The Leafs lost the opening end of their back-to-back last night vs. the Penguins, but you don’t have to wait long for hockey, as they will be back tonight vs. the Canucks. The Canucks have not done well this year, so let’s see if the Leafs can elevate their game with a win tonight rather than playing to their competition’s level, resulting in some games being closer than they should.
Leafs Projected Lineup
**Note a lineup hasn’t been released for tonight yet, but this is the lineup that played last night. Keep an eye on the defense as Jordie Benn may make his regular-season debut with the Leafs, depending on a game-time decision.
Forwards
Kerfoot – Matthews – Marner
Robertson – Tavares – Nylander
Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Malgin
Bunting – Engvall – Järnkrok
Defense
Brodie – Holl
Rielly – Liljegren
Giordano – Sandin
Goalies
Källgren
Petruzzelli
Canucks Projected Lineup
Forwards
Mikheyev – Miller – Boeser
Kuzmenko – Pettersson– Hoglander
Podkolzin – Horvat – Garland
Joshua – Aman – Studnicka
Defense
Hughes – Myers
Ekman-Larsson – Bear
Stillman – Schenn
Goalies
Martin
Demko
Three Things to Look Out For
Källgren
For the most part, Källgren has played well as a #3 goalie. I don’t think he is ready to be a backup yet, but he has shown signs of promise. Tonight will be Källgren’s first back-to-back start in the NHL. While he let in a goal he admittedly wanted back last night in the third period, he also made some key saves. Look for Källgren to play well as his NHL stint may be close to an end, with Murray projected to be back on Tuesday and Samsonov projected to begin practicing with the team again next week.
Engvall
Something has seemed off with Engvall so far this season. While it was easy to blame his ankle injury for the first few games, it’s now getting to the point where Engvall needs to do something to show why he deserves a spot on this team. He has said before he believes he is a 20-goal scorer, but we have yet to see signs of that this season. Engvall contributes well on the penalty kill, but other than that, he has seemed bland so far. For him to silence the doubters, he needs to either start producing or start to use his size to his advantage, either with physicality or body positioning.
Tavares looking for a milestone
Tavares has been close to a milestone for multiple nights now. He currently sits at 399 career goals. Tavares has looked like a new player this year, silencing doubt about his aging and no longer being effective in the NHL. Tonight would be a great night for him to land that 400th career goal.
You can watch tonight’s game on Sportsnet or CBC at 7:00 PM EST.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @nathan_bondy.
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