Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Kyle Clifford and Take on the Jets

The Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Winnipeg Jets tonight in Winnipeg.

After four straight home games, the Toronto Maple Leafs will embark on a five game road trip that will see them visit Winnipeg, Vegas, San Jose, LA and Anaheim.

The Jets are a terrible team that will most likely miss the playoffs, but whether they do or not depends on their goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, who is one of the only goalies in the NHL to consistently be a star every season.

Hellebuyck give the Jets a chance to win every game, but their terrible team usually means they won’t.

They are 2-2 right now, but they are ranked 28th by Expected Goals Percentage.  You might think “hey it’s just four games, that can’t mean anything”  but here are the teams they are ranked with:

27. Montreal 28. Jets 29.Red Wings 30. Flyers 31. Ducks 32. Coyotes. 

The Leafs are tenth, but their 54% rating is solid.  (naturalsttrick.com).

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Jets

The Leafs will play Ilya Samsonov and they have recalled both Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford for this game.

One would assume  they will subsequently sit their replacements in Aube-Kubal and Aston-Resse, both of whom have struggled so far.  However, it appears that Pierre Engvall will sit.

If this is the case, I suspect it’s because he’s injured, or because he is coming off an injury in training camp that is still affecting him.   Engvall has been significantly better than Aube-Kubal and Aston-Reese, and given his very important role last year, it just doesn’t make sense to healthy scratch him without there being extenuating circumstances.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the last team anyone wants to play right now because Auston Matthews has one goal this season.  It was a tip in.  He hasn’t shot the puck into the net yet, despite 24 shots in five games.

Auston Matthews has one goal in five games, which means he is due for four goals tonight, since, all things being equal, he’ll score every game.

I expect him to flirt with a goal per game, and I’m not kidding even a little bit.

The Leafs are 3-2 and should be 5-0. They are just scratching the surface of what they can do.  Nick Robertson scored twice last game, and the Leafs now have yet another weapon to deploy.

I fully expect a lopsided victory tonight because Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have been playing well and it’s just a matter of time before they go off.  A brutal defensive team like Winnipeg is probably just what the doctor ordered.