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The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to snap their two-game losing streak against the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday but will have to do it without leading scorer Auston Matthews, who will serve the first of a two-game suspension for cross-checking Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin.
The Leafs have been unable to limit offensive chances and get adequate goaltending for the last three weeks, giving up four or more goals in 10 of the last 12 games, and will look to Erik Kallgren in his first NHL start to stop the bleeding.
"(Kallgren) is going about his business, but you saw the confidence when he went in the net (in a 5-4 overtime loss to Arizona) with no warning or heads up. All of a sudden you're in there at a time when the game is not going well for us." Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the optional morning skate on Tuesday. "He showed extreme poise and confidence in that moment."
In the absence of Matthews, John Tavares moves up to the top line in between Michael Bunting and Mitch Marner, with Alex Kerfoot taking his spot between Nick Robertson and William Nylander. The checking line of Ilya Mikheyev, David Kampf, and Pierre Engvall remains intact, while Kyle Clifford replaces Wayne Simmonds on a line with Jason Spezza and Ondrej Kase.
The wheel of fortune on the blueline has stopped on Ilya Lyubushkin, who will partner with Morgan Rielly on the top pairing. Rasmus Sandin has been re-united with Timothy Liljegren, with the pairing of TJ Brodie and Justin Holl remaining intact.
Jake Oettinger (19-8-1, 2.43 GAA, .918 save %) will make his fourth start in a row for Dallas, who are battling with Vegas, Edmonton, Nashville, and Minnesota for a Western Conference playoff spot.
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The Leafs could be looking to address multiple areas via trade less than a week before the NHL trade deadline. It remains unclear whether GM Kyle Dubas will stray from his statements earlier this month and address the club’s crisis of confidence in goal, but the stated goal of upgrading on defense may be becoming more difficult by the day, as potential rental trade targets fall off the board.
The Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Josh Manson from Anaheim for prospect Drew Helleson and a 2023 second-round pick on Monday. The 30-year-old was said to be someone that Toronto was interested in, but was reportedly on his no-trade list.
Three potential targets before the March 21 deadline; Rasmus Ristolainen (re-signed with Philadelphia), Manson (traded to Colorado), and John Klingberg (reportedly not available with Miro Heiskanen out with mononucleosis) are now off the board, which will make the task for GM Kyle Dubas that much more difficult. The only encouraging note is that the cost for Manson was well below expectations, which could mean that the Leafs will not have to give up a first-round pick for a rental such as Ben Chiarot.
Interesting chatter from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman regarding the Leafs interests over the next six days. As well as them potentially shopping for help between the pipes and on the blueline, he believes that GM Kyle Dubas could be looking for some new blood on the fourth line with Spezza (1 goal in the last 15 games) and Simmonds (no goals in 2022) not producing. Names mentioned were Vancouver’s Tyler Motte and Colorado’s Tyson Jost(who was traded to Minnesota on Tuesday), but Friedman also speculated about NCAA prospects Matthew Knies and Nick Abruzzese.
Both played in Beijing for Team USA and are having excellent seasons with Harvard and the University of Minnesota, but each school will likely be in the NCAA Tournament that runs from March 24 to April 9.
Knies has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games for the Golden Gophers, but is only 19 and a freshman. Abruzzese is 22 and in his junior year with the Crimson, which means that he is more mature and ready for the challenge of playing in the NHL.
Another possibility could be 23-year-old winger Pontus Holmberg, who played for Sweden in the Olympics and was signed by the Leafs last June. Holmberg has a career-high 39 points (11 goals, 28 assists) in 43 games for Vaxjo of the SHL, but would only be available after his club is eliminated from the SHL Playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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