The Maple Leafs are hoping to end their six-game road trip on a high note/above .500 (currently 3-2-0), but they’ll need to pass their stiffest test of the journey tonight in Carolina (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4)
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on the message to the team as it looks to end the six-game road trip on the right note:
Urgency — come out and be urgent right away. We know how they play. They are going to come at you, and again, it is about beating the pressure tonight — a lot like Florida. It is a good opportunity for our team. It is about starting the game on time, being urgent right away, and making strong plays with the puck.
Berube on lessons from the team’s 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes in mid-November:
We had the lead, and then we kind of opened things up. It was like a river hockey game. We can’t play that way against this team.
You need patience in your game because they are coming so hard with pressure a lot. You are going to have to flip pucks and chip things out. It is a little ugly at times, but that is okay. You just keep staying with it, and you’ll get some breaks and looks eventually.
We need to be more patient than we were last time against them.
Berube on whether the team has “turned the corner” in the last few games:
It is probably a little early. We are playing a lot better hockey. We just have to keep building on it. We can’t take our foot off the gas. We’ve got to keep pushing here.
Berube on whether it was an easy decision to keep rolling with Joseph Woll in net:
He had a day (off) yesterday. He has been rolling well and feeling good. You communicate with him, how he is feeling and where he is at from a physical and mental standpoint. It is a pretty easy decision.
Nic Roy on the positives to build off from the win in Florida:
It was a full 60 minutes. The breakouts were pretty good, so we spent more time in the offensive zone. When we got there, we held onto pucks and made plays. Overall, it was a really good performance.
It’s been a good road trip so far, but you want to finish strong. It is a big challenge for us tonight. We need the same mentality as last game: be hungry in those battles, and breakouts are going to be important, and staying disciplined.
[Carolina] is a fast team that plays with a lot of pace over four lines. At home, they are going to be coming. But it is about us and how we want to play. If we are good on breakouts and are spending time in the offensive zone, we should be fine.
John Tavares on the challenge presented by the Hurricanes:
It is similar to Florida in how much pressure they put on you all over the ice and how well they skate. They’ve been playing this way for a number of years, have a lot of continuity in their system, and have a lot of really good players throughout their lineup with a lot of speed. We are going to have to execute really well and skate really well ourselves.
Tavares on the challenge against Jordan Staal in the faceoff circle:
His experience, size, and leverage. I remember going up against Rod Brind’Amour, a tremendous faceoff guy who has probably had a good influence on him. When you add the physical attributes and his hockey IQ, it is always a tough test. You have to be at your best and sharpest against a guy like Staal on the dot.
Roy on the challenge against Staal down the middle:
I’ve learned a lot from him. I was drafted here. He is really strong on draws and really good defensively as well. It is going to be a good matchup, for sure, in the faceoff dot.
That bottom hand has to be strong. He is really tough to win those battles against.
Tavares on whether the team feels like it is “turning a corner” after three wins in its last four:
I don’t think we ever look at it as “turning the corner.” We have a lot of hockey to play. We have to keep working at it, getting better, and earning results. We feel better with where our game is trending and where it is headed. We have to continue to stay on it and get better.
You are always trying to focus on one game at a time and not let one game or a string of games influence you too much in terms of how you feel or think. But no doubt, when you are earning results, it naturally allows you to play a little more instinctually and a little looser.
The continuity of the group is coming together and getting stronger. Guys are finding success within their roles or within our team identity, which is still developing and coming together. Some of those things are coming together, and we just have to keep at it.
Maple Leafs (12-11-3) vs. Hurricanes (16-7-2): Head-to-Head Stats
via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #11 Max Domi
#53 Easton Cowan – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#81 Dakota Joshua – #55 Nicolas Roy – #74 Bobby McMann
#18 Steven Lorentz – #24 Scott Laughton – #89 Nick Robertson
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#22 Jake McCabe – #28 Troy Stecher
#2 Simon Benoit – #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Dennis Hildeby
Extras: Dakota Mermis, Matias Maccelli, Calle Jarnkrok
Injured: Brandon Carlo (IR), Anthony Stolarz (IR), Chris Tanev (LTIR)
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lines
Forwards
#37 Andrei Svechnikov – #20 Sebastian Aho – #24 Seth Jarvis
#27 Nikolaj Ehlers – #22 Logan Stankoven – #53 Jackson Blake
#28 William Carrier – #11 Jordan Staal – #48 Jordan Martinook
#71 Taylor Hall – #77 Mark Jankowski – #50 Eric Robinson
Defensemen
#19 K’Andre Miller – #26 Sean Walker
#4 Shayne Gostisbehere – #5 Jalen Chatfield
#21 Alexander Nikishin– #64 Joel Nystrom
Goaltenders
Starter: #31 Frederik Andersen
#32 Brandon Bussi
Injured/Out: Jaccob Slavin, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Pyotr Kochetkov
