The Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders in the second half of a back-to-back to open the season. They are coming off a 3-2 loss in the season opener to the Montreal Canadiens, and because of that, head coach Jim Hiller has announced a few lineup changes.
Unfortunately, it was a night to forget for most of the Maple Leafs team, who looked very out of sync, showing just how new most of their team actually is. However, since it's only the first game of the season, there is no real need to panic. That said, the organization and the fan base are hoping for a better effort tonight.
So, let's take a closer look at the projected lineups for tonight's game.
Maple Leafs' projected lineup
Forwards:
Jack Roslovic - Auston Matthews - Kirill Marchenko
Gavin McKenna - John Tavares - William Nylander
Easton Cowan - Nick Paul - Colton Sissons
Brandon Duhaime - Teddy Blueger - Bo Groulx
Defence:
Morgan Rielly - Darren Raddysh
Jake McCabe - Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Troy Stecher
Goalies:
Anthony Stolarz
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Zach MacEwen, Nick Blankenburg
Injured: Dakota Joshua (core), Max Domi (undisclosed)
The lineup changes made were the addition of Bo Groulx for Zach MacEwen up front, which is a good idea, especially on a back-to-back. That's not to say that MacEwen didn't play well last night. However, with it being the second game in a row, it's nice to eject a bit more speed into the lineup, and Groulx provides that.
Last season when Groulx joined the Maple Leafs, he found a home in the bottom six. With Dakota Joshua and Max Domi out of the lineup, he has a chance to do the same thing. If he can take advantage of the opportunity, he could force the organization to make a tough decision when Joshua is healthy, and that starts with a strong effort tonight.
The other change to the lineup is a goalie swap. Given it's a back-to-back, it's not surprising, plus it gets Anthony Stolarz into the lineup early in the season. Which could help get him more playing time and build confidence after a tough season.
Other than that, the lineup stays the same, and that's a bit questionable. Aside from the Tanev-McCabe pairing, the other two pairings looked a bit lost. Especially the top pairing with Darren Raddysh and Morgan Rielly. They didn't have a good night at all, and it's truly surprising that they didn't dress Nick Blankenburg on the third pairing with Rielly and pair Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Raddysh on the top pairing. Just to give a bit of a different look on the second night of a back-to-back.
Islanders' projected lineup
Forwards:
Simon Holmstrom - Bo Horvat - Kyle Palmieri
Matias Macceli - Calum Ritchie - Brayden Schenn
Victor Eklund - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Emil Heineman
Ondrej Palat - Casey Cizikas - Anthony Duclair
Defence:
Adam Pelech - Matthew Schaefer
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Logan Stanley - Tony DeAngelo
Goalies:
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Puck drop is set for 7:30 tonight at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, in the edition of Prime Monday Night Hockey.
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