Maple Leafs Pregame #47: 5 Things to watch for against the Devils
By Jon Steitzer
4 years agoSo, how about that Leafs blueline? A bit of a mess, eh? This is pretty much an evergreen comment over the past few years, but the injury to Morgan Rielly really seems to be hammering home the issues there.
The good news is that we’re getting another look at Rasmus Sandin as a result of that unfortunate situation. The other good news is that the Leafs are playing the Devils tonight and that is a pretty manageable adversary, especially when you need to try and break out of a three game losing streak.
I wouldn’t say that anything is a given at this point, but hopefully the Leafs can start getting back on track.
Lineups
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN Rating: 73.6#48 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 83.0#2 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.6#5 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.39#5 FL1 |
 WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.3#16 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 78.7#14 C |  ALEXANDER KERFOOT Rating: 71.9#103 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.63#9 FL2 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 73.7#46 LW |  PIERRE ENGVALL Rating: 73.8#60 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 73.1#53 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 73.50#2 FL3 |
 FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 69.8#124 LW |  ADAM BROOKS |  JASON SPEZZA Rating: 70.4#108 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.12#22 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 72.7#63 LD |  JUSTIN HOLL Rating: 72.7#13 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.74#26 DL1 |
 MARTIN MARINCIN Rating: 71.4#96 LD |  TYSON BARRIE Rating: 76.1#12 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.74#13 DL2 |
 RASMUS SANDIN Rating: 73.6#40 LD |  CODY CECI Rating: 71.4#77 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.53#11 DL3 |
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 PAVEL ZACHA Rating: 70.7#141 LW |  NICO HISCHIER Rating: 75.7#33 C |  JESPER BRATT Rating: 72.6#74 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 73.02#29 FL1 |
 BLAKE COLEMAN Rating: 74.3#48 LW |  TRAVIS ZAJAC Rating: 70.8#139 C |  NIKITA GUSEV Rating: 73.3#49 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 72.80#25 FL2 |
 MILES WOOD Rating: 70.8#106 LW |  JACK HUGHES Rating: 73.2#70 C |  WAYNE SIMMONDS Rating: 70.1#115 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.37#23 FL3 |
 JESPER BOQVIST Rating: 71.9#88 LW |  KEVIN ROONEY Rating: 69.1#174 C |  JOHN HAYDEN Rating: 68.0#135 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 69.65#24 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ANDY GREENE Rating: 70.9#106 LD |  P.K. SUBBAN Rating: 74.1#26 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.52#28 DL1 |
 DAMON SEVERSON Rating: 72.7#54 LD |  SAMI VATANEN Rating: 72.8#48 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.76#26 DL2 |
 WILL BUTCHER Rating: 71.7#88 LD |  CONNOR CARRICK Rating: 70.6#95 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.16#25 DL3 |
Additionally…
It doesn’t seem like Liljegren will be playing tonight, but noteworthy all the same.
Here are five things to watch for…
1. Will we get to see the real Freddie Andersen?
Andersen has been pulled twice in his last three starts, has only had 2 games with a save percentage above .900 in his last 10 games, and under Sheldon Keefe he has a save percentage of .911. Things have not been great for Andersen and with little defense and a questionable backup, he needs to be better, even if he is tired from facing more shots than every other goaltender other than Connor Hellebucyk and Carey Price.
It would be nice to get a statement game from Andersen that he’s still the goaltender that managed to sneak his way into the All-Star Game this year, but it would have also been equally nice to see Hutchinson get the start. Alas, we’ll have to hope for the Andersen statement game instead.
2. The Return of Rasmus Sandin
There is little doubt that this is the key story line of the game for the Leafs tonight, as the organization’s top prospect and star of the World Juniors tournament looks to make his case for permanently becoming a Leaf. Being paired with Cody Ceci might seem like a bit of a drag on Sandin’s abilities, but he’s used to playing with AHL tier defense.
Sandin will likely be pretty sheltered as they ease him back into the lineup, and not only because pretty much every Devils line looks like you are sheltering your defensemen. Hopefully he’ll take to league quickly and we can all come in off the ledge.
3. The Johnsson-Engvall-Kapanen line
It seems like we should enjoy this line while we have it because if the Leafs are going to make any kind of changes at the trade deadline there is a good chance that one of or both of Johnsson and Kapanen will be involved.
The Leafs don’t have a shortage of talent on the wing, and with Engvall not only emerging as a regular in the NHL, but a potential 3C that might eventually transition back to the wing, the Leafs have some wiggle room on what they can do.
For now, this line looks like a lot of fun and has some defensive responsibility behind it as well, as far as Leafs and defensively minded forwards go.
4. Will Tyson Barrie step up?
We can all look back on that one glorious week after Babcock was fired when we all got exactly what we wanted out of Tyson Barrie, but it seems like since then he’s been as if not more frustrating than he was under Babcock. Now that the Leafs need him more than they ever have before it would be nice to see him standout and make a case as the interim best defenseman.
5. Offense
Given that the Leafs defense and goaltending is questionable at best, it’s time to truly celebrate what the Leafs do best, and that’s play offensively.
The salvation isn’t coming from the blueline, even if Sandin does live up to the hype, if the Leafs are going to have any kind of success over the next couple of months they will really need to lean into their offensive game, and increase the pressure on their opponents.
The Leafs are rolling a pretty aggressive top nine, and that should make for some fun hockey. Maybe Toronto will get to be on the fun side of an 8-4 game tonight.
Game time is 7pm ET and can be seen on Sportsnet Ontario.
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