For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs will finish off what has to be considered a successful regular season against the Montreal Canadiens at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday. The Leafs are still awaiting to find out who their first round opponent will be, (as top spot in the Atlantic Division is still up for grabs between Boston and Tampa Bay) but are making sure they will be ready for either the Bruins or Lightning on Thursday. “I think it’s important we have a hard game, I didn’t think we were dialed in mentally at the start of the Jersey game like we should have been.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the club’s morning skate.
#Leafs backdrop in the dressing room on Saturday in honor of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. pic.twitter.com/sEmX5RMDeC
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 7, 2018
Toronto will make only one roster change from Thursday, as rookie Travis Dermott will replace Connor Carrick on the bottom pairing with veteran Roman Polak. The Leafs head coach indicated that Saturday’s lineup is what should be their roster when they start the playoffs on Thursday. Frederik Andersen will make a career-high 66th start for Toronto, with a chance to eclipse Andrew Raycroft’s team record of 37 wins in a season. The playoff picture was clarified only slightly on Friday, as the Tampa Bay Lightning moved out of a first place tie with Boston with a 7-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Tampa has 112 points and plays their season finale in Raleigh on Saturday. If the Lightning beat the Hurricanes in regulation or overtime, they clinch home ice advantage through the Eastern Conference Final. If Tampa loses, Boston must earn three of a possible four points in back-to-back home games against Ottawa and Florida this weekend to take top spot in the Atlantic.
******* The Toronto Marlies clinched the best record in the American Hockey League with a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to Utica. The Marlies have a 51-18-1-2 record this season, reached 50 wins for the third time in franchise history and set an AHL record with 29 road wins.
The Marlies have lost Travis Dermott, Kasperi Kapanen and leading goal scorer Andreas Johnsson to the Leafs, but others such as Adam Brooks, Jeremy Bracco and Pierre Engvall have picked up the slack in their absence.
Brooks was a high-scoring forward for the Regina Pats of the WHL last season, but had just seven points in 44 games through mid-March. The 21-year-old has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in the last 11 games, including an overtime winner against the Comets earlier this week.
Brooks was here. #UTIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/tEn7drfjbz
— AHL (@TheAHL) April 5, 2018
Bracco, 20, who won a World Junior and Memorial Cup last season, had 17 points through mid-March and saw fourth line duty at times, but the speedy Long Islander is showing off his playmaking ability with 10 points ( 1 goal, 9 assists) in the last 10 games.
Engvall, a 2014 seventh round pick whose SHL season with HV71 ended, joined the Marlies on March 24 and has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in seven games, which will likely earn the 21-year-old an NHL entry-level deal in the near future.
We play for Humboldt. #PrayersForHumboldt pic.twitter.com/bHmvVqhIPD
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 7, 2018
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