The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Boston Bruins tonight at the Air Canada Centre and it will be the first of the back to back games for each team as they square off in a home and home battle.
The Bruins are banged up; it looks as if David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner and David Backes could all be out for these two games. The Leafs on the other hand could be missing Auston Matthews for the second straight game.
The Bruins are 1-3-1 on the road and the Leafs are 6-3-0 at home. Boston is coming off a loss against the Rangers and the Leafs are coming off a win against the Wild. This is a big series for both teams as the Bruins are inching closer to a Wild Card spot and the Leafs are trying to stay with the all mighty Tampa Bay squad that has been dominating as of late.
It’s pretty obvious the Maple Leafs can score goals and a lot of them. They continue to have issues keeping the puck out of the net as they have given up a lot of shots on net and quality ones at that. They really need this small break coming up after these two games against Boston to work on a few areas of concern.
Boston has chosen to start Anton Khudobin tonight and will likely dress Rask at home tomorrow. The Leafs are going with their prize stallion and we will see Frederik Andersen between the pipes tonight in Toronto. The game will begin at 7 Eastern and should be a battle as both team could be missing some key players.
I like the Leafs chances against Boston both tonight and tomorrow, the depth of the Bruins is somewhat depleted and the Leafs need to take advantage of that. With or without Matthews the Leafs still have some quality depth up front which is their strong suit.
How about Connor Brown?
He’s scored four goals in the last five games including an assist in there as well. That’s quality production from a player who averages 14 minutes or so a game. Brown now has seven goals and four assists in 17 games played, he’s certainly on pace to break 20 goals this season which would be a career high for the young Toronto native. What else that’s impressive is only one of his eleven points are on the powerplay, Connor Brown is a solid two way player who has good speed but excellent hockey sense.
It’s early but I would say the Leafs scored big on Brown’s three year deal at 2.1 million per.
If I hear an update on Auston Matthews I will be sure to update the article.
A couple original six teams going at it, you have to love that.
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, be sure to take a moment out of your day.
Thanks for reading, have a great day.
Go Leafs Go!