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Photo credit: James Guillory / USA TODAY Sports
By ThatsKappy
Dec 11, 2018, 13:34 EST
Good afternoon! It’s gameday.
Will Leafs fans remain mad online by the end of the night? We shall see, as our boys in blue head to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes and Leafs last met on November 21st, when Curtis McElhinney and the ‘Canes came out with a 5-2 win over the Leafs, who underperformed dramatically. Let’s hope tonight is a different story, as they already ticked off the “underperforming” box on Saturday in Boston.
At A Glance
Record: 13-11-4 (22nd)
Goal Differential: -6 (20th)
5v5 CF%: 57.57 (1st)
PDO: .972 (31st)
Record: 20-9-1 (2nd)
Goal Differential: +25 (2nd)
5v5 CF%: 49.85 (16th)
PDO: 1.033 (1st)
What a fascinating matchup tonight. A true tale of two teams. The Hurricanes are statistically the most possession-minded team in the league and also the least lucky, while the Leafs are a middling possession team riding the league’s highest PDO – and therefore, in a way, the “most lucky”, at least to a degree.
Will the Leafs surrender 69 shots in the first 5 minutes? Maybe.
Leafs Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 CONNOR BROWN Rating: 69.4#129 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.4#13 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.8#14 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.54#19 FL1 |
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 74.2#41 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 87.0#4 C |  KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 74.2#39 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.46#2 FL2 |
 PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 73.9#45 LW |  NAZEM KADRI Rating: 76.5#38 C |  WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.1#28 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 75.51#1 FL3 |
 PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 71.6#88 LW |  FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 70.0#163 C |  TYLER ENNIS Rating: 71.2#90 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.93#10 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 79.3#6 LD |  RON HAINSEY Rating: 72.6#44 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 75.97#12 DL1 |
 JAKE GARDINER Rating: 77.2#11 LD |  NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 70.7#80 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.97#14 DL2 |
 TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 74.1#34 LD |  IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 72.6#46 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.32#3 DL3 |
No Zach Hyman, who is serving the first of his two-game suspension accrued in Boston on Saturday.
Glass half full: Patrick Marleau has finally been reunited with Nazem Kadri after failing to click with Auston Matthews for almost half a season.
Glass half empty: Now that Nazem Kadri has been freed from Connor Brown Purgatory, it’s John Tavares and Mitch Marner’s turn.
Hurricanes Lines
No Jordan Staal or Curtis McElVezina for Carolina tonight, which means the Leafs might actually score some goals.
Starting Goalies
Petr Mrazek vs. Frederik Andersen is the projected matchup. Andersen is coming off of arguably his worst performance of the season, in which he was pulled for the first time in 2018-19.
Mrazek is 4-4-2 with an .899 on the season, though, so some things also never change.
Puck drop is at 7pm ET on TSN4.
Breaking News
- Friedman: Maple Leafs still hopeful to add another difference-maker
- Rogers purchases Kilmer Sports’ share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
- Around the NHL: Flyers await Ducks’ Leo Carlsson decision, top 5 free agents still available
- Tinus Luc Koblar draws parallel between World Championship experience and Norway’s World Cup run
- Gavin McKenna might be a Mitch Marner replacement but not in year one