LGD: How to beat a beast

The Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Washington Capitals tonight. This is an interesting matchup, given that much of this Caps core was in a similar position to the Leafs a few years ago; high octane offence with a lot of outside question marks. Tonight, though, it’s just the one game, so let’s see how they stack up.

Toronto Maple Leafs lines courtesy of Daily Faceoff

Hunlak will never die. Ever ever ever. No matter what. Always and forever.

Free Frank Corrado.

Washington Capitals lines courtesy of Daily Faceoff

For those of you skeptical of Zach Hyman being on the first line for the Leafs, never forget that Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson have played with Ovechkin in extended stretches at times.

Braden Holtby gets the nod for the Caps, which comes as little surprise. Philipp Grubauer played yesterday and Holtby, is, well, Holtby. He’s keeping on the same pace as he was last year, and what he was last year was a Vezina winner. He certainly won’t be an easy egg to crack tonight.

Frederik Andersen is back in goal for the Leafs. Again, easy decision; he’s been one of the best goalies in the league this month and as long as he’s not overworked, there’s no point in messing with that.

The usual business. Keep Ovy out of the Ovy spot; best done by not taking too many penalties. Don’t head to the shootout, TJ Oshie does scary things there. Shelter the fourth line in this one; Washington has four skilled lines to roll so, unless the forecheck is rolling early, it might not be worth the risk of getting burned. On the other hand, get your fastest skaters on the Orpik pairing and pray for the best.

Puck drop is at 7PM.