Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
As Toronto faces off against Montreal on Saturday night, we have an idea of who is going to line up although there is one interesting caveat to who takes the ice.
With the Maple Leafs and Canadiens facing off on Saturday night, it’s starting to feel a lot more like hockey season and you know that even though it’s preseason, the game is going to be intense and competitive as is always the case with the two rivals.
How the Maple Leafs Are Setting Their Roster Ahead of Opening Night
While these lines aren’t set in stone, we have a better idea of who might line up and there’s some interesting names:
Knies – Domi – Robertson
Jarnkrok – Tavares – Nylander
Joshua – Roy – Maccelli
Pezzetta – Quillan – Valis
Matthews (Skating, Game-Time Decision)
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Tanev
OEL- Benning
Benoit (INJ – Red Jersey)
We are certainly getting a mix of regular NHL players and some AHL depth. It’ll be great to see Max Domi back on the ice and ready to go after a rough start to his preseason, and Nick Robertson gets a chance to shine up top.
But with Matthews in the mix, we would likely just see Domi slide to where Robertson is, and there’s your first line come game one of the regular season.
Jarnkrok also earns some premium time on the second line, and there’s a chance he could end up finding himself there more often especially if he’s back to his old form, though Bobby McMann would likely earn regular time on the wing.
Your third line is standard fare honestly, as we’ll see this line more often than not, though it’s interesting to see Maccelli not earn some more time given how dominant and effective he’s been so far (4 assists in two games).
That fourth line will be arguably the most intriguing combination as you have Pezzetta, a physical bruising forward, Quillan; a solid if unspectacular two-way center, and Valis, who just scored 81 points in the WHL last year.
That’s a wildcard trio if there ever was one, and perhaps we’re getting a glimpse at a potential top-six line for the Marlies once October hits.
While these are obviously scheduled to change by the time the game rolls around, we can at least get a good idea of how the team is going to shape up once the real competition starts in a couple of weeks.
The game is scheduled to start at 7pm ET. For those interested in watching, it will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet.
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Projected Maple Leafs Lineup Revealed for Final Preseason Battle With Canadiens
Who do you think will win tonight’s preseason game between Montreal and Toronto?