For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs embark on their longest road trip of the season with an Atlantic Division tilt against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Saturday. It is only the second meeting between the historical rivals (Toronto won 3-2 in the season opener courtesy of an Auston Matthews overtime goal) but they will become quite familiar down the stretch, facing each other three times in the 29 remaining games. Montreal trails Toronto by just one point for second place in the Atlantic (but the Leafs have two games in hand) and are one of the hottest clubs in the NHL (8-1-1 in the last 10 games), matching the Leafs three-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory over Winnipeg on Thursday. The Leafs did not make any lineup or line/pairing changes at their morning skate on Saturday, in spite of an inconsistent effort in which they blew a two-goal lead early in the third period in a 5-4 win over the bottom-dwelling Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Frederik Andersen will make his third straight start for Toronto and with rest days in between each of the six games over the 14-day road trip, it is possible that head coach Mike Babcock could use his starter in every game. Carey Price (23-13-4, 2.52 GAA, .916 save %) will be in goal for Montreal.
Lines at Leafs morning skate in Montreal
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 9, 2019
Hyman-Tavares-Marner
Marleau-Matthews-Kapanen
Brown-Kadri-Nylander
Lindholm- ðŸ-Johnsson
Ennis
Muzzin-Rielly
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Hainsey
Holl-Ozhiganov
Andersen stars
Sparks pic.twitter.com/nc0LMKP4Kz
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Saturday marks the third anniversary of the Dion Phaneuf deal to the Ottawa Senators. Of the many things that Lou Lamoriello did right during his tenure in Toronto, the nine-player deal that sent the last Leafs captain may have been his finest achievement. Toronto took back over $9 Million in salary with the contracts of Jared Cowen, Colin Greening and Milan Michalek, but were free and clear of all three contracts by the end of the 2016-17 season and did not have to retain one dollar of the remaining five years of Phaneuf's seven-year, $49 Million contract. Ottawa had to retain $1.75 Million of Phaneuf’s $7 Million AAV in the trade to Los Angeles last February and the 33-year-old was a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career on Thursday. With the salary cap getting increasingly snug with the contracts of John Tavares, Auston Matthews and the upcoming deal for Mitch Marner, just think of the situation that Kyle Dubas would be in with a declining Dion having another two years left on his deal. *******
Wings, Canes deals in the works?
— Norman James (@NormanJamesTLC) February 9, 2019
The Leafs Convo is brand new right now. #TMLtalk #theleafsconvo #LeafsForever #Habs #NHL https://t.co/MWSw54pbTV