The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against the Atlantic Division leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Prime Monday Night Hockey. This is the first matchup of the season between these two clubs and for the Maple Leafs, it couldn’t come at a better time. They are 4-1-1 in their last six games and now sit just four points out of first in the Atlantic and a Wild Card spot. That is a big turnaround after being in 27th in the NHL at the midway point in November.
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Unfortunately, they dropped their last game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, which snapped their three game winning streak. But they were able to push the game to a shootout and earned at least one point. Tonight, they are looking to extend their point streak to five straight games. Tonight could be one of the biggest games of the season, at least so far in this early stretch.
Maple Leafs News:
There really isn’t a ton of Maple Leafs news since Saturday. The biggest update that Leafs Nation received was regarding the health of Joseph Woll. He left the game against the Canadiens and didn’t return. He was then placed on the injured reserve (IR) retroactive to Dec. 4 with a lower body injury. Craig Berube spoke with the media yesterday and said that Woll should only be out a week, which is great news for the Maple Leafs.
In the meantime, the net belongs to Dennis Hildeby. Today, Berube also announced that Calle Jarnkrok and Dakota Mermis will draw into the lineup, and Nick Robertson and Philippe Myers will sit out. Additionally, Scott Laughton missed practice but will play tonight. He has been red hot in the last three games, with goals in each of them.
Team Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 12-11-4 ( 30 pts)
Top Scorers:
- William Nylander – 11 G, 21 A, 32 P
- John Tavares – 13 G, 16 A, 29 P
- Matthew Knies – 7 G, 21 A, 28 P
- Morgan Rielly – 4 G, 17 A, 21 P
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson – 4 G, 16 A, 20 P
Goalie Stats:
- Anthony Stolarz – 6-5-1, 3.51 GAA, .884 SV%
- Joseph Woll – 4-3-1, 2.44 GAA, .928 SV%
- Dennis Hildeby – 1-2-2, 2.51 GAA, .927 SV%
Tampa Bay Lightning
Season Record: 16-10-2 (34 pts)
Top Scorers:
- Nikita Kucherov – 12 G, 22 A, 34 P
- Brandon Hagel – 17 G, 12 A, 29 P
- Jake Guentzel – 14 G, 14 A, 28 P
- Darren Raddysh – 3 G, 15 A, 18 P
- Anthony Cirelli – 9 G, 8 A, 17 P
Goalie Stats:
- Andrei Vasilevskiy – 11-6-2, 2.31 GAA, .917 SV%
- Jonas Joansson – 5-6-0, 2.85 GAA, .896 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, Prime, NHLN, The Spot
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Mathew Knies — Auston Matthews — Max Domi
Easton Cowan — John Tavares — William Nylander
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok
Dakota Joshua — Nicolas Roy — Bobby McMann
Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Troy Stecher
Simon Benoit — Dakota Mermis
Dennis Hildeby
Artur Akhtyamov
Scratched: Matias Maccelli, Nicholas Robertson, Philippe Myers
Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body), Joseph Woll (lower body)
Lightning projected lineup
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Nikita Kucherov
Jake Guentzel — Brayden Point — Nick Paul
Zemgus Girgensons — Yanni Gourde — Pontus Holmberg
Gage Goncalves — Jack Finely — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Victor Hedman — Max Crozier
Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Emil Lilleberg
Darren Raddysh — J.J. Moser
Jonas Johansson
Brandon Halverson
Scratched: Jack Finley, Dominic James, Curtis Douglas
Injured: Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed), Erik Cernak (undisclosed), Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed)
