Prime opportunities on captain John Tavares’ wings are in store for camp invite Josh Ho-Sang and offseason signing Michael Bunting in the first preseason action of the Maple Leafs’ exhibition season (Sportsnet One, 7 p.m. EST).
Among the other storylines to watch, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin are going to pair off with two of the Leafs‘ veteran top-four defensemen — Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie, respectively, tonight — and see time against some of the other team’s best players as they battle for the #6/#7 positions on the Leafs defense.
Ilya Mikheyev will skate alongside Alex Kerfoot and William Nylander — who built some good chemistry in the playoff series vs. Montreal last May — as he looks to keep himself in the conversation for an elevated role on the team’s left wing, where the top-six spots next to the Leafs‘ elite centermen are an open competition at the moment.
The two teams’ lineups are pretty fairly matched in terms of the “NHL locks” featuring in each lineup, with each dressing 6-7 likely regulars among their forward group, 3-4 among the defense corps, and neither team dressing either of their top two goaltenders. Michael Hutchinson and Ian Scott will split the net duties for the Leafs.
Enjoy the return of Leafs hockey, everyone.
Game Day Quotes
Sheldon Keefe on his impressions of Josh Ho-Sang:
"He's got a great level of excitement and focus and determination about him. We've clearly given him a great opportunity here early in camp and he'll have a good chance here tonight to see what he can do with it."
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) September 25, 2021
John Tavares on hosting players at his cottage for a weekend in August:
"You really can kind of open up and get to understand people and get them feeling comfortable in their own skin and you break those barriers down before training camp."
— David Alter (@dalter) September 25, 2021
Sheldon Keefe on John Tavares' return tonight:
"He's put a tremendous amount of work in. From what I've seen from him in the first [three] days – he's ready. He's prepared. He's focused, both for himself getting back to playing and also to setting our team up for a good season"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) September 25, 2021
John Tavares on being more excited for his first preseason game over any others given the injury in the playoffs:
"Just turning into that that nervous energy or anxiety towards excitement. It's getting to play the game again doing I love."
— David Alter (@dalter) September 25, 2021
John Tavares says Michael Bunting reminds him a lot of Matt Moulson.
Moulson scored 30 on Tavares’s wing three seasons in a row.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) September 25, 2021
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#58 Michael Bunting – #91 John Tavares – #52 Josh Ho-Sang
#65 Ilya Mikheyev – #15 Alex Kerfoot – #88 William Nylander
#89 Nick Robertson – #18 Michael Amadio – #19 Jason Spezza
#39 Rich Clune – #85 Semyon Der-Arguchintsev – #29 Kurtis Gabriel
Defensemen
#8 Jake Muzzin – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#38 Rasmus Sandin – #78 TJ Brodie
#82 Filip Kral – #81 Mac Hollowell
Goaltenders
#30 Michael Hutchinson
#70 Ian Scott
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
#73 Tyler Toffoli – #14 Nick Suzuki – #22 Cole Caufield
#62 Artturi Lehkonen – #25 Ryan Poehling – #45 Laurent Dauphin
#85 Mathieu Perreault – #13 Cédric Paquette – #60 Alex Belzile
#81 Brandon Baddock – #86 Jean-Christophe Beaudin – #42 Lukas Vejdemo
Defensemen
#27 Alexander Romanov – #26 Jeff Petry
#77 Brett Kulak – #36 Gianni Fairbrother
#61 Xavier Ouellet – #63 Arber Xhekaj
Goaltenders
#30 Cayden Primeau
#70 Michael McNiven
