Toronto St. Patricks v. Chicago Blackhawks

On Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs will honor the historic Toronto St. Patricks era by donning the green and white instead of the blue and white.

It’s set to be an epic game when the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against another Original Six team and rival, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Leafs will be in green as opposed to blue and it should prove to be an aesthetically pleasing evening, among other things.

This will be the second time the Leafs will wear St. Pats uniforms since the team name was changed to that of their current name after the 1926-27 season. The first being 2 March 2002 against the Buffalo Sabres that ended in a 3-3 tie.

Toronto St. Patricks Era

Prior to the St. Pats being the St. Pats, the team was called the Toronto Arenas. Long story short, ownership became bankrupt and was forced to sell the franchise. The rights were then purchased by a group of investors who were tied to another amateur club called the “St. Patricks”.

So, they renamed the Arenas to the St. Patricks (St. Pats for short) and the team remained as the St. Pats until 1927, winning one Stanley Cup under the name.

The club was then sold to Conn Smythe and other investors who renamed the team to what we all know and love, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although, the Toronto St. Pats does have a nice ring to it if you ask me.

And it’s not like the jerseys they’ll be wearing tonight aren’t half bad, have a look.

Leafs v. Blackhawks History

The two teams have played each other 684 times and Toronto has won 52.1% of all contests. The overall record for the Leafs against Chicago is 308-279-97 – I wrote ‘Toronto’ and ‘Chicago’ instead of the team names because they have varied over time.

Since the Blackhawks are in the Western Conference, the two teams play each other just twice a year and so far the Leafs are down one game. The first game between the two this season, the Blackhawks won 5-4 in a shootout.

With just a quick glance at the statistics from their game earlier this season, a few things jump out. The shots were pretty even, the Blackhawks controlled the faceoff circle, the Leafs took too many penalties but, their penalty kill was straight fire, the Leafs were far more physical and were able to get their bodies in front of the puck more often.

Preview

Coming into tonight’s game, the Blackhawks own a 45-20-5 record. They sit first in the Central Division and fourth overall with 95 points. The Leafs have a 32-23-14 record and are sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, good for 16th overall with 78 points.

The Blackhawks are red hot right now with an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games while their counterparts in the Leafs possess a mediocre record of 4-3-3 in their last 10. It should prove to be a good game because, at this point in the season, the Leafs need every two points available and an Original Six matchup is always fun to watch.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM, live from Toronto.