It’s been 162 days since the last shift of Maple Leafs hockey.
And all of a sudden we get two games at once.
Notes, lines, broadcast information, and discussion thread below.
Notes
Forwards
In Ottawa, Joffrey Lupul is on the right wing (as in not on his preferred off wing) with Nazem Kadri and Shawn Matthias. That’s Babcock’s preference and odds are it will be Lupul’s reality for the year.
In Toronto, William Nylander is centering Michael Grabner and Devin Setoguchi, which is exciting for a couple of reasons: Nylander is getting a shot at center with a couple of legitimate linemates, and that line has speed in spades and then some.
Connor Brown will get a nice look in “Kessel’s old spot” on the right wing next to JvR and Bozak in Toronto. No pressure, Connor, but the guy who used to play in that spot ate the Senators alive and always came back for seconds.
Mitch Marner won’t dress tonight in either lineup.
Defence Pairs
We obviously can’t read too far into lines or pairings at this stage, but the word was Mike Babcock had a Matt Hunwick – Dion Phaneuf pairing scribbled on his napkin in the summertime, and the two are going to play together in Ottawa tonight.
From there, he’s got Rielly and Gardiner paired off in the ACC game. The two had a 51.6 CF% in 316 even-strength minutes together last season, compared to 47.3% and 49.3% respectively when apart.
Martin Marincin will skate with Roman Polak in Toronto, while Robidas and Harrington are paired off in Ottawa.
Broadcast Information
The game in Toronto can be seen on TSN4, the game in Ottawa on TSN5.
The action gets underway at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Split squads for @TSNHockey tonight@tsn_wally @GMillerTSN @rayferrarotsn in OTT (TSN5/LeafsTV)@jamiemclennan29 @CCtsn & I in TOR (TSN4)
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 21, 2015
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup in Ottawa
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
Matthias | Kadri | Lupul |
Timashov | Holland | Boyes |
Glencross | Arcobello | Kapanen |
Hyman | Froese | Clune |
LD | RD | |
Hunwick | Phaneuf | |
Harrington | Robidas | |
Valiev | Brennan | |
G | ||
Reimer | ||
Sparks |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup in Toronto
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
van Riemsdyk | Bozak | Brown |
Grabner | Nylander | Setoguchi |
Leipsic | Carrick | Panik |
Winnik | Spaling | Parenteau |
LD | RD | |
Gardiner | Rielly | |
Marincin | Polak | |
Loov | Percy | |
Fraser | Campbell | |
G | ||
Bernier | ||
Bibeau |