139 days removed from the last NHL game, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens will tune-up prior to their weekend playoff series openers against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively, in a fan-less environment at the Scotiabank Arena. The game can be viewed on Sportsnet or NHL Network at 8 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. pregame show).
The quality of the hockey tonight is going to be an intriguing storyline in and of itself. With the series openers coming up this weekend, the motivation to avoid injury is seemingly as high or higher than the average exhibition game.