Nick Robertson will make his season debut as the Maple Leafs visit Detroit down a few bodies due to a flu bug (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Among the game-time decisions, John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev will play while Pierre Engvall and Travis Dermott will miss out.
The Leafs will run all new defense pairs in Dermott’s absence:
#44 Morgan Rielly – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#78 TJ Brodie – #3 Justin Holl
#38 Rasmus Sandin – #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
Robertson will slide in on the fourth line with Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds. The rest of the forward lines will remain the same from Thursday’s win over Minnesota.
Jack Campbell starts in net looking to end a two-game losing slide in which he conceded nine goals on 63 shots.
Game Day Quotes
Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill on giving up the lead to the Leafs in the teams’ last meeting in Detroit:
First off, I thought we played real well through lots of it. They had chances they hadn’t scored on earlier. I don’t know if it was as one-sided early as it had maybe appeared.
We also have a breakaway we didn’t score on after when it was 4-4. Like everything in life, it was probably closer to the middle than what it looked like at times.
Early in the game, our pressure was good and we played in the o-zone a lot. They are a great offensive team. If you don’t make them defend a lot, they are going to put tons of pressure on you, and you have to be outstanding defensively.
Eventually, if you defend too much, you are going to break down against a really good offensive team. If you ask me what the difference was from the first part and the second part of the game, as they pushed more, we didn’t spend enough time in their zone, we broke down, and they capitalized.
Blashill on the atmosphere created by the traveling Leafs fans:
I’d like it to be all red, but the fact that there is some blue in there makes for a raucous crowd for sure. They go back and forth. It is an awesome environment. It is one of the best environments we play in every year. I expect it to be the same tonight.
Sheldon Keefe on the organization’s belief in Nick Robertson:
The skill level is a big one. With that, he is a competitor. He works extremely hard. He has had a long run this season to get himself back, healthy, and ready to play.
An opportunity has presented itself here. He is a guy we do believe in and want to give him that chance.
Keefe on the value of Michael Bunting’s pest qualities:
The big thing about Bunts is he is an absolute competitor. He is giving everything he has on every single shift. He is not going to let anyone get a leg up on him. He is going to compete.
If you do happen to win one shift on him, he is going to go out and look to win the next one. He is in everything and involved in everything. He is a very good player and plays with a ton of emotion.
Whether it is a skill or not, whatever it is, it is an asset. That is part of the package with Bunts coming in here. His play on the ice has been excellent for us, and if you add the intangibles, there are lots of pieces that fuel our entire team.
He is usually the most hated guy on the ice. That inspires him to really push and be on guard all the time. He knows teams aren’t going to take it easy on him. That helps guys like Auston and Mitch to be that much more alert and on guard themselves. With the elite players those guys are, I think it helps the line a lot. They don’t take many shifts off.
Nick Robertson on his anticipation for his season debut:
I am excited. It is my first time playing in front of fans. To play in Michigan — I grew up here — it is nice to have some family and friends come out for the game.
I have my trainers here. My girlfriend is here and my family is here. My parents can’t make it up because they’re in Texas with my brother; they have dogs down there and have to take care of them. Hopefully, we catch them on another one.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#58 Michael Bunting – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#88 William Nylander – #91 John Tavares – #25 Ondrej Kase
#65 Ilya Mikheyev – #64 David Kampf – #15 Alex Kerfoot
#89 Nick Robertson – #19 Jason Spezza – #24 Wayne Simmonds
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#78 TJ Brodie – #3 Justin Holl
#38 Rasmus Sandin – #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
Goaltenders
Starter: #36 Jack Campbell
#35 Petr Mrazek
Extra: Pierre Engvall, Kyle Clifford
Out: Travis Dermott
LTIR: Jake Muzzin
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lines
Forwards
#11 Filip Zadina – #71 Dylan Larkin – #23 Lucas Raymond
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #24 Pius Suter – #14 Robby Fabbri
#92 Vlad Namestnikov – #27 Michael Rasmussen – #73 Adam Erne
#90 Joe Veleno – #37 Carter Rowney – #89 Sam Gagner
Defensemen
#65 Danny DeKeyser – #53 Moritz Seider
#18 Marc Staal – #17 Filip Hronek
#2 Nick Leddy – #28 Gustav Lindstrom
Goaltenders
Starter: #39 Alex Nedeljokvic
#29 Thomas Greiss
