EDMONTON–Captain Mats Sundin is getting the night off, but when the Maple Leafs take to the ice for their first pre-season game tonight, coach Paul Maurice will have some intriguing line combinations.
Kyle Wellwood returns to his natural centre position after playing most of last season on right wing. He'll be flanked by Alexei Ponikarovsky and Darcy Tucker on a line that features speed, skill, grit and a behemoth in Ponikarovsky.
Matt Stajan will centre the second unit with speedster Jeremy Williams, who played most of last season with the Toronto Marlies, and Simon Gamache, a career minor leaguer with some scoring punch hoping finally to crack the NHL.
Chad Kilger might also get some time at centre with Finnish star Tony Salmelainen and rookie hopeful Jiri Tlusty.
And three tough guys – Wade Belak, Kris Newbury and Ben Ondrus – will dress as the fourth line.
On defence, the pairings for Tuesday night's game are: Bryan McCabe-Carlo Colaiacovo, Tomas Kaberle-Bryan Muir, Jay Harrison-Derek Walser.
Justin Pogge is expected to play the full 60 minutes in goal.
Tonight's game is the first of three in a row. The Leafs play the Coyotes in Winnipeg on Wednesday night, and at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday.
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