Toronto takes on an opponent that surely ranks as one of the last they would want to face off against while trying to regain confidence after consecutive embarrassing blowouts which have called into question everyone from the GM to the coach to the core players of the team.
Indeed, it’s probably the last thing the Leafs want to do tonight given the recent skid: Play at home against one of the best teams in the Conference. That’s the situation they find themselves in coming off losses to the Sabres and Predators by a combined 15-4 score.
After coughing up six to the offensively-inept Sabres and the bottom-10 Predators (in goals for), the Maple Leafs are now tasked with stopping the bleeding against a team that is scoring 3.6 goals per game (2nd in the NHL) and is armed with arguably the league’s purest goal scorer in Steven Stamkos, who scored a hat trick in his last visit home to Toronto.
The Leafs badly need to get off to a good start in this game or the walls may start to close in again. The Leafs have given up the first goal of the game within five minutes of puck drop in an unbelievable seven out of 19 games this season.
That’s a phenomenon not easily explained. How this team comes out so routinely unprepared as been one of Carlyle’s disconcerting ‘unanswerables’ in the early season.
Jonathan Bernier will start for the Leafs in net. It probably would’ve been Reimer after Bernier was pulled following the first with the Leafs down 3-0 to Nashville, but it somehow got a hell of a lot worse after that.
Toronto needs to keep their game simple. Games can’t be won on one shift; they need to stay patient and wait to capitalize on mistakes in transition, as opposed to getting into a track meet. Slowing down Tampa through the neutral zone, as with most teams, remains of paramount importance.
Carlyle for his part needs to recognize that starting L1 every game has been a recipe for disaster. Games where they have gotten off to good starts — like the game against Boston — he has started L3 consisting of Holland, Santorelli, and Komarov. Even more effective might be Komarov, Santorelli and Clarkson.
Projected Lineups
LIGHTNING
Valtteri Filppula – Steven Stamkos – Ryan Callahan
Ondrej Palat – Tyler Johnson – Nikita Kucherov
Jonathan Drouin – Vladislav Namestnikov – Alex Killorn
Brenden Morrow – Brian Boyle – Brett Connolly
Matthew Carle – Anton Stralman
Andrej Sustr – Mark Barberio
Jason Garrison – Radko Gudas
Evgeni Nabokov
Ben Bishop
Scratched: Eric Brewer, J.T. Brown
Injured: Victor Hedman (fractured finger), Cedric Paquette (lower body)
MAPLE LEAFS
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Daniel Winnik – Nazem Kadri – David Clarkson
Leo Komarov – Peter Holland – Mike Santorelli
Richard Panik – Trevor Smith – Josh Leivo
Dion Phaneuf – Cody Franson
Jake Gardiner – Roman Polak
Morgan Rielly – Stephane Robidas
Jonathan Bernier
James Reimer
Scratched: None
Injured: Joffrey Lupul (hand), David Booth (foot), Brandon Kozun (ankle)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
| Head to Head: | Maple Leafs | Lightning |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 9-8-2 (.526% - 19th) | 13-5-2 (.700 - 4th) |
| Goal Differential | -2 | +19 |
| GF/G | 3.05 (4th) | 3.60 (2nd) |
| GA/G | 3.10 (25th) | 2.60 (15th) |
| SF/G | 31.2 (8th) | 29.9 (17th) |
| SA/G | 33.6 (27th) | 28.4 (9th) |
| PP | 19.7% (11th) | 23.2% (5th) |
| PK | 83.6% (11th) | 80.9% (17th) |
| 5v5 Sh% | 8.60% (8th) | 10.21% (2nd) |
| 5v5 Sv% | 90.95% (20h) | 91.70% (20th) |
| FO% | 51.9% (9th) | 50.1% (13th) |
