Jake McCabe returns to the lineup as the Maple Leafs look to take care of business against a tired and struggling Anaheim Ducks team that has lost four in a row, including a 5-1 loss last night in Ottawa (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on the return of Jake McCabe to the lineup:
He is a big part of our team back there; he and Tanev are our shutdown pair and penalty-killing (pair), with physical play and defending. A big part of our team, and it is great to have him back.
They think alike and are on the same page. They are similar players in how they play the game and how they think the game.
Berube on the keys to spending less time in the defensive zone:
Killing plays quicker and exiting the zone quicker. When we kill plays and get the puck, where are our outs? Let’s get going. Let’s transition from defense to offense. We have to be better at that.
Berube on the decision to stick with Anthony Stolarz in net tonight:
There is the back-to-back (this weekend), too, but Stoly played one hell of a game (in New Jersey). We all know that. That was the call to go back with him.
John Tavares on the return of McCabe to the lineup:
He is a heart-and-soul type of player. He has a really good skill set with the plays he can make breaking out of our end and whatnot, but the commitment he makes physically every night and the emotional investment he has is massive on the ice and in the locker room.
He plays a lot against the other team’s top players and loves that challenge of being difficult to play against and trying to keep them off the scoresheet. He brings a lot for us.
Tavares on the areas for improvement after the OT win in New Jersey:
Most parts of our game. We weren’t very good.
We want to respond with a much better effort and be a lot more like ourselves with the type of pace we can play with coming out our own end and how difficult we can be on the forecheck, sustaining the forecheck, and wearing teams down.
Jake McCabe on his health situation over the past week and a half:
I am feeling a lot better now than I was last week. I didn’t quite feel right or feel comfortable putting myself in a situation to play. The medical staff takes great care of us. I got the go-ahead now, so I am ready to get back at it.
Any time you take a puck to the head, you want to be extra careful and make sure you are crossing all of your T’s and dotting all of your I’s. That is what we did.
McCabe on the success of his partnership with Chris Tanev:
It is just our mentality. We go over the boards and our job is to keep the puck out of the net, get the puck to our forwards, get the play transitioning, and spend as little time in our defensive zone as possible.
[Tanev] does a great job of positioning. He is the most willing player in the league to eat shots from everywhere.
We talk well, and I think we have been pretty good with the puck as well. When you are good with the puck, you have to defend less.
It has been going well so far. I am excited to get back out there with him tonight.
McCabe on new Duck Jacob Trouba’s game:
I’ve known Troubs for 15 or 16 years. We go back to the U18 World Championships team together. He came up and played with our team as a ’94. Even back then, he played a similar game to what he does now.
He plays hard. He can throw the body around. He shoots the puck hard. He’s a leader.
It’s a new start for him in Anaheim.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (17-9-2) vs. Ducks (10-13-4)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Toronto holds the advantage in three out of five offensive categories and five out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies — #34 Auston Matthews — #16 Mitch Marner
#67 Max Pacioretty — #91 John Tavares — #88 William Nylander
#29 Pontus Holmberg — #39 Fraser Minten — #11 Max Domi
#18 Steven Lorentz — #24 Connor Dewar —#75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #41 Anthony Stolarz
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Nikita Grebenkin, Nick Robertson, Philippe Myers
Injured (IR): Bobby McMann, Jani Hakanpää
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf
Anaheim Ducks Projected Lines
Forwards
#77 Frank Vatrano — #16 Ryan Strome — #19 Troy Terry
#17 Alex Killorn — #91 Leo Carlson — #20 Brett Leason
#61 Cutter Gauthier — #23 Mason MacTavish — #13 Robby Fabbri
#26 Brock McGinn — #21 Isaac Lundestrom — #38 Jansen Harkins
Defensemen
#4 Cam Fowler — #65 Jacob Trouba
#6 Brian Dumoulin — #7 Radko Gudas
#34 Pavel Mintyukov — #51 Olen Zellweger
Goaltenders
Starter: #1 Lukas Dostal (unconfirmed)
#36 John Gibson
Injured/Out: Trevor Zegras
