Maple Leafs Pregame vs. Canes: “Wildcard, B*tches”
By Jon Steitzer
4 years agoOkay, so the playoff spot the Leafs are in and coveting the 3rd in the Atlantic spot, but that doesn’t mean we can completely lose sight of what is happening with the wild card race. Right now both the Leafs and Canes are sitting behind the Islanders and Blue Jackets, with the Flyers pulling comfortably up into a Metropolitan playoff spot on the strength of their win over the Jets earlier today. A win for the Leafs puts them not only in much better shape in the Atlantic, but their safety school of a wild card spot starts looking more secure if they win tonight as well.
The Blue Jackets have a game against Nashville and the Panthers are playing the Golden Knights, so there is definitely some scoreboard watching happening, which should make these final 20 games incredibly fun* (*anxiety fuelled).
If the playoff race isn’t your cup of tea (then WTF is wrong with you?) it’s also the Leafs last game before the trade deadline on Monday. I doubt we’ll see any Leafs held of play tonight, as nothing seems like it has progressed to the imminent stages with Toronto, but who knows? It can all change fast and maybe while the Leafs are fighting for a playoff spot they’ll be forced to do it without Kerfoot, Kapanen, or Barrie.
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN Rating: 75.0#31 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 82.5#4 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 77.5#9 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.34#5 FL1 |
 WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.3#17 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 78.4#13 C |  DENIS MALGIN Rating: 70.6#111 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.10#7 FL2 |
 PIERRE ENGVALL Rating: 71.3#92 LW |  ALEXANDER KERFOOT Rating: 71.7#91 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 71.5#98 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.48#21 FL3 |
 KYLE CLIFFORD Rating: 70.5#111 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 68.4#155 C |  JASON SPEZZA Rating: 71.1#108 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.00#19 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 74.0#30 LD |  JUSTIN HOLL Rating: 71.6#75 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.79#23 DL1 |
 RASMUS SANDIN Rating: 72.9#61 LD |  TYSON BARRIE Rating: 75.4#17 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 74.12#8 DL2 |
 MARTIN MARINCIN Rating: 71.0#105 LD |  TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 71.6#77 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.30#20 DL3 |
The Leafs are sticking with the lineup that worked for them against Pittsburgh, which makes a ton of sense, and Sandin playing up in the lineup brings me a ton of joy, as does the practicality of the Marincin and Dermott pairing. Malgin playing up in the roster makes sense, as no one else has really grabbed that 6th spot in the top six forward group.
As of right now there hasn’t been any confirmation about who is starting in net, but Andersen’s shutout makes a strong case for him getting the nod, and it remains to be seen if the Leafs will get to face James Reimer tonight. They might have to settle for it just being a homecoming for Jake Gardiner tonight.
Gametime is 7PM ET and it can be seen on pretty much every channel on your TV.
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