It’s the final home game of the Maple Leafs’ disappointing 2025-26 season and Joe Bowen’s illustrious broadcasting career (7:30 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime).
SN590 will broadcast Joe’s final call at the SBA tonight. Be sure to follow us on X for the game highlight clips featuring Joe’s calls.
Game Day Quotes
Forward Ryan Tverberg ahead of his NHL debut:
Just a lot of excitement. I’ll have a lot of family in the building. My family is driving in from just over in Richmond Hill, and there will probably be a lot of friends.
It’s just a lot of excitement. I’m ready to go… Growing up, watching them my whole life, it will mean a lot. To be able to step foot on the ice with them will be a good time.
Tverberg on the long journey from his seventh-round draft selection to his NHL debut:
It was a lot of hard work. I had to go through some injuries. There were a lot of hardships.
In the end, it will feel pretty good tonight… Every day that goes by, you want the opportunity, and now that it is here, I’ll try to make the most of it.
Tverberg on his strengths as a player:
I think I play a good 200-foot game up and down the ice. I’m able to defend hard and have a good offensive style as well.
Berube on Tverberg’s first NHL opportunity:
It is a great story, right? He’s super excited to get into his first game in the NHL, as he should be.
He had that injury a couple of years ago. He has worked his way back and has had a really good season down there. We’re excited to get him into a game. It is deserved. He’s worked hard and has come back to contribute down there. He’s been a good player down there for those guys. We’re excited to have him in.
He’s got speed. He is a tenacious player. He has some skill, but his speed and tenacity are what drive him, more than anything.
Morgan Rielly on whether it’s crossed his mind that it could be his final home game as a Leaf:
It’s crossed my mind before. All athletes, at some point, think about that. Tonight is no different than that.
I don’t think you should ever take one day or game in this league for granted.
Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan on facing the Leafs in a game with nothing to play for:
We’ve faced a little bit of that already. We’re focused on what we do. The other thing is, we have some dynamics in our locker room where we are getting some guys back from injury, and they’ve put in long hours of rehab.
Everyone is going to be focused. Everyone knows what lies ahead, so no one wants any part of their game to slip.
I think everyone is excited to play, especially the guys who haven’t played for a while. It’s Toronto, and we have some Toronto guys. Hopefully, we have good energy here tonight.
Gulutzan on deadline acquisition Michael Bunting returning to the lineup:
I thought he had a great start to that Philly game when he got injured, so I put him right back with Rantanen and Johnston. He is used to playing with top guys over his career. Hopefully, he gets right back in. I know he is 100% now. In his first game back, you don’t have these tremendously high expectations — he has been out for a bit — but we know what he can do. Hopefully, he can find his form right away.
Michael Bunting on returning to the lineup vs. the Leafs:
It is always fun to come back. This is home for me. I played here for a couple of years and made some really good friendships. I always look forward to coming back here. It’s an exciting game, especially when I’m coming back to the lineup after missing a little bit of time.
Bunting on the Leafs missing the playoffs:
It’s been a long time since they weren’t in a playoff spot. They have such good pieces over there that I think they’ll be able to bounce back next season. They have the firepower and team to do it.
It was a weird year. I was in the west, so I wasn’t able to see them a lot, and I don’t know what didn’t go right. But I think they’re such a good team over there. They’ll reset in the summer, and we’ll see how next year goes.
Craig Berube on the team’s motivation to win its final home game of the year, especially knowing they didn’t put on a good showing in front of goaltender Artur Akhtyamov vs. the Islanders:
I want to win every game. I think it is important that we go out, play well, compete, do things right, and get a win here at home.
We loved how [AA] battled in that game. The kid has an unreal demeanour. He is a guy you get attracted to because of his personality and how he presents and carries himself. Our guys will be fired up to play hard in front of him.
Maple Leafs (32-34-14) vs. Stars (48-20-12): 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
#18 Steven Lorentz – #43 Luke Haymes – #89 Nick Robertson
#77 Ryan Tverberg – #26 Jacob Quillan – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #28 Troy Stecher
#2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson – #76 William Villeneuve
Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Artur Akhtyamov
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Philippe Myers, Michael Pezzetta
Injured: Dakota Joshua, Anthony Stolarz, Brandon Carlo, Auston Matthews, Chris Tanev
Dallas Stars Projected Lines
Forwards
#58 Michael Bunting – #53 Wyatt Johnston – #96 Mikko Rantanen
#21 Jason Robertson – #95 Matt Duchene – #22 Mavrik Bourque
#14 Jamie Benn – #25 Arttu Hyry – #49 Justin Hryckowian
#10 Oskar Back – #12 Radek Faksa – #15 Colin Blackwell
Defensemen
#23 Esa Lindell – #57 Tyler Myers
#55 Thomas Harley – #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
#20 Kyle Capobianco – #28 Alex Petrovic
Goaltenders
Starter: #1 Casey DeSmith
#29 Jake Oettinger
Injured/Out: Miro Heiskanen, Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, Sam Steel, Nathan Bastian, Nils Lundkvist
