The NHL schedule continues to get underway as the Toronto Maple Leafs travel one province over to play the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm EST. For Leafs fans, ’tis the season for over-speculation, over-analyzing defensemen who won’t play, and looking past regular-season success in lieu of postseason dread. Yet, this Toronto Maple Leafs team is the best on paper that it has been in years and there should be a lot of optimism in Toronto. Buckle in, the road back to the playoffs starts all over again.
Toronto Maple Leafs Start Stolarz in Montreal
The puck hasn’t even started yet and there’s already drama in “The Six.” Goaltender Joe Woll signed an extension this summer, and the team has high hopes of him being the goaltender of the future. His biggest problem has been consistent injuries, missing most of last year and game seven of the first round of the playoffs.
Woll was expected to start on Wednesday night, but Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube told media at the Bell Centre in the morning that Woll has lower body tightness and has been scratched. There is no word on his status for Thursday in New Jersey, but there are rumors he will be placed on IR.
Enter Anthony Stolarz, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1 and had an excellent camp this September, including a shutout against the Detroit Red Wings. Stolarz had a standout season last year in Florida with a 16-7-2 record and the best stats among all backup goaltenders. The only knock on Stolarz has been the fact that he’s never started more than 35 games, which he probably will need to this year. But, this is game one, not 36. If he plays well, we could see more of Stolarz soon.
Leafs Lines On Opening Night
The top two lines are similar to last year, with the main difference being Knies moved to the top line in Bertuzzi’s absence. Knies and Marner will be on Matthews‘ wings. Tavares will be second-line center based on practice lines yesterday, with Domi and Nylander on the wings, showing that the Nylander at center experiment is at least on hold, if not finished.
Holmberg and Kampf will center lines three and four, with Pacioretty and Robertson on Holmberg’s wing and Lorentz and Reaves on a line with Kampf. McMann showed some goal-scoring prowess last season but is scratched for Reaves, so the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to get secondary goal scoring from Pacioretty and Robertson on the third line.
Rielly and Tanev will be the Toronto Maple Leafs first pairing of defensemen, which is a surprise to no one. Ekman-Larsson and McCabe will fill the second line, and Benoit and Timmins will round out the d-core. Timmins is playing in place of Timothy Liljegren who fell out of favor with Coach Berube towards the end of camp. Hildeby has been called up from the Marlies and will back up Stolarz.
Final Thoughts
Toronto vs. Montreal is one of the oldest, and most classic rivalries in the NHL, and a terrific opening night tilt. The Canadiens haven’t been a top team for a few years now but they always give the Toronto Maple Leafs fits. As for the Leafs, it all starts now. New defense core, new goaltending tandem, deeper offensive unit, the excuses are over and it’s time for a big year. In Toronto, it’s all about playoff success, or lack thereof, and for good reason. But, that’s not until April, and the vibes are high, so let’s get this season started.
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