The Toronto Maple Leafs should get Nikolai Kulemin for tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The 27-year-old forward declared himself good to go yesterday, according to TSN’s Mark Masters.
Kulemin hasn’t played since Oct. 2 because of a chipped bone in his ankle. Although he’s regressed since his 30-goal campaign in 2010-11, he remains a valuable secondary scorer.
The Maple Leafs have got by just fine without his added offense though. They’re tied with the Phoenix Coyotes for third place in the NHL in goals per game and sit atop the Atlantic Division standings with a 10-4-0 record.
Almost everything seems to be going right for the Maple Leafs so far this season and they’ll have an opportunity to sweep their three-game road trip tonight. That being said, the Vancouver Canucks are a tough opponent and have just a mildly worse record at 9-5-1.
This will be a big night for Vancouver as Pavel Bure’s number (10) is being retired and Daniel and Henrik Sedin will play for the first time since signing matching contract extensions.