The Maple Leafs remain without Auston Matthews coming out of the holiday break as they look to snap a two-game losing slide against a bottom-feeding Red Wings team seeking a new-coach bump tonight in Detroit (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).
Game Day Quotes
Max Pacioretty on the holiday break and the two losses preceding it:
I got to relax a lot and rest, which I definitely needed. The schedule got a little bit hectic there at the end for our group, and it definitely showed in our game. It was nice to relax and spend time with the family. Now, we’re back at it.
It was obvious that everyone needed a little bit of a rest there. Every team deals with it where teams are waiting for you, and it seems like you’ve been traveling every day and playing a lot.
It is a good lesson that in those situations, you have to tighten up defensively and maybe hold down the fort a little bit better than we did. But those situations build teams and make teams who they are.
We had there days to rest. We are going to play a desperate team that is going to want to impress their new coach and make a bit of a statement. There is going to be a lot of intensity out there tonight.
New Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan on the message to his new team:
We aren’t coming in here, waving a wand and changing forecheck, neutral zone, d-zone coverages, and power play. We just don’t have time. But what we have asked the players to do is play harder, play faster, and play a little bit smarter. Those are three things we can change without any type of tactics, systematic or structure play.
The last thing is that the spirit of the team has to improve. When something like this happens, the spirit is at a low. We are going to work hard to build it back up. We are going to focus a lot more on what is happening from minute one to minute 60.
I know there is a history of being in the playoffs, not being in the playoffs, winning streaks and losing streaks. The players have to answer those questions — that is their duty, and they have to do it — but I am asking them to focus on what happens when they put the equipment on, focus on that, and not carry any baggage with them to the rink about where we are in the standings.
Let’s play and figure each other out.
Morgan Rielly on the instant impact of a coaching change on a locker room:
Whenever it happens, as players, you think a lot about why your team is in that situation. I have been there. I would expect that group over there to be competitive and motivated to come out hard. There is always some kind of a response when something like that happens.
Rielly on the team’s two losses without Auston Matthews before the break:
When he is out, we need other players to take on more responsibility, and I think we can play a more well-rounded game that is a bit more complete. If you look at those games, I don’t think the starts were the best. That’s going to be an area of focus.
Craig Berube on the first game back from the break:
You get some rest, right? We’ve played a lot of hockey and have had a lot of back-to-backs. We’re starting out again with a back-to-back, but we got to rest and energize. The energy should be good.
With three days off, there are timing issues and things like that — execution — so we have to simplify our game tonight, play a pretty simple hockey game, and make sure we are predictable to each other. It is about competing, working hard, and playing hard.
Berube on the areas for improvement coming off of the two losses before the break:
We always talk offense, offense. We had chances to score in the last couple. It didn’t go in, but it is the other side of the puck that is more concerning for me.
We gave up three goals to Winnipeg that were easily corrected, in my opinion. I talk about details, stick details, and the little things we have to be better at. That is the focus here.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (21-12-2) vs. Red Wings (13-17-4)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Toronto holds the advantage in five of five offensive categories and four out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#67 Max Pacioretty — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#23 Matthew Knies — #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#74 Bobby McMann — #11 Max Domi — #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz — #64 David Kampf — #24 Connor Dewar
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev*
#44 Morgan Rielly — #51 Philippe Myers
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson — #2 Simon Benoit
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#39 Matt Murray
*game-time decision
Extras: Ryan Reaves, Conor Timmins
Injured: Auston Matthews
Injured (IR): Jani Hakanpää, Anthony Stolarz
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lines
Forwards
#93 Alex Debrincat — #71 Dylan Larkin — #88 Patrick Kane
#27 Michael Rasmussen — #37 JT Compher — #23 Lucas Raymond
#11 Vladimir Tarasenko — #18 Andrew Copp — #36 Christian Fischer
#90 Joe Veleno — #92 Marco Kasper — #48 Jonatan Berggren
Defensemen
#77 Simon Edvinsson* — #53 Moritz Seider
#8 Ben Chiarot* — #46 Jeff Petry
#56 Erik Gustafsson — #3 Justin Holl
Goaltenders
Starter: #39 Cam Talbot
#34 Alex Lyon
*game-time decision
