Tonight on Hockey Night in Canada, the surging Maple Leafs are hoping to exact some revenge on a Habs team that embarrassed them in Montreal two weeks ago, but they’ll need to do it without Joseph Woll (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Steven Lorentz on the keys to delivering some payback to the Canadiens after the 5-2 loss on Nov. 22:
Saturday night, at home, against the Montreal Canadiens. It is going to be hard not to be ready for this one. I think we owe these guys after what happened in the last game.
The first period is huge for us tonight. We have to come out and make a statement. That doesn’t mean we run around and try to run them out of the building. It is just about playing hard, finishing checks, and playing the simple game we played on the road. We can’t change it up just because the opponent plays a different style. If we stick to our game and what we do best, it is the recipe for success.
Their tendencies are a little different than the Carolinas or Floridas. They have a little more freedom in their game; they like to make seam passes and so on. They have some physical players on their team, too. If we do a good job of putting pucks in the right spots, and as long as we have a good F3 tracking back, I think we’re going to be good.
John Tavares on the challenge presented by the Canadiens:
Their skill and speed are as good as anybody in the league, not just up front but on the backend as well. We know how dynamic they can be. They have been building for a number of years. They had a great year last year, and they are proving to be a really, really good team.
They always present the challenge of being aware of their ability to create plays, create offense, and how they get so many people involved in the attack. Being smart with our play away from the puck, and with it, will be important tonight.
Lorentz on whether the team feels renewed after the 4-1-0 road trip:
It kind of feels like that. You kind of get that sense. Seeing the guys around the room this morning, it feels like we have our confidence back.
Playing teams like Florida and Carolina, who don’t give you much time or space and smother you, forces you not to make cute plays or turn pucks over. You have to fork pucks out and win the blue line battles. You have to get on their D and have all three guys — and all four lines — connected on the forecheck to get pucks back and create opportunities.
It says a lot about our group, beating teams like that. That confidence we got from the road trip is going to be huge going forward.
Tavares on the keys to building off a successful road trip:
Chief has talked a lot about making plays when they are there. We don’t want to be overaggressive and try to do too much, so it is always that balance of making plays when they are there and being aggressive, but also being smart and managing the game. We have talked a lot about that, and there is a real balance to it.
That has kind of come along for us. I like our four-line attack and the way all of our D pairs have been playing. You can sense the group building a good identity there, with the ability to come at you wave after wave.
Tavares on the team’s confidence in Dennis Hildeby:
He’s been great. He has some experience. I think he is a pretty easy-going guy. He doesn’t seem to let much bother him. With his size and skill set, he has a good understanding of what he can do and who he is as a tender.
He has been really strong for us and has given us a great opportunity to win hockey games. We have to continue to do a good job in front of him.
Craig Berube on the keys to translating the success on the road back on home ice, now with Joseph Woll out injured:
Going on the road together, you’re together and playing hockey. They’re together all the time. They form some closeness on the road. I thought our team took that onto the ice, to be honest with you. That is what I saw.
I don’t think the mindset changes. I don’t. I think you have to just go out and keep playing. We had a great trip. It is about not being complacent tonight and being ready to go from the drop of the puck.
I don’t think much changes with our game based on who is in net. Dennis has played well for us. He came in the other night and did a good job. We have confidence in Dennis.
Martin St. Louis on his team’s bounce-back shootout win over Winnipeg, following two consecutive losses by a combined 12-4 score vs. Colorado & Ottawa:
I felt like we were back a little bit to our identity in terms of being on top of the other team with our forecheck — not necessarily our 200-foot forecheck, but in the offensive-zone hunt and staying on top of them. I thought we killed more plays at the blue line because of it.
I thought our forecheck was back to our identity. To me, it’s solidified a little bit what we are doing in our d-zone, but let’s not lose something else because we are better somewhere.
Maple Leafs (13-11-3) vs. Canadiens (14-9-3): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #11 Max Domi
#53 Easton Cowan – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#81 Dakota Joshua – #55 Nicolas Roy – #74 Bobby McMann
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #89 Nick Robertson
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#22 Jake McCabe – #28 Troy Stecher
#2 Simon Benoit – #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Dennis Hildeby
#70 Artur Akhtyamov
Extras: Dakota Mermis, Matias Maccelli, Calle Jarnkrok
Injured: Joseph Woll (IR), Brandon Carlo (IR), Anthony Stolarz (IR), Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
#13 Cole Caufield – #14 Nick Suzuki – #20 Juraj Slafkovsky
#85 Alexandre Texier – #91 Oliver Kapanen – #93 Ivan Demidov
#17 Josh Anderson – #71 Jake Evans – #11 Brendan Gallagher
#49 Jared Davidson – #90 Joe Veleno – #76 Zack Bolduc
Defensemen
#8 Michael Matheson – #53 Noah Dobson
#47 Jayden Stuble – #48 Lane Hutson
#72 Arber Xhekaj – #45 Alexandre Carrier
Goaltenders
Starter: #75 Jakub Dobes
#35 Sam Montembault
Injured/Out: Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, David Reinbacher
