Oliver Bjorkstrand leads Blue Jackets past Sabres, 6-4

The Maple Leafs over/under win total is 32.5, which is 2.5 games higher than their 30 wins compiled last season. They have a few nice young players and Mike Babcock should keep them competitive, but they’re not there yet.

“I have a pretty good idea of the way he plays”, Ouellet said.

Fifteen years after draft day, a local cult hero is finally going to get the opportunity to live out his dream. “I coach the Leafs”. Phil Kessel’s already gone, and nearly no one on the roster is untouchable.

Abdelkader and Miller scored three minutes apart in the first period to give Detroit a 2-1 lead. What will the Red Wings’ power-play look like this season?

“And we’re going to fix that”. That’s going to count for something. “We’re going to be a skating team, a team that is going to move quick and with pace”. Part of it may be the Leafs starting to find themselves in Babcock’s system. His Canadian Olympic team had the puck so much that it dominated the tournament.

“I spent 10 great years here, my children grew up here, I still have a place here”, he said before the game. “We plan on having the puck”.

Or as Zetterberg noted, “I don’t think the off switch was off when he left the rink”. “It’s been a long camp but it’s been a lot of fun. I think his experience will help us out a lot”.

The Leafs veteran players who are locks to start the season and play prominent roles failed to make an impression, while the most noticeable performers were rookies William Nylander and Connor Brown.

“He is very structured”, captain Dion Phaneuf said of Babcock.

Top prospect Dylan Larkin didn’t figure in the scoring but continued to make a strong case for earning a roster spot, making several good plays with his speed and passing skills.

“I look at the process more than the results (in the preseason) and our process has been good”, coach Jeff Blashill said. “You probably say hi, skate on and do your thing”.

He was understandably greeting by a large throng of Detroit media – as well as the travelling Leaf media – who were eager to hear how things were going, and his emotions upon returning, and what he missed about Detroit.

“I was saying tonight when I got here it’s been 12 years I guess since I was with another team when you think about the lockout”, said Babcock, whose last time behind the visitors bench here was January 3, 2004, during his second and last season as coach of the Anaheim Ducks.

“It was time for us to get a new voice in the locker-room and maybe time for him to try something else”, Detroit forward Johan Franzen said.

“We were on the phone a couple times a week”, Blashill added. We’re still getting confused there. “I’m Mike Babcock from Saskatoon”. Overall, I’ve seen a more aggressive and cohesive squad on the ice with the man-advantage. Kadri needs to score more. “Right now we need to focus on our own game, set that aside”.

While Kadri’s development has come in fits and spurts, he’s unquestionably evolved from the sort of player he was five or six years ago when he was first attempting to break into the Maple Leafs lineup.