Toronto Maple Leafs (6-6-3, 22nd in NHL) vs. Nashville Predators (6-5-3, 20th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. ET
Arena: Air Canada Centre
Watch: Sportsnet Ontario
Game Day Notes
– The Leafs will catch a break with the injury situation to Pekka Rinne, who is day to day with a lower-body injury. Rinne is 4-0-2 with a .958 save percentage over his last six starts, second to only Carey Price in save percentage among NHL goalies in the month of November and first in Goals Against Average (1.14). Starting in his place is 25-year-old Marek Mazanec, who has appeared in 25 NHL games over the course of the last three seasons and accumulated an 8-12-4 record along with a .898 save percentage.
– Paul Hendrick is reporting that Frank Corrado, Connor Carrick and Peter Holland are the projected scratches based on the morning skate, meaning Ben Smith draws back into the lineup up front as well as Roman Polak on the blueline.
– Hendrick also reports that William Nylander will likely return to Auston Matthews’ wing to start the game. Nylander has just one assist in his last six games and has put just eight shots on goal over that span. Matthews has two assists and no goals in his last nine but has been shooting 3.33 times a game on average during his goal scoring slump.
– After a hellish start to the season, the Predators have now won three in a row, collected points in eight of their last ten games and are one point out of a wildcard position after 14 games. They are undefeated in the month of November with a 4-0-2 record and have scored 20 while allowing only seven in that span.
– The Predators have been brutal on the road, however, with a 1-4-2 record that is tied for second last in the NHL in away wins. The Leafs have been equally as poor on the road but have won five of seven at the Air Canada Centre.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Nsh |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 15 | 15 |
| Record % | 0.5 | 0.536 |
| Home Winning % | 0.714 | 0.786 |
| Away Winning % | 0.313 | 0.286 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -0.67 | 0.29 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | -1.53 | -0.57 |
| Hits Per Game | 27.6 | 20.1 |
| PIM Per Game | 12.8 | 10.3 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 13.5 | 11.3 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.93 | 2.79 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.2 | 1.71 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.67 | 0.93 |
| Shots Per Game | 32.8 | 30.1 |
| Shots Per Goal | 11.2 | 10.8 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.089 | 0.092 |
| Power Play % | 0.238 | 0.241 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 3 | 1.64 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.53 | 0.64 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 34.33 | 30.71 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 9.54 | 12.29 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.105 | 0.081 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.83 | 0.809 |
| Save % | 0.895 | 0.919 |
| Goals Against Average | 3.57 | 2.46 |
| Shutouts | 0 | 1 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.911 | 0.908 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.91 | 2.74 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 1 | 0 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov
Defence
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Roman Polak
Martin Marincin – Matt Hunwick
Scratched: Connor Carrick, Frank Corrado, Peter Holland
Goaltenders
Andersen
Enroth
Nashville Predators Projected Lines
Forwards
Viktor Arvidsson – Ryan Johansen – James Neal
Colin Wilson – Mike Ribeiro – Craig Smith
Filip Forsberg – Mike Fisher – Calle Jarnkrok
Cody Bass – Colton Sissons – Austin Watson
Defence
Roman Josi – Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin – Yannick Weber
Goaltenders
Marek Mazanec
Juuse Saros
Game Day Quotes
PK Subban on #Leafs kids: "They should be singing…how many [kids] dream of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs?"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) November 15, 2016
Babcock hasn't moved @AM34 to the wing because "I think he's that good," in that he's already figuring out how to be great where he is pic.twitter.com/EpfHBJeTjC
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) November 15, 2016
