Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes
Time: 7:00PM ET
Location: PNC Arena
Broadcast/Streaming: TSN4, Fox Sports Carolina
Opponent SBNation Site: Canes Country
The Leafs continue their four-game road trip with the second of three meetings against the Hurricanes. Carolina took the first contest 5-2 after putting up 29 shots in the opening period (which was a franchise record by the way). The good guys responded by outshooting them 12-2 in the second frame, but it was a lost game by then and Curtis McElhinney had a lot to do with it.
It’ll be different circumstances this time around. The Leafs didn’t have Matthews and Nylander in the lineup then, and to add on to that, the last five days should have the team hungry to score some goals and get back in the win column.
Unfortunately, they’ll have to do it without Zach Hyman who will be serving the first of a two-game suspension after his hit on Charlie McAvoy on Saturday. Connor Brown gets an opportunity to produce on the scoresheet here as he’ll be up with Tavares and Marner on the top line while the Goat draws back in pushing Lindholm on the wing.
Maple Leafs
Lines from yesterday’s practice
Forward Lines
Connor Brown - John Tavares - Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson - Auston Matthews - Kasperi Kapanen
Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri - William Nylander
Par Lindholm - Frederik Gauthier - Tyler Ennis
Defence Pairs
Morgan Rielly - Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott - Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
The Hurricanes, on the other hand, must be feeling good about themselves after taking the 4-1 victory over Anaheim last Friday. It was also the first time in five games where Carolina scored more than a single goal.
No exaggeration. They’re a team that piles on a decent number of shots a game to give themselves an opportunity to win but lack the finish to do so most nights. Getting Ferland back from his concussion may help with the game plan as he leads the Hurricanes in goals, but it’ll most likely come down to the play of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen who have been the offensive guys for Carolina.
Carolina Hurricanes
Forward Lines
Jordan Martinook - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen
Warren Foegele - Victor Rask - Phillip Di Giuseppe
Andrei Svechnikov - Lucas Wallmark - Justin Williams
Micheal Ferland - Clark Bishop - Brock McGinn
Defence Pairs
Jaccob Slavin - Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan - Justin Faulk
Trevor van Riemsdyk - Brett Pesce
Goaltenders
Petr Mrazek
Scott Darling
Leafs vs Wild
| Maple Leafs | Team | Wild |
|---|---|---|
| 26-11-2 | Record | 18-17-3 |
| 144 GF - 109 GA - + 35 | Goal Differential | 110 GF - 108 GA - +2 |
| 23.8% - 8th | Power Play | 23.2% - 10th |
| 79.6% - 16th | Penalty Kill | 83.9% - 3rd |
| John Tavares - 26 | Most Goals | Zach Parise - 17 |
| Mitch Marner - 40 | Most Assists | Mikael Granlund - 26 |
| Mitch Marner - 53 | Most Points | Mikael Granlund - 37 |
| Hyman - 42 | Most PIM | Miles Wood - 33 |
| Morgan Rielly - 22:24 | TOI Leader | Ryan Suter - 26:15 |
| Michaek Hutchinson - .839 Sv% | Starting Goaltender | Devan Dubnyk - .912 Sv% |
The McElhinney magic won’t be in net today as he’s still injured. But even if he was, the Leafs need to get back in the swing of things and the Hurricanes have usually provided the team with some memorable moments.
Game on!
