The Maple Leafs look to keep building on the positive possession performances of the past two games against one of the best teams in the League at possessing the puck.
The Kings have recently been dealt a blow with the losses of 2013-14 emergents Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli to injury, and are losers of four of their last five, three in overtime or shootout. The Kings have played a tonne of tight games, going to overtime or shootout 12 times so far this season, and have lost 10 of those games (1-6 in shootout, 1-4 in overtime).
If the Leafs can show the commitment to the 5-5-5 philosophy Horachek has been preaching and keep it respectable possession wise in this game, they have had a better time scoring than LA this season. The Kings haven’t been outshot since November 29th, so it seems unlikely the Leafs will win on the shot clock in their building, but the Leafs have been successful in generating offense against the Kings despite getting out possessed, putting six goals past them in their last two meetings.
Jonathan Bernier is expected to start against his old team, which didn’t turn out so hot in the last visit to Staples Centre. Bernier let in two first-period goals and got hurt before Reimer stole the show in relief. Reimer also picked up the win over LA last month in Leafs‘ the shootout victory at the ACC.
The Leafs‘ lineup is expected to remain unchanged after their decisive win over the Blue Jackets, one of their better wins of the season — 30+ shots for, just 20 against, and a 5-2 final scoreline.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Los Angeles Kings - Head to Head
| Head to Head: | Maple Leafs | Kings |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 22-17-3 (.560% - 19th) | 19-13-10 (.571% - 17th) |
| Goal Differential | +7 (13th) | +7 (14th) |
| GF/G | 3.19 (2nd) | 2.81 (11th) |
| GA/G | 3.07 (25th) | 2.52 (13th) |
| PP | 20.7% (9th) | 20.3% (11th) |
| PK | 82.0% (13th) | 78.7% (24th) |
| SF/G | 29.4 (20th) | 31.7 (5th) |
| SA/G | 33.8 (28th) | 28.0 (7th) |
| 5v5 SF/G | 27.7 (22nd) | 31.1 (6th) |
| 5v5 SA/G | 33.2 (29th) | 27.0 (5th) |
| 5v5 FF% | 45.3% (27th) | 53.9% (4th) |
| 5v5 CF% | 44.9% (27th) | 53.9% (2nd) |
| 5v5 Sh% | 9.39% (2nd) | 7.33% (20th) |
| 5v5 Sv% | 91.97% (20th) | 92.46% (15th) |
| FO% | 48.9% (20th) | 51.4% (9th) |
PP=Power Play %; PK=Penalty Kill %; GF/G=Goals for per game; GA/G=Goals against per game; SF/G=Shots for per game; SA/G=Shots against per game; Sh%=Shooting %; Sv%=Save percentage; F0%=Faceoff percentage; CF%=Corsi for % (shot attempts: shots, blocked shots, missed shots); FF%=Fenwick for% (shots+missed shots)
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Daniel Winnik – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
(3-14-16) – (14-18-32) – (19-24-43) (37g, 91pts TOT)
James van Riemsdyk – Nazem Kadri – Richard Panik
(19-21-40) – (11-14-25) – (7-1-8) (37g, 73pts TOT)
Leo Komarov – Mike Santorelli – David Clarkson
(5-13-18) – (9-16-25) – (9-4-13) (23g, 56pts TOT)
David Booth – Trevor Smith – Troy Bodie
(1-1-2) – (1-2-2) – (0-0-0) (2g, 5pts TOT)
Dion Phaneuf – Cody Franson
(2-20-22) – (6-19-24) (8G, 47PTS TOT)
Jake Gardiner – Stephane Robidas
(2-7-9) – (0-4-4) (2G, 13PTS TOT)
Morgan Rielly – Roman Polak
(4-8-12) – (4-3-7) (8G, 19PTS TOT)
Jonathan Bernier
(16-10-3, 2.73 GAA, .916SV%)
James Reimer
Scratched: Korbinian Holzer, Sam Carrick
Injured: Peter Holland (upper body), Joffrey Lupul (lower body)
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lineup
Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Jeff Carter
(13-9-22) – (9-23-32) – (11-19-30)
Dustin Brown – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
(6-10-16) – (4-9-13) – (12-11-23)
Dwight King – Mike Richards – Trevor Lewis
(7-5-12) – (5-9-14) – (6-5-11)
Kyle Clifford – Andy Andreoff – Jordan Nolan
(2-6-8) – (0-0-0) – (1-0-0)
Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty
(0-10-10) – (4-20-24) (4g, 34pts TOT)
Jeff Schultz – Alec Martinez
(0-0-0) – (4-12-16) (4g, 16pts TOT)
Jake Muzzin – Matt Greene
(5-15-20) – (2-3-5) (7g, 25pts TOT)
Martin Jones
(3-3-2, 2.32GAA, .908SV%)
Jonathan Quick
Injured: Tanner Pearson (leg), Robyn Regehr (upper body), Tyler Toffoli (mononucleosis)
Suspended: Slava Voynov
Scratched: Nick Shore, Jamie McBain
Status report: Jones was first off the ice. It will be his second start since his last win Dec. 4 … Korbinian and Holzer will likely be scratched, according to the Toronto Sun.
Who’s hot: van Riemsdyk matched a career-high with three points Friday and has 11 points in his past eight games … Kessel had his 14th multipoint game of the season Friday… Gaborik has 12 goals and five assists in his past 10 games against Toronto.
