The Maple Leafs’ lead atop the Atlantic Division was trimmed on Friday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning gained one point in an overtime loss against the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs have 100 points and four games remaining; the Lightning has 98 points and three games left … Before they played in Ottawa against the Senators on Friday night, the Canadiens were on a tear as they solidified their hold on the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal had won six games in a row and did not give up more than two goals in any of them. That changed in the nation’s capital, as the Sens had a 3-0 lead early in the second period and went on to win 5-2 … The Canadiens are six points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings and barring a complete collapse are heading to the playoffs … On Dec. 1, the Canadiens were in 31st overall, one point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, in last place at the time. Since then, going into Friday, the Canadiens had the 10th-best record in the NHL, going 31-18-6. In the same span the Leafs were 34-19-2, good for seventh-best … Not only was Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson leading all NHL rookies with 64 points going into Friday, he was ninth among all NHL players with 58 assists. With all due respect to Macklin Celebrini and Dustin Wolf, can you say Calder Trophy? … After losing 1-0 in Montreal against the Canadiens in the season-opener, the Leafs easily handled their longtime foes in the next two meetings, winning 4-1 on Nov. 9 in Toronto and 7-3 on Jan. 18 in Montreal. Read More
MONTREAL CANADIENS (39-31-9) at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (48-26-4)
Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content
Article content
Article content
When: Saturday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena
TV: Sportsnet, CBC Radio: TSN 1050
Odds: Canadiens +167, Maple Leafs -208
The buzz
The Maple Leafs’ lead atop the Atlantic Division was trimmed on Friday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning gained one point in an overtime loss against the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs have 100 points and four games remaining; the Lightning has 98 points and three games left … Before they played in Ottawa against the Senators on Friday night, the Canadiens were on a tear as they solidified their hold on the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal had won six games in a row and did not give up more than two goals in any of them. That changed in the nation’s capital, as the Sens had a 3-0 lead early in the second period and went on to win 5-2 … The Canadiens are six points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings and barring a complete collapse are heading to the playoffs … On Dec. 1, the Canadiens were in 31st overall, one point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, in last place at the time. Since then, going into Friday, the Canadiens had the 10th-best record in the NHL, going 31-18-6. In the same span the Leafs were 34-19-2, good for seventh-best … Not only was Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson leading all NHL rookies with 64 points going into Friday, he was ninth among all NHL players with 58 assists. With all due respect to Macklin Celebrini and Dustin Wolf, can you say Calder Trophy? … After losing 1-0 in Montreal against the Canadiens in the season-opener, the Leafs easily handled their longtime foes in the next two meetings, winning 4-1 on Nov. 9 in Toronto and 7-3 on Jan. 18 in Montreal.
Your Midday Sun
Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content
The news
Montreal’s 2024 first-round pick, forward Ivan Demidov, is slated to join the club in Toronto after arriving from Russia. The 19-year-old is landing in the NHL with a splash after he had 49 points in 65 games for St. Petersburg of the KHL. A mob of Canadiens fans greeted Demidov at Pearson Airport when he arrived on Thursday night. Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said on Friday night that Demidov will not play in Toronto … The Leafs are going with five defencemen after Oliver Ekman-Larsson was hurt in Tampa on Wednesday … It wasn’t clarified at practice, but the expectation is that Anthony Stolarz will start in net for the Leafs … Jakub Dobes will be in the Canadiens’ net.
The quote
“With the Tampa Bay game, it jumps out a little more because he scored (three) goals, but I think he has been playing a great game for a while now. There are games where you don’t score and you play well and no one talks about it. He has been doing a good job of being consistent and trying to find his place on that (Auston Matthews) line … A young guy like him, performing the way he is, has been outstanding for our group.”
Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content
— Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly on Matthew Knies, who has 29 goals after recording a hat trick against the Lightning
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
The poll
If veteran forward Max Pacioretty is healthy for Game 1 of the playoffs, what should the Leafs do?
- Put him in Game 1 lineup
- Leave him out until there’s a loss
- First injury, he’s in
- Don’t use him at all
The projected Leafs lineup
Forwards
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Calle Jarnkrok-John Tavares-William Nylander
Bobby McMann-Max Domi-Nick Robertson
Pontus Holmberg-Scott Laughton-Steven Lorentz
Defence
Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit-Chris Tanev
Philippe Myers
Goal
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
The injuries
TOR: D Jake McCabe (undisclosed), C David Kampf (upper body), D Jani Hakanpaa (knee), F Max Pacioretty (undisclosed), D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed).
MTL: F Kirby Dach (lower body), F Emil Heineman (undisclosed).
The prediction
The Leafs take advantage of a Canadiens team that arrived in Toronto early Saturday morning after playing in Ottawa. 5-2 Toronto.
tkoshan@postmedia.com
X: @koshtorontosun
Recommended from Editorial
Article content
Join the conversation