The Maple Leafs will need a great effort to avoid embarrassment against the hard-working Hurricanes, who currently sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with 92 points (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).
Game Day Quotes
Max Domi on the reason for his former team’s year-over-year consistency:
I think they have a really good nucleus of players who lead the way. Jordan Staal is one of the best, and Sebastian Aho is a great leader as well. I think everyone has bought into the way they play.
They play a very simple formula of hockey — rim a lot of pucks, dump a lot of pucks, and tons of energy. Everyone buys in. They have four lines that come at you in waves, and six great defenders. It will be a great test tonight.
Domi on his experience playing for Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour:
I have been lucky to play for a lot of great coaches. Rod is awesome. All coaches are great, but when you have a coach who played the game the way he did — or even Chief, and the way Chief played the way he did — they have another level of understanding of what it takes to be a really good teammate and what it takes to win.
You learn so much from guys like that. Roddy was a great example — Cup champ, captain of that team, and the way he played the game is how it should be played.
Morgan Rielly on his expectations for the team entering a game against a top opponent:
We’re playing a good team. I expect our group to be competitive and prepared to play. We want to be better than we were in the last game. Of late, there have been some good things happening. It is important that we’re dialed and ready to compete.
These guys compete hard and have had the same system and identity for the last few years. We know what to expect. They play with a lot of pace and have a lot of skill up and down their lineup. They play within their structure. It works for them.
Matthew Knies on his current health situation:
It’s been pretty good. I think I’ll re-evaluate it once the summer hits. I’ll try to get a good plan going into summer training and make sure I am fully healthy coming into next training camp and ready to take on 84 games.
Knies on whether he’s considered shutting it down for the season:
It is kind of an injury that I don’t think could get much worse. I don’t think there is any risk with me playing. It is not comfortable playing through it, but everyone is playing through something at this time of year. It is not really an excuse.
If it is not going to get worse, there is no problem with me playing, then I am going to play.
Craig Berube on the challenge against the Hurricanes:
You’ll need to be a competitive and hard-working team tonight. That is what the team we’re playing is based on: hard work and compete. They’ve been doing it for a number of years now and are very good at it.
First and foremost, we’ll need to be highly competitive out there. We’ll need to understand that there are not always plays you can make. There is a lot of pressure coming from them.
Playing a simple game will be important.
Maple Leafs (29-28-12) vs. Hurricanes (43-19-6): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#89 Nick Robertson – #91 John Tavares – #53 Easton Cowan
#23 Matthew Knies – #11 Max Domi – #88 William Nylander
#63 Matias Maccelli – #29 Bo Groulx – #81 Dakota Joshua
#18 Steven Lorentz – #26 Jacob Quillan – #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: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Michael Pezzetta, Philippe Myers
Injured: Auston Matthews, Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lines
Forwards
#37 Andrei Svechnikov – #20 Sebastian Aho – #24 Seth Jarvis
#71 Taylor Hall – #22 Logan Stankoven – #53 Jackson Blake
#27 Nikolaj Ehlers – #11 Jordan Staal – #48 Jordan Martinook
#28 William Carrier – #77 Mark Jankowski – #50 Eric Robinson
Defensemen
#74 Jaccob Slavin – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#19 K’Andre Miller – #26 Sean Walker
#6 Mike Reilly – #21 Alex Nikishin
Goaltenders
Starter: #32 Brandon Bussi
#31 Frederik Andersen
Injured: Shayne Gostisbehere, Charles-Alexis Legault, Pyotr Kochetkov
