Returning to Scotiabank Arena for the first of a three-game homestand, the Toronto Maple Leafs will turn to Garret Sparks in goal tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
The decision to sub Sparks in for a start in a non-back-to-back situation was a little unexpected, but it hints at two things:
1) The coaching staff — and perhaps Frederik Andersen himself — may be more receptive to the idea that the #1 goalie needs more rest than he’s gotten in previous seasons (66 starts in each).
2) They don’t want to leave Sparks totally cold on the sidelines for weeks on end as he tries to gain his footing in the National Hockey League.
The choice to give Sparks the start here tonight makes some sense. The Kings aren’t a high-scoring team — they’ve only scored 11 goals this season through five games, a year after finishing in the bottom half of the league in goals for — and they play a more methodical, straight-line, get-it-deep, cycle-to-the-point style of hockey which produces quite a bit of rubber towards the net from low-percentage areas. It’s not the worst circumstance for a goalie looking to get some touches and grow his confidence antlers at this level.
There was a time when the big, bad, two-time Cup champion LA Kings would come into Toronto and expose the Leafs’ flaws as well as any team in the league. Their ability to play a heavy down-low game with a relentless five-man cycle left the Leafs scrambling to get out of their own end and usually heavily out-possessed by the end of the game. While these aren’t those Kings, they’re still a good hockey club — 98 points last year — with the hard-and-heavy style present in their game.
In that respect, it will be a good test for the Leafs as they look to pick up win #6 and keep their great start rolling. Kings head coach John Stevens has attempted to inject a little more offensive flair on top of the foundation Darryl Sutter built, encouraging his defensemen to jump up into the rush more, but the blueprint for beating the Kings was pretty well exposed in the playoffs last year. The Vegas Golden Knights, in their first-round sweep, showed how susceptible this Kings team can be to opposition that plays fast and organized over 200 feet.
That will be the Leafs’ goal here tonight — as long as they don’t allow themselves to be outworked, their speed and skill should be able to take over.
Game Day Quotes
Babcock on managing chances against:
You know, in the game against Washington, both teams had high end chances in the game. We had 12 they had 9 [high danger chances]. That’s way too many. We normally give up about six high end — they got lots of those. They had one shift in the third period where they had extended zone time, big heavy bodies rolling around, and we weren’t able to stop the cycle.
In Washington, I thought the first ten minutes we were ready but we didn’t react good, then I thought we really got the game under control and played a good game. I’d like to see us finish without giving up those chances down the stretch. There’s always something to work on
Babcock on Johnsson’s first game back from the pressbox:
I thought he was good. Biggest challenge for him when you talk about a heavy team is you’ve got to be able to absorb a hit and stay on your feet and continue to make plays. You’ve got to have a stick like a crowbar. You can’t prepare for it playing in another league. The D in this league are big and they’re mobile and they’re hard — that’s who you’ve got to play 1-on-1 against.
Matthews on team defence:
It’s still early. I thought we did a better job against Washington. Obviously Freddy bailed us out a few times but there’s always room for improvement, especially in that area.
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty on his contract negotiation:
You know, I’m happy with my life in L.A. and happy with our team even though we haven’t played well so far this season. I’m really happy I re-signed with the Kings. It would be cool to put on a Leaf jersey and I’m sure John is having fun with it, but I honestly think it’s awesome he did it. Because I don’t think too many guys would have the balls to do that. Including myself. Good on him.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#12 Patrick Marleau – #34 Auston Matthews – #24 Kasperi Kapanen
#11 Zach Hyman – #91 John Tavares – #16 Mitch Marner
#26 Par Lindholm – #43 Nazem Kadri – #28 Connor Brown
#32 Josh Leivo – #33 Frederik Gauthier – #18 Andreas Johnsson
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #2 Ron Hainsey
#51 Jake Gardiner – #22 Nikita Zaitsev
#23 Travis Dermott – #92 Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
#40 Garret Sparks
#60 Eamon McAdam
Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Martin Marincin, Justin Holl, Frederik Andersen, William Nylander (unsigned RFA)
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines
Forwards
#19 Alex Iafallo – #11 Anze Kopitar – #17 Ilya Kovalchuk
#70 Tanner Pearson – #9 Adrian Kempe – #74 Tyler Toffoli
#44 Nate Thompson – #10 Mike Amadio – #77 Jeff Carter
#13 Kyle Clifford – #28 Jaret Anderson-Dolan – #22 Trevor Lewis
Defensemen
#24 Derek Forbort – #78 Drew Doughty
#6 Jake Muzzin – #27 Alec Martinez
#7 Oscar Fantenberg – #3 Dion Phaneuf
Goaltenders
#36 Jack Campbell
#31 Peter Budaj
