The Maple Leafs are seeking their sixth win in a row as they enter a more challenging stretch of their schedule tonight in Carolina (7:30 p.m. EST, TSN4).
The Maple Leafs have been grinding out wins despite some uneven five-on-five performances against lesser competition thanks to their ability to defend, manage games, capitalize on their chances, and strong goaltending. Now, they’ll be tested against a structured, playoff-bound team with elite special teams and a generally strong command over the five-on-five play.
Ahead of the matchup against a fast and deep Hurricanes team, Craig Berube is making some adjustments to his bottom six forwards and two of three defense pairings, swapping out Max Pacioretty (pointless in his last five, minus-four) and Ryan Reaves in favour of the “speed” of Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg.
On defense, Morgan Rielly will shift next to Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson next to Philippe Myers (a new pairing this season), a move Anthony Petrielli advocated for in his recent notebook:
With Jake McCabe on IR, I’d like to see a bit more of a shake-up… The OEL-Tanev pairing wasn’t particularly strong in terms of driving play up ice, and they didn’t really bring out the best in each other (OEL wasn’t potent offensively, and Tanev wasn’t dictating play up ice as he normally does).
I’d rather try Rielly-Tanev as a top pairing, considering they already saw time together and meshed much more naturally to me. It would then bump OEL to play with Myers while keeping the Benoit – Timmins pairing together.
There is still familiarity with two of those pairings, and I think the combo of Rielly-Tanev gives them the best possible pairing overal. But it’s possible the other two pairings won’t be good enough to allow them to keep Rielly and Tanev together, and Tanev shouldn’t be playing 22+ minutes at this point. Still, I’d like a longer look at this pairing.
Joseph Woll, riding a five-game winning streak (.934 save percentage), will start his 21st game of the season in the Toronto net.
Game Day Quotes
Rod Brind’Amour on Craig Berube’s coaching style:
He never took a shift off, and that’s carried over into his coaching. It doesn’t matter if you’re a great player or a fringe player; there is an expectation to play hard every shift. That’s non-negotiable.
He went to the wall for his teammates when he played. He would stand up for anybody. That doesn’t change when you’re a coach. I’m sure it’s the same. I think the players understand that, and that’s why they respect you.
The biggest thing in coaching is getting that respect from your players. If they respect you and they respect what you’re talking about, they’ll play hard for you and try to do what you want. That seems to be the case with him and his players.
Craig Berube on Rod Brind’Amour’s coaching success in Carolina:
He has done a great job here. How he played as a player is what he has brought to the team: the work ethic, they’re a great faceoff team — Roddy was a great faceoff guy — and a great penalty killer. He was a good power-play guy, too.
He was good in all facets of the game. He has brought that to his team. His teams are about pressure and work. They don’t give you any time or space.
Steven Lorentz on his memories of playing for Brind’Amour in Carolina:
I learned a lot. It was how I broke into the league. He is a tremendous coach and a guy who has played well over 1,000 games. He has seen everything and been there, done that. It is easy to learn from a guy who has been through those experiences.
He made it so easy to play for him as long as you were playing hard. He was one of my favourite coaches. I definitely miss him, but he is the enemy tonight, so I am not going to take it easy on him tonight.
Lorentz on the similarities between Brind’Amour and Berube’s coaching styles:
There are a lot, actually, and same with Paul Maurice last year.
You play hard. You have your systems you fall back on and rely on, and you definitely need that structure, but at the end of the day, hockey is a game of mistakes. As long as you are making those mistakes when doing things hard — Brind’Amour preached that, and Berube preaches it, too.
It is all about putting your foot to the gas. Mistakes are going to happen, but it is about playing through that.
Berube on the challenge presented by the Hurricanes:
They’ve always been a tough opponent. They’ve been a really good team for a while now. They have some great players over there.
It’s the pressure they come with. They’re a hard-working team. They work as hard as any team in the league. There is just no room. They don’t give you much room.
You have to win your battles. There are a few things we have to do to try to create some space out there tonight and be patient.
Composure, patience, and discipline are going to be key in this game.
Berube on assembling a Morgan Rielly-Chris Tanev pairing:
A lot of it is [Carolina’s] lineup. They are pretty spread out with three lines. We need some balance with our D pairs tonight going against them. They have some good skill on each line with size — Necas, Svechhnikov, Staal. They have it spread out pretty well.
Rielly on joining a pairing with Tanev:
We want to play well together, move the puck, and not spend too much time in the defensive zone. When there are D who are out, things get shifted around, and you play with different guys.
Chris and I want to be strong defensively and move the puck quickly to get going up ice.
Berube on reinserting Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg and scratching Max Pacioretty:
A little more speed tonight. It is going to be a fast game.
We talked about it before when guys sit out, and we want to get them back in. Holmberg has been sitting for a bit. He was sick, and he is back now. I wanted to make the switch.
Matthew Knies on the recent success of his line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner:
I like our competitiveness. We are working hard and getting pucks back from their D. Our forecheck has been really good, and we have been capitalizing on our chances.
Knies on the keys to success for the five-forward power play against a top-ranked Hurricanes PK:
Keep it simple. Get it to the net. Try to create havoc. We need to not do too much and stick to the simple stuff. That is going to reward us.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (27-13-2) vs. Hurricanes (24-15-2)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Carolina holds the advantage 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 — #16 Mitch Marner
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #88 William Nylander
#89 Nick Robertson — #11 Max Domi — #18 Steven Lorentz
#24 Connor Dewar — #64 David Kampf — #29 Pontus Holmberg
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly— #8 Chris Tanev
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson — #51 Philippe Myers
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Dennis Hildeby
Extras: Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves, Marshall Rifai
Injured (IR): Jake McCabe, Anthony Stolarz
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Jani Hakanpää
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lines
Forwards
#24 Seth Jarvis — #20 Sebastian Aho — #96 Jack Roslovic
#50 Eric Robinson — #82 Jesperi Kotkaniemi — #88 Martin Necas
#37 Andrei Svechnikov — #11 Jordan Staal — #48 Jordan Martinook
#54 Juha Jaaska — #18 Jack Drury — #53 Jackson Blake
Defensemen
#74 Jaccob Slavin — #8 Brent Burns
#7 Dmitry Orlov — #5 Jalen Chatfield
#42 Ty Smith — #26 Sean Walker
Goaltenders
Starter: #52 Pyotr Kochetkov
#34 Dustin Tokarski
Injured: Frederik Andersen, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jesper Fast, William Carrier, Tyson Jost
