Toronto Maple Leafs (10-10-5, 28th in NHL) vs. Boston Bruins (15-11-2, 13th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: TD Garden
Watch: CBC
Game Day Notes
– A big matchup challenge on the road for the Leafs tonight in the form of the Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak trio that is one of the most productive possession lines in the entire NHL. Their 65% Corsi For is the best of any line with more than 100 even strength minutes played together according to corsi.hockey. While Bergeron is off to a slow start offensively with eight points in 25 games, both Pastrnak and Marchand are in the top 25 in NHL points scoring, and Pastrnak leads the entire NHL in goals with 18 (tied with Sidney Crosby). Mike Babcock will look to line up the Nazem Kadri line (which will include William Nylander on the right wing) against the Bergeron line whenever possible, but it will need to be a group effort without last change.
– The Bruins enter the game with the best possession numbers (54.4% CF), the best shot differential in the league (33.1 shots for per game, 27.3 shots against), and sit sixth in the league in goals against (2.32/game). Goaltender Tuukka Rask is currently third behind Carey Price and Devan Dubnyk in save percentage among goalies with 15 or more games played (.933).
– Boston has struggled to score at the other end of the rink, however, with a 2.36 goals per game (25th in the NHL), as well as a bottom-five powerplay that is clicking at just 14.1%. If the Leafs can get out to a fast start, the Bruins have won just one game when trailing after the first period in seven attempts.
– Defenceman Martin Marincin is expected to re-enter the lineup for the Leafs. He’ll play the right side next to Jake Gardiner, as he did against Vancouver with good results (one assist, 73% CF). Mike Babcock confirmed that Marincin would’ve played in Wednesday’s game versus Minnesota if he wasn’t for an illness.
– The Leafs won the first meeting of the season series in the second game of the season — a 4-1 victory at the ACC that featured Frederik Andersen’s first win as a Maple Leaf and Mitch Marner’s first career NHL goal.
– Lastly, best of luck to Toronto FC in their quest for an MLS Cup championship tonight at BMO Field.
Go get 'em @torontofc.#TFCLive #MLSCup #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/8ko4nQzzWS
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 10, 2016
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Bos |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 32 |
| Record % | 0.5 | 0.571 |
| Home Winning % | 0.667 | 0.5 |
| Away Winning % | 0.346 | 0.571 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0.667 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -0.12 | 0.04 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | 0.68 | 5.89 |
| Hits Per Game | 25.6 | 21.3 |
| PIM Per Game | 11.1 | 9.5 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 12.4 | 9.1 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.96 | 2.36 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.36 | 1.86 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.56 | 0.43 |
| Shots Per Game | 32.8 | 33.1 |
| Shots Per Goal | 11.1 | 14.1 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.09 | 0.071 |
| Power Play % | 0.189 | 0.141 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 3.08 | 2.32 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.56 | 1.75 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.44 | 0.43 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 32.08 | 27.25 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 10.42 | 11.74 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.096 | 0.085 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.855 | 0.87 |
| Save % | 0.904 | 0.915 |
| Goals Against Average | 3.04 | 2.3 |
| Shutouts | 0 | 3 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.91 | 0.929 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.92 | 2.33 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 2 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Martin Marincin
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Scratched: Connor Carrick, Frank Corrado
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Antoine Bibeau
Boston Bruins Projected Lines
Forwards
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen – David Krejci – David Backes
Ryan Spooner – Riley Nash – Austin Czarnik
Tim Schaller – Dominic Moore – Noel Acciari
Defencemen
Zdeno Chara – Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug – Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller – Colin Miller
Goaltenders
Starter: Tuukka Rask (Confirmed)
Backup: Anton Khoudobin
