Nolan Out Of First Round

Maple Leafs forward Owen Nolan will be out of the lineup at least until the end of the first round of the playoffs after suffering an injury to his knee in Saturday’s two all tie against the Ottawa Senators. Coach Pat Quinn said Nolan will be re-evaluated at the end of three weeks time.

Nolan was injured while delivering a bodycheck to the Senators’ Bryan Smolinski. As he went in for the hit, his leg seemed to buckle underneath him causing him to stumble awkwardly into Smolinski and fall subsequently to the ice in considerable pain. The irony is that Nolan was injured playing the sort of style he needs to in order to be successful. When Nolan plays the crash and bang style of hockey, he becomes an excellent part of the team.

The Leafs will take on the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at Air Canada Centre in what will be their final home game of the season.