The Official Start Time for Tonight's Delayed Maple Leafs Game Has Been Announced
The game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings will start slightly later than anticipated due to the Hockey Hall of Fame ceremony beforehand.
The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomes David Poile, Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Colin Campbell, Pavel Datsyuk, and more to their hallowed halls on Friday night, with a ceremony preceding the Maple Leafs/Red Wings game. It will be a night filled with memories when these players and builders are enshrined in history.
However, the actual hockey game that comes after will be dropping the puck about 20 minutes after originally anticipated:
It's a slight delay but for a good reason. These people must be recognized for their achievements, accomplishments, and contributions to the game of hockey. With the Hockey Hall of Fame situated in Toronto, and headlined by a Detroit Red Wing, the timing makes sense.
Toronto will have to wait a little bit longer to get on the ice, again without their captain Auston Matthews, who was placed on injured reserve earlier on Friday and is expected to miss some time. Matthews has been dealing with an upper-body injury that may contribute to his slow start this year.
The Maple Leafs have no problems without their captain in their lineup and will look to build upon their 36-19-2 record without their superstar. It will be up to Craig Berube's team to keep their momentum going after a spectacular 4-0 win over their heated rivals, the Boston Bruins.
Toronto also shouldn't rush Matthews back into action, as they want to make sure their superstar captain isn't going to re-aggravate anything or be a detriment due to any nagging injuries.
It looks like Toronto is also going to keep the same lines they had when they faced Boston, however this could change at any moment as Craig Berube is known to make last-minute changes.
The Maple Leafs/Red Wings game will start now at approximately 7:23 PM ET, although this could change depending on extenuating circumstances.
| POLL | ||
Will the game delay affect the Maple Leafs against the Red Wings? | ||
| Yes | 26 | 11.6 % |
| No | 199 | 88.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
