Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson was hoping Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller, who has won all three of his games against Toronto this season, gets Monday night off when the Sabres visit Toronto. (Dave Sanford/Getty Images)

HNIC's senior online reporter Tim Wharnsby dishes out the latest news, buzz and inside information in the hockey world.

1. Wilson’s wishful thinking

After his Maple Leafs enjoyed a 2-0 victory at home against Boston on Saturday, Toronto coach Ron Wilson was looking ahead to his team’s next game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, a team that has beaten the Leafs eight consecutive times.

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has been outstanding against the Leafs. So Wilson joked that Sabres backup Patrick Lalime played well enough in his team’s 2-1 shootout loss to Pittsburgh that he deserved another shot in goal on Monday.

Wilson, who doubles as the United States Olympic men’s team coach, will rely heavily on Miller at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Wilson has seen enough of Miller. Three of Miller’s 20 wins have been against Toronto this season. Wilson remarked that Miller can stop auditioning for the Olympic starting job, because he already has earned it.

“It is amazing that Ryan Miller didn't play against Pittsburgh,” Wilson said. "Why wouldn't Lalime, the backup, go against the lowly Leafs, and Miller take on Pittsburgh? But that's another story. I think Lalime played well, so he should probably get another start."

2. Snowbound Canadiens

The Canadiens were feeling good about the return of defenceman Andrei Markov and ending a four-game losing streak with a 3-0 road victory, but that emotion was swiftly replaced with frustration because of the blizzard that hit the New York area on Saturday. Even though the team was bused to the airport and the Canadiens boarded their plane, the high winds kept them on the ground. But instead of returning immediately to the hotel for a good night’s sleep, the Canadiens had to wait more than two hours before the team bus returned.

They passed the time with a meal and watching the movie Inglorious Basterds. The Canadiens eventually landed safely in Atlanta late on Sunday afternoon for their game against the Thrashers on Monday.

3. Campbell scoring with new sticks

Blackhawks defenceman Brian Campbell has never been a big scorer from the blue-line. His best season was 12 goals for the Buffalo Sabres back in 2005-06.

But he was concerned this season about his shot. So he watched videotape much like a golfer would to study his technique and he changed his sticks. He has two goals in his past three games.

"It's a little bit stronger in the hosel of the stick, just to enable me to get the shot up," Campbell told the Chicago Daily Herald. "It's not bending as much in that area anymore. The shot feels like it's coming off quicker and harder.

"I'm able to shoot higher on a lot of my shots, which is a benefit a lot of times for a defenceman because, obviously, the goaltender is going down, and even guys going down to block shots are lying down so you have to get it over them. And when there's a screen in front you want to shoot for the higher areas."

4. Blues respond to GM’s words

St. Louis general manager Larry Pleau had seen enough after his team dropped a 6-3 decision at home to another struggling team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, on Friday. So he visited the dressing room following the game and expressed his displeasure with his players.

The offensively challenged Blues played much better in their next game, beating the Canucks in Vancouver 3-1 on Sunday. A big part of St. Louis’s struggles has been their goal scoring. The Blues have produced a league-low 84 goals in 34 games. Only St. Louis and Boston don’t have a 10-goal scorer at this point in the season.

5. Colts trotting over the competition

If there was one team that didn’t want to break for the Christmas holidays, it was the Barrie Colts. The OHL junior club piled up its 20th and 21st consecutive wins over the weekend, even though one of the Colts top players, forward Stefan Della Rovere, is with the Canadian junior team.

The Colts have not lost since Oct. 24 and are within four wins of matching the OHL record of 25 wins in a row, set by the 1983-84 Kitchener Rangers. Barrie visits the current Rangers on Dec. 29 to try to extend its streak against a Kitchener team that is among the elite clubs in the OHL this season.