Auston Matthews scored his 15th and 16th goals in the Leafs' 7-3 win over Ottawa Thursday, but he hasn't scored in three games vs. Montreal.
Article content
Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Maple Leafs game at the Bell Centre on Saturday (7 p.m., SN, CITY, CBC, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):
The matchup: This is the fourth of 10 games between these traditional rivals and the Canadiens have a 1-1-1 record after coming from behind last Saturday to defeat the Leafs 2-1 in Toronto. That was Montreal’s most recent game, while the Leafs kept busy this week by taking five of a possible six points in three games against the lowly Ottawa Senators. The run against Ottawa allowed the first-place Leafs to increase their lead over the Canadiens in the North Division to eight points, but Toronto has played three more games.
Tatar back in the lineup: There will be one change from the lineup that beat the Leafs last Saturday as Tomas Tatar returns to the Jesperi Kotkaniemi line after sitting out one game as a healthy scratch. Missing from the lineup is Paul Byron, who cleared waivers this week and has been placed on the taxi squad. Carey Price will start in goal in the first of a back-to-back set and Jake Allen is expected to play Sunday, when the Canadiens travel to Ottawa. Head coach Claude Julien has been rotating the players on his third defence pairing, but Victor Mete earned his fourth start of the season after a strong showing against Toronto last week.
Article content
Nothing wrong with Danault: There has been a lot of talk about Phil Danault’s struggles this season, but the veteran centre has been doing what he’s supposed to do, bringing a strong two-way presence to every game. Danault is the Canadiens’ No. 1 faceoff man and draws the defensive assignment against top centres. He’s a big reason why Auston Matthews, the top goal-scorer in the NHL this season, has failed to score against Montreal this season. Danault’s line was key last Saturday, producing both of the third-period goals.
Matthews on a roll: Matthews scored twice in the Leafs’ 7-3 win over Ottawa Thursday and has 16 goals in 17 games. He has scored in 12 of his 17 appearances and three of the five games in which he has failed to score have been against the Canadiens. Mitch Marner is the Leafs’ leading scorer with 27 points, including eight goals. The Leafs are No. 2 in goals scored per game (3.72) with John Tavares, William Nylander and Zach Hyman contributing to an offence whose production drops off after the top two lines.
Article content
Last chance for Galchenyuk? The Maple Leafs’ attempts to shore up the bottom six took a strange turn this week when they traded for Alex Galchenyuk, who is with his fifth team since the Canadiens gave up on him in 2018. Galchenyuk started the season as a reclamation project for the Senators, but they traded him to Carolina after he picked up one goal in eight appearances. The Hurricanes told him not to bother reporting to Carolina and he was flipped to Toronto. A former No. 3 overall draft pick, Galchenyuk represents a low-risk, high-reward proposition for the Leafs, but the smart money says Toronto is the last stop before Galchenyuk heads to the KHL.
phickey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/zababes1
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvaG9ja2V5L25obC9ob2NrZXktaW5zaWRlLW91dC9tYXBsZS1sZWFmcy1hdC1jYW5hZGllbnMtZml2ZS10aGluZ3MteW91LXNob3VsZC1rbm93LTbSAaQBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9ob2NrZXkvbmhsL2hvY2tleS1pbnNpZGUtb3V0L21hcGxlLWxlYWZzLWF0LWNhbmFkaWVucy1maXZlLXRoaW5ncy15b3Utc2hvdWxkLWtub3ctNi93Y20vM2U2ZDJjNmEtMmNhMi00MDYxLTg0OTMtMzQ4NGI1ZDZiNTQ5L2FtcC8?oc=5
2021-02-20 11:03:17Z
52781382530863
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar