With John Tavares absent due to the birth of his son, the Maple Leafs are running 11 forwards/7 defensemen, with former Av Nick Blankenburg making his Leaf debut on the blue line, for a big Saturday-night test in Denver (7 p.m. EST, Sportsnet).
Jim Hiller’s line blender will be getting a work out again tonight. The Leafs are still exploring options pretty much everywhere but their first line (which has also changed mid-game the last two games, so pretty much everywhere), and Hiller is a known proponent of 11/7, which he ran frequently in LA. It might be an opportunity to actually get Easton Cowan more minutes (instead of just talking about it), among others who can rotate through that fourth line spot, depending on who is going in the game. Does it prove to be the right call in a true “skating” game against Colorado at altitude? We’ll soon find out.
The Leafs’ starting goalie will not be confirmed until game time as Hiller is holding his cards close to his chest.
Game Day Quotes
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar on what stands out about the new-look Maple Leafs:
Shortened camp, and you’re trying to get everyone on the same page. They’ve got a lot of new faces, but just watching their pre-scouts, I think they’ve got a renewed spirit, number one. I think they’re playing hard. They’re playing up-tempo. They’re making a lot of plays.
Everyone’s still a work in progress at this point, but that’s maybe the biggest change. Fresh start, new year, lots of new guys bringing energy, and they look really good.
Bednar on his first impressions of Gavin McKenna:
Yeah, I haven’t seen him enough. Just in the pre-scouts, I’m not really singling in on the one guy. I’m kind of looking at the structure of their game, how they play, what to expect from that.
But obviously, a real talented guy, likes to play with the puck, and he’s off to a pretty good start, too.
Bednar on switching Martin Necas and Nazem Kadri’s spots in the top six:
I didn’t want to switch them in the first place, but I just felt like in the Winnipeg game, Naz was involved in everything. He was involved in almost 50% of our scoring chances that night, so I elevated him during the game. I liked what I saw, so I thought I’d leave it for the Calgary game.
I don’t think our top six had a great game in Calgary. They found a way to chip in, though, which is the most important thing.
But I’m going to go back to them. I think Naz can provide some things on the Nelson line, and obviously Marty and Nate and Lehky have gotten off to a great start, so I want to get them back together.
Jim Hiller on Nick Blankenburg making his Leafs debut:
He’s been patient. He’s excited. We talked about it. He’s unfortunately had to play this role before, where he’s had to wait at the start of the season, but when he’s gotten in, he’s played well. It’s his old team, so probably a little extra exciting for him.
We really wanted to get Nick in. He had a good preseason. Didn’t want to keep him out too long. I’ve mentioned before, I kind of like 11 forwards, so it’s a chance to get Nick in and play 11 forwards.
Hiller on what he likes about 11/7, and the opportunity to mix and match on defense:
Just can mix more guys around. If somebody’s having a good night, I can find a little bit more ice time for them, beyond some of the guys who play most of the minutes. It’s nice to get somebody else who typically doesn’t play as much more minutes.
The forwards would tell you they love 11, and the defense would tell you they don’t really like seven. I don’t know exactly how that’s going to go because sometimes you spread that out too much, and nobody gets in a groove on the back end. We’ll just see how it goes.
We’re just trying different partners tonight. It’s just to mix it up.
Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche: By the Numbers
Swipe the table to compare teams.| Category | Maple Leafs 2026–27 · 5 GP | Avalanche 2026–27 · 4 GP |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 5 | 4 |
| Record | 2–2–1 [T-16th] | 3–1–0 [T-6th] |
| Points percentage | .500 [T-19th] | .750 [T-3rd] |
| Goals for | 14 [T-11th] | 23 [1st] |
| Goals against | 14 [T-17th] | 11 [T-9th] |
| Goals for / game | 2.80 [20th] | 5.75 [1st] |
| Goals against / game | 2.80 [T-14th] | 2.75 [T-11th] |
| Home record | 2–2–0 [T-16th] | 2–0–0 [T-1st] |
| Away record | 0–0–1 [T-11th] | 1–1–0 [T-11th] |
| 5v5 shot attempts % | 50.9% [14th] | 52.8% [12th] |
| 5v5 goals for % | 47.6% [18th] | 70.4% [3rd] |
| 5v5 PDO | 98.9 [18th] | 109.1 [3rd] |
| Power play | 20.0% [18th] | 30.8% [5th] |
| Penalty kill | 93.3% [2nd] | 100.0% [1st] |
| Head-to-head (2025–26) | 1–1–0 | 1–0–1 |
| Leading scorers · Goals–Assists–Points | ||
| Scorer #1 | William Nylander3–3–6 | Nathan MacKinnon3–5–8 |
| Scorer #2 | Auston Matthews2–4–6 | Cale Makar3–3–6 |
| Scorer #3 | Easton Cowan2–2–4 | Jaden Schwartz3–3–6 |
Maple Leafs Projected Lines (starting goalie unconfirmed)
Select a player name to view their card (must be on active NHL roster).
Forwards
| Line | Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 86Kirill Marchenko | 34Auston Matthews | 96Jack Roslovic |
| 2 | 53Easton Cowan | 20Nick Paul | 88William Nylander |
| 3 | 92Gavin McKenna | 15Colton Sissons | 29Bo Groulx |
| 4 | 24Brandon Duhaime | 73Teddy Blueger |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22Jake McCabe | 43Darren Raddysh |
| 2 | 44Morgan Rielly | 8Chris Tanev |
| 3 | 95Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 28Troy Stecher |
| 7th D | 3Nick Blankenburg | |
Goaltenders
| 72Sergei Bobrovsky | Unconfirmed (starter TBD) |
| 41Anthony Stolarz | Unconfirmed (starter TBD) |
Injuries Or Other Absences
| Player | Status |
|---|---|
| 91John Tavares | Personal |
| 81Dakota Joshua | Week-to-week injury |
| 11Max Domi | Long-term Injury |
Avalanche Projected Lines
Forwards
| Line | Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62Artturi LehkonenLehkonen | 29Nathan MacKinnonMacKinnon | 88Martin NecasNecas |
| 2 | 92Gabriel LandeskogLandeskog | 11Brock NelsonNelson | 91Nazem KadriKadri |
| 3 | 71Jaden SchwartzSchwartz | 9Fedor SvechkovSvechkov | 13Cameron HughesHughes |
| 4 | 17Parker KellyKelly | 10Nicolas RoyRoy | 68Zachary L’HeureuxL’Heureux |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7Devon ToewsToews | 8Cale MakarMakar |
| 2 | 27Brett KulakKulak | 70Sam MalinskiMalinski |
| 3 | 42Josh MansonManson | 84Brent BurnsBurns |
Goaltenders
| 41Mackenzie BlackwoodBlackwood | Starter |
| 39Scott WedgewoodWedgewood | Backup |
