Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. EST | TV: Sportsnet | Radio: TSN1050 | Location: Lucan, ON
The John Tavares era unofficially begins tonight in Lucan, Ontario.
Leafs fans will get their first look at Tavares in his #91 Leafs silks — complete with the letter A on his sweater — as he’ll center his projected opening-night line in between Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman. The Tavares-Marner duo has been skating together in pre-camp informal skates and has played together in a couple of training camp scrimmages thus far; tonight is an opportunity to continue the process of building familiarity and on-ice chemistry against real-ish opposition.
The other all-NHL line that will dress tonight for the Leafs is Nazem Kadri’s unit, which has Josh Leivo on the left wing and Connor Brown on the right. That line could change once William Nylander is in camp, as that may bump Tyler Ennis — who will play on Auston Matthews’ right wing tomorrow night in Ottawa — down onto Kadri’s line and push Leivo to the outside looking in.
At this point, it is anyone’s guess as to what Leivo — who’s looked hungry and has made an impact in the camp scrimmages so far — needs to do in order to play regularly for Mike Babcock, but he’s got a good opportunity here tonight. The 25-year-old will play next to a skilled center in Kadri as he looks to stay in the mix and make the decision difficult on the coaching staff.
Leivo spent some time on Kadri’s wing back in 2016-17 with good results; the pair was effective on the cycle, posting a 57% Corsi For, outshooting the opposition 53-35, out-chancing the opposition 51-31, and out-scoring the opposition 6-3 in 71 minutes of shared 5v5 ice time.
Babcock has said (again) that, “Leivo needs to come in and win a job,” and to that end, it looks like he’ll need to outcompete Ennis for the final top-nine left wing spot given Babcock’s past aversion to using him in a fourth-line role.
On the blue line, the Leafs‘ top defense pair of Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey will feature followed by a group on the bubble. Travis Dermott, also expected to dress, is penciled into the lineup as the Leafs‘ #5 but has been sent a message by Babcock that he’s got to step it up a notch and earn his place in the opening night lineup. While he’d seemingly have to play his way off the team at this point, a couple of good preseason showings would go a long way toward cementing his bottom-pair left-defense spot for October 3rd vs. Montreal.
Justin Holl, newcomer Igor Ozhiganov, and Andreas Borgman are also expected to play among those fighting it out on the bubble for the final spots in the top seven on defense.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Zach Hyman (#11) – John Tavares (#91) – Mitch Marner (#16)
Josh Leivo (#32) – Nazem Kadri (#43) – Connor Brown (#28)
Carl Grundstrom (#20) – Adam Cracknell (#15) – Trevor Moore (#42)
Dmytro Timashov (#41) – Chris Mueller (#49) – Emerson Clark (#58)
Defensemen
Morgan Rielly (#44) – Ron Hainsey (#2)
Travis Dermott (#23) – Igor Ozhiganov (#92)
Andreas Borgman (#51) – Justin Holl (#54)
Goaltenders
Curtis McElhinney (#35)
Garret Sparks (#40)
Power Play Unit #1
Tavares (net front)
Timashov (left halfwall) – Kadri (slot) – Marner (right halfwall)
Morgan Rielly (point)
Ottawa Senators Projected Lines
Forwards
Alex Formenton – Matt Duchene – Ryan Dzingel
Bobby Ryan – Colin White – Mikkel Boedker
Adam Tambellini – Logan Brown – Drake Batherson
Nick Paul – Chase Balisy – Jack Rodewald
Defensemen
Mark Borowiecki – Chris Wideman
Christian Wolanin – Dylan DeMelo
Patrick Sieloff – Erik Burgdoerfer
Goaltenders
Mike Condon
Marcus Hogberg
Game Day Quotes
John Tavares on getting into game action for the first time as a Leaf:
It’s great to finally get into some game action. For myself, it’s been a little while. It’s nice to get back into that competitiveness and some of the things you need to get ready. We’re just trying to carry over some of the things we’ve been learning in the first few days of camp and establish that. Individually, it’s about getting yourself up to the level you want to get to. These are the opportunities to build.
Nazem Kadri on his line’s makeup:
I think we’ve got a little bit of everything to complement each other – a little bit of size, skill, scoring touch, defensively responsible. It should be a line that is able to generate some chemistry early.
Kadri on the addition of Tavares to the power play:
He’s got unbelievable hands. He can distribute. He can put the puck in the back of the net. I think he’s a threat just being able to have that. He is great in tight spacing. If the puck is behind the goal line, he is able to reset the power play and bump it into the middle or to the d-man. His hockey IQ is just through the roof. I think we’ll be able to control the power play for a bit of a different look.
Tavares on the number of London Knights graduates — like he, Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner — who are ready to make an impact right away in the NHL:
I think when you go there, a lot of people look at it as maybe a team that is obviously highly powered offensively, but [Dale Hunter] is very hard on his top players, in a way, to make you better and prepare you for pro hockey… understanding what the challenges will be at the next level. It really creates a lot of growth at a crucial time when you’re approaching pro hockey.
Mike Babcock on the evaluation process throughout preseason:
Especially in our first four, we are trying to decide who is going to be on the team. Not we are; they are. They’ll show us who should be on the team and we’ll watch them play and go from there. Everyone gets an opportunity and we’ll play them in different matchups than they would normally get during the year, but it’s an opportunity to see how good they are.
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster vs. Senators - 2018 Preseason Game #1
| Player | Position | Jersey # | Camp Status | Waiver Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORWARDS | ||||
| John Tavares | C | 91 | NHL Lock | |
| Mitch Marner | RW | 16 | NHL Lock | |
| Zach Hyman | LW | 11 | NHL Lock | |
| Nazem Kadri | C | 43 | NHL Lock | |
| Connor Brown | RW | 28 | NHL Lock | |
| Josh Leivo | LW | 32 | Bubble | Eligible |
| Carl Grundstrom | LW | 20 | Bubble | Exempt |
| Trevor Moore | LW | 42 | Bubble | Exempt |
| Chris Mueller | RW | 49 | AHL Veteran | Eligible |
| Dmytro Timashov | LW/RW | 41 | AHL Prospect | Exempt |
| Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | C | 85 | OHL Prospect | Exempt |
| Adam Cracknell | C/W | 15 | Bubble | Eligible |
| Emerson Clark | LW | 58 | AHL Contract | |
| DEFENSEMEN | ||||
| Morgan Rielly | LD | 44 | NHL Lock | |
| Ron Hainsey | RD | 2 | NHL Lock | |
| Travis Dermott | LD | 23 | Bubble | Exempt |
| Justin Holl | RD | 54 | Bubble | Eligible |
| Andrew Nielsen | LD | 56 | AHL Prospect | Exempt |
| Andreas Borgman | LD | 55 | Bubble | Exempt |
| Igor Ozhiganov | RD | 92 | Bubble | Exempt |
| Jordan Subban | RD | 46 | AHL Prospect | Eligible |
| GOALTENDERS | ||||
| Curtis McElhinney | G | 35 | Bubble | Eligible |
| Garret Sparks | G | 40 | Bubble | Eligible |
Game Day Reading
- 2018 Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp: Five Storylines to Follow
- Projecting the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2018-19 Opening Night Forward Lines
- Projecting the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2018-19 Opening Night Defense Pairings
- Leafs Notebook, John Tavares Edition: Matchup Implications, 11/7, Can More Offense Help the Defense?
