It’s a money-on-the-board game for centerman Nic Roy, who is the most notable player facing his former team in tonight’s Maple Leafs vs. Golden Knights matchup (9:30 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Game Day Quotes
Nic Roy on the challenge against his former team:
They have good depth. They’re really good on the power play. They’re a big team that protects pucks. They are just good overall. Its’ a good challenge for us tonight.
Roy on his acclimation to his new team in Toronto:
Coming to a new team, there is always an adjustment at the start of the year. After the first 10-15 games, I really found my role and my game. I have been feeling really good lately. Hopefully, I can keep it going.
Auston Matthews on squaring off with old friend Mitch Marner:
He is a great friend and a close friend. I definitely keep in touch with him. But, at the end of the day, we’re focused on the group in here. We’re focused on going out, having a good game tonight, and collecting points.
Craig Berube on whether facing off against Mitch Marner adds more juice to this matchup:
For sure, I think it does, but I think we are kind of past all of that with Mitch. But, for sure, it is the same as having Nic Roy on our side, with him coming back and playing against his old team. There is always juice both ways.
John Tavares on facing off against Marner:
It will be a little different, but everyone has been through the league and the game. Changes happen every year. It is not the first time we have played against a former player.
Obviously, he was a big part of things here, and you develop a close relationship, but we are in the midst of a grind here in January. There are a lot of games and a lot of key points for us to focus on. You are aware of the type of player he is, the way he can impact the game, and how we need to play.
It will be a little different, but when the puck drops, you settle in and play the way you need to play.
Tavares on his communication with Marner since Marner left Toronto:
He reached out when I scored my 500th. I reached out when the Olympic team was announced. Other than that, not really, over the last number of weeks, as the season sets in with your teammates every day.
There is so much focus on that and what you are trying to do, but he has always been a great player to play with and a very close friend. That won’t change, but obviously, tonight, we are competing against each other. Once you get back in the rhythm of a game day, you have to get ready to play and understand what you have to go out there and do as a team.
Mitch Marner on his communication with his former teammates:
I’ve checked in with them throughout the year. I am still very good buddies with a lot of them. I’ve checked in with them to see how they’re doing and how their families are doing. I talked to them over Christmas and the holidays. I got really close to a lot of them there. They’re like brothers. There hasn’t been too much talk about hockey, really.
Marner on the Maple Leafs:
They’re a fast team that plays direct. They get up on the rush very well. We have to try to use that to our advantage, maybe, and make sure we are making the smart plays and being above them to try to limit their odd-man chances. They like working the cycle down low and trying to find that little pop play in the middle. We just have to make sure we communicate, talk to one another, and close on them quickly.
Maple Leafs (23-16-7) vs. Golden Knights (21-11-12): 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 – #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #53 Easton Cowan
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #28 Troy Stecher
#44 Morgan Rielly – #25 Brandon Carlo
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson – #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Dennis Hildeby
Extras: Calle Jarnkrok, Matt Benning
Injured/Out: Simon Benoit (day-to-day), Chris Tanev (IR), Dakota Joshua (IR), Dakota Mermis (LTIR), Anthony Stolarz (LTIR)
Vegas Golden Knights Projected Lines
Forwards
#49 Ivan Barbashev – #9 Jack Eichel – #61 Mark Stone
#16 Pavel Dorofeyev – #93 Mitch Marner – #19 Reilly Smith
#55 Keegan Kolesar – #48 Tomas Hertl – #42 Braeden Bowman
#23 Cole Reinhardt – #10 Colton Sissons – #26 Alexander Holtz
Defensemen
#15 Noah Hanifin – #2 Zach Whitecloud
#5 Jeremy Lauzon – #27 Shea Theodore
#17 Ben Hutton – #6 Kaedan Korczak
Goaltenders
Starter: #33 Adin Hill
#40 Akira Schmid
Injured/Out: Alex Pietrangelo, Brandon Saad, William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb, Carter Hart
