LGD: Return of the Mac
By ThatsKappy
5 years agoIt’s game day!
The Leafs are in Raleigh tonight to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. A win would not only be the Leafs’ fifth in a row, but it would put them TEN(!) games over .500 in this early season.
At A Glance
Record: 15-6-0 (2nd)
Goal Differential: +21 (T-1st)
5v5 CF%: 49.50 (18th)
PDO: 1.033 (2nd)
Record: 9-8-3 (21st)
Goal Differential: -6 (21st)
5v5 CF%: 59.06 (1st)
PDO: .969 (30th)
The Carolina Hurricanes are a puck possession juggernaut of a team. They’ve taken more shots than anyone in the NHL at 806, but can’t seem to get a save (where have we heard that before?)
The Leafs, meanwhile, keep on rolling with Frederik Andersen shutting the door night in and night out, while their depth – and noted chip-in guy John Tavares – continues to produce.
Leafs Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN Rating: 71.8#82 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.8#9 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.8#13 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.45#19 FL1 |
 PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 74.5#41 LW |  NAZEM KADRI Rating: 78.2#30 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 73.9#45 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.54#7 FL2 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 72.7#66 LW |  PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 72.9#85 C |  CONNOR BROWN Rating: 70.2#96 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.93#17 FL3 |
 TYLER ENNIS Rating: 71.0#96 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 69.5#169 C |  JOSH LEIVO Rating: 72.6#70 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.02#10 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 80.0#3 LD |  RON HAINSEY Rating: 73.1#41 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.55#10 DL1 |
 JAKE GARDINER Rating: 77.0#12 LD |  NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 71.3#76 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.14#15 DL2 |
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 74.2#36 LD |  IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 72.2#54 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.20#2 DL3 |
The Leafs keep on rollin’ with the flow. No changes here.
Auston Matthews likely gets closer and closer by the day, while William Nylander remains a mystery.
Hurricanes Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 MICHEAL FERLAND Rating: 73.7#52 LW |  SEBASTIAN AHO Rating: 80.1#10 C |  TEUVO TERAVAINEN Rating: 75.8#27 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.54#24 FL1 |
 BROCK MCGINN Rating: 72.7#65 LW |  JORDAN STAAL Rating: 76.1#42 C |  JUSTIN WILLIAMS Rating: 75.5#29 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.77#10 FL2 |
 JORDAN MARTINOOK Rating: 70.4#107 LW |  LUCAS WALLMARK Rating: 73.5#70 C |  ANDREI SVECHNIKOV Rating: 74.1#40 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.66#7 FL3 |
 WARREN FOEGELE Rating: 75.3#34 LW |  VICTOR RASK Rating: 73.5#71 C |  PHIL DI GIUSEPPE Rating: 71.2#87 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 73.31#1 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 JACCOB SLAVIN Rating: 76.9#14 LD |  DOUGIE HAMILTON Rating: 78.6#14 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 77.73#6 DL1 |
 CALVIN DE HAAN Rating: 74.6#32 LD |  JUSTIN FAULK Rating: 77.4#20 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 75.99#5 DL2 |
 HAYDN FLEURY Rating: 70.1#120 LD |  TREVOR VAN RIEMSDYK Rating: 72.5#49 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.32#19 DL3 |
The Hurricanes are an enviable team on the back end, and some of those names up front are beginning to look pretty darn good, too.
Unsurprisingly, the top line has been carrying most of the scoring load, and Sebastian Aho’s struggles last season are obviously proving to be just a fluke. Andrei Svechnikov has yet to become the immediate revelation some thought he would be, but at 18 years old, is that really so bad?
Starting Goalies
The Leafs will get a blast from the past tonight, as Curtis McElhinney (4-2-0, .903sv%) will duke it out with Frederik Andersen (12-5-0, .935sv%).
I don’t wish Mac any ill will, but I do hope we see Canes Mac and not Leafs Mac tonight.
Who’s Hot
The Hyman-Tavares-Marner line were all top contributor’s to Monday night’s win versus the Blue Jackets.
For Carolina, goals have been a little tougher to come by. But while he only has six goals on the season, Sebastian Aho has contributed to 23 of the Canes’ 53 goals thus far, which is super impressive.
You can catch all the action at 7pm on Sportsnet.
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