When I woke up this morning it didn’t take long for me to come to the realization that today was game day. The first of the season and I haven’t been so pumped to get a NHL hockey season going in my life.

There is more than hope this season; the expectations are high and rightfully so. The fans, the players and management are all expecting this team to surge to the top of the standings and begin to have teams dreading playing against the offensive juggernaut, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Last season the Leafs were able to add their number one goaltender and number one center. They also scooped up Nikita Zaitsev who quickly became a reliable top four defender who has both offensive and defensive strengths which led to his 7 year deal at 4.5 million per. The management team of the Leafs decided they needed some more help on the back end after being eliminated first round against the Capitals. They went out and signed Ron Hainsey to a 2 year deal at 3 million per and are hoping he can fit into Toronto’s top four and help keep the shots reduced and ultimately the goals.

There was still more work to be done on the bottom pairing, both Rosen and Borgman were brought in from Sweden to open opportunity to yet another off season plucking. The Leafs had great success with Zaitsev in the KHL, why not try with a couple top SHL defense to see if it pans out? It’s a great way of asset management as no picks or trades are required. As it turns out, Andreas Borgman will be starting tonight as the Leafs kick start the season on the road in Winnipeg.

La La La La Laine and the Jets.

Tonight’s game is going to be an offensive affair. Both teams are built to score and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the red light illumination more than a handful of times.

Outside of the Jets top two lines they are not nearly as deep as the Leafs.

Perreault-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Little-Laine

These are obviously the lines that the Leafs will be zeroing in on and you can bet that the line of Marleau-Kadri-Komarov will be against one of the two and Matthews’ line versus the other. Keeping the penalties to a minimum versus Winnipeg is certainly a key to the game. Both Byfuglien and Trouba are offensive threats from the point.

Auston Matthews buried four goals in his first NHL game and it would be great to see him kick start the season off with another big performance. Auston’s line looked deadly in preseason with William Nylander and you can see they haven’t skipped a beat. Zach Hyman looks as if he’s put on a couple pounds of muscle and you can only think that will help the sophomore line win more battles. I expect this lines numbers to go to the next level this season and carry the Leafs through long stretches with their consistency.

It’s confirmed the Jets will be starting Steve Mason tonight in goal. I’m still not sure why they scooped up Mason in the offseason with Connor Hellebuyck beginning his journey to becoming a starter. But that’s neither here nor there so let’s get straight to the point. Steve Mason isn’t that great and the Leafs are going to torch him tonight.

Frederik Andersen will certainly be the starter for the Maple Leafs and will be more than ready for the task at hand. Last season Andersen was hurt to start the season and battled through it and the Leafs got out the gates with fewer points than they deserved. This season Freddie looks solid, he’s lost some weight, he’s been eating healthier and is poised for a monster season with the Leafs.

My Matthews jersey is on and I’m fired up for tonight’s game to get going.

Let’s hope for a solid start to the season with a big win over the Jets.

Go Leafs Go!

Tonight’s game begins at 7PM EST.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the game!

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