will sit as a healthy scratch – much to the delight of the majority of Leafs Nation.

It’s a lot of blaming the contract, in my opinion. I digress.

The Leafs are in for a much bigger task against the Rangers than they were against the Oilers and they will need to play a full sixty minutes of smart hockey if they want to stay in the mix throughout the game.

Rick Nash has been a on a goal scoring tear this year so the focus should be on the enigmatic sniper all game long.

James Reimer will be in the cage for the Leafs as Bernier presumably continues to nurse those stitches in his leg.

There is still no timetable for Dion Phaneuf’s return from his hand injury as well.

Let’s take a look at the tale of the tape and the analytics report for the game.

Next: Tale of the Tape