LGD: Fabulous Freshmen Faceoff
7 years ago
Photo Credit: Bruce Fedyck/USA TODAY SPORTS
As you probably recall (but maybe not! It’s been a wild year), Patrik Laine netted three goals against Toronto that game on October 19th, which the Maple Leafs led 4-0 and then lost in OT. Laine scored the overtime winner and gave extra juice to what’s been a very, very interesting Calder race this season.
Auston Matthews currently has 28 goals and 21 assists in 58 games, while Patrik Laine has 28 goals and 24 assists in 54 games.
Oh, and both their teams are in the thick of the playoff hunt!
The Leafs sit one point back of the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard spot in the East… while the Winnipeg Jets sit one point back of Calgary for the final wildcard spot in the West.
Long story short, it’s a crucial game on both sides.
The Leafs
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 Leo Komarov |  Nazem Kadri |  Josh Leivo |
 James van Riemsdyk |  Tyler Bozak |  Connor Brown |
 Zach Hyman |  Auston Matthews |  William Nylander |
 Matt Martin |  Frederik Gauthier |  Nikita Soshnikov |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Morgan Rielly |  Nikita Zaitsev |
 Jake Gardiner |  Connor Carrick |
 Matt Hunwick |  Roman Polak |
Most notably missing for the Leafs is Mitch Marner, who’s been retroactively placed on the injured reserve.
Most notably added to the lineup is the Goat himself in Frederik Gauthier, slotting in for the one and only Ben Smith. Nathan Horton, Stephane Robidas and Joffrey Lupul are also out of the lineup tonight.
Haven’t heard much noise for him this season, but Leo Komarov is quietly riding a four-game point streak into tonight.
The Jets
| C | RW | |
|---|---|---|
 Nikolaj Ehlers |  Bryan Little |  Blake Wheeler |
 Mathieu Perreault |  Mark Scheifele |  Patrik Laine |
 Shawn Matthias |  Adam Lowry |  Joel Armia |
 Brandon Tanev |  Nicolas Petan |  Chris Thorburn |
| Defensive Pairings | |
|---|---|
 Julian Melchiori |  Dustin Byfuglien |
 Josh Morrissey |  Ben Chiarot |
 Mark Stuart |  |
Former Future Toronto Maple Leaf Jacob Trouba(and just about every other team in the league, for that matter) is out of the lineup as he’s currently serving a suspension for a hit that many people are angered in the short length of his suspension (just two games). Out for the team is Tobias Enstrom (lower-body injury), Marko Dano (lower-body injury), Ondrej Pavelec (concussion), and Tyler Myers (lower-body injury).
Mark Scheifele is riding a hot streak with seven assists in his past four games.
Starting goalies
Frederik Andersen is the man of the hour for the Torontos, while the Winnipeggers will likely place Connor Helleyebuck in net.
Where to watch
Corsica.hockey and hockeystats.ca are just two of the sites to offer spreadsheets.
On twitter @JeffVeillette (among others) will be having GIFs.
Or on TV, TSN4 will be carrying the actual game. But we know you’re probably not interested in that.
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