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Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. EST | Arena: Air Canada Centre | TV: Sportsnet | Radio: TSN1050


Game Day Quotes

Mike Babcock on Ron Hainsey’s contributions so far:

I think there is a lot to be said, with veteran players, they’re confident, confident people and they talk. If you’re out there on a pairing and no one says a word, it’s because you’re both a little nervous. Confident people talk. When you’re out there and nervous and don’t know what to do, no one says a word, so you’re not working together. When you’re out there with Ron Hainsey, he tells you what to do every second, every shift. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

Morgan Rielly on Hainsey:

He’s a great player. A lot of experience. Playing with him gives everyone a lot of comfort. Really strong defensively, has a good stick. When you’re out there, you feel like you have a safety net.

 

Babcock on the rotation at 4C and bottom-pair left defence:

Obviously, the only guy who is rotting in there is [Leivo]. He hasn’t had a chance. He’s a replacement for our top-nine forwards. That gives him six spots there to be available for on the wing. Everyone else is in a rotation. I don’t think it’s ideal. You’re hoping to have one guy grab it and run with it, and that’s what we’re hoping to have happen.

Babcock on Patrick Marleau hitting the 1,500 game milestone tonight:

It’s one thing to hit 1,500 and it’s another thing to be as good as he is and play with the pace that he does and be the kind of person he is. Pretty special. Pretty special for our team here to witness it…. We’re lucky to have him. We’re excited to have him. We’re excited for him today, and we need to play in this situation for him.

Babcock on the secret to playing as long as Marleau has:

You’ll have to ask him. He’s a fit guy. He’s genetically blessed. He works at it hard. He’s a great skater.

Patrick Marleau on the key to his longevity:

I’ve just been surrounding myself with some good people. Having people away from the rink and people at the rink that are really good at their job helping keep you healthy. Throughout my career, I’ve had lots of guys help me do that.

Henrik Zetterberg on Auston Matthews:

“I heard some rumours about [our similarities] but I don’t really see that comparison between him and me. He’s way taller, stronger, faster, more skilled than me. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a great player in this league.”

Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill on the Maple Leafs:

“I felt that when we played them last year in the Centennial Classic that it was as deep a forward group and as dangerous a forward group as anybody in the league, right there with Pittsburgh. And they haven’t lost anybody. They’ve added somebody that’s going probably to be a Hall of Famer so it is an extremely deep unit. The key to those type of games, no different than [against Tampa Bay], is if you’re on your heels, you’re in trouble. So you better pressure them as much as possible and make them defend as much as possible.”

Niklas Kronwall on the threat posed by the Leafs:

“With the emergence of Matthews, Nylander, Marner, these guys have taken their game to the next level. When they came in last year, they didn’t just want to be there. They contributed right away. And this year, it seems like they’ve taken it to a whole other level. It’s very impressive to see, and it’s fun to watch these kids now. The stuff that they can do and the speed that they can do it at — it’s extremely impressive.”


Matchup Stats

TORDET
Record5-1-04-2-0
GF/g4.67 (1st)3.17 (13th)
GA/g3.17 (19th)2.50 (8th)
PP%28.6% (5th)16.7% (20th)
PK%81.5 (12th)89.3% (5th)
Shots/g36.2 (5th)29.5 (26th)
Shots Against/g31.3 (15th)33.0 (18th)
5v5 CF%55.2% (6th)51% (13th)
5v5 SV%.908 (24th).925 (15th)
5v5 SH%11.5% (3rd)10% (8th)

Toronto Maple Leafs Leafs Projected Lineup

Forwards
Hyman – Matthews – Nylander
Marleau – Kadri – Leo
van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Brown
Martin – Fehr – Marner

Defencemen
Gardiner – Zaitsev
Rielly – Hainsey
Borgman – Carrick

Goaltenders
McElhinney
Andersen

Scratched: Rosen, Moore, Leivo


Detroit Red Wings Projected Lineup

Forwards
Mantha – Zetterberg – Nyquist
Tatar – Larkin – Abdelkader
Frk – Nielsen – Helm
Glendening – Sheahan – Witkowski

Defencemen
Kronwall – Green
Ericsson – Daley
Ouellet – Jensen

Goaltenders
Howard
Mrazek

Injured: Franzen, Bertuzzi, Dekeyser

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