LGD: Broadway Blue and White
7 years ago
Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY SPORTS
Feels good to have some Leafs hockey to talk about tonight, doesn’t it? Well, as long as it goes well. Now that I’ve said that, be sure to come back in a few hours to read about how the New York Rangers scored an NHL record 15 goals because both goalies got sick and Nazem Kadri had to put on the pads.
…that won’t happen, I think. So let’s talk about the game at hand tonight.
The Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs lines courtesy of Daily Faceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Zach Hyman |  Auston Matthews |  Connor Brown |
 Leo Komarov |  Nazem Kadri |  William Nylander |
 James van Riemsdyk |  Tyler Bozak |  Mitchell Marner |
 Matt Martin |  Frederik Gauthier |  Nikita Soshnikov |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Morgan Rielly |  Nikita Zaitsev |
 Jake Gardiner |  Connor Carrick |
 Matt Hunwick |  Roman Polak |
No changes. Nu surprises. Lines are gelling and there’s not exactly anything that can be done with the defence while Marincin is hurt and Corrado is on his stint.
The Rangers
New York Rangers lines courtesy of Daily Faceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Chris Kreider |  Derek Stepan |  Mats Zuccarello |
 Michael Grabner |  Kevin Hayes |  J.T. Miller |
 Jimmy Vesey |  Oscar Lindberg |  Rick Nash |
 Pavel Buchnevich |  Brandon Pirri |  Jesper Fast |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Ryan McDonagh |  Brady Skjei |
 Nick Holden |  Dan Girardi |
 Adam Clendening |  Kevin Klein |
The Leafs will face Jimmy Vesey for the first time since he decided not to come here, though most smart people realized that they weren’t really in the conversation. Michael Grabner, by the way, has twice as many goals as he did last year, and Adam Clendening has played for almost every team in the league at this point.
Starting Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen gets the start for the Leafs. There was a case to be made for giving Curtis McEhlinney his first start with the Leafs tonight and giving Andersen the Sens, given that keeping Ottawa off the standings points sheet is more important, but both goalies were also dreadful in their most recent appearances against each respective team.
On the other side, the King will take his throne as Henrik Lundqvist starts for New York. He, like Andersen, has struggled in January, but has wins in 3 of his last 4 games. Home ice hasn’t been kind to him all season, and the Leafs will hope to take advantage of that.
What To Look Out For
So, we know Lundqvist has a scouting report on how Willie was able to pick corners when he was ten. That might be a problem, especially when New York has their fair share of players taking on the Leafs for the first time.
But actually, it’ll be interesting to see how the Leafs react to having the bye week. Are they going to be well rested? Are the ones who traveled going to end up being more sluggish? Is Manhattan an ideal place to wind up in after an adventure?
Only time will tell. So far, all we’ve got is that the winning team tonight will have blue in their uniform. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM and you can catch the game on TSN.
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