(Exhibition) Maple Leafs hockey is back, and it starts with a lineup with more than a dozen NHL regulars featuring against a Senators team heavy on AHL content (7:00 p.m., Sportsnet).
It goes without saying that this is game one of the preseason, and the lineups aren’t exactly strength vs. strength tonight (in favour of the Leafs), but here are some names/storylines to keep an eye on:
Nikita Grebenkin: The Russian with multiple years of pro experience under his belt — and a championship ring in the KHL — brings a package of size, strength, speed, and intelligence that has impressed Leafs brass in the early stages of training camp. Playing his preferred off-wing as a left shot, how does Grebenkin fare alongside two seasoned, highly-skilled NHL pros, John Tavares and Max Pacioretty, when it comes to the details of his game defensively, his forechecking/puck retrievals, and complementing his linemates offensively?
Easton Cowan: He’s been given nothing easy at the start of the exhibition season, starting on a line with college free agent signing/soon-to-be Marlie Jacob Quillan and Ryan Reaves. Craig Berube is impressed by the dog-on-the-bone relentlessness in camp, but the new head coach wants to be sure the “junior habits” are out of Cowan’s game before considering him for an opening night job. Can he drive the line with a mature game (and possibly earn some looks in offensive situations with other linemates throughout the night), and does the linemate situation help him keep it simple/north-south vs. trying to do too much to impress?
William Nylander: He’ll start between Calle Jarnkrok and Max Domi, and it looks like he will receive a fair shake at center this fall. While the evaluation period will need to be much longer than one preseason game vs. a weak Senators lineup, how motivated is he tonight to prove he’s up to the task with 200-foot dominance down the middle?
The OEL—McCabe pairing: The Leafs started Jake McCabe on John Klingberg’s left to start last season, and it did not pan out well whatsoever as both players were aggressive up the ice and left themselves exposed the other way. While the playing-style dynamic is similar with this OEL – McCabe pairing, the circumstances are different this time, with a healthy OEL (vs. an injured Klingberg) taking up the left side and McCabe shifting to the right, where his game settled down nicely last season. Simon Benoit-McCabe was a steady pairing last year, but if this OEL-McCabe pair could click, it would open up some nice options for Mike Van Ryn on the backend, especially as the Leafs look for a little more offensive pop from their blue line this season.
The Rielly—Tanev pairing: It’s game one of the preseason, and nothing will be determined tonight regarding this pairing (or the veterans in general) besides shaking off some rust and finding their timing. But this is the best partner Rielly has played with in his Leaf career and potentially a legitimate #1 pair the Leafs haven’t boasted in far too long. Hopefully, the complementary fit of their skill sets and past chemistry from their World Championships will help them hit the ground running.
Game Day Quotes
Max Pacioretty on suiting up in a Leafs jersey for game action for the first time and how he’s feeling after the first few days of camp:
It is going to be a lot of fun. I have a lot to prove. I am excited to get out there now and prove it in front of the fans.
I haven’t had a training camp in about four years or so between injuries and Covid. It’s definitely nice to get up to speed. You realize how important training camps really are. It’s been a really hard [camp] so far, but I think it is going to pay off.
I feel amazing. I knew I would feel good, but I didn’t know I would feel this good.
Craig Berube on Max Pacioretty’s camp so far:
He looks really good. He looks really strong for me and like normal Patches as we’ve seen in the past. The camp has been physical, too, which is good to see. He is a big, strong guy. He has a very good shot. We all know that. His skating looks really good to me, which is a good sign.
Berube on the Pacioretty-Tavares duo:
I think they can control a lot of the play in the offensive zone with their heaviness and good puck play. They can both hang onto pucks in the offensive zone and create a lot of offensive-zone time but also score some goals and create some offensive opportunities.
It is a heavy line. They just have to make sure they advance things through the other zones, get it behind people, and go to work. That is what I see in that line with those two guys together.
Pacioretty on Marc Savard overseeing the team’s power play:
I played against him. It makes me feel good. But he was one of the best power-play players at that time. It is cool to see him come in and teach it the way he did it. He was a really savvy player.
We had our first meeting on power play today. It was really good stuff in terms of thinking outside of the box and some plays I haven’t seen before. Looking forward to it.
Berube on Savard’s assets as a a PP coach:
He was a very good power-play guy himself when he played. If you look back with the Bruins, he did a lot of good things with the power play. He just has that mindset that skilled power-play guys understand.
He has good ideas. He always has some plays and different ideas, but he has good structure on his power play.
Easton Cowan on the message from Berube ahead of tonight’s game:
He was just telling me to play my game and play simple. Get pucks out and play north. Play my game, and good things will come. I am really excited for tonight.
Berube on Cowan’s game:
He is a no-nonsense player for me. He has great work habits. He has a nose for the puck. The puck follows him. He can get gritty inside. He can score in different situations. He is a worker who can produce.
Morgan Rielly on the fit with Chris Tanev so far:
It has been good. We are enjoying it. Change always brings some challenges, and it takes time to get used to playing with one another, but we have been working at it and talking a lot. I think we are in a good place, and we are looking forward to some game action tonight.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#11 Max Domi – #88 William Nylander – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
#67 Max Pacioretty – #91 John Tavares – #71 Nikita Grebenkin
#53 Easton Cowan – #61 Jacob Quillan – #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #8 Chris Tanev
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson – #22 Jake McCabe
#52 Cade Webber – #37 Timothy Liljegren
Goaltenders
#60 Joseph Woll (split time)
#30 Matt Murray (split time)
Extras: Noah Chadwick
Ottawa Senators Projected Lines
Forwards
Angus Crookshank – Shane Pinto – Drake Batherson
Noah Gregor – Stephen Halliday – Michael Amadio
Nikolai Kulemin – Adam Gaudette – Zack MacEwen
Cole Reinhardt – Jan Jenik – Xavier Bourgault
Defensemen
Thomas Chabot – Carter Yakemchuk
Tyler Kleven – Calen Addison
Donovan Sebrango – Max Guenette
Goaltenders
Mads Soogard
Dustin Tokarski
