Maple Leafs Pregame #30: 5 Things to watch for as the Leafs try to hit CTRL+Z
By Jon Steitzer
4 years agoAnyone else want to pretend that last night didn’t happen? Cool. Never did. The Leafs lost a hard fought goaltending battle and that’s the way I choose to remember it, as that is what it was when I went to go pick my wife up some Klondike Bars at Sobeys.
Tonight might not be a fun one either. Michael Hutchinson is in net and that’s the opposite of fun. Kadri is back. We love Kadri, but I kinda wish we were doing a bit better when running into an ex, especially one we wouldn’t mind getting back together with.
Lineups
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 74.2#41 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 80.6#6 C |  WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 75.3#22 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.68#8 FL1 |
 ILYA MIKHEYEV Rating: 74.4#38 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 79.3#13 C |  JASON SPEZZA Rating: 71.7#126 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.15#8 FL2 |
 ZACH HYMAN Rating: 73.1#78 LW |  ALEXANDER KERFOOT Rating: 71.3#140 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 73.5#50 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.61#10 FL3 |
 PIERRE ENGVALL Rating: 74.0#44 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 70.3#164 C |  DMYTRO TIMASHOV Rating: 74.0#37 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 72.75#1 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 76.3#10 LD |  CODY CECI Rating: 71.8#78 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.02#20 DL1 |
 JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 75.6#15 LD |  JUSTIN HOLL Rating: 73.6#37 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.62#9 DL2 |
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 73.2#54 LD |  TYSON BARRIE Rating: 76.8#11 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 75.01#1 DL3 |
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 JOONAS DONSKOI Rating: 73.2#60 LW |  NATHAN MACKINNON Rating: 85.4#1 C |  MIKKO RANTANEN Rating: 80.9#3 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 79.86#2 FL1 |
 MATT CALVERT Rating: 71.9#84 LW |  NAZEM KADRI Rating: 75.3#38 C |  JT COMPHER Rating: 73.3#56 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 73.53#20 FL2 |
 VALERI NICHUSHKIN Rating: 71.3#94 LW |  PIERRE-ÉDOUARD BELLEMARE Rating: 71.3#95 C |  LOGAN O’CONNOR Rating: 73.6#45 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 72.04#18 FL3 |
 VLADISLAV KAMENEV Rating: 70.9#106 LW |  TYSON JOST Rating: 71.7#130 C |  T.J. TYNAN Rating: 72.9#59 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.84#8 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 CALE MAKAR Rating: 76.5#8 LD |  NIKITA ZADOROV Rating: 72.1#68 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.32#18 DL1 |
 SAMUEL GIRARD Rating: 73.7#47 LD |  CALLE ROSEN Rating: 73.2#44 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.45#19 DL2 |
 IAN COLE Rating: 72.9#65 LD |  RYAN GRAVES Rating: 74.0#3 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.49#5 DL3 |
Calle Rosen playing on the right side in the top four. Nazem Kadri as the second line center. Goodness, maybe I need to rethink my desire to have Kyle Dubas make more trades to try and fix the Leafs.
Here are five things to watch for…
1. Kadri Tribute
There better be one, and it better tug at my heart strings. Kadri was an incredible Leaf and it’s a shame he isn’t with the team anymore. I might understand it, but I don’t like it. Considering there would have been a decent market for players like Johnsson and Kapanen, it kills me that Kadri and his unique skillset and centering ways were the casualty. That doesn’t change that his suspension in the playoffs was a tad selfish, but it seems like the Leafs hurt themselves significantly by the overreaction.
2. Cody Ceci…
You know what, I’m just going to do a whole separate thing later on how bad Cody Ceci has been, but last night was one of his worst performances of a career full of worst performances. It will be interesting to see what his ice time looks like and who he is partnering with for it.
3. Michael Hutchinson
Much like Cody Ceci I spend a lot of time beating the dead horse which is Michael Hutchinson’s stat line. He hasn’t been good. I would love for him to prove me wrong tonight and turn things around, but I have my doubts. I don’t think it’s the way the team plays in front of him, it’s the fact that he’s not really capable of working with that team. I have my doubts that his season saving performance is coming against Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, but I welcome him to prove me wrong.
4. Will Matthews respond to the criticism?
Eventually the shine wears off everyone in Toronto sports, unless you are Kawhi Leonard and have the good sense to get out before that happens. Matthews hasn’t been scoring and when his neutral zone/defensive zone game has been leaving a lot to be desired this year, lack of scoring is going to draw some feedback.
It will be interesting to see if we get more of a two way game out of Matthews, but admittedly I’d settle for some points.
5. Does Marincin draw in?
Hahaha, I’m just kidding. Wouldn’t that just set you all off even more? Anyways, hopefully the Leafs are rested for the game because it looks like they took last night off. On a much more realistic note, I wouldn’t doubt that Nic Petan replaces, unless Marner is ready for his triumphant return, which we could probably use right now.
Game time is 7PM ET and can it can be seen on Sportsnet.
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