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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vancouver Canucks – Game #11 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info – Maple Leafs Hot Stove

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Fresh off of a much-needed four-day break from game action, including two full practice days, the Maple Leafs will kick off a three-game series against Vancouver tonight in Toronto (7 p.m. EST, TSN4 / Sportsnet Pacific).

Evaluation is difficult with the compact all-division schedule, and extra difficult for a Canucks team that played 13 games in the first 22 days, eight of which came against either Ottawa (x3) or Montreal (x5). They blew out Ottawa three straight wins and lost four out of five to the Habs while conceding a stunning 28 goals, with Montreal’s Tyler Toffoli scoring eight of those goals in his five revenge tours.

What can be safely said about the Canucks’ 6-7-0 start is that they’ve been a tire fire defensively, and their overtaxed goalies in Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko are not saving the day so far. Ruing sloppy turnovers and coverage breakdowns, Elias Pettersson provided the funny and damning soundbite the other night, “We don’t make the simple plays good.”

Remove their cumulative 16-3 rout of the Senators over their three-game series, Vancouver’s goal difference is -16 in the other 10 games. Outside of one win against Edmonton and one against Winnipeg, they have largely been subpar against competent competition this season, including a cumulative 8-2 loss to the Flames in a two-game series earlier this season.

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At 5v5, the Canucks are dead last in the league in a ton of key defensive metrics — shot attempts against/60, shots against/60, scoring chances against/60 — and close to last in others: high danger chances against/60, expected goals against/60. On paper, there isn’t a better matchup to run into for three games as the Leafs look to get their confidence up offensively at 5v5.

Again, playing 13 games in 21 days is no easy chore, but Vancouver is on its own island with Ottawa in terms of putrid defensive results so far this season:

The Canucks did like their overall effort level much better in their most recent game — another loss to Montreal — and remain a team you have to respect offensively, even as their power play uncharacteristically struggles (bottom 10 in the league after finishing in the top five last season… Manny Malhotra effect?). At 5v5, they’re in the top 10 in expected goals for/60, top 10 in scoring chances for/60, and top five in shooting percentage. It’s a Canucks offense and top six that is worthy of attention and respect with JT Miller, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, the emerging Nils Hoglander, and the fourth-forward threat of Quinn Hughes.

Now rested and practiced, the Leafs, if they are to pass this test in the next three games and take advantage of a team their closest divisional rival (Montreal) has made hay against, it will come through playing a disciplined game defensively and picking apart this Canucks team. Rather than play down to the opponent with sloppy, chancy, last-goal-wins hockey, hopefully, the Leafs — who have yet to win a game by more than one goal on a non-late-empty netter — can put together a few business-like wins where they dominate 5v5 play for larger spells of the game and don’t allow teams a foothold back into the contest. That would be a tangible step forward, having now had the chance to catch their breath and mix in a few full practice days after their 10-games-in-18-days start.

In terms of lineup notes, Nic Petan makes his season debut on the Leafs fourth line tonight, as it remains a carousel of different bodies down there, with Sheldon Keefe continuing to evaluate the options. Keefe doesn’t appear to be in a huge rush to settle on a go-to fourth-line — this despite Keefe’s mention that the Boyd, Engvall, and Anderson line we saw in Calgary was the team’s best L4 combination so far.

In a year with no exhibition season, there is value to providing opportunity, fostering competition, keeping various options involved, and collecting as much data as possible. Also worth mentioning: Cap wise, with Nick Robertson and Joe Thornton on LTIR, it gives the Leafs a window of flexibility to rotate players in and out more freely. At some point, though, you have to figure the Leafs need to see that line Keefe mentioned actually play together again to see if they’re really building something there.

Further up the lineup, Wayne Simmonds — riding the hot stick with three goals in his last four — is going to get a look next to William Nylander and John Tavares, with Ilya Mikheyev — who is playing well, but really struggling to produce despite expanded opportunity recently — rotating down onto Alex Kerfoot’s line opposite Jimmy Vesey.


Game Day Quotes

Sheldon Keefe on the rotation on the fourth line:

We are providing more opportunities for more players. You look at Nic Petan, who just a few days ago was down with the Marlies and not even on the taxi squad. Now he is here and in the lineup tonight. We think that is healthy for the depth of the organization — to let players know, whether you are in our taxi-squad or stay-ready group or down with the Marlies, there are lots of reason to continue to work and be prepared.

It is a balance for sure. There will come a time where we have to settle on the people that we think are our absolute best lineup each day. We don’t think we are quite there yet, but we are inching closer to that, I believe. We are just going to continue to watch.

The best we’ve felt with that line is with Boyd, Engvall, and Anderson. Joey was sent down to the Marlies from the taxi squad, but that was not reflective of what we thought about him. We are still very much aware of who he is and where he is, if and when we decide we want to bring him back. We look at how that line skated, defended, how structured they were, the quickness and speed with which they got onto the puck — those are things that we think Nic can bring.

Keefe on the Canucks:

They are a very hard-working team, a very competitive team that has some high-end talent. If you make mistakes or take penalties, they will make you pay for it. They are a team that is searching for some consistency in their game, but from what we have seen in their games of late, they’re playing good hockey.

They have had a tough schedule here facing Montreal five times. That has allowed them opportunities to grow and find their way as a team. It is a group that I have watched closely enough through last season’s playoffs, and there are so many returning players that you know you are going to be in for a game any time you are up against them. There is not much that is going to catch us off-guard in that sense.

We are prepared for them throughout this three-game set to make it very difficult.

Keefe on the team’s 5v5 offense:

We have to get from our zone down to the offensive zone a lot quicker, a lot more efficiently, with a lot more speed and purpose. If we do that, I think there is going to be a lot more opportunities for our best players to do what they do.

Keefe on Petan’s opportunity:

The feedback on his attitude and the work he has put in there has been really good. I think it is more, in Nic’s case, that he has played in the NHL. We have been giving opportunities to other players who haven’t played as much as in the NHL or haven’t played as much for our team. As we have gone through it, we just felt Nic deserved to be in that group, in that conversation, and have that opportunity to compete for a spot.

Canucks head coach Travis Green on the Leafs:

You look throughout their lineup, they have a lot of skill and good skaters throughout their lineup. Their backend — same thing. They have speed and skill. We are going to have to be ready to play a fast game and a committed game — not just offensively, but defensively as well.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#11 Zach Hyman – #34 Auston Matthews  – #16 Mitch Marner
#88 William Nylander – #91 John Tavares – #24 Wayne Simmonds
#26 Jimmy Vesey – #15 Alex Kerfoot  – #65 Ilya Mikheyev
#61 Nic Petan – #72 Travis Boyd – #19 Jason Spezza

Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #78 T.J Brodie
#8 Jake Muzzin – #3 Justin Holl
#23 Travis Dermott – #22 Zach Bogosian

Goaltenders
#31 Frederik Andersen (starter)
#30 Michael Hutchinson

Extras: Pierre Engvall, Mikko Lehtonen, Adam Brooks, Travis Boyd, Rasmus Sandin
Injured: Nick Robertson, Joe Thornton, Jack Campbell


Vancouver Canucks Projected Lines

Forwards
#9 JT Miller – #53 Bo Horvat – #6 Brock Boeser
#70 Tanner Pearson – #40 Elias Pettersson – #36 Nils Hoglander
#26 – Antoine Roussel – #20 Brandon Sutter – #96 Tyler Gaudette
#64 Tyler Motte – #83 Jay Beagle – #18 Jake Virtanen

Defensemen
#43 Quinn Hughes – #4 Jordie Benn
#88 Nate Schmidt – #57 Tyler Myers
#23 Alexander Edler – #63 Jalen Chatfield

Goaltenders
#35 Thatcher Demko
#49 Braden Holtby

Injured: Micheal Ferland, Jayce Hawyrluk, Travis Hamonic

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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