The Golden Knights are in the midst of a rough patch, which makes tonight’s game against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs a particularly important test. The Knights have lost two games in a row and have lost four straight home games after surrendering three third-period goals the other night in a 5-2 loss to the Coyotes.
Vegas is firmly in third place in the Pacific Division but cannot afford to continue to leave points on the table as Vancouver remains within reach.
Toronto is coming off a 5-2 win in Colorado and has gone 5-1-1 in its last seven games. The Leafs are one point ahead of Boston for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Both teams in tonight’s matchup have high expectations for deep playoff runs, which should make tonight’s tilt a competitive one.
Here are the projected lineups for both clubs:
Golden Knights
Marchessault — Karlsson — Smith
Pcaioretty — Stastny — Tuch
Lindberg — Eakin — Pirri
Carrier — Bellemare — Reaves
McNabb — Schmidt
Theodore — Engelland
Merrill — Miller
Fleury
Subban
Maple Leafs
Hyman (#11) — Tavares (#91) — Marner (#16)
Marleau (#12) — Matthews (#34) — Kapanen (#24)
Johnson (#18) — Kadri (#43) — Nylander (#29)
Lindholm (#26) — Gauthier (#33) — Brown (#28)
Rielly (#44) — Hainsey (#2)
Muzzin (#8) — Zaitsev (#22)
Gardiner (#51) — Dermott (#23)
Andersen (#31)
Sparks (#40)
ICYMI, here is the preview for tonight’s game. Be sure to check out the other side’s take on tonight’s matchup with the preview from Pension Plan Puppets, the SB Nation site for the Maple Leafs.
Let’s discuss!