Toronto Maple Leafs (23-15-9, 15th in NHL) vs. Dallas Stars (20-20-10, 23rd in NHL)
Puck drop: 8:30 p.m. EST
Arena: American Airlines Center
Watch: Sportsnet Ontario
Game Day Notes
– Starting tonight in Dallas, the Maple Leafs kick off a 35 games-in-68 days race to the finish that will also be relatively tough in terms of strength of opponents. As pointed out by Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, the Leafs are only one of four teams in the league that will average more than a game every other night (Colorado, the Islanders, and Ottawa are the others) down the stretch.
– After practicing yesterday and taking the morning skate today, Morgan Rielly will sit out tonight’s game with an eye towards a return on Thursday in St. Louis.
– The Leafs‘ sixth-best offense and third-best powerplay will line up against the Stars’ third-worst defense and 30th-ranked penalty kill tonight. Everyone knows subpar goaltending has plagued the Stars organization since Kari Lehtonen’s last decent season in 2013-14 — they haven’t had a goaltender finish the season above a .906 save percentage going on three years now. What is interesting about this season, though, is that the Stars 5v5 save percentage is actually seventh best in the league at .930.
Dallas’ team save percentage dips to .817 while shorthanded, which is far and away the worst in the NHL. It’s not as though Dallas gives up an inordinate amount of shots (46.76 per 60, 15th in the NHL) or scoring chances (19.95 per 60, 14th in the NHL) while killing penalties, either.
The Leafs, by contrast, have the best save percentage in the league while shorthanded at .908.
– Exacerbating the Stars’ awful penalty kill is the fact that they have taken the fifth most penalties in the league (222) to date. The Leafs‘ high-flying powerplay hasn’t scored in the last two games, but the last time Toronto went without a PP goal in three consecutive games was in mid-November.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Dal |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 55 | 50 |
| Record % | 0.585 | 0.5 |
| Home Winning % | 0.587 | 0.615 |
| Away Winning % | 0.565 | 0.375 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0.143 | 0 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | 0.36 | -0.42 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | 0 | 0.1 |
| Hits Per Game | 24.4 | 19.5 |
| PIM Per Game | 10.9 | 11.2 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 11.1 | 10.6 |
| Goals Per Game | 3.06 | 2.7 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.26 | 2.04 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.72 | 0.6 |
| Shots Per Game | 32.4 | 30.3 |
| Shots Per Goal | 10.6 | 11.2 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.095 | 0.089 |
| Power Play % | 0.233 | 0.172 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.7 | 3.12 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.13 | 2.08 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.49 | 0.88 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 32.36 | 30.16 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 11.98 | 9.67 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.084 | 0.103 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.854 | 0.74 |
| Save % | 0.917 | 0.897 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.66 | 3.1 |
| Shutouts | 3 | 1 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.905 | 0.911 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 3.01 | 2.68 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 5 |
Who’s Hot
- James van Riemsdyk: 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in last 11 games
- Nazem Kadri: 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in last 11 games
- Mitch Marner: 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in last nine games
- Patrick Eaves: seven points (three goals, four assists) in last five games
- Jamie Benn: six points (three goals, three assists) in last five games
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Martin Marincin – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Frank Corrado
Injured: Ben Smith (lower body), Morgan Rielly (lower body)
Dallas Stars Projected Lines
Forwards
Jamie Benn – Cody Eakin – Patrick Eaves
Antoine Roussel – Jason Spezza – Tyler Seguin
Devin Shore – Radek Faksa – Patrick Sharp
Lauri Korpikoski – Adam Cracknell – Brett Ritchie
Defencemen
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
Dan Hamhuis – Julius Honka
Jordie Benn – Stephen Johns
Goaltenders
Starter: Kari Lehtonen (Projected)
Backup: Antti Niemi
Scratched: Jiri Hudler, Curtis McKenzie, Patrik Nemeth
Injured: Mattias Janmark (knee), Ales Hemsky (hip), Jamie Oleksiak (hand), Johnny Oduya (lower body)
Morning Skate: Mike Babcock
In the event that Morgan Rielly is able to go tonight, what is the domino effect with your blue line and the rest of the team for that matter?
Mike Babcock: He’s not going. Nothing changes.
Do you take some confidence from the games when he was out and that you were able to play good hockey in his absence? Is there something that the guys can build on there?
Babcock: I don’t know. I don’t talk about it. If you’re not in, you’re not in. You just get playing. Next man up. Whoever is ready is supposed to be prepared to do a good job and help us win. I think [Martin Marincin] has done a real good job. Our D has been solid; we haven’t given up much. Our goaltending has been good. We’ve just got to have a little more will and determination on that back-to-back night against Philly.
Auston is coming back from his first All-Star Game. In your experience, have comes coming back from their first All-Star Game maybe had a boost of confidence or has it had a positive effect on them?
Babcock: It depends on how you lived at the All-Star Game, right? I mean, it’s a great opportunity long-term wise. We’ll see what it does to the guy short-term wise. Obviously, Auston is an important player for us. We didn’t fly him back; he didn’t practice yesterday. He should be ready to go here. His line is an important line for us; they drive us in the o-zone with heavy shifts wearing the other team out. We need him to be good.
Are you happy with how your centers have played as a unit from 1-4?
Babcock: Yeah, I think it took The Goat a little bit to get going. We missed [Ben Smith] initially just because of the faceoff circle and the PK and all that, but Goat’s been doing a good job in that area. The other guys – you’re not always at your best, but they’ve been pretty consistent. We’ve been fortunate to have three scoring lines and another line that’s really played heavy here of late and physical. So, it’s giving us a chance.
What are the challenges moving forward with a compressed schedule where practices are going to be few and far between?
Babcock: Everyone keeps texting me and asking me about the compressed schedule. I know we play today, and then we got a practice day tomorrow. Let’s just play. We’re fine. If we let that get in the way, that’s our own problem.
In your past experience, once you get past the All-Star Game, how have you seen the style of play around the league change? Does it ratchet up right now, or is it a little later on?
Babcock: I think it just keeps getting better. As the year goes on, it gets better and tighter. You get less off the rush and more off the cycle and it’s harder to score. I think that’s standard every single year. There are still some nights that the game loosens up, but most nights it is not loose at all. It’s tight and there is no space. That’s why you’ve got to be able to play in no space.
Patrick Sharp was saying to a few of us that, when his team isn’t playing, he’s watching you guys as much as he can – exciting and great for the league, that sort of thing. Any part of you – the fan in you – kind of sit back and enjoy what you’re seeing here?
Babcock: For sure. We’re allowed to enjoy our job, too. I like when we have the puck and we’re doing it right versus when we’re playing for the opposition. It’s way more fun to watch your team do it right. I think we’re a team that is going in the right direction. In saying that, we’re at game 48 here tonight. The game you’re playing is the most important. I try to live in the moment as much as I can.
He also said it reminds him of what was happening in Chicago when they got Toews and Kane.
Babcock: I coached one Nik Lidstrom, and then there was a whole bunch of guys they told me were like Nik Lidstrom. I guess what I’m saying is that there’s only one Chicago. They won three Cups in six years. The cap was right at their time, they were able to keep players and manage their cap real well. Let’s just keep getting better.
