After a 4-2 loss to a stronger Red Wings lineup last night in Detroit, the shoe is on the other foot tonight as the Maple Leafs had a near-complete NHL lineup in the last game of the preseason (7 p.m. TSN4).
Among the bubble players, Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg will not play back-to-back nights, but Adam Gaudette and Denis Malgin will be there. Make what you want out of it.
One conclusion you might draw is that Robertson and/or Holmberg have done enough to secure an Opening Day roster spot and Denis Malgin and Adam Gaudette are a day away from the waiver unless tonight changes something spectacular; They will both star with William Nylander in what could be a “last chance to show us something special”.
Another possibility is that both Robertson and Holmberg are exempt from the waiver (both on entry-level deals) and this could dictate that they start in the AHL, fair or not, based on the merits of their preseason performances.
There’s a complex mix of waivers, caps, camp/preseason performance and career-body considerations at play here, and why speculate on the thoughts of the Leafs coaching staff and management team here when they’re likely not fully formed yet and we? We’ll have all the answers we need later this Thanksgiving weekend.
The other interesting aspect of today’s lineup is William Nylander, lining up midway between Gaudette and Malgin. There are a few layers to this. One is that the organization recognizes that a deliberate effort to provide Nylander with more reps at center could have some benefits down the line should injury situations arise during the season/playoffs, in addition to giving Nylander more reps in the face-off circle where Nylander’s right shot could be of value as Jason Spezza (who has made some power play and PK draws for the team in recent years) is now retired.
The other thing is that it could My Tavares is a real opportunity to play in Montreal on Wednesday night. With Nylander as a placeholder in the middle, the other three lines bringing together repeats tonight in Bunting – Matthews – Marner / Engvall – Kerfoot – Jarnkrok / Aston-Reese – Kampf – Aube-Kubel, as well as all three defensive pairings in Rielly – Brodie / Muzzin – Holl / Giordano – Sandin, could be the current forecast of the coaching staff for the premiere evening. That could mean Nylander switching back to Tavares’ wing if he can play, one of Malgin, Robertson or Gaudette filling the line and the rest of the lines and pairs falling into place like they are tonight.
There’s also a chance that a trade of some sort, necessitated by Monday’s roster/cap compliance deadline, could shake up the mix. Stay tuned.
Today’s (unsurprising) cuts:
The following players have been assigned to it @TorontoMarlies:
F Nick Abruzzese
F Semyon Der-Argukhintsev
G Dylan Ferguson
G Erik Källgren
D Mikko Kokkonen
F Bobby McMann
D Marshall Rifai
F. Alex Steeves— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 8, 2022
Matchday banner context, ICYMI:
Game day quotes
Sheldon Keefe on the decision not to play Holmberg and Robertson on back-to-back nights:
Both guys had excellent camps and did really well. We’re looking at it here in the finals, and with as many guys as we want to play, those guys played a lot of hockey in the prospects tournament and at this camp. We didn’t think it was necessary for them to play back-to-back tonight.
Keefe on the ZAR – Kampf – NAK and Engvall – Kerfoot – Jarnkrok lines:
We liked the look [ZAR – Kampf – NAK] Line. It has the ability to be a line that can be really responsible defensively. We all know how we used Kampf last season. With Aube-Kubel and Aston-Reese and their skills, I see a great chance for them to be used in a similar way.
The Kerfoot group with Jarnkrok and Engvall – I think that’s a group that I can put up against anyone on the other team and wouldn’t worry about that, but I think there’s offensive potential there. I think that’s where our group differs from how we’ve looked in the past. We’re excited to see how that plays out.
John’s health is a big factor here, as is everyone else who remains healthy to this day. It certainly gives us a different look than in the past. We want to see how that plays out and be sure there’s enough Ice Age for everyone and that everyone can stay in the game appropriately.
In terms of depth I feel as good as in our group – and that includes some of the guys who won’t be starting the season with us. We saw the level of competition we had throughout camp and last night’s game against Detroit saw a lot of guys perform well against an NHL opponent. We have a lot of people that we believe are capable of playing for us in NHL games.
Keefe on whether the final roster decisions are already done:
I don’t think anything will ever be cemented just because you don’t have all the information. We’re going to be really tight on the cap as it is. If injuries or anything happen tonight it could dramatically change the decision-making process and how many players you can keep in the squad etc.
That’s just the reality. They don’t have all the information to make all the final decisions, but of course there’s a large sample that we’ve been going through over the past few weeks, whether it’s our preseason or the guys who started in the prospects tournament. There are a lot of things that have transpired over time and today there is another game. We will be monitoring and evaluating as we continue to prepare our team for the game.
Keefe on the status of John Tavares working his way back from injury:
He just keeps piling good days together here. He skates with both groups. We have a rest day tomorrow. If all continues to go well, we’ll see him join our team for training and maybe in a no-contact situation. From there he will make progress. So far everything has been positive.
Keefe on the goals for tonight’s final pre-season game in preparation for opening night:
It is obviously the largest group of our players playing together in the same game. You want to get a feel for the flow of the bank. It won’t be quite the same as the regular season, but you still want flow in terms of power play, penalty shootouts and the way the bench flows in different situations – O-zone faceoffs and d-zones – Faceoffs. It’s probably best for me as a coach that the players all feel the flow of the game in the same game as it is in the regular season.
You want to look organized. You want to look like you’re playing hockey, which will help you thrive in the regular season. We’ll be playing four games in six nights straight out of the gate starting Wednesday. I know it’s not the regular season and the players know it’s not, they want the conditioning elements, the timing elements and most importantly come out of the game healthy. You manage all of that.
Expected lineup of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Forward
Ammer-Matthews-Marner
Gaudette-Nylander-Malgin
Engvall-Kerfoot-Jarnkrok
Aston-Reese – Combat – Aube-Kubel
defender
Rielly—Brodie
Muzzin — Holl
Giordano—Sandin
goalkeeper
Start: Murray
Samsonov
Estimated Lineup of the Detroit Red Wings
Toronto tonight. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/wg9xRICwm4
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 8, 2022
#Maple #Leafs #Red #Wings #Preseason #Preview #Projected #Lines #Info
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