Match-up - Toronto Maple Leafs (30-43-7) Columbus Blue Jackets (39-35-5) Road/Home records - 22-15-2 -------------- 17-20-2 TV - SNO, FS-O Puck drop - 7:30 p.m. ET Season Series - 2-0 Leafs Last 10 - Maple Leafs: 3-6-1 ------------ Blue Jackets: 9-0-1 Projected starting goalies - James Reimer vs Sergei Bobrovsky
Projected lines for the Maple Leafs via DailyFaceoff.com:
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel Joakim Lindstrom - Nazem Kadri - Richard Panik Leo Komarov - Trevor Smith - Joffrey Lupul David Booth - Zach Sill - Casey Bailey
Eric Brewer - Dion Phaneuf Jake Gardiner - Morgan Rielly Tim Erixon - Andrew MacWilliam
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Boone Jenner - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson Artem Anisimov - Brandon Dubinsky - Nick Foligno Scott Hartnell - Alexander Wennberg - Marko Dano Matt Calvert - Mark Letestu - Jeremy Morin
Jack Johnson - David Savard Dalton Prout - Justin Falk Ryan Murray - Cody Goloubef
Notes:
1) Marko Dano enters tonight's game as hot as almost anyone in the NHL, having recorded 12 points over his last 12 games. Playing against a Maple Leafs team that has quite a few players playing above their ideal roles, he should be able to take advantage of that and keep this streak going. The Jackets have a lot of young talent on the way, but Dano has essentially locked up a spot on next year's team with his play over the last month or so.
2) The Blue Jackets are not a great 5 v 5 team, but they have been better of late with a relatively healthy roster, and they are better at evens than the Leafs. Columbus has the advantage in goal, too, so if they stay disciplined, and keep this game at full strength, they should get their 40th win.
3) It hasn't been a banner year for Sergei Bobrovsky - in large part due to injury problems and inconsistencies in front of him - but he has put it together of late, having posted a .900SV% or better in eight of his last nine starts. He's up to a .916SV% on the year, which is just a couple notches below the top-tier or two. I don't expect a struggling offensive team like Toronto to get many by him.
4) Phil Kessel has had a down year by his standards, but he will still likely surpass 60 points and, regardless of what his numbers indicate, he is a one-shot scorer. He's a threat any time he is on the ice, so the Jackets will need to play him air tight, and limit his time to make plays with the puck.
Recent posts