A. Gordon, Varlamov in for Caps

The Caps (well, some of the Caps) are just finishing up the morning skate here at Air Canada Centre. It was quite a scene before they went on, as about 8,000 people took in the Leafs skate from the seats in the lower bowl at the ACC.

Bruce Boudreau said Tom Poti did not make the trip and Shaone Morrisonn is also out (though he did skate today). None of the other injured guys (Semin, Gordon, Jurcina, Knuble and Laing) made the trip, either. Tyler Sloan, after playing both forward and defense last night, will be a defenseman this evening.

Andrew Gordon was recalled and will make his season debut for the Caps tonight. Gordon didn't get to Toronto in time for the morning skate, and he had quite a journey to get here. The Hershey Bears were in Binghamton last night, so Gordon rode the bus back to Herhsey after the game, then caught a ride to Philadelphia and flew to Toronto. Hey, whatever it takes to play your second NHL game, right?

Michal Neuvirth was sent down to make room for Gordon on the roster. Semyon Varlamov will start tonight, and Boudreau didn't say when Jose Theodore will play but that he is available.

Interestingly, when asked about Nicklas Backstrom (two points in five games) Boudreau tossed out the home-run hitter in baseball analogy -- that he can go 1-for-27 and then hit five homers in three games -- but to me at least, that hasn't been Backstrom's deal in past years. Yeah, maybe the points come in spurts at times, but he was their most consistent forward last year, and I don't think you can say that to this point this season.

That's all for now -- I am going on Leafs Lunch (it's on XM channel 204 in the U.S.) at 1 p.m. for some Caps-Leafs discussion ... and then it is time for a nap.