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The Maple Leafs nonetheless have a recreation to go on their Western highway journey Sunday night time, slipping south a couple of miles to play the Seattle Kraken at Local weather Pledge Enviornment.
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The very streaky Kraken had a nine-game win streak as much as Jan. 13, then misplaced the final three of six consecutive highway contests, through which they produced simply 4 targets. However Seattle can have some relaxation earlier than Toronto arrives and although the current defeats price it some floor within the Pacific Division, they’re significantly better at puck safety and retrieval than the Leafs in keeping with most league metrics.
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Jared McCann, the ahead the Leafs acquired to show to Seattle within the enlargement draft, has targets in his previous two video games, main the workforce with 18.
Toronto’s back-to-back and a light-weight schedule subsequent week (two video games) resulting in the all-star break may see a lineup change or two Sunday with idled defenceman Conor Timmins and wingers Nick Robertson or Ryan Reaves. The latter, a wholesome scratch since he needed to miss a couple of days with a kneecap harm in mid-December, turned 37 on Saturday.
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CURTIS: NO COURTESY FOR AUSTON
Curtis Joseph, a visitor on CITY-TV’s Breakfast Tv the morning after Auston Matthews’ three-goal, four-point recreation in Calgary, was requested his ideas when watching a possible 70-goal 12 months from the Leafs’ star centre.
“He’s unbelievable. What goes via my thoughts is ‘may I cease him?,” mentioned the 454-game successful goalie, a Leaf between 1998-2002. “If he’s coming down on me, what would I do? Actually, guys like which have a knack. You give him one probability and it’s within the web.
“It’s important to over-play them. I’d be telling my defence ‘simply don’t let him shoot’. I used to say that about Jaromir Jagr, ‘hey, simply cowl him. I’ve a greater probability stopping all people else. Simply keep on his again’.
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“So, once I see him get open and Mitch Marner fireplace one over to him, I say ‘ha, ha, how can they not cowl this man? How do you not know the place he’s?’
“That’s the way you win, cowl the perfect gamers.”
HILDEBEAST HOT
Rookie AHLer Dennis Hildeby made 24 saves on Saturday because the Toronto Marlies beat the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 in North Carolina.
Captain Logan Shaw scored twice together with an empty netter, Alex Steeves added a aim and help with a team-high 5 pictures, whereas defenceman Maxime Lajoie contributed two helpers.
ROGERS A MOUNTAIN FOR LEAFS
Saturday marked 53 years since Toronto’s first win in Vancouver on the now-razed Pacific Coliseum within the Canucks’ enlargement 12 months. That 5-1 victory featured 4 assists from stay-at-home defenceman Bobby Baun.
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However success at PNE or the newer digs at Rogers Enviornment has been troublesome for the Leafs. Along with an general highway report of 26-42-11-3 in B.C. earlier than Saturday, the Leafs’ six losses at Rogers are probably the most in a non-conference metropolis the previous 5 seasons in information ready by betway.com to find out the toughest rinks for all NHL groups to play in.
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The Leafs have additionally misplaced six instances in 5 years to division rival Montreal within the Bell Centre, however flip the script on the Canadiens at Scotiabank Enviornment, beating them eight instances to make Bay St. the Habs’ hardest cease on the circuit.
Amalie Enviornment in Tampa Bay is the toughest of all, denying six completely different groups 4 to 6 instances within the five-year examine.
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