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The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the second half of their exhibition schedule against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday, but will dress a lineup that may more closely resemble the opening night lineup for the Toronto Marlies than who will be playing in the regular season opener next week.
After using two split squads for the first four games, the Leafs moved things around at practice on Monday at Ford Performance Centre, with the group playing in Montreal consisting mostly of players battling for fourth line jobs and bottom pairing defense positions. This may be their last chance to make an impression before the next sizable roster cutdown on Tuesday.
The @MapleLeafs have announced the roster for tonight’s preseason game in Montreal. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/gVVZxEOjsj
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) September 23, 2019
The forward group in Montreal includes Pontus Aberg, Kenny Agostino, Nic Petan and Nick Shore, the defense consists of Kevin Gravel, Ben Harpur, Justin Holl and Jordan Schmaltz (all of who would have to clear waivers to be sent to the American Hockey League), along with youngsters Jeremy Bracco, Adam Brooks, Pierre Engvall, Egor Korshkov, Mac Hollowell, Timothy Liljegren and Jesper Lindgren, who have had moments but may need more time with the Marlies before being ready to make the jump to the NHL.
The goaltending duo of Michael Hutchinson and Michal Neuvirth (which split time in the 5-3 loss in Buffalo) were slated to play against the Habs on Monday, but head coach Mike Babcock indicated on Monday that Neuvirth wasn’t feeling up to playing after making 20 saves on Saturday and that rookie Joseph Woll would take his place.
This is the second time in the last week that Neuvirth has missed practice or game action for feeling out of sorts, which does not speak well for the oft-injured 31-year-old’s chances of getting signed to a pro contract and unseating Hutchinson as Frederik Andersen’s backup.
The main group that will likely play Montreal at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday appears to be the Leafs projected top three lines and top two defensive pairings, along with the leading contenders in the roster contests.
Auston Matthews skated with Andreas Johnsson and William Nylander, John Tavares with Kasperi Kapanen and Mitch Marner, Alex Kerfoot centered Ilya Mikheyev and Trevor Moore, and a fourth line unit consisting of Dmytro Timashov, Frederik Gauthier and Jason Spezza.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are four exhibition games left and we are going to watch.… Babcock said. “Matthews and Tavares are going to make the team, but nothing is decided.…
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Leafs 2018 third round pick Semyon Der-Argushintsev had a disappointing year with Peterborough last season, dropping to 46 points and scoring only six goals in 62 OHL games with the Petes, but the gifted playmaker got off on the right foot to start this campaign, registering seven assists in two games and being named OHL Player of the Week.
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