Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aim to keep their to streak alive tonight as they close out this week’s brief series with the Montreal Canadiens. The atmosphere surrounding tonight’s game is vastly different from that which surrounded Wednesday, with Montreal falling to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday to the tune of 3-0, while the Leafs have had two days off to bask in the glory of their 4-2 win over their fiercest competition.
The Canadiens are 3-4-0 in their last seven games. Aside from pumping the Canucks for 11 goals in two games in that span, the Canadiens have scored six goals in the other five games combined.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 12, 2021
Montreal’s loss to Edmonton has sent the team into something of a tailspin, dropping three of their last four games with the sole win being a narrow 2-1 victory over the lowly Ottawa Senators. With points evaporating much quicker than normal in the shortened season and no Vancouver Canucks in their foreseeable future, desperation may start to sink in sooner rather than later. While it may be a little early for Montreal to be circling this matchup as a Must Win, falling behind your toughest competition by seven points early on is likely something that they aren’t looking to do, so look for tonight to be a tight affair.
While no game against the hated Montreal Canadiens is ever truly stress free, tonight feels about as close to zen as one can get. Heading into this two game stanza, the Leafs only needed to take one of two in order to ensure they held onto their division lead. Their win Wednesday coupled with Montreal’s loss Thursday has put them five points clear of the Habs for first in the North Division, meaning even should the Leafs lose tonight, they are still two games clear of Montreal for first. Win streaks, as great as it would be, can’t last forever, but with three games against the Ottawa Senators in the coming week, the Leafs will have ample opportunity to make up any points they would drop should either their four game win streak or nine game point streak come to an end.
Lineups
Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Leafs player to watch: Jimmy Vesey and Pierre Engvall
Joe Thornton not yet cleared to play. Leafs will see how he is after Sunday's practice. Monday vs. Sens a possibility.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 13, 2021
With Joe Thornton on the verge of returning to the lineup, the Leafs will have to make a decision on who comes out in his stead. While Vesey and Engvall haven’t been (for the most part) complete liabilities, they haven’t exactly made strong cases to be staples of the lineup either. A strong game from either could potentially buy them a bit more time in the lineup while another lackluster game could be the straw that break Sheldon Keefe’s back.
Canadiens player to watch: Corey Perry
OOOF.
Corey Perry hit on Justin Holl. #GoHabsGo
🎥 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/P85MlBQSdA— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) February 11, 2021
With the Habs trailing, Corey Perry took a run at Justin Holl with a questionable hit. Look for him to remove his head from the trash can he’s feasting from to try and inject some energy for the Habs as the look to stop their skid.
Leafs starting goalie: Frederik Andersen
NHL even-strength SV% leaders since Jan. 18 (min. 6 starts):
1. Jake Allen: .956
2. Frederik Andersen: .945— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) February 13, 2021
Jori had an excellent article earlier today outlining Andersen’s return to form as a top flight goaltender in the NHL. The resurgent goaltender looks to notch his tenth career win against Montreal.
Canadiens starting goalie: Carey Price
Victor Mete comes in for Brett Kulak tonight against the Maple Leafs, Carey Price in net, per Claude Julien.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) February 13, 2021
Slowly but surely, Habs fans have begun to sour on the goaltender once considered the face of the franchise. While Andersen has been able to rebound, Price’s save% remains below .900 on the season, and the more the subpar starts pile up, the more Habs fans have been refreshing Carey Price’s Puckpedia to see how much is left on his contract (five years after this one at $10.5 million with a full no movement clause fo those still wondering.)
Coverage starts 7:00 p.m. EST on Sportsnet