The Toronto Maple Leafs (6-3-1 in their last 10) are in Detroit to take on the Red Wings (8-2-0). Detroit has been one of the hottest team’s in the League since they were defeated by Toronto 4-1 in their last outing.
[quote_box_right]”A good team, obviously playing well, lots of offensive punch, so we’re going to have our hands full. They’re good. If you look at the analytics part they’re no good, but when you look at coaching and winning games, they’re good” – Mike Babcock[/quote_box_right]Detroit is rolling right now and with the return of Pavel Datsyuk, they’ve added an elite two-way player — perhaps the best in the world — to an already potent team that can beat you anyway you want.
Toronto put up arguably one of their best games in the last couple of seasons versus Detroit in their last meeting. Their possession game has been slipping a bit since then and they have been winning on the strength of depth scoring and a resurgent goaltender. They are going to have to play better in this home and home to keep collecting points — specifically the first line, which has been underwhelming for the last 10 to 14 days.
As is well documented, Toronto has a perfect record when scoring the first goal. The opening few shifts are going to be key for Toronto to try and swing momentum in their favour; they are in tough at Joe Louis arena, where Detroit is 11-3-2 at home (Toronto is 4-2-3 on the road). If they can replicate some of the starts they’ve had recently and play a larger portion of the game like they did in the 2nd period last night against Calgary, they are in with a good shot.
[pull_quote_center]”The second period was one of the best periods we have played this season from a perspective of playing more of the style of hockey that is required for 60 minutes, those are the things you try to capture and then give your team an opportunity [to] watch so they know this is the way we’re going to have to do it on a more regular basis.” – Randy Carlyle[/pull_quote_center]
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings - Head to Head
| Head to Head: | Maple Leafs | Red Wings |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 15-9-3 (.611% - 13th) | 17-6-5 (.696 - 5th) |
| Goal Differential | +13 | +18 |
| PP | 21.2 (10th) | 21.8% (7th) |
| PK | 83.3 (11th) | 87.1% (3rd) |
| GF/G | 3.44 (2nd) | 3.11 (4th) |
| GA/G | 2.93 (23rd) | 2.39 (7th) |
| SF/G | 30.4 (14th) | 30.6 (11th) |
| SA/G | 33.3 (26th) | 27.2 (3rd) |
| 5v5 SF/G | 29.1 (16th) | 29.3 (13th) |
| 5v5 SA/G | 32.0 (26th) | 26.6 (3rd) |
| 5v5 CF% | 46.6% (26th) | 52.3% (8th) |
| 5v5 FF% | 47.5% (24th) | 51.7% (9th) |
| 5v5 Sh% | 9.51% (1st) | 8.65% (7th) |
| 5v5 Sv% | 91.96% (18th) | 92.24% (16th) |
| FO% | 51.4% (11th) | 54.0% (2nd) |
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
Forwards
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
(11g-12a-23pts) – (11g-13a-24pts) – (14g-14a-28pts) (36g TOT)
Daniel Winnik – Nazem Kadri – Mike Santorelli
(1g-8a-9pts) – (7g-10a-17pts) – (5g-14a-19pts) (13g TOT)
Joffrey Lupul – Peter Holland – David Clarkson
(6g-5a-11pts) – (7g-5a-12pts) – (8g-3a-11pts) (21g TOT)
Richard Panik – Trevor Smith – David Booth
(5g-1a-6pts) – (0g-2a-2pts) – (0g-1a-1pts) (5g TOT)
Defence
Cody Franson – Dion Phaneuf
(4g-13a-17pts) – (1g-14a-15pts) (5g TOT)
Morgan Rielly – Stephane Robidas
(3g-6a-9pts) – (0g-4a-4pts) (3g TOT)
Jake Gardiner – Korbinian Holzer
(2g-6a-8pts) – (0g-0a-0pts) (1g TOT)
Goal
Jonathan Bernier
(11W-6L-4SO/OTL, 2.63GAA-.918sv.%)
James Reimer
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lineup
Forwards
Gustav Nyquist – Henrik Zetterberg – Tomas Jurco
(12g-4a-16pts) – (5g-19a-24pts) – (2g-8a-10pts) (19g TOT)
Tomas Tatar – Pavel Datsyuk – Darren Helm
(12g-8a-20pts) – (12g-10a-22pts) – (5g-10a-15pts) (29g TOT)
Johan Franzen – Riley Sheahan – Stephen Weiss
(6g-12a-18pts) – (6g-9a-15pts) – (4g-6a-10pts) (16g TOT)
Drew Miller – Luke Glendening – Joakim Andersson
(1g-4a-5pts) – (3g-1a-4pts) – (0g-3a-3pts) (4g TOT)
Defence
Jonathan Ericsson – Niklas Kronwall
(0g-7a-7pts) – (4g-13a-17pts) (4g TOT)
Danny DeKeyser – Kyle Quincey
(1g-10a-11pts) – (1g-5a-6pts) (2g TOT)
Brendan Smith – Jakub Kindl
(2g-4a-6pts) – (2g-5a-7pts) (2g TOT)
Goalies
Jimmy Howard
(13W-5L-4OT/SO – 2.21GAA – .917sv%)
Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Daniel Cleary, Brian Lashoff
Injured: Justin Abdelkader (shoulder)
