To extend their points streak to 11, the Maple Leafs will need to dig deep in a tired situation against a rested Utah Mammoth team tonight in Salt Lake City (10:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Game Day Quotes
Matias Maccelli on his return to Utah:
It is a little weird to be in this locker room and not the other one. But it is good to be back. I’m just trying to focus on the game now, and then after the game, I’ll say hi to a couple of friends.
Maccelli on whether his former teammates reached out ahead of tonight’s game:
A couple of them did, and they told me to keep my head up. We’ll see what happens.
Maccelli on the players he’s “keeping his head” up against on this Mammoth team:
Probably Lawson Crouse. He’s a big guy, so I have to be careful with him. But I’ll give it back to him if I get a chance.
We were close when I played here, so we would go back and forth a little bit. It is fun.
Maccelli’s pre-scout on his former team:
They’re really good off the rush. They have a lot of skill in their lineup. Their power play is good. We have to make sure we play a good team game, take care of special teams, and play a solid 60.
Maccelli on his recent stretch of strong play following his healthy scratches:
It has been good. Obviously, getting more ice time helps. My strength is with the puck and trying to make plays, so it helps when you play a bit more and can get more touches. Obviously, you get to play with JT and Willy, so that makes my life a little easier, too.
When I was out for a few games, I just tried to reset and work hard in practice. Once I got back in, I gave it my everything.
Craig Berube on Maccelli’s strong form of late:
He’s playing with a lot more confidence, for sure. He is hanging onto pucks and making much better plays with the puck. Defensively, he has been solid. He is working things; he is getting above, and he is being strong on the puck when he has to be in battles.
It is the confidence that I see in him now that I didn’t see earlier on.
Berube on the challenge of a back-to-back set of late starts on the road:
It will be a mental game tonight. The mental side of things will push you physically. That is what we need tonight. We’ve got to fight through it.
It is imperative that we take short shifts again tonight and manage the puck. We are on a back-to-back here, with a long travel and late games. Mentally, we have to be sharp.
Berube on the challenge presented by the Mammoth:
They’re a good team and have been a good team for a couple of years. Going back to last year, I think they defend really well. They have some high-end players who can skate and are highly skilled.
I always feel it is a hard game and a tough matchup.
Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny on the challenge presented by the Leafs:
Tourigny on the matchup difficulties against the Leafs:
When you look at the Toronto lineup, they have depth. There are four lines; their offense is spread out throughout. We’re looking for that. We’re looking for a spark as well.
[McBain and Guenther] like to play together. They were playing a little bit together last year, and they love to play together. At the same time, I think [Danil But] needs to execute just a little bit better. He’s playing really well, but he needs to execute at a higher level. Playing with [JJ Peterka and Barrett Hayton] will give him another opportunity to showcase what he can do, and we’ll go from there.
We’ll adjust if need be. We’ll start the game that way, and we’ll see how the matchups are going. We’ll figure it out. We have options.
Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt on the Leafs:
They’re really good off the cycle and off the rush. They do a lot of their damage there. Our defensemen and low forward really have to do a good job of cutting that speed off and making sure that they don’t climb through the half wall. If they do, it’s going to be a long night for us.
Maple Leafs (23-15-7) vs. Mammoth (22-20-4): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann – #34 Auston Matthews – #11 Max Domi
#63 Matias Maccelli – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Knies – #55 Nic Roy – #53 Easton Cowan
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#44 Morgan Rielly – #25 Brandon Carlo
#2 Simon Benoit – #28 Troy Stecher
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Dennis Hildeby
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Philippe Myers, Matt Benning
Injured/Out: Nick Robertson (day-to-day), Chris Tanev (IR), Dakota Joshua (IR), Dakota Mermis (LTIR), Anthony Stolarz (LTIR)
Utah Mammoth Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Clayton Keller – #8 Nick Schmaltz – #67 Lawson Crouse
#77 JJ Peterka – #27 Barrett Hayton – #19 Danil But
#53 Michael Carcone – #22 Jack McBain – #11 Dylan Guenther
#13 Brandon Tanev – #82 Kevin Stenlund – #38 Liam O’Brien
Defensemen
#98 Mikhail Sergachev – #50 Sean Durzi
#88 Nate Schmidt – #6 John Marino
#28 Ian Cole – #57 Nick Desimone
Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Karel Vejmelka
#41 Vitek Vanecek
Injured/Out: Logan Cooley, Alex Kerfoot
