After a loss to the Knights, the Leafs sit at 4-3-0 heading into tonight’s 10:30 pm EST tilt vs. the Sharks. The Sharks have played nine games and are sitting at a 2-7-0 record. The Leafs need to come out strong tonight and not underestimate their opponent, as we saw what happened with Arizona last week. The Leafs have also shaken up their lines heading into tonight, as the third line hasn’t performed as well as they should, and the first line hasn’t been able to convert on their puck possession.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Kerfoot – Matthews – Marner
Robertson – Tavares – Nylander
Bunting – Järnkrok – Malgin
Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Engvall
Defense
Rielly – Brodie
Sandin – Holl
Giordano – Mete
Goalies
Källgren (confirmed starter)
Samsonov
Sharks Projected Lineup
Forwards
Meier – Hertl – Svechnikov
Nieto – Couture – Barabanov
Lindblom – Sturm – Kunin
Gregor – Lorentz – Labanc
Defense
Megna – Karlsson
Vlasic – Benning
Ferraro – Simek
Goalies
Kahkonen (confirmed starter)
Reimer
Three Things to Look Out For
Leafs’ third line identity changed
A big part of this line shakeup was on the third line, as the only remaining player on this line is Järnkrok, but even then, he is shifting to center from the wing. Järnkrok will be centering Bunting and Malgin. Malgin returns to the Leafs’ lineup after three games as a healthy scratch. I’m sure that these changes aimed to spark the third line into more offense, and having a determined Malgin be a part of that is hopeful to help the offensive output.
Revamped First Line
The first line also saw changes as Kerfoot moved to the left-wing slot that Bunting previously had. Matthews and Marner have looked really good with the puck but haven’t been able to find the back of the net much this season, so hopefully, adding Kerfoot into their line will at least shuffle things up and act as a fresh start even though Bunting didn’t look bad on the first line. Maybe worth mentioning earlier, but I’m sure that Leafs’ management wants to see Bunting without Matthews and Marner before signing him to an extension. Kerfoot can keep up with Matthews and Marner, so it’ll be worth keeping their eye on him as he gets a chance on the first line tonight.
Engvall and Kämpf reunited
Last season it seemed like the Leafs never gave up more goals than they scored when they had Mikheyev, Engvall, and Kämpf on the ice. So far this season, Engvall hasn’t looked the same, and Kämpf has had less offensive output, although he is still playing well defensively. It’s worth keeping an eye on Engvall and Kämpf tonight as they are back together to see if having 2/3 of the line from last season will spark some results.
Predictions
This is a new segment of the pre-game articles, where each game, there will be three predictions that will be answered between our Leafs’ writing team, Leafs’ Late Night team, and a coin flip. We will track it throughout the season to see who is the most accurate! The coin flip will always have heads as the home team and tails as the away team.
Who will walk away with the win tonight?
Nathan: Leafs
Josh: Leafs
Mike: Leafs
Steph: Leafs
Johnny: –
Coin: Leafs
Who will score first? Sharks or Leafs?
Nathan: Sharks
Josh: Leafs
Mike: Leafs
Steph: Leafs
Johnny: –
Coin: Sharks
Will Matthews and Marner combine for over/under 2.5 points?
Nathan: Over
Josh: Over
Mike: Over
Steph: Over
Johnny: Under
Coin (over=heads, under=tails): Over
Källgren will be between the Leafs’ pipes tonight when the game starts at 10:30 pm EST on Sportsnet.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @nathan_bondy.
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