After an off night in Calgary, and now without Kirill Marchenko, can the Maple Leafs overcome their latest injury-related adversity against the 7-4-1 Seattle Kraken (10:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario)?
Game Day Quotes
Kraken head coach Lane Lambert on the challenge of quieting Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and the Leafs’ offense:
Anytime you’re playing a team that has two or three star players, certainly you’ve got your work cut out for you, etween Auston and William Nylander—obviously, Tavares is out. But they’ve made a lot of changes — a lot of turnover since I was there, for sure — in a 14-month span or whatever.
Those guys are playing great hockey. We have to find a way to limit. I don’t think you can ever completely eliminate, but we certainly have to try and find a way to limit their opportunities.
Lambert on the differences in how the Leafs defend:
For me, there’s some subtle differences in terms of how they defend, how they defend the rush, and little things like that. There are little nuances.
At the end of the day, it’s not rocket science completely. There’s still all the fundamentals that stay in place. There are obviously subtleties there, but there’s a lot of similarities, too.
Lambert on the Leafs’ power play:
They’ve got a dynamic — and always have had a dynamic — power play. Raddysh and his shot has made them even more dangerous. Certainly, I know that when I was there, we had five forwards on the power play, but that element of the shot changes the dynamic of things a little bit.
There’s no question that they’ve got some talent on that power play. Obviously, Marchenko and Tavares… I don’t know Marchenko’s status right now, but he did leave the game in Calgary. They’ve got some talent on the power play.
Lambert on the Leafs’ improved penalty kill:
Penalty-killing-wise, I don’t think they probably loved their penalty killing, and I think they went out and they did something about it. They brought in some guys who are experienced on the penalty kill, and it’s paying off dividends right now.
With a combined percentage of 122.5 (on special teams), we’ve got our work cut out for us.
Gavin McKenna on the opportunity with new linemates Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic:
I think kind of expected the lines to be moved around with Marchenko not being in the lineup.
When you see that, I think it’s a little bit of a boost of confidence. When you’re playing with two guys like that, you got to make sure you’re working. I want to make the most out of this opportunity, so I’m looking forward to.
McKenna on playing with Matthews:
Whenever he’s open, you want to find him in a spot because he’s dangerous in all areas of the ice, so you want to get him the puck. And his playmaking… Something I didn’t really know is how good he was at making those plays coming into the league. I think he’s made a tons of nice plays where not a lot of guys can make that play. When he’s got the puck on his stick, you got to be ready as well.
Jack Roslovic on adjusting when Kirill Marchenko (week-to-week) is out:
It’s the first time he’s gone down. But obviously, John and some key pieces of our team haven’t been here. I think everyone kind of fills a role and fills a gap. We have a good understanding of what it is that a guy brings and what we need to bring a little bit more of. I think everyone knows what to do, knows their role.
Roslovic on McKenna’s maturity and handling of the spotlight:
I couldn’t imagine. First overall in a city like Toronto is definitely a difficult thing to do. I remember when Auston was going through it a little bit, and I think the similarities between the two are very similar.
They’re both obviously super young, but super mature, and the ability to come in and just do that and play hockey at the calibre that you have to play at every night is a testament. He’s doing a really good job.
Hiller on moving McKenna up in the lineup after the Marchenko injury:
That’s something we’ve talked about a lot at different times. You guys don’t always see it, but we always are talking about different things in the lineup. That line played so well with Easton, but with Marchy out, we’ll give Gavin a chance there and move Easton with Willy and Pauly.
Hiller on McKenna’s comfort playing with Matthews:
I hope he just feels comfortable playing with Auston. Sometimes, there’s the first few times: “Hey, playing with Auston, what do I got to do? I got to get him the puck.” I think probably by now he’s played enough with them and enough in the league that he just has to go out and play his game.
Hiller on an expanded role for the fourth line:
I would say this: I think we’ve got such great minutes from our—if we want to call them our fourth line—from Teddy Bluger’s line. I think we’ve seen over the last 10 days that line getting more minutes and more minutes. I’ve had them out there against the other team’s top lines.
Despite everybody having to step up in this absence, I think you’re going see that line, as long as they continue to play like this, take on a bigger and bigger role — a role maybe that we didn’t expect two weeks ago.
Hiller on the challenge against the Kraken:
They’ll play hard without the puck. I think, much like Calgary played, I expect a similar game from Seattle. Play hard, have enough talent they can beat you, but they’re going to check you and they’re going to make it hard for you.
We have to play a different style than we played in Calgary. We turned the puck over in the neutral zone again. We thought we had cleaned some of that stuff up, and we’re frustrated because of it. We’ll have to make sure that we have to get the puck deep tonight and play in their zone.
Bobby McMann on facing Matthews and Nylander:
You just know they’re dynamic, and they can create at any point throughout the game. It’s continuing to try and get in those guys’ way, frustrate them, and get in front of them.
They’re both just good competitors. Willy’s so dynamic off the rush, and Auston can really score from anywhere. It’s continuing to get through those guys, know that they’re on the ice, and focus on our game, too. Because if we’re skating like we do, then we can shut those guys down.
McMann on the difference in the markets between Toronto and Seattle:
It’s a bit different. It’s also something that I thought would be a bigger change, and I don’t know if it is that big of a change.
This city has been very invested in this team, and the people that do care for the Kraken care a ton. That’s been really nice. Honestly, it feels like a lot more of a tighter family here, which has been different and also really cool at the same time.
Maple Leafs vs. Kraken: By the Numbers
Swipe the table to compare teams.| Category | Maple Leafs | Kraken |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 14 | 12 |
| Record | 7–5–2[16th] | 7–4–1[T-9th] |
| Points percentage | .571[16th] | .625[T-9th] |
| Goals for | 52[T-2nd] | 45[8th] |
| Goals against | 46[T-30th] | 42[T-23rd] |
| Goals for / game | 3.71[6th] | 3.75[5th] |
| Goals against / game | 3.29[T-18th] | 3.50[27th] |
| Home record | 4–3–1[23rd] | 3–2–0[15th] |
| Away record | 3–2–1[T-11th] | 4–2–1[T-5th] |
| 5v5 shot attempts % | 46.2%[26th] | 41.5%[32nd] |
| 5v5 goals for % | 49.3%[18th] | 55.0%[10th] |
| 5v5 PDO | 100.5[12th] | 104.3[3rd] |
| Power play | 28.9%[5th] | 23.1%[11th] |
| Penalty kill | 93.6%[1st] | 70.6%[T-26th] |
| Head-to-head (2025–26) | 0–1–1 | 2–0–0 |
| Leading scorers · Goals–Assists–Points | ||
| Scorer #1 | Auston Matthews9–11–20 | Kaapo Kakko2–8–10 |
| Scorer #2 | William Nylander9–10–19 | Jordan Eberle4–5–9 |
| Scorer #3 | Kirill Marchenko6–8–14 | Berkly Catton3–6–9 |
| Scorer #4 | Easton Cowan6–7–13 | Brandon Montour2–7–9 |
| Scorer #5 | Jack Roslovic5–8–13 | Chandler Stephenson1–8–9 |
Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Select a player name to view their card (must be on active NHL roster).
Forwards
| Line | Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 92Gavin McKenna | 34Auston Matthews | 96Jack Roslovic |
| 2 | 53Easton Cowan | 20Nick Paul | 88William Nylander |
| 3 | 29Bo Groulx | 15Colton Sissons | 71Vinni Lettieri |
| 4 | 24Brandon Duhaime | 73Teddy Blueger | 19Zack MacEwen |
| Scratch | 29Bo Groulx |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22Jake McCabe | 43Darren Raddysh |
| 2 | 44Morgan Rielly | 28Troy Stecher |
| 3 | 36Dakota Mermis | 95Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
| Scratch | 82Cole McWard |
Goaltenders
| 72Sergei Bobrovsky | Starter |
| 41Anthony Stolarz | Backup |
Injuries Or Other Absences
| Player | Status |
|---|---|
| 8Chris Tanev | Day-to-day injury |
| 86Kirill Marchenko | Week-to-week injury |
| 91John Tavares | Week-to-week injury |
| 83Marshall Rifai | Week-to-week injury |
| 3Nick Blankenburg | Week-to-week injury |
| 18Miles Wood | IR |
| 11Max Domi | Long-term Injury |
Kraken Projected Lines
Forwards
| Line | Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 74Bobby McMannMcMann | 10Matty BeniersBeniers | 7Jordan EberleEberle |
| 2 | 38Jani NymanNyman | 9Chandler StephensonStephenson | 11Mackie SamoskevichSamoskevich |
| 3 | 84Kaapo KakkoKakko | 27Berkly CattonCatton | 51Shane WrightWright |
| 4 | 59Ben MeyersMeyers | 89Frederick GaudreauGaudreau | 26Ryan WintertonWinterton |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29Vince DunnDunn | 6Adam LarssonLarsson |
| 2 | 41Ryker EvansEvans | 62Brandon MontourMontour |
| 3 | 28Josh MahuraMahura | 46Ville OttavainenOttavainen |
Goaltenders
| 31Philipp GrubauerGrubauer | Starter |
| 35Joey DaccordDaccord | Backup |
