The Leafs have had the week off since beating the Ottawa Senators 6-5 last Saturday at the Air Canada Centre to remain undefeated after beating the Habs and Sens to start the year.

This past week has seen the team make a trip to Trenton, ON, to get in some practice and team bonding. The hope was that a week off would also give Tim Connolly time to heal from his upper-body injury that has forced the 30-year old to miss both of Toronto’s first two regular season games. That is not the case however as Connolly’s injury is more serious than initially thought and he will be out of the lineup for an unknown amount of time.

The good news for the Leafs is that they will get Clarke MacArthur back in the lineup. MacArthur missed the first two regular season games due to a suspension for a hit on Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader in the pre-season. MacArthur also suffered an infection to his elbow late last week. While it remains sore, he will re-join his usual linemates, skating on the top line alongside Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin.

Saturday’s meeting with the Flames is the first of two games this season between the two clubs. Last season, Calgary won both games which included a 2-1 shootout victory on Jan. 15 in Toronto.

Leafs captain and former Flame Dion Phaneuf will face his former team for just the third time since being traded to Toronto on Jan. 31, 2010. In two games against Calgary since the deal, Phaneuf has yet to register a point. He is off to a great start this season however with a goal and two assists. Dating back to last season, Phaneuf has 25 points in his last 38 games.

After sitting out the first two games as a healthy scratch, and voicing his displeasure about doing so publicly, Cody Franson will make his Leafs debut. Franson will play on the third defensive pairing alongside Mike Komisarek. Normally used to playing right defence, Franson will have to make the adjustment to playing the unfamiliar left side on his pairing. In order to make room for Franson, rookie Jake Gardiner will sit out as a healthy scratch.

James Reimer gets the start in net after winning both of his starts to begin the season. Reimer shutout Montreal to begin the year and got a win despite allowing five goals on 32 shots in his last start against Ottawa. This will be Reimer’s first career start against the Flames. Last season, J.S. Giguere got the start in both games between the two teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Joffrey Lupul – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Matt Frattin – Matthew Lombardi – Colby Armstrong
Mike Brown – David Steckel – Philippe Dupuis

Defencemen
Carl Gunnarsson – Dion Phaneuf
John-Michael Liles – Luke Schenn
Cody Franson – Mike Komisarek

Goalies
James Reimer
Jonas Gustavsson

The Flames come into Toronto having won their first game of the season on Thursday, picking up a 4-1 victory in Montreal.

Calgary got off to an 0-2 start but were led to their first win of the year by Rene Bourque who had two goals against the Habs and was named first star of the game. Miikka Kiprusoff was also a key factor in that win, making 35 saves for third star honours.

Saturday’s game in Toronto will mark just the second time that former Leafs Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman have played in the ACC since being dealt to Calgary in the Phaneuf trade. In two games against the Leafs last season, Hagman played well, registering a goal and three assists. Stajan meanwhile had a goal and an assist.

It’s been a good start to the season for Alex Tanguay, who has four assists in three games and leads the team in points. Throughout his career, Tanguay has traditionally played well against the Leafs, registering seven goals and eleven assists for 18 points in 16 career games.

Kiprusoff will get the start in net after picking up the victory in Montreal. That win was the 263rd of his career, surpassing Mike Vernon to become the Flames’ all-time leader in wins. In nine career games against Toronto, Kiprusoff is 6-1-1 while posting a 2.73 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with one shutout.

Calgary Flames Projected Lines

Forwards
Alex Tanguay – David Moss – Jarome Iginla
Curtis Glencross – Olli Jokinen – Lee Stempniak
Niklas Hagman – Matt Stajan – Rene Bourque
Tom Kostopoulos – Roman Horack – Tim Jackman

Defencemen
Jay Bouwmeester – Chris Butler
Scott Hannan – Mark Giordano
Cory Sarich – Derek Smith

Goalies
Miikka Kiprusoff
Henrik Karlsson

Flames vs. Leafs gets underway at 7PM ET. The game will be broadcast on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and AM640.

For up-to-the-minute Leafs news and updates, be sure to follow Ken Beckett on Twitter @KenBeckett

EDMONTON – After a quiet two periods, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(notes) produced the fireworks the Edmonton crowd was craving.

The No. 1 selection in this year’s NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers scored two late goals to pull White to a 5-4 win over Red in an intra-squad game at the Canadian junior hockey team’s summer development camp Saturday.

The Red Deer Rebels centre scored the winner with 40 seconds remaining in the game after tying the contest at 16:32.

The game drew 6,391 to Rexall Place, many of whom paid $ 12 a ticket to get a glimpse of the player expected to be an major part of the Oilers’ future. They were chanting his name at the end of the game.

“I had a little bit of a slow start, but I think I started to pick it up in the second period,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “After the second period I just had to relax myself and calm down a bit and re-group.

“I’ve played here a bunch of times against the Oil Kings. It’s not my first time in the building, but it was definitely a good atmosphere.”

Devante Smith-Pelly(notes) of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors was a standout player for White. In addition to a goal and an assist, the Anaheim Ducks prospect threw several hard checks in the first period.

Smith-Pelly sparked White’s comeback with a power-play goal in the third period when his team was trailed 4-1.

“Smith-Pelly I thought was the best player on the ice,” head coach Don Hay stated. “Physically he really went after people. He was a force and you knew he was on the ice every shift he had. He took pucks hard to the net, was able to a score a goal and got an assist.”

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Quinton Howden(notes) and Christian Thomas(notes) of the Oshawa Generals also scored for White. Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs contributed a pair of assists.

Mark Stone(notes), a sixth-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, had two goals and an assist for Red. Saginaw Spirit defenseman Jamie Oleksiak had a goal and an assist and Jonathan Huberdeau of the Saint John Sea Dogs also scored for Red.

Edmonton Oiler forward Ryan Smyth(notes) served as celebrity coach for the Red team and between-jobs NHL coach Ken Hitchcock was behind the bench for White.

The six-day camp ends Sunday with an intra-squad game in Fort McMurray, Alta., at the Casman Centre.

Mark Visentin(notes) of the Niagara IceDogs is the only goaltender of the four invited who has previous experience playing for the Canadian junior team. Visentin started in net for Red and stopped 17-of-18 shots. Louis Domingue of the Quebec Remparts made 19 saves on 23 shots in relief.

Tyler Bunz of the Medicine Hat Tigers was the first goalie in net for White and he was busier than Visentin, making 19 saves on 21 shots. Scott Wedgewood(notes) of the Plymouth Whalers then made 24 saves on 26 shots.

Trailing 4-1 five minutes into the third period, Smith-Pelly, Howden and then Nugent-Hopkins with a pair capped the comeback. Nugent-Hopkins beat Domingue between the pads for the winner and got a backhand by Domingue to tie the game.

While the players got their game legs under them, the first period was fairly wide open. The second period produced more extracurricular shoving and trash-talking after whistles as the two sides began to build some animosity towards each other.

About 35 players will be invited to selection camp in December and from that group, 22 will be chosen to represent Canada at the world junior championship starting Dec. 26. Canada opens the tournament versus Finland at Rexall Place.