The Leafs are hosting the Detroit Red Wings tonight in the second of a back-to-back weekend. The Leafs had a solid 5-3 win last night when the New York Rangers were in town. Detroit had the benefit of an afternoon game yesterday at their home arena against the Panthers, giving them a little bit more time to rest before tonight’s contest.
So far this season, the Leafs have played the Red Wings twice, going 1-0-1 in those games. They will play tonight, and then once more later in the year, getting four total games against their division rival.
The scoring for the Leafs has been on fire lately, scoring 18 goals in their last 3 games, so they’ll look to have another scoring festival tonight.
Leafs Lines
Since the Leafs played last night, the morning skate should only have the players who aren’t playing tonight. The lines will be updated after the skate, but for now, let’s assume they’ll run the same lineup they did last night, but with a change in the starting goalie.
After the injury to Tyler Ennis last night, it is expected that Trevor Moore will take his place on the minimally-used Leafs 4th line.
It’s also expected that Justin Holl will play on the bottom pairing tonight, with Igor Ozhiganov being out with an illness and Martin Marincin having played the last 2 games in his place.
LW | C | RW | Forwards |
---|---|---|---|
![]() ANDREAS JOHNSSON |
![]() JOHN TAVARES |
![]() MITCH MARNER |
|
![]() PATRICK MARLEAU |
![]() AUSTON MATTHEWS |
![]() KASPERI KAPANEN |
|
![]() CONNOR BROWN |
![]() NAZEM KADRI |
![]() WILLIAM NYLANDER |
|
![]() PAR LINDHOLM |
![]() FREDERIK GAUTHIER |
Trevor Moore |
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
---|---|---|
![]() MORGAN RIELLY |
![]() RON HAINSEY |
|
![]() JAKE GARDINER |
![]() NIKITA ZAITSEV |
|
![]() TRAVIS DERMOTT |
Justin Holl
|
GOALIES | |
---|---|
![]() GARRET SPARKS |
Red Wings Lines
The same assumption was made for the Wings, that they will use the same roster that they used last night. Since former Leaf Jonathan Bernier got the start last night, the Leafs will likely face Jimmy Howard in goal instead.
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
---|---|---|
![]() NIKLAS KRONWALL |
![]() NICK JENSEN |
|
![]() DENNIS CHOLOWSKI |
![]() TREVOR DALEY |
|
![]() JONATHAN ERICSSON |
![]() FILIP HRONEK |
GOALIES | ||
---|---|---|
Preview
The Leafs are quite clearly the better team on paper, but with division rivals, we know well that anything can happen. The Red Wings have struggled so far this season, and the Leafs have had a lot of success, but this game will still be a challenge as much as any NHL game will.
In this competition, it will be important for the Leafs to be focused on these three Keys to the Game:
- Stay focused!
- No game is easy
- Keep the powerplay going
- The Leafs PP has been hard to stop lately
- Protect Sparks
- He has struggled of late, so keep the shots easy and to the outside
The game starts at 7:30 pm tonight, and will be broadcast on Sportsnet. See you there, and Go Leafs Go!
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