The Leafs are back at home tonight after a six-game road trip. They’ll be welcoming the Washington Capitals to Scotiabank Arena for the second time this season. The Leafs most recently downed the Caps 6-3 prior to the All-Star Break, cruising to the victory on the back of a Nazem Kadri hat trick.

The Leafs will, however, be without Kadri’s services tonight, as he is sidelined with a concussion. Here’s to hoping he’ll be back at some point during this four-game homestand.

Leafs Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
ZACH HYMAN Rating: 73.0#67 LW	JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.9#12 C	MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.3#15 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 77.75#15 FL1
PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 73.0#65 LW	AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 84.9#6 C	KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 74.6#41 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 77.53#5 FL2
ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 76.5#28 LW	WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 75.6#35 C	CONNOR BROWN Rating: 70.5#104 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 74.18#3 FL3
PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 70.2#115 LW	FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 68.4#179 C	TYLER ENNIS Rating: 72.0#85 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 70.20#27 FL4

-William Nylander is at centre on the third line, which is fun.

-Tyler Ennis slots back in with Kadri out.

And an update on defence…

Jonas Siegel

@jonassiegel

·Follow

Looks like Nazem Kadri won’t play tonight against the Capitals (concussion). Nylander stays at centre. Also a change on D: Hyman-Tavares-Marner Marleau-Matthews-Kapanen Johnsson-Nylander-Brown Lindholm-Gauthier-Ennis Rielly-Hainsey Muzzin-Dermott Gardiner-Zaitsev Andersen

3:32 PM · Feb 21, 2019

155

Read 17 replies

Muzzin-Dermott is exciting. Rielly-Hainsey still being a thing is less exciting. It’s always a give and take, isn’t it?

Caps Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
ALEX OVECHKIN Rating: 85.8#1 LW	EVGENY KUZNETSOV Rating: 80.2#21 C	TOM WILSON Rating: 75.3#40 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 80.45#4 FL1
JAKUB VRANA Rating: 75.0#50 LW	NICKLAS BACKSTROM Rating: 76.5#43 C	T.J. OSHIE Rating: 78.1#17 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 76.52#8 FL2
ANDRE BURAKOVSKY Rating: 71.9#86 LW	LARS ELLER Rating: 72.8#94 C	BRETT CONNOLLY Rating: 73.7#52 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 72.81#13 FL3
CHANDLER STEPHENSON Rating: 68.8#176 LW	NIC DOWD Rating: 70.9#146 C	TRAVIS BOYD Rating: 71.1#91 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 70.28#25 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS	Defense
MICHAL KEMPNY Rating: 72.6#64 LD	JOHN CARLSON Rating: 79.5#11 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 76.05#13 DL1
DMITRI ORLOV Rating: 73.1#55 LD	MATT NISKANEN Rating: 73.5#40 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 73.31#16 DL2
BROOKS ORPIK Rating: 69.3#123 LD	CHRISTIAN DJOOS Rating: 71.1#85 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 70.24#28 DL3

Assuming the Capitals don’t pull off some blockbuster trade this afternoon, this is how their lines will look. The Caps are fully healthy, and Alexander Ovechkin may be en route to the most prolific goalscoring season of his career at age 33. Caps fans and Leafs fans alike should soak this one in.

Who’s Hot

Auston Matthews has seven points in his last four games, including a clutch game-tying goal in St. Louis on Tuesday night.
As mentioned, Alexander Ovechkin is showing no signs of slowing down. With five goals in his last five games, he’s now at 42 through 59 contests this season.

Starting Goalies

Expect a matchup of Braden Holtby (.907) and Frederik Andersen (.923) between the pipes tonight. The Leafs have sputtered in the last few games, but Andersen remains as steady as ever. Holtby has been mired in a difficult up-and-down season, so the book is still out on which version of the Caps’ netminder will show up tonight.

Puck Drop is at 7pm on TSN4.