The Maple Leafs’ western road swing begins on Wednesday night/Thursday morning with a visit to the Honda Centre (10 p.m. EST, Sportsnet-Ontario).
The first half of the season continues to throw curveballs at the Leafs with ample back-to-back sets and alternating stretches of heavy and light scheduling, but the Leafs have fought their way back to .500 (15-15-7) in spite of it and are playing some excellent hockey of late (6-2-2 in L10).
The Western road trip has a history of heartbreak for the organization, and while they’re not sitting in a playoff spot this time around, it will be a good test for Babcock’s group nonetheless as they try to fight their way into the playoff mix in the second half of the season.
Like the Leafs, except with much higher expectations entering the year, the Ducks are gradually starting to turn their season around after a dismal start. The many calls for Bruce Boudreau’s head are beginning to dissipate, if only a little, and he’s been helped in a big way by the watered-down state of the Pacific Division. The Ducks are 16-15-7, with a -17 goal differential, but remain just one point out of one of the three divisional playoff spots and have a game in hand on the third-place Arizona Coyotes.
In response to the Ducks’ bizarre offensive famine to start the year, Boudreau made a midseason tactical switch towards a more defensive approach, putting the reins on an aggressive forecheck in hopes of eking out results from tighter games. The Ducks have scored either one or two goals in 11 of their past 13 games, and in a recent trip through Alberta they won both games by a 1-0 scoreline. They then lost 2-1 in a shootout in Vancouver before returning home to break out for four goals in a win over the Jets on Sunday.
Calgary captain Mark Giordano said no one smothered them recently as much as Anaheim did, a 1-0 Ducks win last Tuesday. “It was extreme, the biggest trap we’ve seen all year. When we had possession, they fell back.”
Hearing his analysis reminded me of the 2011 Winter Classic. Bruce Boudreau coached Washington then, and the Capitals were recovering from a brutal losing streak that saw him explode at his group on HBO. He laughed while admitting he was coaching the trap for the first time in his career. Are the two situations similar?
“Yes, they are,” he said after the Ducks beat Winnipeg 4-1 Sunday night. Did you ever think you’d be sitting back with this team? “No, I didn’t think this would happen. I thought we’d be ‘aggressively defensive.’ But we can’t score. What does a coach have to do? You do what you have to do to win.”
Hurting the cause will be the major loss of their biggest minute-eating defenceman, Cam Fowler, for the next month-plus with a knee injury.
Games between the Leafs and the Ducks in recent past seasons have been exciting, end-to-end, goals-heavy affairs, and maybe the matchup pattern holds true, but those could prove to be antonyms to what takes place tonight given Boudreau has been battening down the hatches and Babcock will be looking for a tight, disciplined road game from his group.
In terms of lineup notes, there isn’t much to report from the last time out — an impressive 4-1 win over the Blues back on Saturday — for the Leafs, with Jonathan Bernier remaining between the pipes. James Reimer is tentatively expected back tomorrow versus the Kings.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – PA Parenteau
Michael Grabner – Nazem Kadri – Leo Komarov
Daniel Winnik – Peter Holland – Joffrey Lupul
Shawn Matthias – Mark Arcobello – Brad Boyes
Jake Gardiner – Dion Phaneuf
Matt Hunwick – Morgan Rielly
Martin Marincin – Roman Polak
Jonathan Bernier
James Reimer
Injured: Stephane Robidas (knee), Nick Spaling (upper body), Garret Sparks (lower body), Byron Froese (lower body)
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Antoine Bibeau
Anaheim Ducks Projected Lineup
Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Carl Hagelin – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Mike Santorelli – Shawn Horcoff – Andrew Cogliano
Patrick Maroon – Nate Thompson – Chris Stewart
Hampus Lindholm – Josh Manson
Sami Vatanen – Kevin Bieksa
Shea Theodore – Korbinian Holzer
John Gibson
Frederik Andersen
Injured: Simon Despres (concussion), Cam Fowler (knee), Clayton Stoner (undisclosed)
Scratched: Jiri Sekac
Status report courtesy of NHL.com: Holzer is taking the place of Stoner in the lineup, who will miss his second straight game with what Boudreau said is bumps and bruises. … Babcock confirmed Bernier will start Wednesday but Reimer (groin) is now healthy and may start Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. Reimer said he’s good to go.
Who’s hot courtesy of NHL.com: Gibson, named to the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Wednesday, has allowed one goal over his past three starts. … Perry has four goals and an assist over the past six games. … Kesler has scored a goal in each of the past two games. … Bernier has a record of 5-2-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .924 save percentage against the Ducks. … Bozak has nine points in six games against Anaheim.
