LGD: Leafs face a Pettersson-less Canucks while goaltending treads water
5 years ago
It’s that time of year when the goaltending injury bug hits – and for Toronto, it seems to have hit particularly hard.
Frederik Andersen is doing better after sitting out half a month with a groin injury, but won’t play for yet another game. Garret Sparks is out with a concussion, suffered when he took a puck to the head in practice. Michael Hutchinson, who hasn’t had regular playing time in two years, is getting used to another new team as the latest to wear the Leafs sweater in net instead.
For Toronto, this could be bad news – especially after allowing four goals against the Minnesota Wild two days ago.
Luckily, the Canucks are dealing with some turmoil of their own. But for Toronto, this is the time of year that’s really going to test them.
TORONTO
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 CONNOR BROWN Rating: 70.3#110 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 83.0#8 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 80.5#8 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.93#13 FL1 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 74.7#33 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 85.2#6 C |  WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 74.8#38 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.26#2 FL2 |
 PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 72.6#71 LW |  NAZEM KADRI Rating: 77.2#35 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 73.7#49 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 74.50#5 FL3 |
 PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 71.5#89 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 69.9#168 C |  TREVOR MOORE Rating: 73.7#48 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.70#7 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 80.8#3 LD |  RON HAINSEY Rating: 72.4#46 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.60#10 DL1 |
 JAKE GARDINER Rating: 77.4#10 LD |  NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 70.9#83 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.11#10 DL2 |
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 73.7#40 LD |  IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 71.6#64 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.65#8 DL3 |
A 4-0 shutout loss to the New York Islanders and a tough 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild make up Toronto’s last two games, so the team needs to desperately hope that Michael Hutchinson has started to settle in more between the pipes for Toronto.
Kasimir Kaskisuo, who has seemed far from NHL-ready, has already been sent back down to the Marlies to help them out with upcoming games, but it appears that Andersen isn’t ready to go just yet. So now, they’ve brought Kaskisuo back up on an emergency basis, and they’ll have to hope he’s not needed.
No Zach Hyman yet, who’s out with injury as well, but the real question will be whether or not we finally see that offensive breakout from Nylander that everyone is waiting around for.
VANCOUVER
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 72.0#79 LW |  BO HORVAT Rating: 75.8#44 C |  LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.9#103 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 72.87#31 FL1 |
 SVEN BAERTSCHI Rating: 74.8#32 LW |  MARKUS GRANLUND Rating: 70.4#158 C |  JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 71.3#83 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.18#25 FL2 |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN Rating: 70.2#105 LW |  BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.3#135 C |  BROCK BOESER Rating: 83.2#3 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 74.88#2 FL3 |
 TIM SCHALLER Rating: 69.6#120 LW |  JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.7#194 C |  TYLER MOTTE Rating: 69.0#121 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 68.79#31 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 76.0#21 LD |  CHRIS TANEV Rating: 72.1#53 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.03#20 DL1 |
 DERRICK POULIOT Rating: 70.3#112 LD |  TROY STECHER Rating: 72.1#51 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.20#24 DL2 |
 BEN HUTTON Rating: 70.8#100 LD |  ERIK GUDBRANSON Rating: 69.2#104 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 70.00#28 DL3 |
Jacob Markstrom is the ‘likely’ starter for tonight’s game, although they’ve brought up Thatcher Demko from the AHL’s Utica Comets following his successful return from an early-season concussion.
The bigger question for Vancouver, obviously, is going to be how well they survive for a second time this year without Elias Pettersson. The young forward has been running away with the Calder votes, but he’s now missed enough time that we’ve gotten to see just how far the Canucks still have to go to become legitimate contenders again.
Travis Green is making a case for the Jack Adams this year, and the defensive structure in Vancouver has done a complete one-eighty this year. But without Pettersson and with a possibly tired Markstrom – who has been shouldering the load in a big way – the scoring-strong Leafs may be too much for the Canucks to handle.
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