The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping that a complete effort on the road will lead to what has been elusive success at home, as they take on the Vegas Golden Knights at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
The Leafs continued their Jekyll and Hyde ways as they snapped their two-game losing skid with a 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday. Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner and John Tavares picked up the slack for the injured Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season.
The Leafs held a game day optional skate after practicing on Monday, and it is likely that they will go with the same lineup that won over the Penguins, with Igor Ozhiganov playing on the bottom pairing with Travis Dermott and recent call up Trevor Moore as the extra forward.
Andersen has made seven straight starts since Garret Sparks subbed in for him due to knee discomfort against Los Angeles on October 14 and will start against the Golden Knights, but the Leafs backup is likely to get his first start in almost a month in one of the back-to-back games against New Jersey or in Boston this weekend.
Vegas has lost five of seven road games this season. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has not matched his phenomenal performance from last season, but posted a 3-0 shutout against Carolina on the weekend. The Golden Knights will be getting winger Max Pacioretty back in the lineup on Tuesday.
The former Habs captain has missed four games with an upper body injury.
The #MapleLeafs are undefeated on the road, but their home record has left a lot to be desired.
As Toronto prepares for a 2-game homestand, the team wants to play better on home ice, @MikeInBuffalo writes.
As the days continue to click off towards the December 1 deadline, there continues to little evidence of any progress in the negotiations between the Leafs and winger William Nylander. Reports indicate that GM Kyle Dubas has not budged from their offer to the 22-year-old restricted free agent and that Nylander’s camp have not come down from their demands of over $8 Million AAV on a long term deal.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated on Calgary radio on Monday that the Leafs want to keep Nylander, but that there may be a realization that it might not be possible to get him signed.
Friedman mentioned on HNIC’s Saturday Headlines that the Carolina Hurricanes are highly interested in Nylander and have the pieces to make a deal possible.
Canes Assistant GM Rick Dudley has been tracking the Leafs in recent weeks and is once again at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, which could be indicative of a larger deal involving players currently on the Toronto roster.
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