Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. EST | Arena: BB&T Center | TV: SN Ontario | Radio: TSN 1050
Coming off of a winning streak-ending loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the Toronto Maple Leafs will tweak up their lineup for tonight’s game against a desperate Florida team.
Looks like Soshnikov is in, Dom Moore out for #Leafs tonight
— Kevin McGran (@kevin_mcgran) November 22, 2017
Last time the Leafs scratched Dominic Moore with Auston Matthews healthy and in the lineup, Mitch Marner was struggling and was moved onto the bottom line, while Kasperi Kapanen was up and playing on Nazem Kadri’s wing. Marner, considering his improved play of late (one goal, nine assists in his last eight games), should remain higher up the lineup than the last time they were in this situation.
Tonight, we could see Patrick Marleau move back to center with Tyler Bozak centering the bottom line. That should give the Leafs more offensive depth throughout the lineup against a Florida team that relies heavily on their Aleksander Barkov-centered top unit. The move likely has a lot to do with matchup alignment and Mike Babcock wanting four lines he can roll over the boards on the road.
We’ll have to wait until pre-game line rushes to find out the official combos, including where Nikita Soshnikov will play as he draws back into the lineup.
Game Day Quotes
Mike Babcock on the challenge the Panthers present tonight:
We play a team that’s really hungry, really skating. They play their big guys a ton of minutes and their goaltender has been real good for them – so we’re going to have to test their D, be real active. It’ll be a good test for us. We’re excited to play.
Babcock on if it changes his strategy knowing the Panthers play their top line over 20 minutes a night:
It depends on what they’re going to do with their first group. If they do what Montreal did and they’re waiting for a certain line, I didn’t want that. I went with four centres. I might go that way tonight, but I’m going to see what they do and then we’re going to adjust to win the game.
Babcock on if Kadri, like Rielly, still needs time to perfect playing a matchup role:
Naz is a guy who’s figured it out, obviously. Sometimes what happens is you arrive in place and get credit for a guy that’s suddenly playing better, but what really happened was he came of age and matured and made up his own mind. One thing about it – until they decide – it’s not happening. Naz, we play him against the best people all the time at home. On the road, they choose not to play against him as much as they can. In saying that, he’s played hard. He’s learned that, if he gets to the net, he can score, too. He doesn’t have a big bomb and can’t score from the outside, so he has to get inside to score. I think he enjoys both sides.
Nazem Kadri on improving his shot:
It’s quicker. Not so much the power but just getting is off quicker and surprising goaltenders. Just always being ready to shoot the puck. Wherever you get it, being ready to be a shooter and being able to read off that. Sometimes it’s surprising goaltenders and I think I’ve been doing that as of late.
Kadri on if it would be difficult to play 23 minutes night like the Barkov line has:
23 minutes, really? That sucks. You do [want more ice time] but I mean 23 a night for 82 games straight — that’s got to wear on you after a while. Obviously, he’s a great player and you want him out there as much as possible, but you also have to monitor your minutes and make sure fatigue doesn’t set in. Once that does, your brain stops working.
Auston Matthews on the Panthers’ neutral zone play:
They’re pretty tough to get through the neutral zone against. They’ve got some pretty skilled players as well that can make plays so we definitely have to be better in our own zone, make sure we’re breaking out pucks, and not letting them get on top of our D.
Matchup Stats
| TOR | FLA | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 14-8-0 | 7-11-2 |
| GF/g | 3.59 (3rd) | 3.00 (13th) |
| GA/g | 3.05 (18th) | 3.55 (30th) |
| PP% | 22.9% (5th) | 16,7% (23rd) |
| PK% | 80% (18th) | 72% (30th) |
| Shots/g | 30.5 (19th) | 303.9 (7th) |
| Shots Against/g | 33.4 (26th) | 35.3 (30th) |
| 5v5 CF% | 50.50% (13th) | 49.21% (18th) |
| 5v5 SV% | .920 (17th) | .915 (23rd) |
| 5v5 SH% | 10.6% (1st) | 8.1% (13th) |
Toronto Maple Leafs Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Martin – Matthews – Marner
Komarov – Kadri – Soshnikov
van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Nylander
Hyman– Marleau– Brown
Defencemen
Rielly – Hainsey
Gardiner – Zaitsev
Borgman – Carrick
Goaltenders
Andersen
McElhinney
Scratched: Moore, Leivo, Polak
Florida Panthers Projected Lineup
Forwards
Huberdeau– Barkov – Dadonov
Haapala – Trocheck – Bjugstad
McGinn – McCann– Sceviour
Brickley – Balisy– Haley
Defencemen
Yandle – Ekblad
Matheson – Pysyk
McCoshen – Weegar
Goaltenders
Luongo
Reimer
Injured: Vrbata, Petrovic
