Toronto Maple Leafs: Matinee Matchup Against the Carolina Hurricanes
This afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Carolina Hurricanes at the Air Canada Centre at 2 PM.
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to rebound after a tough 3-1 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs looked extremely depleted on offense on Friday night and it certainly didn’t help that the Leafs’ fearless leader, Auston Matthews sat out again. Unfortunately, Matthews won’t be in the lineup today against Carolina.
But have no fear, the Toronto Maple Leafs certainly have the offensive skill-set to get over the offensive drought.
Yesterday, Mike Babcock moved William Nylander back to centre and I believe that the switch will light a fire under the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Willy at Centre
As my buddy, James Tanner mentioned in his post yesterday, Nylander has been given another chance at centre.
#TMLtalk lines this morning:
— Daily Faceoff - Fantasy (@DFOFantasy) December 18, 2017
- Matthews is NOT expected to return Tuesday vs. Carolina.
- Nylander moved to centre, Marleau to wing again for home game.
- Kapanen in, Leivo out.
- Carrick skating with Gardiner, hasn't played since Nov. 24. pic.twitter.com/tavSJpxSHj
His last go-around at centre this season was rather shaky. Nylander was at centre for one game and was able to set up a goal. However, Babcock wasn’t comfortable with Nylander remaining at centre so he was switched back to wing.
But, Nylander is a centre by trade. He is a great play-making forward and not someone who you’d rely on for being a sniper.
If you take a look at this highlight video on YouTube, you can tell that Nylander isn’t a natural born sniper. He gets most of his goals when he’s right in front of the net. There are a few goals that he’ll score off one-timers. But, it’s pretty rare for him to snipe him a goal.
Nylander is ten times betting at setting up goals. Just take a look at this video from his 2016 campaign where he set up a sweet power-play goal for Nazem Kadri against the Montreal Canadiens.
I’m looking forward to watching the game today and seeing Willy shine at centre!
Carolina’s Offense
Unfortunately for the Leafs, the Hurricanes have a three-game winning streak and are looking to continue their streak today in Toronto.
Over the last three games, the Hurricanes have scored ten goals.
Jordan Staal, Justin Williams and Jeff Skinner have helped pave the way for the Hurricanes’ offensive surge. The three forwards have totalled 3 goals and 5 assists in the last few games against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
To ensure a Maple Leafs’ victory, Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey will need to pay special attention to these forwards.
Moving aside from Staal, Williams and Skinner, the Hurricanes have plenty of offensive threats including Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm.
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Yes, Aho is on a cold streak. He did have two assists against the Sabres on Friday and is looking to potent to break out of his cold streak. This season, Aho has 7 goals and 16 assists and has been a dependable play-maker for Carolina.
On the other side of the fence, Lindholm had a tough start to the season. So far, he has 9 goals and 9 assists in 32 games. But in the last five games, he has 2 goals and an assist.
Lindholm and Aho might look rather sluggish as of late, but the Leafs certainly shouldn’t ignore them on the ice.
Faulk’s Offensive Skillset Declining
Aside from the offense, the Hurricanes have a strong depth of young defensemen including Justin Faulk.
Faulk consistently has been a solid defenseman. Don’t look at his plus/minus statistic. Yes, it might be a -6. But, the plus/minus statistic isn’t really an indicator of his strong defensive play.
Let’s look at his CF percentage instead. In 32 games this season, Faulk’s CF percentage is at 53.9%.
Faulk is a strong two-way defenseman. Fortunately for the Leafs, Faulk hasn’t been great offensively this year. He’s under-performing in comparison to the past four seasons. In his 2014-15 season, he had 49 points. But in the past two season, his offensive play has dropped and totaled points in each of the last two seasons.
If the Hurricanes aren’t in the playoff hunt in late February, Faulk could be dealt. Lou Lamoriello will likely be keeping a keen eye on Faulk during today’s game to see if Faulk’s defensive play might mesh well with the Leafs.
Prediction
If Nylander can provide the play-making punch that I think he can provide, I think the Leafs might be able to squeak out a win today.
But this also rides on the Leafs’ defense focusing on shutting down the Hurricanes offense.
I predict that the Leafs will win the game by a slim margin of 2-1.