Mon Oct 13 11:07:45 2008

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Leafs host Blues in matinee

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(Sports Network) - Ron Wilson's home debut as Toronto head coach didn't exactly go as planned. Wilson will try to get his first home win this afternoon, as his Maple Leafs host the St. Louis Blues at Air Canada Centre.

Wilson, in his inaugural season on Toronto's bench after getting fired by San Jose this past offseason, was a winner in his coaching debut on Thursday, as his club knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings on the road.

However, his team fell behind 5-0 on Saturday against Montreal en route to a 6-1 home-opening setback. Vesa Toskala made 35 saves in beating Detroit last week, but allowed all six goals on 23 shots Saturday. He was replaced by Curtis Joseph, who stopped all 11 shots he faced.

Toskala will try to rebound against a St. Louis club in which he is 6-2-0 against lifetime with a 2.37 goals against average in eight games.

Jason Blake scored the lone goal for Toronto, with Alexei Ponikarovsky and Mike Van Ryn notching assists.

St. Louis also fell in defeat on Saturday after winning its season opener, as the Blues were defeated by the New York Islanders, 5-2.

Offseason acquisition Chris Mason made his Blues debut and yielded four goals on 33 shots. He was acquired from Nashville this past summer and will likely return to the bench today in favor of Manny Legace, who stopped 20 shots in beating Nashville on Friday.

Legace is 2-4-0 with a 2.98 GAA in six career starts versus the Maple Leafs.

Keith Tkachuk scored on Saturday, giving him three goals on the season. Brad Boyes also found the back of the net for a second straight game, while both Paul Kariya and Andy McDonald tallied two assists for a second consecutive contest.

St. Louis plays its second straight game on the road before returning home for a seven-game homestand. That residency begins on Thursday against Dallas.

The Blues have won three of their last four against the Maple Leafs, including a 3-2 win in Toronto in the lone meeting last year. St. Louis is unbeaten in its last seven at Toronto, going 6-0-0 with a tie in that span.