The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against one of their biggest rivals, the Boston Bruins, for the second time in less than a week. The first game didn’t go the way the Maple Leafs had hoped. They started out playing really well through the first 40 minutes, but the third period was their downfall and they ended up losing 5-4.
Related: 3 Big Questions After Another Maple Leafs Loss to the Hurricanes
It feels like every Game Day Preview starts the same way. Talking about the team’s struggles. They can’t seem to build much consistency. A few good games and then it’s right back to square one. Their last game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night was rough. The Hurricanes skated circles around them in the third period, outshooting them 22-2 and scoring another late goal that cost Toronto the game.
Tonight, they’ll look to turn things around and start another winning streak. They need to get back to the drawing board and figure out what’s gone wrong, and fast. If not, they could find themselves near the bottom of the Atlantic Division by the quarter mark of the season. Not exactly what Maple Leafs fans had in mind coming into the year.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at TD Gardens in Boston and can be viewed on CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP, and NESN.
Maple Leafs News:
The Maple Leafs will be without Scott Laughton, who was injured in Saturday night’s game against the Bruins. He took a hard hit from Nikita Zadorov and didn’t return. After the game, Craig Berube said there’s no timeline for his return. In other news, Joseph Woll started his rehab conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. His first game was Saturday against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he stopped 21 of 24 shots in 30 minutes of play. There’s no set date for his return to the Maple Leafs, but with how shaky their goaltending has been, it would make sense to get him back as soon as possible.
Also, yesterday, former Maple Leafs forward Alex Mogilny was finally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This was long overdue and he definitely deserves it. Mogilny played three seasons in Toronto, putting up 166 points in 176 games. Lastly, the David Kampf situation continues. According to Elliotte Friedman, the biggest roadblock could be his signing bonus.
“I have heard return of the signing bonus has come up in the middle of this,” Friedman said. “So I am thinking that either the Maple Leafs said, ‘hey, there’s clawback language here and we’re going to enforce it,’ or the league has said, ‘hey, there’s language here that we want you to enforce.’”
It seems the Kampf saga isn’t ending anytime soon.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 8-7-1 (17 pts)
Top Scorers:
- William Nylander – 8 G, 15 A, 23 P
- John Tavares – 9 G, 12 A, 21 P
- Matthew Knies – 5 G, 15 A, 20 P
- Auston Matthews – 9 G, 5 A, 14 P
- Morgan Rielly – 2 G, 11 A, 13 P
Goalie Stats:
Anthony Stolarz – 6-5-1, 3.35 GAA, .899 SV%
Dennis Hildeby – 1-0-1, 3.96 GAA, .910 SV%
Boston Bruins
Season Record: 10-7-0 (20 pts)
Top Scorers:
- David Pastrnak – 8 G, 11 A, 19 P
- Morgan Geekie – 11 G, 4 A, 15 P
- Pavel Zacha – 4 G, 10 A, 14 P
- Charlie McAvoy – 0 G, 12 A, 12 P
- Elias Lindholm – 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
Goalie Stats:
Jeremy Swayman – 6-4-0, 3.09 GAA, .899 SV%
Joonas Korpisalo – 4-3-0, 3.24 GAA, .885 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Nicholas Robertson
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander
Dakota Joshua — Nicolas Roy — Matias Maccelli
Steven Lorentz — — Max Domi — Sammy Blais
Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Philippe Myers
Simon Benoit — Jake McCabe
Anthony Stolarz
Dennis Hildeby
Scratched: Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis
Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Scott Laughton (upper body)
Bruins Projected Lineup
Morgan Geekie — Marat Khusnutdinov — David Pastrnak
Alex Steeves — Pavel Zacha — Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot — Fraser Minten — Mark Kastelic
Jeffrey Viel — Sean Kuraly — Michael Eyssimont
Nikita Zadorov — Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm — Andrew Peeke
Mason Lohrei — Henri Jokiharju
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Jonathan Aspirot
Injured: Elias Lindholm (lower body), Jordan Harris (surgery), Casey Mittelstadt (lower body), Johnny Beecher (upper body)
