It’s Toronto Maple Leafs game day! The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against another Original Six rival, the Detroit Red Wings. They’re coming off a 5-2 opening night win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Related: Easton Cowan Patiently Awaiting Maple Leafs’ Debut
Overall, their performance on opening night was a little flat. They looked disorganized at times, but that’s bound to happen in the first game of the season. With two days off and a practice in between, the hope is that they come out with a bit more jump and can carry that energy throughout the game.
Maple Leafs News:
There hasn’t been a ton of news surrounding the Maple Leafs since opening night. They’re still without Scott Laughton due to injury, and Joseph Woll remains away from the team on a leave of absence.
As for lineup news, it looks like Easton Cowan’s debut will have to wait. Cayden Primeau also won’t start tonight against the Red Wings, but his first game should come soon, with the Maple Leafs playing Monday afternoon and Tuesday night.
For the rest of the lineup, there’s nothing to suggest that Philippe Myers or Sammy Blais will draw in. They look to be healthy scratches again, but like Primeau, will likely be used during upcoming back-to-backs. Now that Toronto has the cap space to carry a few extra players, it should help take some pressure off guys playing all 82 games, allowing for more rest and hopefully fewer injuries.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 1-0
Top Scorers:
- William Nylander – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
- Morgan Rielly – 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
- John Tavares – 0 G, 2 A, 2P
- Steven Lorentz – 0 G, 2 A, 2P
- Calle Jarnkrok – 1 G, 1 A, 2P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz – 1-0-0, 2.01 GAA, .935 SV%
Detroit Red Wings
Season Record: 0-1-0
Top Scorers:
- Dylan Larkin – 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
- Patrick Kane – 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
- Moritz Seider – 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
Goalie Stats:
- Cam Talbot – 0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%
- John Gibson – 0-1-0, 8.06 GAA, .615 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers projected lineup article.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Matias Maccelli
Bobby McMann — John Tavares — William Nylander
Dakota Joshua — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Nicolas Roy — Calle Jarnkrok
Jake McCabe — Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz
Cayden Primeau
Scratched: Sammy Blais, Easton Cowan, Philippe Myers, Joseph Woll
Injured: Scott Laughton (lower body)
Status report:
Toronto is expected to dress the same lineup it used in a 5-2 season-opening win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Detroit Red Wings
Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond
Patrick Kane — Marco Kasper — Alex DeBrincat
Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher — Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
Jonatan Berggren — Michael Rasmussen — Mason Appleton
Ben Chiarot — Moritz Seider
Simon Edvinsson — Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Jacob Bernard-Docker — Albert Johansson
Cam Talbot
John Gibson
Scratched: James van Riemsdyk, Travis Hamonic, Elmer Soderblom
Injured: None
Status report:
The Red Wings activated van Riemsdyk from non-roster status Saturday; the forward is expected to make his Red Wings debut at the Maple Leafs in the second half of the home-and-home series on Monday. … Detroit assigned defenseman Erik Gustafsson to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The game can be watched on FDSNDET, SNP, SNW, SNO, CBC.
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 Red Wings 4-1 with the captain, Matthews leading the way.
