LIVE NHL Play By Play Commentary New York Rangers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
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In a clash of Original Six Eastern Conference heavyweights, the Maple Leafs look to extend their nine-game points streak when they take on the New York Rangers for the second time in a week (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
The Leafs, who now sit second in the NHL in goals per game (3.64), are coming in off their most dominant performance of the season with a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Without the services of Auston Matthews due to illness, Sheldon Keefe was forced to juggle his forward lines, and between the heightened urgency inspired by Matthews’ absence and the new combinations, it paid immediate dividends. Keefe leaned into the former London Knights connection by pairing Max Domi with Mitch Marner, and the Knies–Domi–Marner line combined for three goals to go along with depth contributions from Bobby McMann and Noah Gregor as well as a power-play goal from John Tavares.
Tonight, with their top-line center returning, the Leafs will revert to their previous top-six line combinations as Knies and Nylander will rejoin Matthews. But, in addition to building on the momentum of the offensive momentum of their five-goal comeback in the third period of Columbus, the big victory over Pittsburgh should have provided some data on those new combinations which the coaching staff could perhaps circle back to in the case of injuries or staleness offensively.
The Leafs will field their healthiest lineup in almost two months for tonight’s game. TJ Brodie, who missed the last game due to flu, is expected to return tonight. Timothy Liljegren also returned to the lineup in the previous game against the Penguins — and led the defense in TOI at just above 20 minutes — after recovering from a high-ankle sprain that kept him on the shelf for six weeks.
As the Leafs inch closer to full health at a time when they’re playing good hockey, it’s both an encouraging development and one that can bring challenges in terms of integrating the returning players while keeping the positive momentum rolling. The team has gotten simple but effective minutes from the likes of Simon Benoit, who has now likely been forced out of the lineup due to the numbers game (assuming the Leafs run 12/6).
The Rangers have won back-to-back games since losing 7-3 to the Maple Leafs last week. Their response to the loss was to allow just two goals in their two wins against Anaheim and Boston. Igor Shesterkin, who conceded seven goals last week against the Maple Leafs, will start in goal for the Rangers looking to avenge a tough game vs. Toronto. Good teams (and elite players) often bring their best against opponents that beat up on them in the last meeting, so the Leafs need to be prepared for a Rangers team that is sharper and hungrier than the one they faced at MSG last week.
In the other net, Martin Jones is the projected starter for the Leafs as he seeks to build off his win over the Rangers last week as well as his shutout win against the Penguins on Saturday. A 38-save effort against Pittsburgh bumped his record up to 3-0-0 and his save percentage all the way up to .949.
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