Leafs @ Canadiens - Feb. 10th, 7:30pm - SN, Fan 590

[CarltonTheBear]

@

10-2-1, 21 points | 8-2-2, 18 points

Projected Lines

Hyman-Matthews-Marner Nylander-Tavares-Mikheyev Vesey-Kerfoot-Engvall Petan-Boyd-Spezza Rielly-Brodie Muzzin-Holl Dermott-Bogosian Andersen ​

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher Drouin-Suzuki-Anderson Toffoli-Kotkaniemi Perry Lehkonen-Evans-Byron Chiarot-Weber Edmundson-Petry Kulak-Romanov Price​

Scratches

Mikko Lehtonen​

​

Taxi Squad

Alexander Barabanov Joey Anderson Adam Brooks Rasmus Sandin Joseph Woll​

Michael Frolik Victor Mete Charlie Lindgren        ​

Game Notes

TOR
-Andersen (8-2-1, 2.64 GAA, .904 Sv%) will likely start for the Leafs
-Dermott will likely return to the line-up after missing a couple of games dealing with a nagging charley horse issue
-Mikheyev was bumped to the Tavares line, while Engvall took his place on the 3rd line

MTL
-Price (4-1-2, 2.80 GAA, .899 Sv%) will likely start for the Canadiens
-Was interested in Price's seemingly subpar stats this season. In his 4 wins this season he has a .939 Sv%. In his 3 losses it's a .845 Sv%. Which Price will show up on Wednesday?
-Backup Jake Allen, for the record, has a .940 Sv% in 5 games with a 4-1 record
-33 year old defenceman Jeff Petry leads the Habs in scoring with 14 points in 12 games
-Josh Anderson is so far living up to his contract with 8 goals and 10 points in 12 games this season

Injuries

Wayne Simmonds - Hand - Injured Reserve Jack Campbell - Lower Body - Injured Reserve Nicholas Robertson - Knee - Injured Reserve Joe Thornton - Rib - Injured Reserve​

Joel Armia - Concussion - Injured Reserve      ​

Stream Options

BilaSport.net
Sportsurge.net
​

 

[Redleaf]

I like the bump up for Mikheyev. Up until last nights game he?s looked like he?s fallen back from what we saw from him last season. Hopefully having some better playmakers around him allows for a bit of a bounce back to form for him.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/smn013/status/1359524472278175752

GWG stats are useless, except this one.

 

[herman]

Did you see the one where Tavares has more PP goals than a handful of teams?

 

[cabber24]

Go Leafs Go!

Lehtonen scratched? Is he going to be one year and out? Has he not looked great? It doesn't feel like the Leafs are positioning themselves to retain his services.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Lehtonen scratched? Is he going to be one year and out? Has he not looked great? It doesn't feel like the Leafs are positioning themselves to retain his services.

Well I think it was expected that there would be a bit of a rotation going on with him and Dermott (and Bogosian, but that doesn't seem to be happening).

He always seemed pretty blocked on the left side, and originally it appeared he would have a chance to get minutes on the right side but with the Brodie and Bogosian signings and Holl looking like a legit top-4 guy those are blocked now as well.

As for next season, I wouldn't be surprised if he went elsewhere. Sandin will be 21 years old at that point and while that's still very young it'll be hard to keep him out of the line-up then I think. So even if Dermott gets lost in the expansion draft or traded (and neither of those things are necessarily guaranteed) our top-5 will be pretty locked in with Rielly-Brodie-Muzzin-Holl-Sandin. The #6 spot will likely be a Bogosian replacement (or just Bogosian again) to serve as a primary PK guy. If he wants to stick around as a #7 again then great, but as a UFA he can probably find other options.

 

[bustaheims]

And, for what it's worth, outside of the one game against Vancouver, I don't think Lehtonen has been particularly impressive. Certainly not enough to move him up on the depth chart.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

And, for what it's worth, outside of the one game against Vancouver, I don't think Lehtonen has been particularly impressive. Certainly not enough to move him up on the depth chart.

It's hard to say because I really don't want to judge him too much from those 7D games where he barely played. So really we're talking about like 3 games I think. I'd say that his work on the PP alone has been enough for him to at least continue getting a regular rotation. And if he eventually gets more comfortable at 5-on-5 there's a chance he could legit pass Dermott.

 

[bustaheims]

It's hard to say because I really don't want to judge him too much from those 7D games where he barely played. So really we're talking about like 3 games I think. I'd say that his work on the PP alone has been enough for him to at least continue getting a regular rotation. And if he eventually gets more comfortable at 5-on-5 there's a chance he could legit pass Dermott.

Possibly. I was more commenting on the situation as it is right now. I'd prioritize Dermott against the better teams in the division until Lehtonen has shown a better comfort level and defensive prowess against the lesser teams.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

It's hard to say because I really don't want to judge him too much from those 7D games where he barely played. So really we're talking about like 3 games I think. I'd say that his work on the PP alone has been enough for him to at least continue getting a regular rotation. And if he eventually gets more comfortable at 5-on-5 there's a chance he could legit pass Dermott.

Possibly. I was more commenting on the situation as it is right now. I'd prioritize Dermott against the better teams in the division until Lehtonen has shown a better comfort level and defensive prowess against the lesser teams.

Yeah I think that's fair.

 

[Guilt Trip]

And, for what it's worth, outside of the one game against Vancouver, I don't think Lehtonen has been particularly impressive. Certainly not enough to move him up on the depth chart.

It's hard to say because I really don't want to judge him too much from those 7D games where he barely played. So really we're talking about like 3 games I think. I'd say that his work on the PP alone has been enough for him to at least continue getting a regular rotation. And if he eventually gets more comfortable at 5-on-5 there's a chance he could legit pass Dermott.

I think he's done a good job but CTB is right the sample size is still very small. His PP work could end up being the deciding factor between him and Dermott. I think Keefe may keep rotating them with Dermott probably handling the tougher teams until Lehtonen gets more comfortable. I like him better then Marty!

 

[L K]

It's hard to say because I really don't want to judge him too much from those 7D games where he barely played. So really we're talking about like 3 games I think. I'd say that his work on the PP alone has been enough for him to at least continue getting a regular rotation. And if he eventually gets more comfortable at 5-on-5 there's a chance he could legit pass Dermott.

Possibly. I was more commenting on the situation as it is right now. I'd prioritize Dermott against the better teams in the division until Lehtonen has shown a better comfort level and defensive prowess against the lesser teams.

Yeah I think that's fair.

I doubt his trade value is massive but Dermott really kind of feels like the piece you might put in a package for deadline help.  Young enough and has shown enough ability while still having potential to move up a defense lineup teams would be interested while playing on a defense where the Leafs have options to replace him internally this year.

 

[cabber24]

The Leafs are going to thump the Habs tonight. The Habs have no right to be considered the top of the North.

 

[azzurri63]

The Leafs are going to thump the Habs tonight. The Habs have no right to be considered the top of the North.

I was reading somewhere that half of MTL's wins this year have been against the Canucks. Not sure how you can get a gauge on how good any of these teams are with this years setup. Anyway I hope we have a better effort tonight than Monday otherwise I think it's going to be a long night.

 

[bustaheims]

The Leafs are going to thump the Habs tonight. The Habs have no right to be considered the top of the North.

I was reading somewhere that half of MTL's wins this year have been against the Canucks. Not sure how you can get a gauge on how good any of these teams are with this years setup. Anyway I hope we have a better effort tonight than Monday otherwise I think it's going to be a long night.

They've feasted on Vancouver, Edmonton, and Ottawa so far this season - a combined 7-1-1 record, and a +20 actual goal differential (not including shootout). They haven't played Winnipeg yet, just the one game against the Leafs, and 2 against the Flames (1-1-1, -1). 25 of their remaining 44 games are against these three teams. They've probably banked enough points to put them in the driver's seat for home-ice in the first round, but the rest of the season will really show us what they're made of.

They're probably the 2nd best team in the division, but the gap between them and Calgary/Winnipeg isn't as big as the standings currently suggest.

 

[cujo4ever]

Let's keep it rolling...

GO LEAFS GO!

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

So 9 out the Leafs remaining 43 games are against Montreal.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I think he's done a good job but CTB is right the sample size is still very small. His PP work could end up being the deciding factor between him and Dermott. I think Keefe may keep rotating them with Dermott probably handling the tougher teams until Lehtonen gets more comfortable. I like him better then Marty!

Yeah, agreed. If dermott is considered to be better defensive player than a 28 year old PP specialist, I don't see why someone would want to make him expendable over Lehtonen. You could so easily have Nylander or another forward play the point on the PP.

I mean, it's great to have options on the back end, but I don't think Lehtonen means that we should be cavalier about losing youth, particularly when apart from Sandin, there's really nothing all that great in the system.

 

[L K]

I'm probably screwing it up but if Sandin plays 10 games this year (unlikely at this pace) that would count as his second professional season would it not?  He played 28 last year.  That would make him eligible for the expansion draft?

 

[herman]

I'm probably screwing it up but if Sandin plays 10 games this year (unlikely at this pace) that would count as his second professional season would it not?  He played 28 last year.  That would make him eligible for the expansion draft?

I don?t know the particulars but Sandin and Liljegren are declared exempt as in there is no amount of games played will change it. I suspect it is similar to the Nylander situation where the European club owned their rights but loaned them to the Marlies.

Edit: ELC slide seasons spent in the AHL do not count towards professional seasons played apparently.