At the end of a five-games-in-eight-days stretch, the Maple Leafs will need to dig deep as they seek their third straight win against the 2-0-2 Seattle Kraken (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
Game Day Quotes
Lane Lambert on the challenge presented by his former team:
They’re a dynamic hockey team with tremendous individual skill. They don’t need a lot of opportunities to put the puck in the net. They’re dangerous. Watching them play the Rangers, they played fast. They’re just a good hockey team that is solid top to bottom. They’ve got a defense core and good goaltending. Good team.
Craig Berube on Lambert returning to town as head coach of the Kraken:
He was great for us. I learned a lot from him. He’s a super human and a really good coach. We were very happy that he got another head job in Seattle.
Berube on the challenge presented by the Kraken, who have points in four straight to start the season (2-0-2):
They’re playing really good defense and aren’t giving up much. They take care of the middle of the ice really well. They have some good young players over there. To me, they’re defending really well.
Berube on the decision to re-insert Steven Lorentz into the lineup and healthy scratch Calle Jarnkrok:
Just a numbers game. Nothing more than that.
… It is just part of being a team. We did it last year, too. There are guys who probably don’t deserve to come out at times, but I think it is important that we try to use everybody. It is a tough schedule this year, like always, and you need 23 men.
I don’t necessarily want to just change the lineup for changing (sake), but I think it is important that we try to use everybody as much as we can.
Berube on the expectations for Lorentz in his return to the lineup:
[Pick up] where he left off. He was playing really well. He had a great camp. He started the season and was playing well. He took that hit, and it put him out for a couple, but he is back in. Just pick up where he left off. He was going well.
Berube on the areas for improvement defensively:
With the odd-man rushes, we’ve done a good job in some games. In some games, we haven’t. I want to see that get more consistent. Some of the odd-man rushes we’ve given up are self-inflicted.
The other area where we have to get better: our net-front and killing plays low in our own zone. I don’t think we are heavy enough killing plays down low. We’re allowing people to come out of there with the puck.
Our net front can be better and harder. We took real pride in that last year, the net front, and were harder on our net. We have to get harder.
Berube on Dakota Joshua’s start to the season:
He is what he is. He is a big guy who is going to forecheck and be physical. He is killing penalties for us. He has to be responsible defensively; he is going to be used in situations like d-zone faceoffs and going up against lines to shut them down.
For me, it is all about the forecheck with Dakota, being physical there, getting pucks, hanging onto them down low, and getting to the net. That is where he is going to score his goals.
Chris Tanev on the team’s first five games:
There is still a lot we need to work on and get better at. We have had some good stretches and periods, but we want to be more connected. We want to be better defensively. We want to move the puck better. There are areas we want to get better at and will get better at.
Bobby McMann on the play of his line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson:
In the last couple of games, I feel like we’ve had consistent chances throughout. That is kind of all you can hope for: getting those chances, and trusting that they’ll eventually go in.
McMann on leading the team in hits through five games, and if increasing his physicality was a point of emphasis entering the season:
I think I recognize the importance of it, especially in the playoffs last year, and the effectiveness it has. It is something I kind of want to focus on and continue to develop that side of my game.
I think it’s about being aware of it and not trying to go out of your way to do it, but recognizing when it is there, when it is appropriate, and when it is not. You don’t want to force it. There might be games where there aren’t as many opportunities to hit guys and finish those checks, but when it’s there, you want to make sure it’s there.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #53 Easton Cowan
#63 Matias Maccelli – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#74 Bobby McMann – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz – #55 Nicolas Roy – #81 Dakota Joshua
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly – #25 Brandon Carlo
#2 Simon Benoit – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Goaltenders
Starter: #41 Anthony Stolarz
#30 Cayden Primeau
Extras: Calle Jarnkrok, Philippe Myers, Sammy Blais
Injured: Scott Laughton (week-to-week, LBI)
Out: Joseph Woll (personal)
Seattle Kraken Projected Lines
Forwards
#19 Jared McCann – #10 Matty Beniers – #7 Jordan Eberle
#17 Jaden Schwartz – #9 Chandler Stephenson – #20 Eeli Tolvanen
#27 Mason Marchment – #51 Shane Wright – #26 Ryan Winterton
#12 Tye Kartye – #15 John Hayden – #38 Jani Nyman
Defensemen
#29 Vince Dunn – #6 Adam Larsson
#55 Ryan Lindgren – #8 Cale Fleury
#28 Josh Mahura – #24 Jamie Oleksiak
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Joey Daccord
#31 Philipp Grubauer
Injured/Out: Brandon Montour, Kaapo Kakko, Ryker Evans, Frederick Gaudreau
