Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. EST | Arena: Madison Square Garden | TV: CBC | Radio: SN 590
Game Day Quotes
Auston Matthews on returning to the lineup in between Zach Hyman and William Nylander:
I think we’ve had some pretty good chemistry throughout the year. Obviously, sometimes things aren’t going well and you’ve got to switch it up, but I think time and time again when it happens and we come back together, we like it to stay that way and we want to play well, create offence and just do what we do.
Matthews on what he expects from himself tonight:
Just want to play hockey, so I don’t know. Kind of know what to expect as far as conditionin. It’s not totally going to be there, but hopefully throughout the 1st, 2nd, 3rd period I just get better and better. Just do what I do. I want to contribute in a number of different ways. Just play my game, have fun.
Mike Babcock on why the team hasn’t been performing as well on the road:
Yeah, we haven’t played as hard. Part of that: I really believe, for a bit there, we didn’t have much energy, which is understandable due to the schedule and that. But we had no reason, I felt, the other night. I thought we could have played harder. When I watched New York and New Jersey the other night I thought they played at a harder, higher level than we’re playing at, so we’re going to have to dig in and get playing right. We were better on the road than we were at home for a long time and then we weren’t as good, so we’ve got to get that turned.
Babcock on what he expects from Matthews after missing six games:
Well, with the way the injury was, obviously he was still on the ice and still going. They’ve got protocol for all these things, so they went through all that protocol, but he still skated pretty good, so it’s not like he’s been sitting. In saying all that, we’re going to watch the game and we’ll know. I don’t know at this point. I expect him to be good.
Babcock on if his team’s play recently without Matthews was an alarm bell for the rest of the team:
For the four games that he missed before we went 4-0, I think we’re 6-4 without him, is that right? So that’s the whole math. The second part is, if you just look at anything without the information — which is kind of fun sometimes for you guys — what you do then is you can write any story you want. But the story was: We played 5 games in 7 days. If you check out the whole National Hockey League, there won’t be one other this year. So, does that have anything to do with it? And I’m not trying to take anything away from Auston, but we’ve got a good team. We’ve got good players besides Auston.
Babcock on Mitch Marner’s confidence level and how it affects his play:
Well, I think when he confident, he’s at his best, like most players. I mean, the puck’s been hitting his stick and it’s been sticking to it instead of bouncing off. He’s had the puck more. He’s had more energy. Now, when did that happen? Did it happen when he scored a real nice goal on the powerplay, and then suddenly got energy and got going? I don’t know the answer to that. I think, if we could all control how a guy feels about himself during the year, It’d be great, but that’s not how works. Sometimes it doesn’t go as good and you lose some confidence and when you get it back, you get rolling. I think he’s feeling good right now and it looks like he is.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault on preparing for the Leafs:
It’s a lot like what we saw last night [versus New Jersey]. A team with good team speed, a real north-south game. They’ve got some real good, young, skilled players. It’s going to be a real hard game, a tough game. We’re going to have to be real good with the puck and make the plays we’re capable of making. They don’t give you a lot of room and when we can make plays, we’re going to have to make those.
Matchup Stats
| TOR | NYR | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 21-14-1 | 19-12-4 |
| GF/g | 3.25 (6th) | 3.26 (5th) |
| GA/g | 2.81 (11th) | 2.80 (10th) |
| PP% | 22.8% (5th) | 20.3% (12th) |
| PK% | 82.0% (13th) | 83.2% (6th) |
| Shots/g | 30.6 (21st) | 31.0 (17th) |
| Shots Against/g | 34.0 (29th) | 33.6 (28th) |
| 5v5 CF% | 49.6% (17th) | 46.3% (31st) |
| 5v5 SV% | .930 (7th) | .928 (10th) |
| 5v5 SH% | 9.4% (3rd) | 8.9% (6th) |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup
Forwards
Hyman – Matthews – Nylander
CF%: 53.3 GF%: 76.9 xGF%: 58.2
Marleau – Kadri – Komarov
CF%: 46.2 GF%: 50 xGF%: 51.8
Van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Marner
CF%: 57.2 GF%: 58.8 xGF%: 64.7
Martin– Moore – Brown
CF%: 29.6 GF%: 33.3 xGF%: 23.5
Defencemen
Rielly – Hainsey
CF%: 50 GF%: 48.8 xGF%: 48.4
Gardiner – Carrick
CF%: 53.2 GF%: 66.7 xGF%: 59.4
Borgman – Polak
CF%: 52.1 GF%: 53.3 xGF%: 57.6
Goaltenders
Andersen
McElhinney
Scratched: Leivo
Injured: Soshnikov, Zaitsev
New York Rangers Projected Lineup
Forwards
Kreider – Zibanejad – Buchnevich
CF%: 55.4 GF%: 38.5 xGF%: 57.8
Nash – Desharnais – Zuccarello
CF%: NA GF%: NA xGF%: NA
Grabner – Hayes – Vesey
CF%: 44.4 GF%: NA xGF%: 61.5
Carey – Miller – Nieves
CF%: NA GF%: NA xGF%: NA
Defencemen
McDonagh– Holden
CF%: 45.2 GF%: 61.5 xGF%: 51.6
Skjei – Shattenkirk
CF%: 46.9 GF%: 50 xGF%: 45.3
Staal – Smith
CF%: 43.5 GF%: 70 xGF%: 46.2
Goaltenders
Lundqvist
Pavelec
Injured: Fast
