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The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to finish the first half of the regular season on a winning note, as they take on the New Jersey Devils at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. The game is a reschedule of the postponed January 17 game and the first of a back-to-back home-and-home series before the five-day All-Star break.
The Leafs are coming off a 7-4 comeback victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, with Michael Bunting registering his first career hat trick.
Michael Bunting 12th of the Season (Hat trick goal) vs Detroit Red Wings with commentary from Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph. #LeafsForever @BonsieTweets @Jim_Ralph
— LeafsJellyHD (@LeafsJelly) January 30, 2022
29/1/2022 pic.twitter.com/ZQPAKHdBiw
Head coach Sheldon Keefe abandoned his three-line offensive strategy late in the contest against Detroit, moving Mitch Marner to the top line with Auston Matthews and William Nylander back to the second unit with John Tavares. Both units factored in all five third-period goals in the final 10:32 of regulation. Those line combinations remained together at the morning skate on Monday, with Ondrej Kase returning to the checking line with Ilya Mikheyev and David Kampf.
Toronto is continuing to take a cautious approach with defenseman Jake Muzzin, who has been out the last four games with concussion issues. Keefe indicated on Monday that the club’s medical staff has opted to hold him out of the final two games in hopes of him being fully recovered after the All-Star break.
“The recovery (from a concussion) takes time in a lot of cases. The fact that he was able to do so much work and all of that, leading up to this last little bit, like I said with the break coming, it’s been a little easier to pull back,… Keefe said. “I believe he’s on the right track and the medical team is on top of it (to) do all we can to give him the best care possible and when he’s ready to play, we’ll welcome him back.…
Jack Campbell will make the 30th start of the season, 21-year-old Akira Schmid gets the start in goal for the Devils.
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Some interesting Leafs chatter from the 32 Thoughts crew on Saturday. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that the Leafs have interest in Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson. The 30-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this summer and has long been rumored to be a target of Toronto’s desire for a top-four physical right-handed blueliner.
The Ducks are in a playoff spot and not expected to be in a selling posture, but with Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm also pending UFA’s, it is possible that Anaheim could move a player that they are choosing not to re-sign.
Jeff Marek reported that the Leafs have received calls from clubs interested in goalie Petr Mrazek, but that they will not address a potential trade until the summer. Mrazek is signed for two more years at $3.8 million AAV, but with starter Jack Campbell needing a new contract, it is likely that GM Kyle Dubas will have to move the 29-year-old to open up the cap space.
Toronto also reportedly is pursuing undrafted free agent goalie Mack Guzda. The 21-year-old Knoxville, TN native is 16-6-1 this season with Owen Sound and Barrie, with a 2.04 GAA and .931 save percentage in his 14 starts with the OHL Colts.
The four-year OHL veteran has at least seven NHL clubs (NYR, PIT, ANA, NSH, CAR, and NYI) interested, and the Leafs being in the mix is likely a reflection of their lack of confidence in the club’s organizational depth. Youngsters Joseph Woll and Ian Scott have had their development stunted by injuries and the pandemic and Russian goalie prospects Artur Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa are years away.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
Convo on Podcast.#theleafsconvo https://t.co/Xdn3CDLVCI
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