After years of misery against the Coyotes organization, it’s only been two games, but so far so good for the Maple Leafs against the Utah franchise.
The Leafs will look to make three in a row over Utah and three in a row overall when they host the Mammoth on Wednesday night.
Zack Phillips subbed in for Jay Rosehill on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We started off the show by giving a vibe check following Monday night’s rollercoaster come from behind victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Leafs were embarrassing for the first 40 minutes before waking up to mount a feverish comeback in the third.
At any rate, we then previewed Leafs/Mammoth. Fresh off an OT win over Buffalo, Utah will be playing in the second half of a back-to-back. Meantime, we don’t know for sure, but it seems likely that Scott Laughton will make his season debut. Of course, he got hurt in exhibition play blocking a shot off his foot. Additionally, Steven Lorentz could be back in, too. And so could Matias Maccelli, who was healthy scratched on Monday night. This would be his first game against his former team. Any way you slice it, the Leafs need to get their power play going. Incredibly, Toronto currently possesses the third worst power play in the NHL (12.1%). We’ll see if the new units can give them a spark, although through 13 games, the Leafs haven’t been drawing a lot of calls.
Meanwhile, Utah’s Nick Schmaltz could emerge as an enticing name for the Leafs if he makes it to unrestricted free agency next July. Speaking of which, Nick’s brother Jordan, who played in the NHL himself and currently co-hosts the Home By 3 podcast, stopped by the show. He was great. We hit on everything from what it was like play for Craig Berube in the Blues organization to the friendship between the Nylander and Schmaltz family. Willy played with Nick in Chicago when they were kids. Additionally, JSwish hit on Maccelli, Toronto’s start, and what they need to do to get going here. He thinks the Leafs are in dire need of a right winger to play with Matthews, and ironically, he may know a guy who could fit that bill.
Jay Rosehill will be back under centre for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take (11 AM ET). Join us for a full recap of Toronto/Utah.
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