A meeting against the 28th-place St. Louis Blues is a must-lose for the Maple Leafs if there is any hope of falling into the bottom five this season (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Steven Lorentz on the team’s motivations down the final stretch:
It is pro sports. You have to stay sharp. You’re playing for your jobs. There are people in the stands every night, and you want to leave a good impression on everybody.
It is easy to get up for games when you’re playing for the team you cheered for in your hometown. That is kind of my motivation. I use it to play well for the guys in the locker room. I don’t want to let these guys down. You want to be able to show up for the guy next to you. As long as you are doing your job, you can count on him doing his job.
We have nine games left to just have a push. There is not one guy in this locker room who has given up. We want to do the best we can and finish as high as we can. It is not common for professional athletes who are competitive hockey players to roll over and say, “whatever.” We’ll try to produce our best hockey coming down the stretch.
Jake McCabe on the importance of playing hard for the logo on the front of the jersey, regardless of the lack of meaning to the games in the standings:
It’s a privilege to play in this league and a privilege to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially. It is a place I’ve gotten to call home for my family. I have a lot of respect for the jersey. I appreciate the city and the support we get.
It has been a tough year, but we’ve been collecting points in these last couple of games. It is a lot better feeling in here. It’s a lot more fun to win, obviously. We’re looking to continue it to start the road trip.
McCabe on the importance of upholding professional standards:
A large chunk of us will be back here next year. You need to keep building bonds with your teammates, playing for each other out there, and not leaving your buddy out to dry. If you’re not playing hard, you’re leaving your teammate out to dry.
I think we’ve done a pretty good job over the last couple of weeks of playing hard. We’re winning games because of it. It’s been a long and hard season, but we’re looking forward to finishing up strong.
Craig Berube on the message to the team after collecting consecutive wins for the first time since before the Olympic break:
Keep building. Keep competing. Keep playing hard and doing the right things out there. Let’s keep it rolling here.
Going back to that Boston game and how we approached the game, we have to do the same thing tonight: defend hard, don’t give up much, and capitalize on our opportunities. The goaltending has been very strong. We can keep feeding off that.
Maple Leafs (31-29-13) vs. Blues (30-30-11): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#53 Easton Cowan – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Knies – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
#63 Matias Maccelli – #18 Steven Lorentz – #81 Dakota Joshua
#61 Michael Pezzetta – #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: Philippe Myers
Injured: Auston Matthews (out for the season), Chris Tanev (LTIR)
St. Louis Blues Projected Lines
Forwards
#81 Dylan Holloway – #18 Robert Thomas – #21 Jimmy Snuggerud
#63 Jake Neighbours – #89 Pavel Buchnevich – #25 Jordan Kyrou
#28 Otto Stenberg – #54 Dalibor Dvorsky – #29 Jonatan Berggren
#13 Alexey Toropchenko – #37 Jack Finley – #22 Pius Suter
Defensemen
#6 Philip Broberg – #23 Logan Mailloux
#41 Theo Lindstein – #55 Colton Parayko
#17 Cam Fowler – #4 Justin Holl
Goaltenders
Starter: #50 Jordan Binnington
#30 Joel Hofer
Injured/Out: Tyler Tucker
