Tonight the Leafs face off against the Rangers, but before the puck drops, the Leafs will be honouring their captain, John Tavares, and celebrating his milestone of reaching 1,000 career NHL points. Tavares has been Mr. Consistent throughout his career and has had success to show for it. I’m sure the whole team will join in the celebrations, but Tavares will also have his wife and kids there, which surely will be special. Once the celebration is done, the puck will drop, and it will be another regular season game against the top team in the East, the New York Rangers. It will be important for the Leafs to quickly focus after the pre-game celebrations and play a similar game to the one that gave them success previously against the Penguins and Rangers.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Three Things to Look Out For
Bertuzzi
Tyler Bertuzzi is coming off of a hot game with the Leafs, where he netted three assists and looked dominant on the ice. Wherever Bertuzzi plays, he has looked solid defensively. The offensive skill is there, but the production has taken time to come. If Bertuzzi can continue to play a sound defensive game and start to use his playmaking skills more, we should see similar results to Saturday’s game more often. Keep an eye on Bertuzzi again tonight, as he looks to be back on the scoresheet again.
Brodie
TJ Brodie and Auston Matthews both are projected to be back in the lineup after missing last game due to illness. For Brodie, his season so far has been decent defensively, but he’s taken a step back due to age. Brodie has been well worth his contract since joining the Leafs and ultimately has been one of the best Leafs defensemen defensively since joining the Leafs. Brodie will look to draw back into the lineup and help elevate Rielly’s game as he has done so many times.
Lagesson
William Lagesson has been an excellent depth addition for this Leafs team and has shown up throughout these injuries on the backend. Lagesson plays a solid defensive game but has little offensive upside. Lagesson and Benoit are similar players in style, and with the lineup getting more healthy, the two players will surely be fighting for a spot on the roster. Keep an eye on Lagesson tonight as he looks to earn a spot in the next game’s lineup while helping contribute towards the Leafs success tonight.
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. EST on TSN with Martin Jones starting between the pipes!
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