It’s Toronto Maple Leafs game day!
They’re entering the second half of a back-to-back today and are looking to bounce back after dropping their last two against the Detroit Red Wings. Tonight, they take on the Nashville Predators, who are also playing a back-to-back. The Predators currently sit second in the Central Division with a 2-0-1 record, whereas the Maple Leafs are 1-2-0 and sit fifth in the Atlantic Division.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 Loss to the Red Wings
Maple Leafs News:
There hasn’t been a ton of news regarding the Maple Leafs over the last few days. Yesterday, Easton Cowan made his NHL debut and played well. He was able to get into the lineup due to an injury to Steven Lorentz. However, today at practice Lorentz was present but skating alongside Sammy Blais and Philipp Myers, which indicates he’ll be out for his second straight game.
As of right now, there’s still no word on goaltender Joseph Woll. The team hasn’t provided any further updates regarding his status or timeline. As for Scott Laughton, who’s also out with an injury, he remains week-to-week and will stay out for the foreseeable future.
Lastly, since it’s the first back-to-back of the season, Anthony Stolarz will get the night off and newly acquired Cayden Primeau will make his Maple Leafs debut. As for the rest of the lineup, head coach Craig Berube said there will be no changes from yesterday’s game unless something comes up before puck drop.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 1-2
Top Scorers:
- Morgan Rielly – 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- William Nylander – 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- Calle Jarnkrok – 3 G, 0 A, 3 P
- Matthew Knies – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Nicolas Roy – 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz – 1-2-0, 3.05 GAA, .886 SV%
Nashville Predators
Season Record: 2-0-1
Top Scorers:
- Jonathan Marchessault – 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
- Erik Haula – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Filip Forsberg – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Ryan O’Reilly – 2 G, 0 A, 2 P
- Michael Bunting – 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
Goalie Stats:
- Juuse Saros – 2-0-1, 1.64 GAA, .947 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers projected lineup article.
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli — John Tavares — William Nylander
Nicholas Robertson — Max Domi — Bobby McMann
Dakota Joshua — Nicolas Roy — Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Simon Benoit
Cayden Primeau
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Sammy Blais, Philippe Myers, Joseph Woll
Injured: Scott Laughton (lower body), Steven Lorentz (upper body)
Status report
The Maple Leafs will use the same 18 skaters from a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. … Primeau will make his Toronto debut. … Lorentz skated for the second consecutive day, but the forward remains out.
Predators Projected Lineup
Filip Forsberg — Ryan O’Reilly — Joakim Kemell
Steven Stamkos — Fedor Svechkov — Luke Evangelista
Michael Bunting — Erik Haula — Jonathan Marchessault
Cole Smith — Michael McCarron — Tyson Jost
Adam Wilsby — Roman Josi
Brady Skjei — Nick Perbix
Spencer Stasteny — Justin Barron
Justus Annunen
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Ozzy Wiesblatt, Nick Blankenburg, Brady Martin
Injured: Nicolas Hague (upper body)
Status report
The Predators will use the same 18 skaters from their 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. … Martin, the No. 5 pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The game can be watched on TSN4, FDSNSO
As always, in my game day previews, I will give my prediction for the score of tonight’s game. I have the Maple Leafs beating the Predators 2-1 in overtime with Nylander scoring the OT winner.
