It&#8217;s no ordinary regular season game between two Original Six combatants, as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings for the Hall of Fame Game at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson spoke to reporters before the morning skate began, reflecting on their memories of Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk, who headlines this year&#8217;s Hall of Fame class.
&#8220;The only memory that jumps out is Randy Carlyle aggressively trying to keep me off the ice when he was on the ice in my first season. I was fine with it. It was a little demoralizing though,&#8221; <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/morgan-rielly-shares-his-hilarious-memory-of-facing-off-vs-pavel-datsyuk">Rielly said while laughing</a>, bringing down the house.
Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg, Ryan Reaves, Nick Robertson, Philippe Myers, Matt Benning, Steven Lorentz and Chris Tanev were among the skaters.
Here&#8217;s what you need to know from Leafs&#8217; morning skate:
<h3>Matthews does not attend optional skate, will not play vs. Red Wings, unlikely for Saturday</h3>
Auston Matthews did not attend Friday&#8217;s optional skate and Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-will-not-play-vs-red-wings-due-to-upper-body-injury">confirmed he will miss Friday&#8217;s game</a>. It appears that Matthews will likely miss Saturday&#8217;s game against the Montreal Canadiens as well. Matthews was previously listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he missed Tuesday&#8217;s game against the Boston Bruins due to the injury.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Craig Berube confirms Auston Matthews won’t play tonight vs. Red Wings.
&mdash; Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1854918085964157092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Max Domi is expected to remain on the top line, with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner on his wings. There doesn&#8217;t appear to be any changes from Tuesday&#8217;s lineup.
Toronto has responded admirably in Matthews&#8217; absence historically, <a href="https://x.com/thegoldenmuzzy/status/1853990511956165020">posting a 36-19-2 cumulative record</a>.
<h3>Stolarz is the projected starter</h3>
It appeared initially unclear, but Anthony Stolarz is the projected starter Friday. Stolarz recorded his first shutout of the season Tuesday against the Boston Bruins and appears to be pulling away with the No. 1 designation. Joseph Woll would appear likely to start Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
It was a relatively light practice, with both goalies receiving plenty of shots on net, but there were fewer set drills and areas of focus for the skaters in attendance. Stolarz is quickly emerging as a fan favourite and a down-ballot Vezina candidate through the opening month of the season.
<h3>Rielly brings down the house with memories of Pavel Datsyuk</h3>
Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both played against Pavel Datsyuk during their careers and the Red Wings&#8217; legend will be among the inductees from this year&#8217;s Hockey Hall of Fame class.
Datsyuk is expected to be in attendance and Rielly shared a hilarious story of Detroit&#8217;s two-way superstar during his rookie season.
&#8220;Just like, calling me off the ice. Which, again, I understand,&#8221; Rielly said. &#8220;Just a bit demoralizing in the moment. I think that’s just the way of a young defenceman playing against a future Hall-of-Famer.&#8221;
Rielly&#8217;s offense has picked up tremendously, coming off a three-point night against the Bruins. It&#8217;ll be compelling to see how Rielly and Ekman-Larsson continue to function as Toronto&#8217;s top-pairing throughout the season, as its most-used group at 5-on-5 thus far.
<h3>Maple Leafs&#8217; projected lineup:</h3>
Matthew Knies-Max Domi-Mitch Marner
Max Pacioretty-John Tavares-William Nylander
Bobby McMann-Pontus Holmberg-Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves 
&nbsp;
Morgan Rielly-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins
&nbsp;
Anthony Stolarz (projected starter)
Joseph Woll
<h3>Red Wings&#8217; projected lineup:</h3>
Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Patrick Kane
Andrew Copp-J.T. Compher-Lucas Raymond
Jonatan Berggren-Marco Kasper-Vladimir Tarasenko
Michael Rasmussen-Joe Veleno-Christian Fischer 
&nbsp;
Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot-Justin Holl
Albert Johansson-Erik Gustafsson
&nbsp;
Cam Talbot (confirmed starter)
Ville Husso
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It's no ordinary regular season game between two Original Six combatants, as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings for the Hall of Fame Game at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.

Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson spoke to reporters before the morning skate began, reflecting on their memories of Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk, who headlines this year's Hall of Fame class.

"The only memory that jumps out is Randy Carlyle aggressively trying to keep me off the ice when he was on the ice in my first season. I was fine with it. It was a little demoralizing though," <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/morgan-rielly-shares-his-hilarious-memory-of-facing-off-vs-pavel-datsyuk">Rielly said while laughing</a>, bringing down the house.

Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg, Ryan Reaves, Nick Robertson, Philippe Myers, Matt Benning, Steven Lorentz and Chris Tanev were among the skaters.

Here's what you need to know from Leafs' morning skate:
<h3>Matthews does not attend optional skate, will not play vs. Red Wings, unlikely for Saturday</h3>
Auston Matthews did not attend Friday's optional skate and Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-will-not-play-vs-red-wings-due-to-upper-body-injury">confirmed he will miss Friday's game</a>. It appears that Matthews will likely miss Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens as well. Matthews was previously listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he missed Tuesday's game against the Boston Bruins due to the injury.

https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1854918085964157092

Max Domi is expected to remain on the top line, with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner on his wings. There doesn't appear to be any changes from Tuesday's lineup.

Toronto has responded admirably in Matthews' absence historically, <a href="https://x.com/thegoldenmuzzy/status/1853990511956165020">posting a 36-19-2 cumulative record</a>.
<h3>Stolarz is the projected starter</h3>
It appeared initially unclear, but Anthony Stolarz is the projected starter Friday. Stolarz recorded his first shutout of the season Tuesday against the Boston Bruins and appears to be pulling away with the No. 1 designation. Joseph Woll would appear likely to start Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

It was a relatively light practice, with both goalies receiving plenty of shots on net, but there were fewer set drills and areas of focus for the skaters in attendance. Stolarz is quickly emerging as a fan favourite and a down-ballot Vezina candidate through the opening month of the season.
<h3>Rielly brings down the house with memories of Pavel Datsyuk</h3>
Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both played against Pavel Datsyuk during their careers and the Red Wings' legend will be among the inductees from this year's Hockey Hall of Fame class.

Datsyuk is expected to be in attendance and Rielly shared a hilarious story of Detroit's two-way superstar during his rookie season.

"Just like, calling me off the ice. Which, again, I understand," Rielly said. "Just a bit demoralizing in the moment. I think that’s just the way of a young defenceman playing against a future Hall-of-Famer."

Rielly's offense has picked up tremendously, coming off a three-point night against the Bruins. It'll be compelling to see how Rielly and Ekman-Larsson continue to function as Toronto's top-pairing throughout the season, as its most-used group at 5-on-5 thus far.
<h3>Maple Leafs' projected lineup:</h3>
Matthew Knies-Max Domi-Mitch Marner

Max Pacioretty-John Tavares-William Nylander

Bobby McMann-Pontus Holmberg-Nick Robertson

Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves 

&nbsp;

Morgan Rielly-Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev

Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins

&nbsp;

Anthony Stolarz (projected starter)

Joseph Woll
<h3>Red Wings' projected lineup:</h3>
Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Patrick Kane

Andrew Copp-J.T. Compher-Lucas Raymond

Jonatan Berggren-Marco Kasper-Vladimir Tarasenko

Michael Rasmussen-Joe Veleno-Christian Fischer 

&nbsp;

Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot-Justin Holl

Albert Johansson-Erik Gustafsson

&nbsp;

Cam Talbot (confirmed starter)

Ville Husso
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Scenes from Leafs’ morning skate: Rielly reflects on Pavel Datsyuk, Stolarz projected starter

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