The Leafs had a rough night penalty killing as the Pens tallied four powerplay goals on eight opportunities. Colby Armstrong and Michal Sivek tallied a pair of goals each for the Pens, while Konstantin Koltsov tallied the other Pens marker. Mikael Tellqvist had 5 goals against on 28 shots with one of them being an empty netter. Sebastian Caron made 33 saves for the win.
The Leafs were 0 for 7 on the powerplay. 8,281 fans crammed into the First Union Centre to watch the Pens home opener. The Leafs play Albany Saturday evening (7 pm ET) and Wilkes-Barre again on Monday night.
Scratches for the Leafs were all rookies: Defenceman Jay Harrison, and forwards Nathan Barrett and Riley Cote did not play. Dmitri Yakushin is in St. John’s, but probably won’t play until the Leafs get back home.
Leaf notes:
Congrats to Craig Mills, who was named the Leafs captain for the upcoming season. Nathan Dempsey and Bobby House were co-captains last season. Mills is the 10th captain in St. John’s history.
The Mike Minard saga continues. Minard, contrary to earlier reports, hasn’t reported to Memphis. He’s in Hamilton considering a buyout offer from Toronto.
A couple of more Newfoundlanders with AHL connections. Corner Brook native Jason King, who scored 63 goals for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL last season. He is playing without a contract but has impressed Manitoba coach Stan Smyl. Meanwhile, Patrick Yetman from St. John’s who was playing with Hartford has been loaned to the ECHL’s Augusta Lynx.
