Preview: Maple Leafs @ Hurricanes

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Carolina Hurricanes
05:00 PM at PNC Arena
Watch on: TSN4, ESPN, TVAS, SlingTV

Opponent’s Site: Canes Country

The Leafs last game was at home on November 5 against the Boston Bruins, which Toronto won by a score of 2-1. The Leafs have a record of 6-4-2 so far.

The Carolina Hurricanes last played at home on November 4 against the Buffalo Sabres. The Hurricanes won by a score of 5-3, and their current league record is 8-2-1.

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Them

The Canes mostly have their regular lineup healthy, with the exception of Ondřej Kaše, whose health we do share an interest in. According to the last update, Kaše is in concussion protocol after suffering a hit to the head in his first game of the season in mid-October. At this point what can you say for the 26-year-old other than hoping he’s going to be okay.

Also out is Jake Gardiner, who has said he wants to be back this season following hip and back surgeries. However, he wasn’t at training camp and the Canes don’t have the ability to activate him and fit within the cap when they have plans to bring Pacioretty back. I hope he gets a chance to play again, his contract ends this season where he can be freed from Robidas Island. And speaking of Pacioretty, he’s expected to come back mid-season after the Canes got him for essentially free.

Lines

Source: Last Game (11/03) via Daily Faceoff

Teuvo Teravainen - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Stefan Noesen - Paul Stastny - Derek Stepan
Injured: Ondřej Kaše, Max Pacioretty

Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan - Jalen Chatfield
Extra: Dylan Coghlan
Injured: Jake Gardiner

Frederik Andersen - projected starter
Antti Raanta

Us

So, the goalies. 23-years-old, 6’5” tall Keith Petruzzelli (one t, two z’s, two l’s) has joined the team on their flight to Carolina and is expected to backup Erik Källgren in tonight’s game. Källgren played the third period last night against Boston after Ilya Samsonov was forced to leave with an injury. There’s no official word yet on Petruzzelli’s contract, but it’ll have to come by gametime. You can’t play on a PTO.

There was some luck in this situation regarding contract spots. The Leafs were at 50 as of yesterday. but when Nicolas Aubé-Kubel was claimed by Washington, it gave the Leafs one contract spot of breathing room. They can now use that to upgrade Petruzzelli’s AHL contract to an NHL one. Patruzzelli has a .922 save percentage with the Marlies this year in six games, and had a .902 in five games last year. That is the extent of his AHL experience. He also put up a .927 in 23 games for Newfoundland in the ECHL after graduating from the NCAA (Not Harvard).

As for the lines, there are still decisions to make. Not only do the Leafs have to stay within 50 NHL contracts, they also need to stay within 23 players on the NHL roster. If Petruzzelli is signed, they will have 24 if the roster from yesterday stays the way it is. One solution is putting Ilya Samsonov on IR, which doesn’t have a minimum time requirement, and the Leafs don’t need the cap savings with Muzzin and Murray on LTIR. Updated: the minimum time a player must stay on IR is seven days.

Either the Leafs will put Samsonov on LTIR, or they will have to send someone down. It’s too late for waivers, so one of Pontus Holmberg, Nick Robertson, or Wayne Simmonds will be the odd one out.

Coming onto the second half of a back to back, it’s unclear what lineup changes Sheldon Keefe will make, we will update you on that in the GDT.

Lines (from last night):

Michael Bunting - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Alex Kerfoot - John Tavares - William Nylander
Wayne Simmonds - Pierre Engvall - Calle Järnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese - David Kämpf - Denis Malgin
Extras: Pontus Holmberg, Nick Robertson

Morgan Rielly - Timothy Liljegren
TJ Brodie - Justin Holl
Mark Giordano - Rasmus Sandin
Extras: Victor Mete

Erik Källgren - projected starter
Keith Petruzzelli*

Injured: Jake Muzzin (LTIR), Matt Murray (LTIR), Ilya Samsonov (TBD), Kyle Clifford (IR), Jordie Benn (LTIR), Carl Dahlström (SOIR), Joseph Woll (SOIR), Rodion Amirov (SOIR)

*Contract pending

The Game

The Hurricanes, as we’ve known for a while, are shot share specialists, leading the league in corsi with 63%, with the Devils right behind them. They do what the Leafs like to do when they’re playing well, which is limit chances against by having the puck all the freaking time. We’ll see how this turns out as the two sides face each other tonight. Historically, the Leafs were 1-1-1 last season against Carolina and 1-1-0 in 2019-20 with the Leafs owning 53% of the shots in those games. Pretty even.