The Maple Leafs are banged up, and their schedule is brutally difficult right now, but they need to start grinding out points to avoid digging a hole they can’t climb out of. Can they find a way against the Avalanche? (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4)
Game Day Quotes
Jared Bednar on what the Avalanche need to take from their October 10 loss to the Leafs:
No lapses. I felt like the game was pretty tightly played — or evenly played. I shouldn’t say tightly played; it was evenly played throughout the course of the game. But with the chances we gave up, we were leaving guys all alone in dangerous scoring areas, and their big boys hurt us. We’ve got to do things right all the time, throughout 60 minutes of the game.
Bednar on Jim Hiller’s coaching style, based on his experience coaching against him in LA:
I hate to go too specific because I think it can change. I think it changes with personnel. If I put myself in that situation and I’m coaching a team, I’m going to try to bring out its strengths and work on its weaknesses, and they can be different. From L.A. to here, they can be different.
This team is a dangerous offensive team. When we played them, they don’t need a bunch of chances to hurt you, and we saw that, whether you’re calling that opportunistic, or I see it as smart, intelligent. If you just stick with it and create, one good look is probably better than three average looks a lot of nights, and they did that against us.
Now it seems like they’re scoring off the rush a ton, so they’re explosive up ice in transition. We’ve got to be careful about that. I don’t think L.A. was as dangerous of a transition team as I see Toronto is this year. So I think it can change.
But he’s a good coach, and an experienced coach. I’m sure he’s got a good pulse in the room, and the team’s played well and played hard for him.
Chris Tanev on the load-management plan set out by John Chayka:
It is what it is. Don’t agree with it, but I understand where he’s coming from. Haven’t really been healthy for the last year, so I think he wants me to be able to play in January and February and March. I guess being available during that stretch will benefit the team, and I do think John wants what’s best for me, too, as well.
Tanev on his conversations about load management with Chayka:
We talked a few times. As I said, difference of opinions. But don’t go write that Chris and John are having issues. That’s not at all the case. I like John a lot. I respect John. I think, obviously, people are allowed to have different opinions.
Tanev on potentially rotating in and out of the lineup more often:
It’s not ideal, but it is what it is, and hopefully I’m not out too much.
Tanev on his health since returning from his latest injury:
Yeah, I feel good. I felt good in the three games I’ve been back, but I think their plan is to hopefully have me available longer term. Over the last year, I’ve sort of struggled to stay healthy.
Tanev on the keys for the team to get back on track:
Keeping it simple. Obviously, we have a few key injuries right now, so try to play a structured, connected game where we’re able to support each other, and when things do go wrong, help each other out. That’s hockey; things go wrong every few seconds, and having the ability to help someone or clean up a mistake is huge.
Cleaning up our special teams will help us as well.
Tanev on the difficulty of defending Nathan MacKinnon:
He can fly, obviously, and you don’t want to get flat-footed because you’re not going to catch him. Understanding where he is and where the speed is coming from is crucial, and then having our centers or high forwards able to get in his way a bit and try to slow him down is very important.
Hiller on Ryan Tverberg’s opportunity on the Tavares-Nylander line:
I watched him a little bit in the American League last year in the playoffs, which is where he set his best run. Played very well. John (Gruden) knows him really well. Coached him for three years.
He’s a worker. He’s an energy player. He’s got lots of speed. We think he’ll help on the forecheck and other areas of the game. We’re excited to put him in tonight. Obviously, you can see where we put him in the lineup. We’re going to give him a good run.
I think he can be first on the forecheck. I think he can loosen some pucks up and try to really let John and Willy get in there and find some secondary pucks. That’s just it. He’s an F1 forechecker with lots of speed and a big engine.
John Tavares on the team’s struggles with execution and consistency over 60 minutes:
I talked about shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s the key moments in the game, the key moments in your shifts, and the execution. I think the intentions are all right, but it’s just the level of execution.
Sometimes, when you are on your heels, you’re withstanding momentum or pressure. We’re able to withstand it, but we need to insulate our goaltending a lot better and continue to play with a lot of energy to skate, to forecheck.
There was good life this morning. The guys are excited to get back at it today. Obviously, it’s been a tough go the last few games, but we got a lot of hockey left to play. Just focus on today and do we got to do to go out there and play well and give ourselves the best chance to get the result we want.
Tavares on Tverberg’s development and opportunity tonight:
He’s had a pretty impressive development. I remember seeing him a few years ago and skating with him in the offseason a number of times. It’s impressive the way he’s kind of worked at his game in many different facets and has kind of rounded himself out.
Obviously, he played a really significant role in the Calder Cup run last year with the Marlies and got a little bit of a taste last year. Hopefully, he probably has a better feel and will be a little bit more settled when you’ve been through it once or twice.
I’m excited for him to get an opportunity, and I know the type of engine that he brings — a motor that he can play with shift to shift. Excited for him. Excited to play with him.
Tavares on the loss of Colton Sissons to the injured reserve:
He’s just so sound in all areas. You can really trust him in just every situation. Obviously, he has great experience. Really intelligent player who understands the game really well. He’s a right shot. Penalty kills. He’s just someone you can really trust and who is really consistent. That presence is massive.
It’s challenging, but it’s more opportunity for other guys, and we want to be a team that has a lot of depth and a next-man-up mentality. Those are tough, tough skates to fill, but we’re excited for the guys who are going to get the opportunity to fill in the role.
Maple Leafs vs. Avalanche: By the Numbers
Swipe the table to compare teams.| Category | Maple Leafs | Avalanche |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 19 | 18 |
| Record | 8–9–2[21st] | 10–6–2[12th] |
| Points percentage | .474[21st] | .611[12th] |
| Goals for | 64[T-7th] | 72[3rd] |
| Goals against | 64[26th] | 56[T-18th] |
| Goals for / game | 3.37[T-12th] | 4.00[3rd] |
| Goals against / game | 3.37[21st] | 3.11[T-13th] |
| Home record | 4–6–1[30th] | 7–1–2[T-5th] |
| Away record | 4–3–1[T-12th] | 3–5–0[24th] |
| 5v5 shot attempts % | 47.7%[25th] | 53.2%[6th] |
| 5v5 goals for % | 46.4%[23rd] | 60.0%[4th] |
| 5v5 PDO | 99.4[19th] | 103.4[3rd] |
| Power play | 28.6%[T-5th] | 23.3%[11th] |
| Penalty kill | 85.9%[5th] | 78.2%[14th] |
| Head-to-head (2026–27) | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Leading scorers · Goals–Assists–Points | ||
| Scorer #1 | Auston Matthews11–16–27 | Nathan MacKinnon10–20–30 |
| Scorer #2 | William Nylander11–11–22 | Martin Necas9–14–23 |
| Scorer #3 | Jack Roslovic8–10–18 | Cale Makar5–16–21 |
| Scorer #4 | Kirill Marchenko6–8–14 | Artturi Lehkonen12–5–17 |
| Scorer #5 | Easton Cowan6–8–14 | Devon Toews5–11–16 |
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 | 53Easton Cowan | 34Auston Matthews | 96Jack Roslovic |
| 2 | 77Ryan Tverberg | 91John Tavares | 88William Nylander |
| 3 | 81Dakota Joshua | 20Nick Paul | 92Gavin McKenna |
| 4 | 24Brandon Duhaime | 73Teddy Blueger | 19Zack MacEwen |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22Jake McCabe | 43Darren Raddysh |
| 2 | 95Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 8Chris Tanev |
| 3 | 36Dakota Mermis | 28Troy Stecher |
| Scratch | 82Cole McWard |
Goaltenders
| 72Sergei Bobrovsky | Starter |
| 41Anthony Stolarz | Backup |
Injuries Or Other Absences
| Player | Status |
|---|---|
| 15Colton Sissons | Week-to-week injury |
| 44Morgan Rielly | Day-to-day injury |
| 3Nick Blankenburg | Week-to-week injury |
| 86Kirill Marchenko | Week-to-week injury |
| 83Marshall Rifai | Week-to-week injury |
| 11Max Domi | Long-term Injury |
| 18Miles Wood | IR |
Avalanche Projected Lines
Forwards
| Line | Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62Artturi LehkonenLehkonen | 29Nathan MacKinnonMacKinnon | 88Martin NecasNecas |
| 2 | 71Jaden SchwartzSchwartz | 11Brock NelsonNelson | 13T.J. HughesHughes |
| 3 | 92Gabriel LandeskogLandeskog | 91Nazem KadriKadri | 10Nicolas RoyRoy |
| 4 | 17Parker KellyKelly | 9Fedor SvechkovSvechkov | 25Logan O'ConnorO'Connor |
Defense
| Pair | Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27Brett KulakKulak | 8Cale MakarMakar |
| 2 | 7Devon ToewsToews | 70Sam MalinskiMalinski |
| 3 | 47Noah JuulsenJuulsen | 84Brent BurnsBurns |
Goaltenders
| 39Mackenzie BlackwoodBlackwood | Starter |
| 41Scott WedgewoodWedgewood | Backup |
