The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to snap their two game losing streak on Saturday night against the defending champion St. Louis Blues.
Since firing head coach Mike Babcock, the Toronto Maple Leafs are 4-3-0 since Sheldon Keefe took over, but are 1-3-0 in their last four games.
The Leafs will look to bounce back from their unfortunate 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Frederik Andersen will get the start on Saturday night in St. Louis, which will be his fourth straight start after playing both games of a back-to-back this week.
The Leafs will have to hope he’s well rested, especially after giving up seven goals in those two games, however he is still posting a good .918 Sv% on the season.
The last time the two teams met was on Oct. 7, where the Blues took a close game by a score of 3-2. The Leafs will look to take vengeance in their final meeting for the season with the champs.
The Leafs will be without forward Andreas Johnsson, who was placed on long-term injury reserve due to a leg injury on Friday.
In his place, the Leafs have called up forward Pontus Aberg from the Toronto Marlies. According to Lance Hornby, the Leafs are likely going to play Aberg with Matthews and Nylander on the wing.
Pontus Aberg has been having quite a good season for the Marlies, with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 22 games
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) December 6, 2019
The Leafs will also be shaking up the lines by playing Zach Hyman with his old linemates, John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Previously, Ilya Mikheyev was playing alongside the two while Hyman played with Alexander Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen on the third line.
The Opponent: St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues have been hot all season and they show no signs of slowing down. They currently sit first in the Western Conference with 42 points and are 4-1-0 in their last five games. The Blues have also won 7 straight games against the Leafs.
The Leafs are going to want to strike early in this game. St. Louis is currently the only team left (12-0-4) without a regulation loss when they lead 1-0.
The Blues will be starting Jordan Binnington, who although has been hot this season, gave up three goals in Wednesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in which the Blues were shutout.
The Leafs will need to find their offence against the Blues after scoring just two goals in their last two games.
The Blues will be playing without star forward Vladimir Tarasenko who will be out at least five months with a shoulder injury. They’ll also be without Oskar Sundqvist (lower-body) and Alexander Steen (ankle).
As the Toronto Maple Leafs still struggle to put a completely healthy roster on the ice, they’ll have to make do with what they have. One thing’s for sure however, the Leafs have to be hungry to get back in the win column as soon as possible.