X75 Productions

Category: Toronto Maple Leafs

  • 10/11/2018 – NHL Game Previews

    Toronto Maple Leafs v. Detroit Red Wings

     

    Washington Capitals v. New Jersey Devils

     

    Los Angeles Kings v. Montreal Canadiens

     

    You can watch TXHT Live next Tuesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings

     

    Time: Thursday, October 10th 2018

    Toronto : 3-1-0 for 6 points

    Detroit: 0-1-2 for 2 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings for a Thursday night meeting in Detroit. Toronto comes off back to back road wins in Chicago 7-6 in OT and Dallas 7-4. The first 4 games have shown that almost any defensive problem that the Leafs face they can outscore. It’s also been the Matthews, Marner and Tavares show, the 3 have combined for 24 points in the first 4 games.

    While Detroit comes into the game struggling, in the midst of a rebuild it’s looking a lot like the struggle the Leafs dealt with for the first couple of year of the rebuild. In order to make a game out of this Detroit will need to stay out of the penalty box, which could be a task for them. Tied for 30th in the league in penalty minutes, struggling to stay out of the box.

    The big story of this game though will be the goaltending. Andersen is having is typical October struggle with a 3.37 GAA and a .892 SV%. While Howard comes in with two OT loses and holds a .924 SV% and 2.36 GAA.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Matthews – 10 points (7 goals 3 assists) 52% on Face-offs
    Rielly – 10 points (2 goals 8 assists)
    Tavares – 6 points (6 goals) 51% on face-offs

    Larkin, Nyquist, Cholowski – 3 points (1 goal 2 assists, 1 goal 2 assists, 3 assists)
    Bertuzzi – 2 points (2 goals)
    Helm – 1 points (1 Goal)

    Frederik Andersen
    2-1-0 3.37GAA .892SV%

    Jimmy Howard
    0-0-2 2.36GAA .924SV%

     

    Lineups & Injuries

    Toronto:

    Kapanen –Matthews – Marleau
    Marner – Tavares– Hyman
    Lindholm – Kadri – Brown
    Ennis – Gauthier – Leivo

    Rielly  –  Hainsey
    Gardiner – Zaitsev
    Dermott – Ozhiganov

    Scratches – Marincin, Holl and Johnsson

    Injuries:

    Goalies :

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Detroit:

    Abdelkader – Larkin – Mantha
    Nyquist – Anathansiou – Vanek
    Bertuzzi – Neilsen – Rasmussen
    Helm – Ehn – Glendening

    Dekeyser – Hronek
    Sulak – Hicketts
    Kronwall – Jensen

    Howard
    Bernier

    Scratches: None

    Injuries: Franzen, Zetterberg, Green, Cholowski, and Daley

    4 Keys to Winning in Detroit:

    1. Offensive Zone Time
      1. Leafs need to get a lot of Offensive zone time and begin creating scoring chances right away. Keep the pressure on the young Red Wings. As we’ve seen in the game against Ottawa, you give a young team the ability to maneuver and they will take advantage of that and soon you’ll be in a whole.
    2. Lots of shots.
      1. Howard has been good. But the Leafs need to stick to their game plan and pepper him with shots. Force Howard to make saves.
    3. Depth Scoring
      1. Leivo, Kadri, Brown, Gauthier, Ennis need to build off their performance in Dallas. Lots of zone time and scoring chances.
    4. Clean up the Defence & Goaltending.
      1. Leafs have been hanging Andersen out to dry. They need to tighten it up a lot. Andersen needs to step up his October game, his numbers show he hasn’t been amazing but he’s been better then number show.

  • News and Notes: October 10th, 2018

    NHL

     

    Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, these are your news and notes for Wednesday, October 10th, 2018…

    There were six contests in the NHL.

    • Auston Matthews and John Tavares would both score two goals for the second consecutive game to defeat the Dallas Stars 7-4. Matthews and Tavares are the sixth set of teammates in League history, and the third in the modern era (1943-44), to score six or more goals in a team’s first four games. Matthews has also gone on to collect at least two points in all of Toronto’s contests thus far.
    • Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane would score multiple goals each to lift the San Jose Sharks in a 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers. With Pavleski scoring two goals, he remains one point shy of becoming the third player to record 700 points in San Jose Sharks franchise history. Patrick Marleau (1082 pts) and Joe Thornton (974 pts) are the other two players to reach the 700 point plateau.
    • Five different skaters scored last night for the Carolina Hurricanes would would go on to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3. With the victory, the Hurricanes extended their season-opening point streak to 7 (3-0-1). The Hurricanes have a combined 13 goals in their last two contests, matching a total for consecutive games since April 6-8, 2010.Sebastian Aho would extend his point streak to four games and this game marked the third time in the last four games in which a Carolina player would record at least one point in each of the team’s first four games.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Yesterday’s contests:

    • San Jose 8, Philadelphia 2
    • Carolina 5, Vancouver 3
    • Columbus 5, Colorado 2
    • Calgary 3, Nashville 0
    • Winnipeg 2, Los Angeles 1
    • Toronto 7, Dallas 4

    Tonight’s schedule of games:

    Oct_10th_Schedy-10124533.jpg

    Image courtesy of NHL and NHL Public Relations

    TXHT has your preview of the Washington Capitals playing host to the Vegas Golden Knights. To read the game preview, please go here.

    In NHL news…

    Washington Capitals beat writer Isabelle Khurshudyan released an article about a conversation that happened between Brett Connolly and Devante Smith-Pelly and what that did. Also in the article is how new acquisition Dmitri Jaskin could be a good reclamation project.

    Also in Capitals news, F Tom Wilson is scheduled to have his hearing about his suspension with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sometime next week.

    The NHL announced a time change for the Boston Bruins versus Detroit Red Wings game on Saturday. The game will now start at 3 p.m. to accommodate the Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros Game 1 of MLB’s ALCS.

     

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  • Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Dallas Stars

    Gameday Preview:  Toronto Maple Leafs vs Dallas Stars

    Date/Time: Tuesday, October 9th 2018 @8:30pm

    Toronto : 2-1-0 for 4 points

    Dallas: 2-0-0 for 4 points

    The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars setup for their lone meeting of the season tonight in Dallas. Toronto has won both of their games in overtime this season with a collective goal total through 3 games of 13. Their latest game being a freewheeling 7-6 overtime win against the Blackhawks Sunday night, with John Tavares scoring his seventh hat trick of his career and his first with Toronto since signing. The Leafs recognize there is still a lot of defensive tightening up to be done and they can play a much better game. Look for Kasperi Kapanen to be a key in tonight’s game, as he has been the only player other than Tavares, Marner and Matthews to show up consistently this season even in limited minutes, and when he was bumped up to play with Matthews and Marleau he had a goal and an assist. His ability to play into the corners and speed will be crucial.

    While Dallas comes into the game only giving up 1 goal in 2 games, after their convincing win of the Jets 5-1 at home and shutout of the Coyotes 3-0. First year Coach Jim Montgomery has started his career well in Dallas so far. The defence looks better and the offence looks to be clicking, on top of Ben Bishop holding a .50 GAA, Still coach Montgomery is trying to push his team to improve game by game and concentrate on the details. More reinforcements could be coming for Dallas as well, Valeri Nichushkin is could draw into the lineup after being on the injured reserve for the past 2 games.

    The big story of this game though will be defenseman Connor Carrick’s first game against his old team in Toronto. Carrick played 130 of his 160 NHL games in Toronto, but really feels that the change of scenery has helped him. Since joining the Stars, Carrick has 3 assists in 2 games.

    Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup

    Toronto:

    Matthews – 8 points (5 goals 3 assists) 52% on Face-offs
    Rielly – 6 points (2 goals 4 assists)
    Tavares – 4 points (4 goals) 51% on face-offs

    Frederik Andersen
    1-1-0 3.05GAA .898SV%

     

    Dallas:

    Benn – 5 points (2 goals 3 assists)
    Seguin & Radulov – 4 points (2 goals 2 assists)
    Carrick – 3 points (3 assists)

    Ben Bishop
    2-0-0 0.50GAA .984SV% & 1 SO

    Lineups & Injuries

    Defensive Pairing:

    Rielly  –  Hainsey
    Gardiner – Zaitsev
    Dermott – Marincin

    Odd men out – Ozhiganov and Holl

    Injuries:  None

    Forward Lines:

    Kapanen –Matthews – Marleau
    Marner – Tavares– Hyman
    Ennis – Kadri – Brown
    Johnsson – Lindholm – Leivo

    Extra: Gauthier

    Injuries: none

    Goalies :

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    4 Keys to Winning in Dallas:

      1. Babcock talked about Kapanen on Sunday during the press conference and stated that if.. “Kapanen can play on the boards and in front of the net like his did tonight on a regular basis while still showing that amazing speed, he’s going to be a real player for us.” There was an instant chemistry between Matthews and Kapanen on Sunday night and since Tyler Ennis has been on his game so far, it’s looking like some consistency from Kapanen could steal him a spot on that top line.
    2. Bodies in front of Ben Bishop.
      1. It’s been widely known that Ben Bishop does not handle players screening him well. Either will end up in a powerplay for Toronto or a puck in the back of the net.
    3. Depth Scoring
      1. Leivo, Kadri, Brown, Johnsson, Ennis….need to start getting some chances. As of right now the Kadri line with Brown and Leivo has been ok and even adding Ennis didn’t help. Johnsson has kind of looked out of sorts which could be due to him only playing 8 or 9 minutes a game. But there needs to be a spark from these guys.
    4. Leafs defencemen need to be better.
      1. Passes have been off costing the team big time turnovers, miss hits and assignments. It’s only early but this is where you need to find those issues and fine tune them.

     

     

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  • NHL and NWHL News and Notes: October 8th, 2018

     

    These are your News and Notes for Monday, October 8th, 2018:

     

    In the NHL there were three games that happened yesterday…

    • The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New York Rangers 8-5 at PNC Arena. Carolina overcame four different deficits before Andrei Svechnikov registered his first goal, a game-winner, with 9:16 remaining in the third period. This was the first time the Hurricanes scored eight goal in a contest since March 13, 2017 when they defeated the New York Islanders 8-4. Carolina has registered a point in all three contests this season to extend their record to 2-0-1.Svechnikov (18 years, 195 days) became the first player born in the 2000s to score a NHL goal. He also joined the Hurricanes/Whalers history book as the third youngest player in franchise history to score their first goal. Only Jeff Skinner (18 years, 157 days) and Paul Lawless (18 years, 181 days) are the other two players.

      Yesterday’s contest also marked the first time in the history of the franchise to overcome the four different deficits and go to win the contest in any fashion. The only time this occurred last season was when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in overtime.

    • John Tavares continues to shine for the Toronto Maple Leafs as Tavares registered his first hat trick with the Maple Leafs en route to a 7-6 win in overtime over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. This was also Tavares’ ninth NHL career hat trick. Toronto registered three goals in the final two minutes of the contest to extend the game into the overtime frame. Morgan Reilly would score the game winner for Toronto just 19 seconds into the overtime frame.Tavares’ made Maple Leafs record book as the fourth player in the NHL modern era (since the 1943-33 season) to register a hat trick in his first three games. he Joins Miroslav Frycer, Jeff O’Neill, and current Maple Leaf teammate Auston Matthews.

      Matthews would go on to match a career-high four points in the contest (two goals and two assists), a mark he set in four-goal NHL debut on October 12, 2016.

      In a tribute ceremony before yesterday’s game, there was an emotional tribute for Chicago Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita. Mikita’s wife, Jill, was on hand for the ceremonial puckdrop.

    • The Los Angeles Kings went on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 at Staples Center. Ilya Kovalchuk would register two assists, including on the game-winner, to reach the 400-assist milestone. This would also mark the first win on the season for the Kings.Kovalchuk returned to the NHL when he signed with Los Angeles on June 23. Kovalchuk, 35, is one of eight active players in the NHL who have played a minimum of 100 contests and then average at least one point per game.

     

    There are four contests today in the NHL:

     

    In NHL news…

      • The Three Stars of the Week were announced earlier today.The Third Star of the Week went to Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop recorded 62 saves on 63 shot attempts (a .984 save percentage), compiling a 2-0-0 record with a 0.50 GAA. Bishop would also register one shutout, a 3-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on October 4. In that contest Bishop stopped all 30 shots and became the third goaltender in franchise history to earn a shutout in a season opener.

        The Second Star of the Week went to Chicago Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews. Toews currently shares the League lead in goals with five and ranks second in points with six. Chicago has earned five points out of a possible six in the season standings (2-0-1) to open up the season. Toews registered his fifth career hat trick back on October 6. When Toews accomplished that feat, he became the fifth player in Blackhawks history to complete the hat trick with an overtime goal since December 2, 2006 when Jeff Hamilton reached that milestone.

        The First Star of the Week went to Toronto Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews. Matthews currently leads the League in goals (five), tied with Jonathan Toews and leads the league in points (eight). Toronto is currently 2-1-0 (4 pts) on the season. Matthews registered his second career four-point game in Toronto’s 7-6 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday and became the seventh player in franchise history to register multiple points in the team’s first three games of the season.

      • The Philadelphia Flyers announced that James van Riemsdyk will be out five to six weeks with a lower-body injury.
      • Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo will be out of action for 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain, the team announced today
      • Columbus Blue Jackets C Brandon Dubinsky is also headed for Injured Reserve, the team announced today. Dubinsky has a strained oblique muscle that was suffered in a practice on Sunday.

     

    In NWHL news, there were two contests to happen in the NWHL yesterday:

      • First, the Buffalo Beauts went on to defeat the Connecticut Whale 4-0 at Terry Connors Ice Rink in Stamford, CT. This game featured the debut of two goaltenders, Nicole Hensley and Meeri Räisänen. Räisänen stopped 34 of the 38 shots she faced in the contest for the Whale and Nicole Hensley made 10 saves on 10 shots on goal for the Beauts.Maddie Elia would score the first two goals of the contest for the Beauts in the span of 2:31, assisted by her linemates.

        Hayley Scamurra, the 2018 NWHL Rookie of the Year, would register four points in the contest with two goals and two assists.

        Buffalo had the 2-0 advantage going into the first intermission, along with outscoring Connecticut 16-4.

        TXHT’s Christopher Vasilas wrote his perspective on the game here.

        For a full recap of yesterday’s game between the Beauts and Whale, please go here.

      • The other contest pitted the Minnesota Whitecaps versus the Metropolitan Riveters at TRIA Rink. The Whitecaps would complete a weekend sweep of the defending Isobel Cup champions with a 3-1 win.The Whitecaps, much like Saturday’s contest, used their speed to get past the Riveters. Amanda Boulier would open up the scoring for Minnesota at 10:25 in the first period. Jenny Ryan would tie the score for the Riveters, the team’s first on the young season.

        Whitecaps Kendall Coyne Schofield had the opportunity to score on a shorthanded breakaway but would be denied by Riveters goaltender, Katie Fitzgerald. Amanda Kessel would have her own breakaway moments later for the Riveters on her way out of the penalty box, but her shot was too high.

        Jonna Curtis would give the Whitecaps the lead at 2-1 8:24 in the second period. Hannah Brandt would make it a 3-1 lead for the Whitecaps when she buried her shot off of Olympic teammate Coyne Schofield.

        For more on the contest between the Minnesota Whitecaps and Metropolitan Riveters, please go here.

      • Coming up this week in NWHL action:On Saturday October 13th, the Connecticut Whale visit the Buffalo Beauts at HarborCenter at 1:30 p.m., EDT and at 7:30 p.m., EDT, the Metropolitan Riveters visit the Boston Pride at Warrior Ice Arena.
      • Your NWHL Player of the Week is Hannah Brandt of the Minnesota Whitecaps. Brandt scored a goal in each of the Whitecaps games over the weekend over the Metropolitan Riveters. Brandt gave the Whitecaps the 2-0 advantage with her goal early in the second period on Saturday and then she would score again on Sunday to give the Whitecaps a 3-1 on Sunday, as well as the weekend sweep for the NWHL’s newest team.When Brandt was informed that she was named Player of the Week, she was appreciative but felt that the spotlight and award should be shared with her coaches, staff, players, and the fans.

     

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  • William Nylander: To Sign or Not to Sign

    William Nylander: To Sign or Not to Sign

    We’re 5 days into the 2019 season and there’s one big looming question that is hanging over the Toronto Maple Leafs right now and that is…. Will William Nylander ever sign a contract?

    Let’s take a look at a few things surrounding this situation.

    The Situation:

    Nylander wants to sign a long term contract with the Leafs over a bridge deal.

    Kyle Dubas, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has stated in numerous occasions that the organization would love to have Nylander commit long term. In most situations this would be a good thing and show loyalty to a team. But in this situation it isn’t the term. It’s the money that Nylander is asking.

    It appears William Nylander’s camp is asking for a lot more. Now most believed that it was a negotiation and that both would eventually come to lesser terms on a long term deal. But Nylander’s camp seems to refuse to come off the $8M AAV. Also as you can see above Ehlers, Monahan and David Pastrnak, as well as Filip Forsberg are the names that the Leafs are clinging to as comparables. Which makes tremendous sense considering these 4 basically had the same production as Nylander and yet received between $6M – $6.7M AAV.

    The Player -William Nylander

    When William Nylander was drafted there were a few questions concerning his character. My reasons for bringing this up was because when Nylander was drafted the dread of this day was always lingering over the heads of management.

    Nylander was considered a top 12 talent in the NHL draft in 2014. All the top 12 interviewed him as he was easily considered one of the top 2 European talents in the draft, the other being Kasperi Kapanen. Scouts were all unanimous on his ability to anything in offensive zone amazingly. But there was 1 thing that scouts were not unanimous about…Was he anything like his father?

    Michael Nylander is a retired NHL player who played for 6 different teams in his NHL career. He wasn’t a superstar but a solid NHL player. But once again character came into question.

    “In his long NHL career, Michael Nylander had crossed paths with many of the NHL executives and scouts who were evaluating his son, and Michael Nylander hadn’t made a great impression on many of them. In the opinion of one NHL scout who had played with him, “He was a talented guy but a me-first type, selfish. He wasn’t a coach killer, but he wasn’t committed to the team concept. If he gets his goals, gets his contract . . . whatever he can get out of it.”

    Another who played with Michael called him “the worst teammate I ever had . . . it was always all about him.”

    That Michael played for himself was a common view. Not that he was poison in the dressing room — it was just that he wasn’t what guys thought of as a good soldier, not even a soldier for hire, or a teammate first.”

    JOYCE, GARE. YOUNG LEAFS: the Making of a New Hockey History. SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2018.

    The real worry was will the younger Nylander turn out to be like his father. Scouts were split down the middle. Some stating that….

    “He grew up around NHL arenas, so he knows the drill. Polite, considered his answers, didn’t tell you what he thought you wanted to hear. Talking to him, I didn’t get the idea that he was aware of his father’s reputation around the league.”

    While other GMs gave…

    “Nylander high grades based on performance came away from the combine pegging him as aloof and “really full of himself.”

    The worry with Nylander was always that he would become his father, not putting the team first in negotiations or on the ice. Nylander seemed to be bigger than that so far into his career but most GMs believed that we might not see the real Nylander until contract discussions began. Now I won’t comment on whether or not I feel Nylander is showing his true character or not. But I will leave this, in a statement last week when asked about his contract talks Nylander stated this….

    “In the end I have to take care of myself and do what I and my agent thinks is right. Especially if it’s about several years to come. I need to think long term. It’s my own future it’s about.”

    Are the Leafs desperate?

    Toronto sits at 2-1 for the season after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 7-6 tonight in Overtime. The Leafs have scored 13 goals in 3 games thats an average of 4.33 goals for per game. Offence is not the problem, Nylander might want to be a little careful. It’s the defence of Toronto that needs work and that potentially could be addressed by the rumors of trading Nylander for some defence.

    Also let’s face some facts. No one will offer sheet Nylander because at 7.5M or 8M that is a lot of picks for sacrifice for a one dimensional player, who seems to cower in the corners.

    But as of now the Leafs are not desperate and totally plan to play the waiting game. But for Nylander every game means a loss of money.

     

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  • Montreal Canadiens Drop Home Opener

    Montreal Canadiens Drop Home Opener

     

    Auston Matthew’s started off the scoring for the Toronto Maple Leafs on their first powerplay of the game in the first period. Then in the second period John Tavares gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead. After the Leafs 2nd goal the game, they were dominated by the Montreal Canadiens throughout the remainder of the second period. Andrew Shaw would score the game tying goal with seconds remaining in the second. The Leafs would answer when Matthew’s scored the game winner in overtime.

    The Bright Side for the Canadiens:
    Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a great NHL debut picking up an assist and looking pretty great in his first regular season game and was moving the puck.

    Max Domi had 2 assists after coming back from a suspension.

    The Canadiens powerplay looked very solid in the first game going 1 for 4.

    Carey Price looks like hes back to his normal self and made a few great saves throughout the game. One key thing Price needs to work on is handling the puck behind the net.

     

    You can read my colleague Steve Gardiner’s post game recap covering the Toronto Maple Leafs by clicking here.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • Post-Game Report: Matthews steals the show as the Canadiens youngsters come out flying.

    Post-Game Report: Matthews steals the show as the Canadiens youngsters come out flying.

     

    Opening night expected both teams to come out flying, but only one team did the Montreal Canadiens and boy did they come out flying. The Leafs were flat almost all game with missed passes, defensive lapses and barely any zone time. But their stars bailed them out tonight. Lehkonen opened the scoring in the first for Canadiens at 9:34. The big powerplay went to work at Matthews tied it up at 12:57 of the first period.  Tavares potted his first goal as a Maple Leafs at 18:07 off of a beautiful individual deke and snipe. But the chippy Canadiens fought back and were rewarded with 14 seconds left in the 2nd period as Shaw scored on the powerplay beating Anderson with a beauty.  The 3rd period was dominated by the Canadiens and the Leafs were lucky to make it to overtime. If it wasn’t for Anderson in the 3rd this game would have been over.  But in OT Matthews came through again putting it top shelf on a very slick pass from Marleau.  Anderson made 34 saves and Price made 23 saves in a 3-2 Overtime win for the Maple Leafs in their home opener.

    Revisiting the Keys to win:

    4 Keys to Winning in Montreal:

    1. Attack the Montreal defence.
      1. This failed to happen as the Habs took it to the Leafs almost all night. No possession time and barely any zone time.
    2. Bodies in front of Carey Price.
      1. Price showed his elite status tonight and came up big even with traffic.
    3. Speed Speed Speed
      1. Montreal dictated the pace all night and it showed in every facet of the game except the scoreboard
    4. Leafs defencemen need to limit the time spent in their own zone.
      1. The Leafs at times could barely get out of their zone. Hainsey was a victim all night.

    Leafs needs to better come next game or else teams will begin to victimize them. Expect a different Leafs squad come Saturday.

     

    You can read my colleague Armand Klisivitch’s post game recap covering the Montreal Canadiens by clicking here.

     

    You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.

  • News and Notes: October 3rd, 2018

     

    These are your News and Notes for Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018…

    There were no preseason contests yesterday.

    Today is the first day of the regular season in the NHL and there are four contests taking place.

    • The Washington Capitals will raise their Stanley Cup Championship banner tonight in a pre-game ceremony when they take on the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. TXHT has the preview of the game here.
    • The Montreal Canadiens take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, which will mark the official debut of John Tavares. Tavares joined the Maple Leafs as a free agent over the summer. For TXHT’s preview of this match-up, please check out Steve Gardiner’s game preview

    .

    • The Calgary Flames face off against the Vancouver Canucks. For the Canucks this marks the first season without Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who retired last season, since the 1999-2000 season.
    • The Anaheim Ducks face off against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. For the Sharks this will mark the official debut of Erik Karlsson, who joined the team after a trade

    In NHL news today:

    • The Buffalo Sabres announced that Jack Eichel has been named team captain.
    • The Washington Capitals announced that Jayson Megna has been placed on waivers.
    • Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julian announced that Karl Alzner and Tomas Plekanec will be healthy scratches tonight. This will end Karl Alzner’s consecutive-games played streak at 622, which is the fourth longest activer streak in the NHL and the 12th longest in NHL history.
    • The NHL announced all 31 teams opening night 23-man rosters earlier today
    • Former NWHL player and United States captain Meghan Duggan married three-time Canadian women’s gold medalist Gillian Apps two weeks ago. Duggan played for the Boston Pride and the Buffalo Beauts. Gillian Apps would play in the CWHL with the Brampton Thunder (now Markham Thunder).
    • Washington Capitals RW Tom Wilson has been suspended 20 games for his hit on Oskar Sundqvist. For more coverage on the Tom Wilson suspension and the effects of the suspension, check out TXHT’s coverage here.You can watch TXHT Live every Wednesday at 8p EST on both Twitch and Facebook Live.
  • Gameday Preview:  Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

    Gameday Preview:  Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs

     

    Time: Wednesday October 3rd 2018 at 7pm

    The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to get the John Tavares era off to a good start and that journey begins in game #1 in Toronto against the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens. Toronto and Montreal games have been historically hard fought, hard hitting, grind it out rivalries. You shouldn’t expect anything less from either of these teams.
    Toronto has moved on from the rebuild and has become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, while Montreal has fallen from favour and begins the hard task of a full rebuild. This game will show speed and skill.

    Toronto will boast the loaded powerplay of Marner, Tavares , Kadri, Matthews and Rielly, while the Canadiens will showcase newly draft rookie Jesper Kotkaniemi along with a totally revamped roster.

    Let’s begin by talking briefly about the Maple Leafs 2017/2018 season, roster for 2019, game day line up and injuries and finally some key game points.

    2017/2018 Season Review –

    The Maple Leafs had a brilliant regular season finishing 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a record of 49-26-7 and 107 points. Mitch Marner took his game to another level in the 2nd half of the season, while Anderson set a record for most wins by a Maple Leaf goalie.

    The playoffs were a different story, the Leafs were heavy favorites against the Bruins. But the physicality of the Bruins along with shady defensive and shotty goaltending at times lead to the Leafs being eliminated in the first round.

    The Leafs needed to find a way to fix or add to this team. So this offseason they targeted John Tavares and they got their man. Now with a bunch of youth infused into the lineup and Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Kadri , Marleau and Taveras on the top 6, this team is to be feared.

    2019 Roster –

    As it stands now here is the season opening roster for the Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards:

    Connor Brown
    Tyler Ennis
    Frederik Gauthier
    Zach Hyman
    Nazem Kadri
    Andreas Johnsson
    Kasperi Kapanen
    Par Lindholm
    Josh Leivo
    Patrick Marleau
    Mitch Marner
    Auston Matthews
    John Tavares

    – William Nylander (If he signs)

    Defence:

    Travis Dermott
    Justin Holl
    Jake Gardiner
    Ron Hainsey
    Martin Marincin
    Igor Ozhiganov
    Morgan Rielly
    Nikita Zaitsev

    Goalies:

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    Opening Night Line Up & Injuries –

    This is the lineup for opening night that I believed will be used

    Defensive Pairing:

    Rielly – Hainsey
    Gardiner – Zaitsev
    Dermott – Ozhiganov

    Odd men out – Marincin and Holl

    Injuries: None
    Forward Lines:

    Ennis –Matthews – Marleau
    Marner – Tavares– Hyman
    Leivo – Kadri – Brown
    Johnsson – Lindholm – Kapanen

    Extra:

    Injuries: Gauthier

    Goalies :

    Frederik Andersen
    Garrett Sparks

    4 Keys to Winning in Montreal:

    1. Attack the Montreal defence.
      • Ouellet, Mete, Juulsen are all young guys who haven’t played a lot and Weber and Schlemko being injured means they are going to be thrust into more minutes. If the Leafs 4 lines can fore-check hard and not let the defence have any time to make decision the inexperience of this blue line may cough up some pucks.
    2. Bodies in front of Carey Price.
      • Price is an elite goaltender no matter his struggles last season, the Leafs need to make sure that there is always someone in front of the net making his life difficult. Because if Price catches fire, this could be a long long long night for the Leafs offensive players.
    3. Speed Speed Speed
      • ULeafs have tons of it through their 4 lines. They must keep the tempo high and maintain that all game. Forcing the young Canadiens team to keep up and play at that pace.
    4. Leafs defencemen need to limit the time spent in their own zone.
      • Crisp passes, smart plays off the boards. Anything that limits the time spent in their own zone. Puck Possession is a big part of getting the win.

     

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