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The streaking Toronto Maple Leafs look to string together their fourth consecutive victory when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. EST, TSN4).

The Kings are spending their week in the best possible place as the American election season reaches its denouement: Canada.  They are also coming off a couple of wins, breaking through offensively with a 5-0 victory over Calgary on the heels of a 3-2 overtime win over the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings are off to disappointing 6-6-0 start overall, however, despite handily leading the league in possession, as is tradition.

23rd in PDO (98.02), the Kings are fifth from the bottom in goals for (2.25) and middle of the pack in goals against (2.67). The injury to Marian Gaborik in the World Cup hasn’t helped matters offensively, while injuries to Jonathan Quick and backup Jeff Zatkoff necessitated the call-up of Peter Budaj from the Ontario Reign. Budaj has filled the void with competent goaltending through nine starts (6-3-0, 2.06 GAA, .912 SV%).

The Leafs, one of the league’s hottest offensive teams after 12 games, enter the game generating more shot attempts per game than any other team in the league and stand sixth in total offense (3.08 goals per game). They’ve been just as permissive at the other end, however, allowing 65.5 shot attempts per game (26th in the NHL) and 3.33 goals against per game (26th).

Keys to the Game

Where this game will be won or lost for the Leafs: Their ability to make use of their speed advantage against an experienced Kings team that prefers to play a heavier, more methodical game predicated on a strong forecheck and long cycles in the offensive zone.

The Kings control games territorially thanks in part to their excellent support play enabling aggressive pinching by their defence down the walls. The Leafs will try to open the game up a little, back the defence off and create some neutral zone mismatches with their speed and skill, but they will need to manage the puck carefully against a heavy forecheck and a Kings cycle that is tough to break.

In the Kings’ visit to Toronto in late December late last season, the Leafs entered the third period up 1-0 before exploding with a dominant four-goal third period – as good of a period as the Leafs played all season from an execution standpoint, dominating possession with the lead and turning the game into a blowout. Michael Grabner’s four-point night led the Leafs offensively; he was playing on a line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov at the time, both of whom also enjoyed multi-point games. The Kings won the rematch in LA in January by a score of 2-1 on the back of a two-goal third period.

In both games, the Kings dominated the Leafs early to the tune of a 55-20 edge in shot attempts in the combined first periods. The Leafs were able to adjust after the first period and carry the edge in possession over the final 40 minutes (85 CF, 75 CA).

Last change at home will mean ample time head-to-head against Anze Kopitar for Nazem Kadri, who enters the game with three goals in his last three games. Kadri produced three primary assists in the two games versus the Kings last season, while Kopitar was held without a point over the two meetings. Kopitar enters tonight’s matchup pointless in his last five games.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards

Leo Komarov  – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov

Defencemen

Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Roman Polak
Martin Marincin – Connor Carrick

Scratched: Seth Griffith, Frank Corrado, Peter Holland
Injured: Matt Hunwick

Goaltenders

Starter: Frederik Andersen
Backup: Jhonas Enroth


Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines

Forwards

Tanner Pearson – Anze Kopitar – Teddy Purcell
Dwight King – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Dustin Brown – Nic Dowd – Devin Setoguchi
Kyle Clifford – Nick Shore – Trevor Lewis

Injured: Marian Gaborik, Andy Andreoff

Defencemen
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Kevin Gravel – Alec Martinez
Derek Forbort – Matt Greene

Injured: Brayden McNabb

Goaltenders

Starter: Peter Budaj
Backup: Jack Campbell

Injured: Jonathan Quick, Jeff Zatkoff


Mike Babcock – Game Day Skate – Maple Leafs vs. Kings

Mike Babcock addressed the media ahead of Tuesday night’s game against Los Angeles, touching on the challenge the Kings pose, Auston Matthews’ six games without a goal, Mitch Marner’s size, and off-day activities.

How do you create offense against a team that from game to game gives up less than 30 shots per game?

Mike Babcock: Yeah, I was looking at that here today. They do a real good job in the neutral zone, and the reason why they do a real good job in the neutral zone is because they wear out your D in your own zone, so they don’t have to worry about playing d-zone as much. They’re a big, heavy team. They don’t turn pucks over. They play right. It’s a real good opportunity for us to play them right now. The other thing they have that lots of other teams don’t have is two centers that are probably number-one centers. Usually you have to worry about one. Now you have to worry about two. I think they’ve got three elite puck movers on the back, too. They’ve got a good team.

Auston was talking about growing up admiring Anze Kopitar. Is he, in many ways, a perfect role model for a guy like him?

Babcock: I’ve only met one Nik Lidstrom and only one Kopitar. You’ve just got to become your own guy and work on your skillset and become the best player you can be. I think Auston, at a young age, is well advanced. He’s got a long way to go and he knows that. He wants to be an elite two-way guy. He’s trying to get better every day. You’ve got to give him credit for how he works and how he prepares.

Do you see any frustration from the Matthews line with their lack of goals in the last five games or so?

Babcock: I didn’t know they weren’t producing myself. I just look at quality of chances they’re producing. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. She’s 82 long. You get up, get ready for the next day and just keep on going. Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t, but if you do good things, good things will happen. His most scoring chances of the year were last game. I think it’s going good.

Is there a reason you think size hasn’t been a problem for Mitch so far?

Babcock: I don’t really know. Why has it not been a problem for Kane or Panarin, or all these guys with elite skill? When they get the puck, the rink gets bigger. When the rest of us get the puck, the rink gets smaller. They must have something – whether it be their vision, their hockey sense, their speed, their edges. He has room every time he has it. I don’t know why. As long as he focuses on working hard, and doesn’t get comfortable, he’s pretty good.

What are you starting to see between Andersen and the defence that is starting to look a lot more comfortable?

Babcock: I wouldn’t say that. I would say, between Andie and the D, we’ve got lots of work to do, to say the least. But I would say Andie has kind of got his game under control a little bit. Now, the measure isn’t one or two games. The measure is the long haul for real good goaltenders. We think he’s a solid goaltender who, once he gets comfortable with our D, things will be better. We think he’s a good puck guy. That hasn’t been the case with us, just between our D and him. We understand that. The first thing was just getting him comfortable so he can stop the puck. We’ll worry about all that other stuff as time goes on.

You made a point of sort of checking in on the teenagers on the team and what they do on their off days. Mitch says he plays video games all day and relaxes. Just becoming pros off the ice just as much as on the ice.

Babcock: Oh, for sure. I think one of the things we focus lots on here is having a life away from hockey. Especially in this city, it might be the most important thing you do. The best players I coached never thought about hockey one time until they arrived at the rink, basically. The only time they thought about hockey is when they weren’t playing good. When they weren’t playing good, they let it wear themselves out at home. In this city, with everything going on in the new age where you’ve got to be on your phone 24/7, you need something else that isn’t hockey that you love to do. So, find a passion — find something you love to do — and do that. When it’s going real good, you don’t think about it anyway. But when it’s going bad, you’ve got something else to do.