Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Day Headlines vs Montreal

It’s the final game of the regular season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Mercifully, too. The Maple Leafs have essentially been locked into their current position for over a month now. Sitting third in the Atlantic by a notable cushion, a rematch with the Boston Bruins has been all but inevitable, with the remainder of the schedule offering nothing more than a final tune-up.

Frederik Andersen himself even recently referred to the month of April as his “preseason”.

So, what now? Well, to make matters even less suspenseful, the Montreal Canadiens have nothing play for tonight either, with last night’s victory by the Columbus Blue Jackets officially knocking them out of postseason contention.

With one game left, the only things left at stake are moral victories.

Let’s dive into some of the pre-game headlines for the final time.

Everyone Sits

The mission for both teams tonight is simple: don’t get hurt.

What that means, for the Maple Leafs, at least, is a day off for what seems to be half of their lineup. Mike Babcock announced this morning that Jake Muzzin, Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey, and Travis Dermott will all watch from the press box tonight, confirming that four of Toronto’s projected top-six blueliners will be out of the lineup.

This decision to rest those who seemingly need it is assuredly a welcome one.

Without a doubt, the worst case scenario for the Maple Leafs at the moment would an injury to one of their top contributors in an otherwise meaningless contest. Saturday will be the 20th consecutive game that the Leafs will play without icing their full defence corps, and given how tight their series with Boston will inevitably be, they likely intend for this to be the last, too.

The playoffs begin in roughly five days. It may not be a vacation, but five days of extra rest, especially for those either currently nursing injuries or working their ways back from one, is better than zero.

Hutchinson Backing Up

You already know the drill.

Early yesterday morning, the Maple Leafs made the unexpected decision to effectively jettison Garret Sparks from the structure of the team, sentencing the 25-year-old to undergo developmental sessions with the organization’s goaltending coaches in an effort to rebuild his game.

With Sparks now out of the picture, Toronto’s backup duties now fall onto the shoulder of Michael Hutchinson. Recalled from the Marlies on Friday, Hutchinson will now serve as Andersen’s understudy for the foreseeable future.

For the Leafs, opting for Hutchinson means opting for stability. The 29-year-old may not project as a gargantuan upgrade on Sparks, but he does bear a multi-year track record of NHL experience, with a career .908 save percentage and 111 total games under his belt compiled over 6 seasons.

Hutchinson is what he is. And with the Maple Leafs now entering the most high-leverage stretch of their season, they seem keen on going with the devil they know, opposed to the devil they don’t.

The Andersen-Hutchinson Era officially begins tonight. Catch the fever!

Thanks for reading! Puck drops at 7:00 PM.