Toronto Maple Leafs (11-10-5, 25th in NHL) vs. Colorado Avalanche (10-15-1, 30th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Air Canada Centre
Watch: Sportsnet
Game Day Notes
– The Leafs overcame a miserable start last night in Boston — they went without a shot attempt for twelve and a half minutes in the first period — to find a way past the Bruins thanks to an opportunistic offense and a first-star performance from Frederik Andersen. They now return home looking for their first win in a back-to-back situation in their sixth attempt — a trend the Leafs are going to have to buck given they will play 18 back-to-backs this season.
– Despite the bad start last night, Babcock liked how his team stayed patient, didn’t beat themselves, and found their way into the game:
“I didn’t think we were very good early. We didn’t give up 2 on 1s, we didn’t give up breakaways, we didn’t cheat, we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot. We just stayed inside. When we got our legs, we started to skate. In the games that we have trouble, we get in our own way. We turn the puck over, we make bad pinches, we lose F3, and we self-destruct. You don’t have to. You just have to be patient. Your game is going to come. Your legs are going to come. We’ve got talent. Everything will look after itself if you don’t get in your own way.”
– Antoine Bibeau will make his first career NHL start tonight for the Leafs. The intimation earlier in the week, after the Leafs demoted Jhonas Enroth to the Marlies, was that Mike Babcock might go with Andersen in both games of this back to back. However, the season is long and the statistics on goalie performance in back-to-back situations are irrefutable. Against a last-place Avalanche team that won once in their past eight games — and that’s scoring just 2.19 goals per game (29th in the NHL) this season — it’s a good opportunity for the Leafs to see what they have in Bibeau while giving Andersen some rest ahead of a busy week.
– Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar deflected blame off of his team and onto himself after a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens last night: “I’m going to take the blame for that one because we weren’t prepared to start the game. They’re the best team in the League, with the best record at home, and we’re all the way down in the standings and we weren’t prepared to play. So that one’s on me.”
We’ll see if his team responds for him tonight.
– Martin Marincin left last night’s game after just six minutes of play following a nasty spill into the end boards that had Mike Babcock irate on the bench; David Krejci wasn’t penalized for his slight push on the back that sent Marincin sprawling in the most dangerous location on the ice (a few feet out from the boards). Connor Carrick will enter the lineup in Marincin’s place.
– William Nylander — after what Mike Babcock described as “his best game in a long time” last night in Boston, including an assist on Auston Matthews’ 1-0 goal — will play on Matthews’ wing tonight. “He was competitive,” said Babcock. “It’s amazing — the harder you are on the puck, the more you have it, and the more fun you have.”
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Col | Tor |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 21 | 27 |
| Record % | 0.404 | 0.519 |
| Home Winning % | 0.346 | 0.667 |
| Away Winning % | 0.462 | 0.393 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -1.04 | 0 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | -3.62 | 0.15 |
| Hits Per Game | 22.2 | 25.6 |
| PIM Per Game | 11.1 | 10.8 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 9.7 | 12.1 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.19 | 3 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 1.62 | 2.42 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.5 | 0.54 |
| Shots Per Game | 28.3 | 32.3 |
| Shots Per Goal | 12.9 | 10.8 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.077 | 0.093 |
| Power Play % | 0.161 | 0.184 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 3.23 | 3 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.42 | 2.5 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.81 | 0.42 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 31.96 | 32.12 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 9.89 | 10.71 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.101 | 0.093 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.79 | 0.857 |
| Save % | 0.899 | 0.907 |
| Goals Against Average | 3.21 | 2.97 |
| Shutouts | 2 | 0 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.923 | 0.907 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.18 | 2.97 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 5 | 2 |
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 – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Frank Corrado
Injured: Martin Marincin
Goaltenders
Starter: Antoine Bibeau (Confirmed)
Backup: Frederik Andersen
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lines
Forwards
Rene Bourque – Nathan MacKinnon – Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog – Carl Soderberg – Mikhail Grigorenko
Matt Duchene – John Mitchell – Mikko Rantanen
Andreas Martinsen – Joe Colborne – Blake Comeau
Defencemen
Nikita Zadorov – Tyson Barrie
Patrick Wiercioch – Fedor Tyutin
Francois Beauchemin – Cody Goloubef
Goaltenders
Starter: Semyon Varlamov (Projected)
Backup: Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Eric Gelinas, Cody McLeod
Injured: Erik Johnson
