The Leafs are about to play their first back-to-back of the season and are coming off a hectic shootout win against the Flames. The Leafs blew a multi-goal lead but were able to still get the job done at the end of the night in the shootout. Tonight the Leafs are against the surging Canucks, a team that has been far better than the Flames. The Leafs will need to bring out their best game tonight, and Samsonov will need to start getting back on track if the Leafs want a chance to come out of the back-to-back with two wins.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Three Things to Look Out For
McMann
Bobby McMann has had quite the journey, making it to the NHL last season and then suffering a major injury that kept him out of the lineup for quite some time. McMann started this season on the Marlies once he was healthy and has two goals and an assist in 6 games with the Marlies. McMann is a fast and aggressive forechecker who looks to add speed to the Leafs fourth line. He is taking the spot from Reaves tonight and will look to make an impact both offensively and defensively. It’s worth noting that David Kampf looks at his best when he’s playing with faster wingers (Mikheyev, Engvall, and Lafferty for example), and with Gregor and McMann on his wings tonight, the Leafs fourth line will look to have a new identity and finally start contributing positively.
Klingberg
Klingberg is back in the lineup tonight after being out of the lineup with a minor injury last night. Klingberg hasn’t had a great start to this Leafs season, and his lingering injury might play a part in his play. Klingberg will look to create more offense while he tries to clean up things in his own zone. It’s no secret Keefe hasn’t been too pleased with Klingberg so far this season, so it’s important for Klingberg to have a solid game tonight as he is now battling for a roster spot with Benoit looking decent in his minutes.
Robertson
Nick Robertson has looked great since being called up to the NHL and is making a difference on both sides of the ice. His offensive awareness is impressive, and the worry of him not being effective if he isn’t in top-six minutes seems to have been settled as this is the best the Leafs third line has looked all season. Robertson has recorded a point in all three games he has played and will look to extend the point streak to 4 games tonight as the Leafs look to finally grow some secondary scoring.
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. EST on Sportsnet!
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