The Toronto Maple Leafs look to win their sixth game in a row as they take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
This week’s three-game homestand is serving as a trip down memory lane, as former Leafs team captain Dion Phaneuf was lustily booed by fans on Monday. Former leading scorer Phil Kessel will be the object of the Toronto faithful’s “affections” on Thursday and Tyler Bozak and the St. Louis Blues will be in town on Saturday.
The game is a match between two of the top center combos in the NHL. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for 13 points in five games for the Pens(who are 2-1-2), while Auston Matthews and John Tavares have 27 points in seven games, with Matthews leading the league in goals (10) and points (16).
“It’s going to be an exciting game. Toronto had a really good start, they have a good young team and it will be a big challenge for us.” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said on Thursday. “(Matthews and Tavares) are very good players, but we feel like we are pretty strong up the middle as well”
Goalie Frederik Andersen took part in the club’s morning skate and will make his sixth start of the season after appearing unhindered by the knee discomfort that made him a late scratch from Monday’s 4-1 win over the Kings. Matt Murray will make his first start since October 6, as the two-time Stanley Cup winner is fully recovered from concussion symptoms.
The Leafs will make only one change to their lineup, as Tyler Ennis will replace Andreas Johnsson on the fourth line with Frederik Gauthier and Josh Leivo. Johnsson has just one assist in five games, but is being taken out more to get the veteran Ennis some playing time after being a healthy scratch two games in a row.
“(Johnsson) has been good, especially the last two games, we just didn’t want (Ennis) to sit out too long.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “Obviously there is a big difference when you are playing 20 minutes for the Marlies and eight minutes for the Leafs. It’s a big adjustment for you mentally and so he is going to have to make that adjustment.”
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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and William Nylander representatives met in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday in hopes of jump starting contract negotiations with the restricted free agent.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the main purpose of the meeting on the part of Dubas was Dubas to reassure the 22-year-old that he remains in the Leafs plans in the short and long term and that the club is not looking to trade the winger, but the two sides reportedly did not talk about the perimeters of a new contract and Nylander’s camp has not moved off of their position of $8 Million-plus on a long-term deal.
While a short-term bridge deal is the likely direction of a potential compromise, if the overture by Dubas does not move the needle on contract talks, the possibility of Nylander being dealt before the December 1 signing deadline may increase.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that a pair of scouts for four teams (Carolina, New York Rangers, New Jersey and Tampa Bay) will be at tonight’s Pens - Leafs game.
The Hurricanes were a team mentioned by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday that would be a fit for a potential Nylander deal since they have significant depth on defense to make a deal.
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