Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube will make one lineup change on Saturday night in Montreal.
Berube will dress forward Sammy Blais instead of Jacob Quillan against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
The reasoning on Berube’s part is straightforward.
“The physicality,” Berube told media in Montreal while the Leafs had an optional morning skate. “It’s going to be a tough game. It’s going to be a physical game to a certain extent. I just think he can come in here and disrupt them a little bit with his physicality. And he does make good puck plays.”
Berube might be onto something. The game will mark the eighth with Toronto for Blais, claimed off waivers from the Canadiens on Oct. 6, and he has thrown his body around with enthusiasm.
In seven games, Blais has recorded 27 hits, good for eighth among Leafs. He also has one goal and two assists.
The 29-year-old native of Montmagny, Que., will have some extra juice on Saturday night, telling reporters that he will have 10-15 family members and friends in the stands.
Plus, Blais wants to stick it to the Canadiens after they put him on waivers in October.
“I’m really motivated,” Blais said. “Kind of a little more of a chip on my shoulder tonight for sure.”
Neither the Leafs nor the Canadiens have played brilliant hockey in November. The Leafs have three out of four points in their past two games, to take some of the scuff off a record of 1-4-2 in their past seven games. Still, there’s a lot the Leafs have to get done before they can be considered fully on the path to respectability.
With 21 points, the Leafs went into Saturday games in the National Hockey League in second-last place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the usually terrible Buffalo Sabres.
Canadiens stumbling
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are 1-4-3 in their past eight games. They’re coming off an 8-4 loss at home against Washington on Thursday and also are not in a playoff spot.
If you’re the half-full glass type, you’ll point out that Toronto is just three points out of a playoff spot. That shouldn’t be a bragging point for a team that had much higher expectations when the 2025-26 season started.
Berube has seen an uptick in important areas in the past couple of games, an overtime win against St. Louis on Tuesday followed by an overtime loss against Columbus on Thursday.
“We’re defending as a five-man unit a lot better than we have been,” Berube said. “We have numbers around the puck and we’re breaking pucks out easier, we’re not stretched out, we’re connected in the zones.
“Neutral zone, we’ve done a pretty good job with our defending. Offensively, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of creating chances.”
Joseph Woll is slated to make his fourth start in a row as Anthony Stolarz continues to recover from an upper-body injury.
A heavy workload presumably contributed to Stolarz’s struggles before he was hurt on Nov. 11 during a game in Boston against the Bruins.
Where is the concern that the workload is approaching a burdensome level for Woll?
“We’re not there yet,” Berube said. “It’s in the back of my mind for sure. After tonight, we have a little break until Columbus (to continue the road swing on Wednesday), so that’s good.
“We have to manage his load for sure. In practice, it’s a big part of it. We talked about that last year with Joe in practices. Just do your thing, then tone it down a bit. He can go overboard in practice. He’s hard-working guy and he likes to compete.”
Injured Leafs Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies skated on Saturday morning in Montreal as they work their way back from respective lower-body injuries.
The Leafs will return home for a couple of practices before heading back out on Tuesday afternoon to start a five-game trip with stops in Columbus, Washington, Pittsburgh, Florida and Carolina.