The Maple Leafs forge ahead without Morgan Rielly as they welcome the surging St. Louis Blues to Scotiabank Arena (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
The Blues are 15-7-1 under interim head coach Drew Bannister despite near-bottom-of-the-league possession and expected-goals numbers as special teams, timely scoring, and goaltending have been winning them games at a seemingly unsustainable rate.
Nonetheless, the positive results — including a recent 7-2 win over Montreal on Sunday — have the Blues in a confident mindset at the moment, and the challenge for the Leafs is similar to the one they failed to meet against the Senators on Saturday. If they turn the puck over in bad spots and feed the opposition’s transition game, the Blues have the weapons — led by the Robert Thomas & Jordan Kyrou line — to inflict plenty of damage.
The Leafs have lost two of three coming out of the All-Star break — both to non-playoff teams — and with Morgan Rielly out, the Leafs will run a Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe / Timothy Liljegren – TJ Brodie / William Lagesson – Mark Giordano defense group tonight in his absence. It’s high time for the Leafs to pull up their socks and come together with the strongest version of a team effort they’ve shown this season.
Late breaking news (6:30 p.m. EST): The adversity continues to pile up as John Tavares and Mitch Marner are out tonight due to illness.
The @MapleLeafs have recalled G Dennis Hildeby and F Alex Steeves from the @TorontoMarlies on an emergency basis.
D Max Lajoie has been loaned to the Marlies.
F Mitch Marner and F John Tavares will not be available tonight due to illness.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) February 13, 2024
Game Day Quotes
Drew Bannister on the Blues’ strong road form since he took over the bench (7-3-0):
Whether it is our power play or penalty kill, it has been really strong for us.
Our ability to score at important parts of the game has given us momentum and separation going into a period or momentum coming out of the period. Those two things have been really strong for us in the first two games on [this road trip].
Discipline is going to have to be a big part of our game tonight. We have to work hard away from the puck and make sure we do a good job of checking away from the puck.
Sheldon Keefe on the biggest challenge against St. Louis:
I would say their offense and transition. Their top guys are Thomas and Kyrou, and Kyrou is right at the top of the league at chances generated off the rush. He is very skilled and very dangerous. If you make a mistake or fall asleep just a bit, he hurts you.
There are lots of similarities there to Ottawa, the type of game that they play, and the type of offense that they can counter with. Obviously, they have a ton of confidence and are winning lots of games of late. It is a dangerous group that way.
They have lots of veterans on defense who know how to play and have some depth at forward, too, with veteran experience down the lineup and young skill up high.
They are right there with some of the top offensive teams in the league.
Keefe on whether a five-forward power play is an option in Rielly’s absence:
We talked about it. It is still an option for us.
Quite honestly, it is something that is specific to how St. Louis penalty kills and how we feel we need to play against them. They create a lot of offense on the PK, so it is one thing to be aware of. With some of the nuances in the zone, we think it is better for us to have forwards in more natural positions.
McCabe, as a left-hander with that group, is more similar to Rielly. It came down to the handedness thing for us. We debated Liljegren or McCabe, but for today’s game and this opponent, we are going with more of a traditional look for us.
Keefe on his relationship with Blues head coach Drew Bannister:
I was thrilled to see him get his opportunity. He came in after me in Sault Ste. Marie. Through that transition, we talked a bunch. He had a lot of success there and then went on to the American league and worked his way through.
The team is growing under him. Thrilled for him.
Simon Benoit on the loss of Rielly:
He is a big part of our team. We can’t focus on that. We have a game to play tonight. The guys who are taking his spot have to do a good job. That is it.
There is no dwelling on it. Focus on the game tonight. That’s it.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. St. Louis Blues
In the season-to-date statistics, the Leafs hold the advantage over the Blues in four out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #88 William Nylander
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
#74 Bobby McMann – #64 David Kampf – #18 Noah Gregor
#46 Alex Steeves – #29 Pontus Holmberg – #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe
#78 TJ Brodie – #37 Timothy Liljegren
#85 William Lagesson – #55 Mark Giordano
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Ilya Samsonov
#41 Dennis Hildeby
Suspended: Morgan Rielly
Injured/Out: John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Calle Jarnkrok, Joseph Woll, Conor Timmins, Martin Jones
St. Louis Blues Projected Lines
Forwards
#89 Pavel Buchnevich – #18 Robert Thomas – #25 Jordan Kyrou
#53 Jake Neighbours – #10 Brayden Schenn – #42 Kasperi Kapanen
#20 Brandon Saad – #12 Kevin Hayes – #79 Sammy Blais
#13 Alexey Toropchenko – #70 Oskar Sundqvist – #26 Nathan Walker
Defensemen
#4 Nick Leddy – #55 Colton Parayko
#47 Torey Krug – #51 Matt Kessel
#6 Marco Scandella – #43 Calle Rosen
Goaltenders
Starter: #50 Jordan Binnington
#30 Joel Hofer
Injured/Out: Justin Faulk, Scott Perunovich
