The Leafs snuck out a great win last night in Toronto against the Bruins with a late comeback to win in OT. This was an important division rivalry game and they get a second opportunity tonight to beat the B’s, this time in Boston.

Coming off of a good home stand, winning 3 straight at the ACC, the Leafs get another test on the road. The return from the last road trip was a somber one, as the Leafs lost 3 of 4 on their trip out west.  Here’s hoping a match-up against an abundantly familiar foe they’ve played just the night before will prove more fruitful.

According to James Mirtle, the Leafs will be without Auston Matthews again tonight. He also indicated that, as many would have expected/feared, Curtis McElhinney will be the starter on this 2nd game in 2 nights.

For the Bruins, one would expect that Rask would come in to start the 2nd game of the back-to-back with the Leafs. Otherwise I’d think they would use the same lineup from last night.

Keep an eye on DailyFaceoff for today’s update on the Leafs and the Bruins.

McElhinney vs. Rask is a scary match-up for the Leafs. Even with last night’s lineup, I think the Leafs still have the edge given all the injuries the Bruins have suffered. But the Leafs should focus even harder than normal on keeping the Bruins out of their zone. Any opportunity for a look against McElhinney could prove a dagger in the heart.

Chaos can be fun, so seeing the Leafs shuffle things around to make up for the loss of Matthews has been interesting. That said, I was hoping Matthews would come in tonight as a fresh player and be able to give the Leafs a bigger advantage. Being fresh and also adding a player of that calibre unquestionably shifts the balance of this game.

With the lineup they do have though, the Leafs are still dangerous. I hope Marner can continue on the excellent game he had last night. On the other hand, I hope Josh Leivo can start doing more from the 4th line. He hasn’t had a point in his last three games and has not looked great on the Corsi side of things.

The Bruins are kind of a mess outside of the first line, so it’ll be prescient for the Leafs to take advantage of that given the amount of forward depth they have. That’s why potential impact players who are shifted down to the bottom 6, like Marner (and to some extent Leivo) are so important tonight.

Altogether this rivalry competition should be a fun and messy game from the fatigue of playing each other twice in a row. Make sure you tune in on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, 7pm, for Leafs vs. Bruins.