The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the second leg of their back-to-back set this weekend, visiting the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday evening at PNC Arena.
The Leafs are coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. Mitch Marner scored the game-winner 36 seconds into the overtime frame to lift the Leafs past their Original Six rivals.
Hometown Buds!! pic.twitter.com/UPc7WrKUfa
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 13, 2025
With the win, the Leafs improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and look poised to lock up first place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs can do so by defeating the Hurricanes in either regulation or overtime/shootout.
As for the Hurricanes, they are coming off a 7-3 thrashing of the New York Rangers on Saturday night. The Canes officially eliminated their Metro Division rivals from playoff contention. Carolina is 5-4-1 in their last 10, and comfortably entrenched in the second spot in the Metro.
For the Leafs, there’s a lot on the line on Sunday evening. In addition to locking up the top spot in the Atlantic, home-ice advantage is also on the line. Winning the Atlantic Division guarantees the Leafs will get home-ice advantage for the first two rounds.
As for the third round, the only way the Leafs could lose home-ice advantage is if they face the Washington Capitals, who won the Metro Division and had a higher point total than the Leafs.
Additionally, Mitch Marner will be gunning for 100 points, while William Nylander still has a shot at 50 goals. Nylander currently has 44, and with three games remaining, he could still reach the 50-goal mark this season.
Maple Leafs
HurricanesDakota Mermis to join the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday
The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Dakota Mermis to play defense on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes. With Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe still on the shelf, the Leafs played with five defensemen on Saturday night against the Canadiens.
While Mitch Marner filled in for a few shifts on the blue line, including overtime, the Leafs will need another healthy body on the blue line, especially playing on back-to-back nights.
Mermis likely gets in on the third pairing with Phillippe Myers. As such, the top pairing of Brandon Carlo and Morgan Rielly likely does most of the heavy lifting, while Simon Benoit and Chris Tanev will be on shutdown duties.
It’s unclear when both Ekman-Larsson and McCabe will be back in the lineup. The expectation is that they will suit up for one of the final two games in the regular season as a tune-up before heading into the 2025 NHL playoffs.
Of course, if there are any emergencies, Marner can step in and play defense as need be.