The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. This is the last stop on their long six game road trip that they have done pretty well on. Now they look to push their record to 4-2 before returning home to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Related: Maple Leafs Weekly: Injuries, Hughes & Coleman
It is no secret that the Maple Leafs have had a bad start to the season. But this road trip has helped them move back up the standings and they now sit just four points behind the Canadiens for second in the Atlantic. They come into the game against the Hurricanes winners of two straight and will look to extend that to three in a row.
Maple Leafs News:
The Maple Leafs have slowly gotten players back to full health. However, yesterday head coach Craig Berube provided some more insight into how long they will be without Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo and Anthony Stolarz. He said that Carlo would probably require surgery. As for Tanev and Stolarz, there is not a timeline for their return yet, but he did mention that Tanev has started to skate.
In other news, the Maple Leafs are electing to go with the same lineup that beat the Panthers the other night. Which means that Joseph Woll will be the starter and Leafs Nation will get to see the new found third line attempt to dominate three straight games. Lastly, according to RG Media, Toronto and the Dallas Stars are two teams that have shown very strong interest in Calgary Flames forward Blake Coleman. He fits a need that the team has, but being able to meet the asking price will be a bit difficult for them. We will see where this goes over the next few weeks to months.
Lastly, Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines during the second intermission of the Maple Leafs game that the organization isn’t planning on making any major organizational changes at this time. Which means that both Brad Treliving and Berube’s jobs are safe.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 12-11-3 ( 27 pts)
Top Scorers:
- William Nylander – 11 G, 21 A, 32 P
- John Tavares – 13 G, 16 A, 29 P
- Matthew Knies – 6 G, 20 A, 26 P
- Morgan Rielly – 4 G, 16 A, 20 P
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson – 4 G, 16 A, 20 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz – 6-5-1, 3.51 GAA, .884 SV%
- Joseph Woll – 3-3-1, 2.53 GAA, .924 SV%
- Dennis Hildeby – 1-2-1, 3.07 GAA, .914 SV%
Carolina Hurricanes
Season Record: 16-7-2 (34 pts)
Top Scorers:
- Sebastian Aho – 8 G, 16 A, 24 P
- Seth Jarvis – 15 G, 7 A, 22 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 3 G, 15 A, 18 P
- Nikolaj Ehlers – 5 G, 11 A, 16 P
- Jackson Blake – 6 G, 9 A, 15 P
Goalie Stats:
- Frederik Andersen – 5-6-2, 3.07 GAA, .878 SV%
- Brandon Bussi – 7-1-0, 2.11 GAA, .908 SV%
- Pyotr Kochetkov – 4-0-0, 1.70 GAA, .926 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Max Domi
Easton Cowan — John Tavares — William Nylander
Dakota Joshua — Nicolas Roy — Bobby McMann
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Nicholas Robertson
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Troy Stetcher
Simon Benoit — Phillippe Myers
Joseph Woll
Dennis Hildeby
Scratched: Calle Jarnkrok, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Mermis
Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body)
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Nikolaj Ehlers — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
William Carrier — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
Taylor Hall — Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere — Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin — Joel Nystrom
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Scratched: Mike Reilly
Injured: Jaccob Slavin (lower body), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (lower body), Pyotr Kochetkov (undisclosed)
