Toronto Maple Leafs (12-12-7, 25th in NHL) vs. Colorado Avalanche (11-19-1, 30th in NHL)
Puck drop: 9:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Pepsi Centre
Watch: TSN4
Game Day Notes
– Mike Babcock indicated changes were coming down the middle after touching down in Denver yesterday: “We didn’t think that was a strength of our game last game… I didn’t like how I managed the bench. I didn’t feel I was in a position to have the players out there enough — the guys I wanted. We’re going to try to move the centers around and do a better job.”
Based on the lines in the morning skate, Babcock recalled Byron Froese in order to push William Nylander back to the wing and run Kadri – Matthews – Gauthier – Froese down the middle in Colorado tonight. Things could change quickly once the game starts, but it is a clear message sent after an underwhelming performance by Nylander’s line versus the Ducks.
– Here was Babcock on Nylander after the morning skate: “I just think he’s a better winger for us at this point in his career. I like to catch him doing good things, not catch him doing it wrong. He has more success in that area. We’ll see how our lines are tonight as the game goes. We’ll see what they do — they’ve changed their lines around — and then we’ll adjust accordingly to give us the best chance to win.”
– Babcock also praised Josh Leivo’s performance in his season debut on Monday, but today’s lines have Leivo sitting and Nylander in his spot. The Leafs are in a back-to-back situation tonight and tomorrow, which could mean Leivo gets into the lineup tomorrow in Arizona.
– The Avalanche have lost four straight games since the two teams last met on December 11. In that game, Colorado rode tonight’s starter Semyon Varlamov to a 3-1 win despite 52 shots against and a league-wide season-high 99 shot attempts against. The Avalanche have scored just two goals in their last three games.
– The Leafs arrived in Denver and practised yesterday in an attempt to get acclimated to the altitude. “I learned this quite a while ago,” said Babcock. “You come in here and you practice and they figure it out. It’s better than me talking about it. They figure it out fast and it seems to help you. You’ve got to shorten your shifts up to 35 seconds, for sure.”
– Frederik Andersen will get the start tonight, while Antoine Bibeau is expected to take tomorrow’s game in Arizona.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Col |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 31 | 23 |
| Record % | 0.5 | 0.371 |
| Home Winning % | 0.588 | 0.3 |
| Away Winning % | 0.393 | 0.438 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -0.06 | -1.06 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | 1.74 | -3.94 |
| Hits Per Game | 26.1 | 22.5 |
| PIM Per Game | 10.7 | 10.9 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 11.6 | 10.1 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.81 | 2.1 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.23 | 1.48 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.55 | 0.52 |
| Shots Per Game | 33.9 | 28.1 |
| Shots Per Goal | 12.1 | 13.4 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.083 | 0.075 |
| Power Play % | 0.177 | 0.157 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.87 | 3.16 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.19 | 2.39 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.58 | 0.74 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 32.19 | 32.06 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 11.21 | 10.14 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.089 | 0.099 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.82 | 0.8 |
| Save % | 0.911 | 0.901 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.83 | 3.15 |
| Shutouts | 0 | 2 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.917 | 0.926 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.76 | 2.09 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 6 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
van Riemsdyk – Nazem Kadri – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Leo Komarov – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Matt Martin – Byron Froese – William Nylander
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo
Injured: Martin Marincin, Ben Smith, Tyler Bozak
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Antoine Bibeau
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lines
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan Mackinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Mikhail Grigorenko – Matt Duchene – Rene Bourque
Blake Comeau – John Mitchell – Jarome Iginla
Andreas Martinsen – Carl Soderberg – Cody McLeod
Defencemen
Fedor Tyutin – Tyson Barrie
Patrick Wiercioch – Nikita Zadorov
Francois Beauchemin – Eric Gelinas
Goaltenders
Starter: Semyon Varlamov (Confirmed)
Backup: Calvin Pickard
