LGP #20: Tavares 300th Game as Leaf vs Former Team

After a convincing win against the slumping Islanders, the Leafs are back for a Monday night game at home against the Islanders. Tonight will be Tavares’ 300th game as a Leaf, and it’s fitting that it’s against none other than the Islanders, his former team. The Islanders have started out the season on a decent note as they sit at a .579 win percentage, so the Leafs will need to bring their best game tonight.

Leafs Projected Lineup

Forwards

Bunting – Matthews – Nylander

Kerfoot – Tavares – Marner

Engvall – Holmberg – Järnkrok

Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Malgin

Defense

Rielly – Benn

Giordano – Holl

Sandin – Liljegren

Goalies

Källgren

Murray

Islanders Projected Lineup

Forwards

Parise – Barzal – Wahlstrom

Lee – Nelson – Beauvillier

Bailey – Pageau – Palmieri

Martin – Cizikas – Clutterbuck

Defense

Pelech – Pulock

Romanov – Dobson

Aho – Mayfield

Goalies

Sorokin

Varlamov

Three Things to Look Out For

Källgren

Tonight Källgren will be getting the start after Murray has taken the last three starts and looked solid. The main reason for Källgren starting is that Murray would be playing four games in six days had he played, and Källgren hasn’t played in a little while, so it acts as both load management for Murray and a chance to keep Källgren fresh. With Samsonov expected to be unavailable for at least the next four games still, I’m sure Källgren wants to prove he can be trusted to start any time during that stretch of games.

Benn

Benn came into the lineup from his injury pretty much right away and has been tossed into what some may count as tough minutes. He has looked good so far, but is showing some signs of fatigue. It will be interesting to watch him tonight and see if he shows continued signs of fatigue and how he is able to deal with that. I think Benn has already been a great depth piece for the Leafs and will look to help contribute to a hopeful win tonight.

Nylander

Nylander can receive quite a bit of criticism at times, but often it is undeserved especially this season. He has been an excellent value for his contract, sitting at ten goals and 20 points in just 19 games. If he were able to keep up this pace, he would set a career-high in both goals and points for one season. It seems like Nylander can score or set up a goal from just about anywhere, regardless of the center he is paired with.

You can watch tonight’s game live at 7:30 pm EST on Sportsnet!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @nathan_bondy.

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