Wednesday NHL preview: Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
By
Mark ZwolinskiSports Reporter
Tues., Oct. 2, 2018
SCOTIABANK ARENA
FACEOFF: 7 p.m.
Wednesday NHL preview: Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs | The Star
Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen robs Brendan Gallagher of the Canadiens from close range in pre-season action in 2017. Gallagher and the Habs open their regular season in Toronto on Wednesday night. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)
TV: Sportsnet
RADIO: Sportsnet 590 The FAN
KEY PLAYERS
Tavares/Gallagher
John Tavares makes one of the most significant debuts by a new Leaf in generations. The hometown boy, who scored five goals in four pre-season games, already has the fan base thinking big ... Montreal fan favourite
Brendan Gallagher earned an assistant’s A when the Canadiens recently named Shea Weber captain. Gallagher’s 31-goal season was one of the few bright spots in a rough year for the Habs.
NEED TO KNOW
The feel-good news out of the Canadiens camp was 18-year-old
Jesperi Kotkaniemi earning a spot on the season-opening roster. The third overall pick in 2018 is expected to start on a line with
Jonathan Drouin and
Max Domi. He’s the NHL’s youngest player … Domi, suspended five games in the pre-season for sucker-punching Florida’s Aaron Ekblad, was expected to help the Habs at centre. But Domi, acquired in a trade with Arizona for Alex Galchenyuk, was on the wing during workouts this week … Other Montreal line combinations:
Phillip Danault between
Tomas Tatar and Gallagher;
Matthew Peca centring
Paul Byron and
Artturi Lehkonen;
Tomas Plekanec between
Charles Hudon and
Joel Armia … Defenceman
David Schlemko is out six weeks with a knee injury suffered against the Leafs.
UP NEXT
Saturday vs. Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.
Game Day: Canadiens at Maple Leafs
Terry KoshanMore from Terry Koshan
Game Day: Canadiens at Maple Leafs
New kids check in
As much as Matthews, Marner and Tavares eat up the headlines, it’s important for Leafs such as
Andreas Johnsson,
Par Lindholm, and
Igor Ozhiganov to get off on the right skate. Johnsson didn’t have a great camp, while Lindholm was steady and Ozhiganov improved. Each has the ability, in his own way, to impact the outcome in the season opener.
MAPLE LEAFS LINES
LW-C-RW
Patrick Marleau-Auston Matthews-Tyler Ennis
Zach Hyman-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
Josh Leivo-Nazem Kadri-Connor Brown
Andreas Johnsson-Par Lindholm-Kasperi Kapanen
Defence pairs
Morgan Rielly-Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner-Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott-Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
CANADIENS LINES
LW-C-RW
Tomas Tatar-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Joel Armia
Paul Byron-Max Domi-Artturi Lehkonen
Matthew Peca-Tomas Plekanec-Charles Hudon
Defence pairs
Victor Mete-Jeff Petry
Mike Reilly-Noah Juulsen
Karl Alzner-Xavier Ouellet
Goaltenders
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
INJURIES
Canadiens — D Shea Weber (knee), F Jacob de la Rose (heart), F Andrew Shaw (knee), D David Schlemko (knee), F Nicolas Deslauriers (face).
Maple Leafs — None.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play (2017-18)
Canadiens: 21.2% (13th)
Maple Leafs: 25% (2nd)
Penalty kill (2017-18)
Canadiens: 74.1% (30th)
Maple Leafs: 81.4% (11th)
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