The Maple Leafs are just two points out of the bottom five entering tonight’s game against a desperate Kings team on HNIC (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on the challenge against a desperate Kings team:
We’ve got to be engaged here right away. They’re fighting for a playoff spot. They’ll be ready to go, that’s for sure. They have pretty good depth down the middle of the ice when you look at it. It’ll be a challenging game for us
Berube on the need for a better start than in San Jose:
I thought San Jose came out in the last game with a little more juice than us, but the second and third were pretty good. We tried to crawl our way back in, but we got down early in the game. We have to make sure we come out a little harder tonight at the start of the game.
Berube on how tonight’s starter, Joseph Woll, has handled a high shots-against count this season:
He has done well. He’s kept us in there, for sure. We have to do a better job of defending in front of him and not giving up so much. That has definitely been talked about.
Berube on John Tavares’ strong form of late with six goals and 10 points in his last seven games:
He just never stops doing the same things every night. When he suits up and goes out there, I know what I am going to get from him. His work ethic and competitiveness are there all the time. He may not have his legs one night, but I know he will give us his best effort, compete, and do the right things night in and night out. He has been excellent.
Berube on Matias Maccelli’s progress through the season:
He has been a lot better. He went through a real good stretch there not long ago where he was doing some real good things and putting points on the board. He has to get back to that. I think it has dropped off a bit lately. We need him to be a point producer for us.
Troy Stecher on former teammate, now-King Scott Laughton:
He was a very unique teammate. I felt very fortunate to play with him, rub shoulders, and see how he conducts himself on a daily basis. With him leaving, I think we’ve lost some of that vocalness in the room and accountability, in a sense.
That’s hard to replace. It’s hard for guys to get out of their comfort zone. It was just so natural for him to speak up and be vocal. In a time of need, he was the guy the guys would kind of look toward.
He was a great leader and hockey player. We definitely miss him on our team.
Stecher on the importance of professionalism in the final six games:
First and foremost, it is about playing for the crest. Playing for the Leafs is very special. There is a lot of history. It is the center of the hockey world. You want to represent the crest with pride and respect. You don’t want to embarrass yourself, the organization, or your teammates.
It is just about going out there and doing the best you can to try to help the team win games. That is all it is in this business: trying to find ways to win games. That’s done by continuing to do the details: blocking shots, killing penalties, getting the puck over the blue line. Those little things, to me, are what pride is. I know we have a lot of pride in that room, and it will show in the last games.
Maple Leafs (32-31-13) vs. Kings (30-26-9): 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 – #63 Matias Maccelli
#81 Dakota Joshua – #29 Bo Groulx – #89 Nick Robertson
#61 Michael Pezzetta – #19 Calle Jarnkrok – #18 Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #25 Brandon Carlo
#44 Morgan Rielly – #51 Philippe Myers
#2 Simon Benoit – #28 Troy Stecher
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: William Villeneuve, Jacob Quillan
Injured: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (day-to-day), Auston Matthews (out for the season), Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Los Angeles Kings Projected Lines
Forwards
#72 Artemi Panarin – #11 Anze Kopitar – #9 Adrian Kempe
#12 Trevor Moore – #55 Quinton Byfield – #14 Alex Lafrerriere
#53 Jared Wright – #24 Scott Laughton – #40 Joel Armia
#17 Mathieu Joseph – #79 Samuel Helenius – #52 Taylor Ward
Defensemen
#2 Brain Dumoulin – #8 Drew Doughty
#6 Joel Edmundson – #92 Brandt Clarke
#44 Mikey Anderson – #5 Cody Ceci
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Darcy Kuemper
#31 Anton Forsberg
Injured: Kevin Fiala, Andrei Kuzmenko
