This latest chapter of the Leafs-Habs rivalry comes at a time when the two sides are among the highest-scoring and leakiest teams in the NHL through the first quarter of the season. Both are hoping to turn around their recent fortunes amid an underwhelming month of November (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis on his team’s mentality amid a three-wins-in-10-games stretch:
I still think we are a confident group. I think we know what we can do on the other side of these stretches. It is just about flipping it. I don’t think it takes an extraordinary play to flip it. Just keep stacking the ordinary things that I think have slipped for us a little bit.
The biggest one is turnovers in the neutral zone. When you turn the puck over in the neutral zone, you have fewer instances of forecheck. Fewer instances of forecheck, less offensive-zone time. It is all connected.
In our last game, our forecheck was good. We just didn’t get enough of it because we were turning pucks over. And defending in our own zone is fine. But when you turn pucks over, there is no structure that is going to help you on the other side of that. That is how you create the rush game for the other team, and if they don’t get anything off the rush, they get to start in the O-zone, and you have to defend.
Once we are in our zone, we are fine defending. We just give them too many opportunities for striking early, and it all comes off turnovers in the neutral zone, which creates less forecheck and less O-zone.
Craig Berube on the meaning of this Leafs-Canadiens HNIC clash:
It is a big game. We talked about it this morning. It is obviously a big divisional game. It is always a big game against Montreal, and it is a big game for us in terms of where we are at and where we are heading. So, it’s a big game.
You have to be aware of their skill, for sure. It is a highly skilled team over there. Hutson is a dynamic player who is tough to handle. We have to do a good job on him and a good job on their skill. We have to be tight-checking, close to them, and take away their speed and skill as best as we can. They’re a good team.
Simon Benoit on returning to his home province for Leafs vs. Habs on Saturday night:
It doesn’t get any better. It is always fun. I know it is going to be loud. They’ll have both fans out there; a lot of Toronto, and a lot of Montreal. It’s going to be good.
Canadiens forward Florian Xhekaj on learning about his first NHL call-up:
I was taking my pre-game nap in Laval yesterday. I got a few calls, but I was tired, so I was trying to sleep. I was just ignoring them. When I looked, it was my coach, and he said, “You’re going up. You’re going to play your first game against the Leafs at the Bell Centre.” It was a pretty cool moment.
I was pretty speechless. I was really excited. I needed to call my parents and let them know. I did that right after. I didn’t nap after that. It was tough to sleep last night, but I am excited.
Scott Laughton on the Canadiens adding more physicality with the addition of the younger Xhekaj brother:
We have some big boys, too. That is the way the best games are played, with that physical intensity. It gets you up for the game. I don’t think you look at certain guys. It is just the way the game is going to be played. It is going to be a physical, fast game, and we have to dictate that and put the ball in our court here.
Steven Lorentz on Leafs vs. Habs on HNIC:
This is the easiest game to get up for, especially growing up in the Toronto area. It is a rivalry that has gone on forever. It is exciting to be a part of. We are both kind of going through some struggles right now, so it is going to be a good test for both sides.
We have to come out hot with a lot of jump. We are expecting it to be a loud building with a lot of boos for us. We are going to use it to our advantage.
Dakota Joshua on the team’s recent improvement in the defensive zone:
We are more on the same page. You can tell we’re making more good reads. The predictability has been there. That goes a long way in staying out of there, and when you are in there, getting out of there.
Maple Leafs (9-9-3) vs. Canadiens (10-7-3): Head-to-Head Stats
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#88 William Nylander – #91 John Tavares – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
#81 Dakota Joshua – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
#74 Bobby McMann – #24 Scott Laughton – #53 Easton Cowan
#79 Sammy Blais – #18 Steven Lorentz – #63 Matias Maccelli
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe
#36 Dakota Mermis – #28 Troy Stecher
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Dennis Hildeby
Extras: Philippe Myers, Jacob Quillan
Injured: Matthew Knies (day-to-day), Nicolas Roy (day-to-day), Brandon Carlo (IR), Anthony Stolarz (IR), Auston Matthews (IR), Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
#13 Cole Caufield – #14 Nick Suzuki – #76 Zack Bolduc
#20 Juraj Slafkovsky – #91 Oliver Kapanen – #93 Ivan Demidov
#63 Florian Xhekaj – #71 Jake Evans – #17 Josh Anderson
#49 Jared Davidson – #90 Joe Veleno – #11 Brendan Gallagher
Defensemen
#8 Michael Matheson – #53 Noah Dobson
#47 Jayden Stuble – #48 Lane Hutson
#72 Arber Xhekaj – #45 Alex Carrier
Goaltenders
Starter: #75 Jakub Dobes
#35 Sam Montembault
Injured/Out: Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, David Reinbacher
