LGD: Halting the Skid vs. the Habs
5 years ago
Happy Saturday everybody!
The Leafs are eyeing a couple streaks heading into tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. First, they want to extend their six game win streak against the Habs, extending all the way back to the start of last season. Also, they’re looking to put an end to their first three game losing streak of the season, most recently a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday, so there seems to be a lot riding on this game.
The Habs are kicking off a four game road trip, having won their last two games against Philadelphia and Columbus.
Forward Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN Rating: 73.3#57 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.8#13 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.3#14 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.80#15 FL1 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 75.8#31 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 85.2#5 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 74.7#43 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.55#2 FL2 |
 PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 73.1#63 LW |  WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 75.4#51 C |  CONNOR BROWN Rating: 70.4#109 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.96#9 FL3 |
 PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 69.1#137 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 67.7#180 C |  TYLER ENNIS Rating: 72.0#81 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.60#29 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 79.4#6 LD |  RON HAINSEY Rating: 72.3#62 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.88#14 DL1 |
 JAKE GARDINER Rating: 77.0#14 LD |  NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 71.8#73 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.43#11 DL2 |
 JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 76.1#19 LD |  TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 73.8#39 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 74.96#1 DL3 |
-Kadri is still out, which means that the forward lines will remain roughly the same, aside from the Marleau and Johnsson swap, which happened mid-game on Thursday.
-Defense also looks about the same, although Jake Gardiner isn’t 100% guaranteed to be in the lineup tonight. Whether he’s got a minor injury, soiled himself, or getting traded for Malkin, we won’t know, but apparently he’s supposed to be in the lineup.
Habs Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JONATHAN DROUIN Rating: 76.1#29 LW |  PHILLIP DANAULT Rating: 75.5#50 C |  BRENDAN GALLAGHER Rating: 78.1#17 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.58#20 FL1 |
 TOMAS TATAR Rating: 77.3#20 LW |  MAX DOMI Rating: 75.0#56 C |  ANDREW SHAW Rating: 73.6#53 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.31#18 FL2 |
 PAUL BYRON Rating: 75.9#47 LW |  JESPERI KOTKANIEMI Rating: 74.4#59 C |  JOEL ARMIA Rating: 72.2#76 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 74.15#4 FL3 |
 MATTHEW PECA Rating: 70.2#118 LW |  NATE THOMPSON Rating: 67.6#181 C |  ARTTURI LEHKONEN Rating: 73.0#60 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.27#23 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 VICTOR METE Rating: 72.2#71 LD |  SHEA WEBER Rating: 79.1#13 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.65#15 DL1 |
 MIKE REILLY Rating: 72.2#72 LD |  JEFF PETRY Rating: 77.5#19 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.83#9 DL2 |
 BRETT KULAK Rating: 71.6#85 LD |  JORDIE BENN Rating: 72.8#58 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.20#13 DL3 |
Barring any sudden deals, the Habs look to be icing this lineup tonight, which is basically identical to their lineup from a couple Saturdays ago.
Who’s Hot
-Johnsson has been on a tear recently for the Buds, with six goals and 10 points in his last eight games. The Habs better watch out for the Mango tonight.
-While Carey Price hasn’t been himself for most of the year, he’s coming in red hot, with a .933 save percentage in his last five games. In fact, his last bad game came a couple Saturdays ago against the Leafs.
Starting Goalies
While neither has been confirmed to this point, the likely starters will be Andersen (.923) for the Leafs and Price (.917) for the Habs. Despite the recent slide, Andersen has been his usual self and keeping the Leafs in games. Price, as mentioned before, is coming in a on a bit of a hot streak, but keep in mind that his last bad game also came against the Leafs.
As usual on a Saturday night, the game will be on CBC at 7pm.
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