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Leafs look to rebound from Habs loss against the Flames – with David Rittich in net?
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Mer
By Mer
Apr 13, 2021, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 13, 2021, 12:57 EDT
Listen, @Jack Campbell was not going to win every game he started this season. A loss was bound to happen sooner or later, and I don’t know about you, but Leafs losses just don’t faze me as much this season. They’re good, their record is good, they have what it takes to pull out wins even when they might not deserve it. Yes, last night’s game was not exactly a great example of what they can do, but I can’t be too mad at a stinker every 9 or 10 games.
Onward. The Leafs play again tonight against the Flames – and on Sunday evening they traded for former Flames goalie @David Rittich  (who has historically played very well against the Leafs) – it’s like a soap opera and I love it. Will he start tonight? If so, is that a good thing? Obviously having some extra goalie insurance is a plus, because with @Frederik Andersen sidelined indefinitely the Leafs goalie options are Campbell, who is clearly not yet used to handling the starter’s workload, and @Michael Hutchinson, who is Michael Hutchinson. It’ll be interesting to see what Rittich can do behind this Leafs team.
The Flames are coming off a shutout against the Oilers, which was probably a relief for them following a multi-game losing streak (including two losses to the Leafs.) Meanwhile, of course, the Leafs lost last night to the Habs, traveled, and are playing the second night of a back to back. Should be fun.
And of course there’s the question on everyone’s mind: will the Leafs ever score a power play goal again?

Tale of the Tape

Lineups

Toronto Maple Leafs

LWCRW
Alex Galchenyuk

ALEX GALCHENYUK
Rating: 70.8#115 LW
Auston Matthews

AUSTON MATTHEWS
Rating: 82.3#6 C
Mitch Marner

MITCH MARNER
Rating: 76.6#18 RW
Ilya Mikheyev

ILYA MIKHEYEV
Rating: 74.0#42 LW
John Tavares

JOHN TAVARES
Rating: 77.6#15 C
Zach Hyman

ZACH HYMAN
Rating: 74.6#33 RW
Joe Thornton

JOE THORNTON
Rating: 72.3#74 LW
Alexander Kerfoot

ALEXANDER KERFOOT
Rating: 70.8#113 C
Jason Spezza

JASON SPEZZA
Rating: 69.4#126 RW
Pierre Engvall

PIERRE ENGVALL
Rating: 71.0#98 C
Wayne Simmonds

WAYNE SIMMONDS
Rating: 70.2#112 RW
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Morgan Rielly

MORGAN RIELLY
Rating: 75.3#14 LD
T.J. Brodie

T.J. BRODIE
Rating: 74.2#27 RD
Jake Muzzin

JAKE MUZZIN
Rating: 75.1#17 LD
Justin Holl

JUSTIN HOLL
Rating: 72.0#61 RD
Travis Dermott

TRAVIS DERMOTT
Rating: 71.7#83 LD
Zach Bogosian

ZACH BOGOSIAN
Rating: 71.4#76 RD

Calgary Flames

LWCRW
Johnny Gaudreau

JOHNNY GAUDREAU
Rating: 76.0#19 LW
Elias Lindholm

ELIAS LINDHOLM
Rating: 76.5#19 C
Matthew Tkachuk

MATTHEW TKACHUK
Rating: 78.0#9 RW
Andrew Mangiapane

ANDREW MANGIAPANE
Rating: 74.2#36 LW
Sean Monahan

SEAN MONAHAN
Rating: 74.4#42 C
Dillon Dube

DILLON DUBE
Rating: 70.3#108 RW
Milan Lucic

MILAN LUCIC
Rating: 70.7#103 LW
Mikael Backlund

MIKAEL BACKLUND
Rating: 75.5#30 C
Joakim Nordstrom

JOAKIM NORDSTROM
Rating: 67.9#150 RW
Josh Leivo

JOSH LEIVO
Rating: 71.7#85 LW
Derek Ryan

DEREK RYAN
Rating: 72.0#83 C
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Mark Giordano

MARK GIORDANO
Rating: 77.9#6 LD
Chris Tanev

CHRIS TANEV
Rating: 71.0#90 RD
Noah Hanifin

NOAH HANIFIN
Rating: 73.3#49 LD
Rasmus Andersson

RASMUS ANDERSSON
Rating: 73.5#36 RD
Juuso Valimaki

JUUSO VALIMAKI
Rating: 72.6#6 LD
Michael Stone

MICHAEL STONE
Rating: 71.0#91 RD

Starting Goalies

Though unconfirmed, it appears that it will be @Jacob Markstrom versus David Rittich in net tonight, which is hilarious and fun no matter what! I wonder what that Flames plane ride was like…Anyways, Markstrom is coming off a strong showing where he shutout the Oilers, and Rittich will likely be playing his very first game as a Toronto Maple Leaf. This could really go so many ways, especially considering that Rittich has never even practiced with the Leafs. The Leafs of last season had a tendency to let their backups down, but the Leafs of this season have mostly come out strong when playing in front of goalies not named Freddie, so who’s to say what version we see? At the other end of the ice, can Markstrom make magic happen twice in a row? That shutout helped his save percentage get to .901, so he’s inconsistent at best. This one feels a bit like a circus, so buckle up!
Puck drop is at 7:30pm EST on Sportsnet.