Advertisement

The one-win Toronto Maple Leafs face the challenge of one of the hottest offenses in League through the first ten games.

With Jonathan Bernier reportedly nursing a minor injury from Saturday night — minor enough that he can still be the back up tonight in a matchup that could feasibly necessitate a goalie change if the Dallas offense gets rolling — James Reimer will get the start in goal.

As for the rest of the lineup:

https://twitter.com/hennytweets/status/661207937004650496https://twitter.com/hennytweets/status/661207937004650496

The return of Nick Spaling to the lineup means the Winnik – Spaling – Lupul line is back in tact. Prior to Spaling’s injury, Babcock leaned on that line in defensive situations and in tough matchups, so expect the line to pick up where it left off.

The big matchup threat tonight is obviously the Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp line. Benn leads the league in both goals (9) and points (17) while Seguin is just one point behind his linemate with 16 points in eleven games. The Spezza and Hemsky duo has also waged its fair share of damage in the secondary matchups, while a PP unit of Spezza, Benn and Seguin, with Sharp and John Klingberg (11 points in 11GP) on the point, has been lighting it up; the Dallas powerplay ranks third in the League.

The Leafs are coming off a poor showing against Pittsburgh in a back to back situation. The team has looked quite bad in tired situations so far this season, which isn’t too surprising when you consider the combined effect of a lack of talent along with tired legs. The Leafs‘ only hope of hanging in there against more talented opponents like the Penguins or Stars is to outwork them and win the goaltending battle.

With a third-ranked Dallas offense lining up against a Leaf team that currently ranks 28th in goals against, penalty kill percentage and team save percentage, this has the potential to turn ugly if the Leafs don’t tighten up and get a better performance out of James Reimer.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Dallas Stars Lineup - November 2, 2015
Left WingCenterRight Wing
van RiemsdykKadriKomarov
MatthiasBozakParenteau
WinnikSpalingLupul
GrabnerFroeseBoyes
Scratched: Clune, Holland
Left DefenceRight Defence
GardinerPhaneuf
HunwickRielly
MarincinPolak
Goal: Reimer

Mike Babcock Game Day Presser