LGD: Hot n’ Ready
6 years ago
What a bag of trash last night was.
Over the last month, every single person in Leaf Land who possesses even the smallest grasp of predictive analytics has become Chicken Little, desperately warning the oblivious villagers of the skies impending collapse.
Well, last night it happened.
Facing Minnesota, The Leafs put forth their worst game of the entire regular season up to this point. So mind-numbing was their performance, they even failed to put one past world-renowned puck stopper Alex Stalock. And by “world-renowned” I, of course, mean that only a mere two years ago, Stalock was deemed not serviceable enough to be The Marlies third goalie.
However, tonight’s contest presents a chance at redemption.
The Leafs invade Motor City to take on the Red Wings, inside a building that I assume to be a converted pizza joint? Aside from the fact that “Little Ceasars Arena” is without a doubt the worst named sports venue in North America, let’s break down the pros and cons of tonight’s matchup.
Pros and Cons
CON: The Leafs don’t even have the opportunity to go home, get a good nights sleep, and regroup from last night’s turd of a game. No, tonight will serve as their third game played in four nights, all on the road.
And to make matters worse, they have to go to Detroit. The last stop on their gruelling road trip could at least have been somewhere nice. Typical NHL working against Toronto.
CON: Auston Matthews is set to miss his third straight game tonight, as he continues to nurse an upper-body injury. Remember when Matthews turned every Leaf game into a can’t-miss viewing experience? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
PRO: The Red Wings are really really bad. They currently sit 5th in The Atlantic with an 11-13-7 record, having lost their last three straight.
If any team can gift The Buds a “W”, it’s The Wings.
Leaf Lines
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN |  PATRICK MARLEAU |  MITCH MARNER |
 LEO KOMAROV |  NAZEM KADRI |  WILLIAM NYLANDER |
 JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK |  TYLER BOZAK |  CONNOR BROWN |
 MATT MARTIN |  DOMINIC MOORE |  JOSH LEIVO |
Leaf Defence Pairings
Oh, for the love of God.
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY |  RON HAINSEY |
 JAKE GARDINER |  NIKITA ZAITSEV |
 ANDREAS BORGMAN |  ROMAN POLAK |
Red Wings Lines
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 GUSTAV NYQUIST |  HENRIK ZETTERBERG |  JUSTIN ABDELKADER |
 TOMAS TATAR |  DYLAN LARKIN |  ANTHONY MANTHA |
 DARREN HELM |  FRANS NIELSEN |  LUKE GLENDENING |
 LUKE WITKOWSKI |  ANDREAS ATHANASIOU |  MARTIN FRK |
Red Wings Defence Pairings
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 DAN DEKEYSER |  MIKE GREEN |
 JONATHAN ERICSSON |  TREVOR DALEY |
 NIKLAS KRONWALL |  |
Starting Goaltenders
We’re in for a treat tonight, folks.
Curtis “Better than McDavid” McElhinney is set to be between the pipes for the blue and white. Anything less than a 41-save shutout would be simply unacceptable.
In all seriousness, McElhinney has been tapped to man the crease tonight, meaning this one will at least be entertaining. If you happen to get your kicks from watching dudes flop around for three hours, tonight’s game is appointment viewing.
Curtis currently boasts a win-loss record of 3-2-0, a GAA (essential stat alert) of 2.44, as well as a save percentage of .925%. Something tells me that last one might be padded by his shutout versus The Oilers. I guess we’ll never know. (It was)
At the other end, Jimmy Howard and his .906% save percentage projects to be tending goal, thus giving The Buds a fighting chance. If there were ever a time for Marner and Nylander to snap their offensive slumps, tonight would certainly be it.
OR Babcock could just play them 13 minutes each and quadruple shift Leo Komarov. Hooray for Saskatchewan Science!
Notes
- When Mike Babcock was hired as head coach in the summer of 2015, I would have gladly run through a brick wall for him. And yet, lately, the moves he’s been making have led me to bash my head against that same wall repeatedly. It frankly baffles me that he’s able to watch last night’s game with his own two eyes, digest it overnight, and STILL conclude that Roman Polak should stay in the lineup. At a certain point, the highest paid coach in the league NEEDS to know better.
- Man, The Leafs sure seemed to lack both speed and aggression against The Wild. Good thing the fastest player on their entire roster hasn’t repeatedly been healthy scratched, right? Right?! There is simply no logical explanation as to why Kasperi Kapanen shouldn’t be playing tonight. His legs are fresh, he’ll boost the penalty kill, and immediately turns the 4th line (assuming they don’t scratch Leivo over him) into one of the best in the entire league. It’s a no-brainer. And yet, here we are.
- On a positive note, we’re at least one game closer to Auston Matthews’ triumphant return! Remember when the team went 5-0 without him and Howard Berger wrote a blog about how The Leafs should actually trade Matthews because they proved they don’t need him to win? Follow your dreams, kids.
LGD BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE PINT
Make the Pint your home for all things game day. We give away a free pound of wings during every game either home or away. 4.40$ mugs of Bud and Bud Lights.
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