With the discontent and the calls for change reaching a fever pitch in the Toronto market, the Maple Leafs badly need two points — really, two points earned with a good performance — over the 32nd-place Nashville Predators (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario). Game Day Quotes

Craig Berube on what he is expecting from his team coming off the 4-0 loss in Washington: 

A response. We can be a lot better. Nobody was happy after that game. We had a good meeting about it all. I think we are all on the same page and ready to go tonight.

We just have to go play our game tonight. We have to forget about the other game, move on, get ready for tonight’s game, and play the way we can.

Berube on the content of his meeting with the team on Friday: 

It was partly Xs and Os. The other part of the meeting was just about mindset. We looked heavy in that game. We have to trust our abilities. We have a good team here. Loosen up and go play to your abilities.

We can make more plays than we are, and we have to make more plays. We need the puck more than we have. There are opportunities and times when we need to possess the puck more and do more with it. That was a big part of it, and then the Xs and Os of how we can do that better.

Berube on the approach to the struggling power play after a 0-for-5 night in Washington: 

There will be changes on the power play tonight.

Jake McCabe on how it feels to hear the head coach describe the other team as more “passionate” after the Washington loss: 

Not great. We are not in a situation to have nights like that. We have an opportunity to bounce back tonight.

We’re excited for another chance to get in the win column. We have another two games on this road trip to come away 2-1-0.

Bobby McMann on the mood of the team after the head coach’s comments following the loss on Thursday: 

I think we are aware of where we are at and how much more competitiveness we want to bring, with more energy in the games. We did not like that outcome. We will definitely have a response here, and hopefully, we can get things rolling.

McMann on the threats to be aware of on the Predators: 

They’ve got some good defensemen back there who can jump up into the play. That is always something we have to defend well on the rush. They will always have four guys up there, and they’re pretty opportunistic. They can make plays and score if we give them the chance. Hopefully, we can pressure them enough so they don’t get those.

McCabe on the challenge presented by Nashville: 

They have a lot of skill up front. Josi is obviously a very dynamic player on the backend. He is all over the ice. You have to be very aware of where he is. It is a challenge, for sure, but we are looking forward to that challenge.

Predators head coach Andrew Brunette on how his team has measured up in recent games against the league’s elite in Colorado, Carolina, and Florida: 

At times, we look like we could [play with them]. At times, we are a little slow to react and are kind of not really dictating things. In some of these games, we almost don’t feel comfortable with the pace early. They’re skating games, and we are having trouble keeping up a little bit.

We’re having trouble executing under pressure. Things are happening fast, and we are not making hard plays. Sometimes, you have to live to fight another day. You see Carolina do it, you see Florida do it, and you see Colorado do it. They get pucks out of their zone pretty quickly. It doesn’t have to be pretty — it doesn’t have to be tape-to-tape — but they push you back.

Brunette on his team’s progress of late (five wins in last eight):

I think we have played pretty well all year, and we didn’t get results for a stretch of games — maybe from 10 to 20 — where we were maybe on the wrong side of it. We lost Roman, which really hurts us when we lost him for that amount of time.

The group has done a really good job of buying in. It was a hard sell on my part when things weren’t going well, but I give them a lot of credit, right from our leadership down. We stuck with it, we got results, and the guys got some goals, which made them feel better.

Our game, as a whole, has been similar through all 33. We aren’t perfect by any stretch, but we’ve given ourselves a chance to win almost every night. We had trouble scoring for a stretch, but we were in games. I don’t know how many games have been a one-goal game going into the third period, and we either couldn’t get the goal, or some nights, it’s self-inflicted. Lately, we are getting that goal, and it has gone our way.

Brunette on the benefits of an offensively involved defense: 

I was pretty fortunate and grateful to coach Florida, with what they could bring in the offense, especially when we had Weegar, Ekblad, and Montour. It is a game-changer, with the way the game is.

If you can break out of your own zone — as you are seeing a little bit with Minnesota now, with them grabbing Quinn Hughes — it gets you out of so much trouble. It is kind of the engine. When we have been at our best, that is what has driven us.

There is the mobility, and then you are seeing players now who are 6’4 or 6’5 and can skate and defend, too. It has changed the whole game. If you can get out of your zone, you are going to be in a great position.

Maple Leafs (15-13-5) vs. Predators (13-16-4): Head-to-Head Stats

via NaturalStatTrick.com & AdvancedHockeyStats.com

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #88 William Nylander
#89 Nick Robertson – #91 John Tavares – #53 Easton Cowan
#81 Dakota Joshua – #55 Nicolas Roy – #74 Bobby McMann
#63 Matias Maccelli – #24 Scott Laughton – #19 Calle Jarnkrok

Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #28 Troy Stecher
#44 Morgan Rielly – #51 Philippe Myers
#2 Simon Benoit – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#35 Dennis Hildeby

Extras: Max Domi, Steven Lorentz, Henry Thrun
Injured/Out: Brandon Carlo (IR), Anthony Stolarz (IR), Chris Tanev (LTIR)

Nashville Predators Projected Lines

Forwards
#9 Filip Forsberg – #90 Ryan O’Reilly – #77 Luke Evangelista
#58 Michael Bunting – #56 Erik Haula – #91 Steven Stamkos
#17 Tyson Jost – #40 Fedor Svechkov – #71 Matthew Wood
#49 Reid Schaeffer – #47 Michael McCarron – #36 Cole Smith

Defensemen
#59 Roman Josi – #48 Nick Perbix
#76 Brady Skjei – #83 Adam Wilsby
#41 Nicolas Hague – #37 Nick Blankenburg

Goaltenders
Starter: #74 Juuse Saros
#29 Justus Annunen

Injured/Out: Jonathan Marchessault, Justin Barron, Zachary L’Heureux, Ozzy Wiesblatt