Toronto plays the worst team in the NHL, what could possibly go wrong?
Anaheim Ducks @ Toronto Maple Leafs
07:00 PM at Scotiabank Arena
Watch on: TSN4, BSSC
Opponent’s Site: Anaheim Calling
The Leafs last game was at home on December 10 against the Calgary Flames, which Toronto won by a score of 5-4. The Leafs have a record of 18-5-6 so far.
The Anaheim Ducks last played an away game on December 12 against the Ottawa Senators. The Ducks lost by a score of 3-0, and their current league record is 7-19-3. They have won one game in regulation.
Them
Okay, they aren’t last in every category, but they are the worst team with no question. This is an epic tank job for the ages. But as the Leafs discovered in October, if you open the door, their young and talented forwards can hurt you. The Ducks performance in that game was proof that sometimes wanting it really can work. Particularly if the other team is playing at about 55% of their real ability.
The Ducks were absolutely dominated by the Ottawa Senators last night, lost 3-0 while still mildly goalie-ing the Sens with their backup. So they’re tired and… what? Hopeless, angry, determined, ready for this roadie to end? Who knows.
Lines
Source: Last Game: (12/12) via Daily Faceoff
Troy Terry – Trevor Zegras – Adam Henrique
Maxime Comtois – Ryan Strome – Frank Vatrano
Max Jones – Mason McTavish – Brett Leason
Jayson Megna – Sam Carrick – Jakob Silfverberg
Cam Fowler – Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit – John Klingberg
Urho Vaakanainen – Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson – likely starter
Lukas Dostal
Us
The Leafs are very slowly getting healthier on defence, and losing bodies at forward. Brodie was still on the third pair at practice yesterday, but he had the second most minutes in the most recent game for defenders. He played three minutes with Timothy Liljegren to top up his time with Conor Timmins. Timmins has settled in as a perfectly playable defender, how far above that he can reach is still an open question, but the defence roster right now is a lot more secure.
Denis Malgin is going to get some more time in the top six and Joey Anderson takes his job on the fourth line. The next most likely person to return from injury is Jordie Benn, however, so that might raise an bit of a conundrum as to who to play. Injuries have disguised this early on, but the fact that there are more than six NHL-calibre defenders hasn’t changed.
No firm word yet on Leafs goalies, not that it makes a lot of difference these days. Ilya Samsonov has 8.1 Goals Saved Above Expected in 10 games and Matt Murray has 7.8 (Moneypuck).
Lines
Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Denis Malgin – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Alex Kerfoot – David Kämpf – Pierre Engvall
Zach Aston-Reese – Pontus Holmberg – Joey Anderson
Mark Giordano – Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin – Timothy Liljegren
TJ Brodie – Conor Timmins
Ilya Samsonov – likely starter
Matt Murray
The Game
What’s to say here? Keep your head, and you win this game easily. Play it stupid and you get embarrassed again.
Go Leafs Go!