New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur tumbles during a collision with Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mike Brown (18) during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Thursday November 18, 2010.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank GunnFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press
It's been a tough few days for Leafs winger Mike Brown, who took a puck in the groin area off a Kris Versteeg slap shot at Wednesday's practice and hasn't been seen on the ice or around the team since.
Brown, who has become a fan favourite in Toronto as much for his play as his terrific moustache, was doubled over in pain after suffering the injury, and immediately hobbled to the bench for treatment. He has yet to return to skate with the team, and coach Ron Wilson said Luca Caputi will very likely take his spot tonight against the Sabres.
"Right now, I'm not expecting him to play," Wilson said.
No one with the Leafs has given a very graphic description of how serious the injury is, as the belief is he will recover from the "soreness" in the near future.
Notebook
- All eyes in the dressing room today were on Clarke MacArthur, who started his career with the Sabres and is making his first appearance back in Buffalo in a different uniform. If you missed it, my story on MacArthur's long road to Toronto is here, but his availability with media today is worth a listen, too, as he's always one of the more candid players on the team.
- Sabres coach Lindy Ruff on MacArthur's success in Toronto: "I'm not surprised. I think he's got some real good chemistry there with his line. That's so important when you can find the right mix of players and you can keep them together. He looks determined, too. You know he's at the hump in his career and he looks determined to make a difference. I think he was getting close to it [in Buffalo]"
- Both Jonas Gustavsson and Ryan Miller are expected to start back-to-back tonight and tomorrow in key divisional games. More on Miller's dominance over the Leafs is here.
- Wilson on Miller, who he worked with at the Olympics: "His concentration level is unbelievable. In traffic, he finds pucks, and things like that. He's cerebral, too. He thinks the game, he knows the other teams pretty well, knows their tendancies, studies the shooters so every goal you score on him you've had to earn it."
- Wilson on Miller's dominance over the Leafs: "I have no idea [why it's happened] If I had the answer, we'd score a lot more goals."
- Wilson on his team's penalty killing of late: "The one goal was the best pass I've seen all year, Mike Komisarek's pass to Cammalleri [that led to a goal against in last week's game against Montreal] It had nothing to do with our penalty killing - that was a mental mistake."
With Brown out, the Leafs lineup looks like so:
MacArthur - Grabovski - Kulemin Kadri - Bozak - Kessel Sjostrom - Brent - Versteeg Caputi - Mitchell - Orr
Kaberle - Schenn Beauchemin - Komisarek Gunnarsson - Aulie
Gustavsson
Sabres lineup
Ennis - Roy - Vanek Stuart - Hecht - Pominville Gerbe - Adam - Kaleta McCormick - Gaustad - Grier
Sekera - Myers Leipold - Montador Weber - Morrisonn
Miller