The Leafs take on the Flames tonight as they host Kadri for the first time since he hoisted the Stanley Cup. The Leafs have many streaks to try and keep going as Marner can continue to grow his franchise record 21 game point streak, the Leafs have points in 13 games straight, and Matthews has points in 6 straight games. Murray gets the nod tonight, as he also hasn’t lost a game in regulation since the first game of the season. The Leafs look to keep their solid play going tonight, while the Flames look to start building momentum as their season start hasn’t been up to their standard.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Bunting – Matthews – Nylander
Malgin – Tavares – Marner
Kerfoot – Kämpf – Anderson
Aston-Reese – Holmberg – Simmonds
Defense
Giordano – Holl
Sandin – Liljegren
Brodie – Timmins
Goalies
Murray
Samsonov
Flames Projected Lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Toffoli
Dube – Kadri – Mangiapane
Ruzicka – Backlund – Coleman
Lucic – Zohorna – Lewis
Defense
Hanifin – Andersson
Weegar – Tanev
Zadorov – Stone
Goalies
Vladar
Markstrom
3 Things to Look Out For
1. Anderson
With Robertson injured and Engvall suspended for a game, it has given an opportunity for performing Marlies players to land opportunities with the Leafs. Joey Anderson gets that opportunity tonight, as he has been a major part of the Marlies success this year, with 19 points in 21 games. Anderson will look to make an impact on the third line tonight. He has only played in 6 games for the Leafs since being acquired in exchange for Andreas Johnsson, so it would be great to see him perform well with the Leafs. Johnsson hasn’t panned out too well with the Devils, but it sure would be nice for Anderson to overperform and end up in constant competition for an NHL slot, as solid depth is never a bad thing.
2. Malgin
Malgin finds himself back on the second line tonight, mainly due to an injury to Robertson. It always is tough seeing someone go down with an injury, and even more so with Robertson, who seemingly can’t catch a break. With that said, Malgin now has a chance to prove that he belongs on this team and is more than a fourth-liner. He will more than likely get lots of opportunities now, so it’s up to him to make the most of them.
3. Simmonds
With Lucic and Lewis in the lineup, the chances of the game getting extra physical highly increase. Simmonds has a lot to prove, but having a veteran like him in the lineup who isn’t scared to drop the gloves will be a boost to this team. It will be great to have another veteran presence on the bench, and I hope that players will continue to stick up for the young players and star players, even if Simmonds isn’t on the ice. I am hoping that Simmonds also ends up on the second powerplay unit and gets a chance to show he’s still capable of scoring.
Murray starts tonight as the Leafs take on the Flames at 7:00 pm EST on Sportsnet or CBC.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @nathan_bondy.
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