Believe it or not, we’re just two weeks away from the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Five games remaining.
In the penultimate home game of the regular season, the Leafs (45-21-10) will entertain the Columbus Blue Jackets (24-44-8) tonight at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto and Columbus have split their previous two meetings.
Of course, the Leafs are coming off that eventful 5-2 loss to Detroit on Sunday night. Mitch Marner, Jake McCabe, and Mark Giordano were all rested. As for Columbus, they’ve had a nightmare season. That said, the silver lining could come in the form of Connor Bedard in 11 days from now at the NHL Draft Lottery.
TIME: 7 PM ET (TSN)
STARTING GOALIES:
CBJ Michael Hutchinson – LIKELY(1-4-2, 4.37, 0.875)
@
TOR Joseph Woll – CONFIRMED (3-1-0, 2.03, 0.934)
PROJECTED LINEUPS:
Bunting-Matthews-Jarnkrok
Nylander-Tavares-Marner
Aston-Reese-Kampf-Lafferty
Abruzzese-Acciari-Kerfoot
McCabe-Brodie
Giordano-Holl
Rielly-Liljegren
Gaudreau-Jenner-Marchenko
Johnson-Roslovic-Bemstrom
Robinson-Kuraly-Foudy
Luoto-Dunne-Mckown
Christiansen-Bjork
Berni-Peeke
Bayreuther-Sweezey
THREE STORYLINES:
MICHAEL HUTCHINSON’S RETURN?
Admittedly, I’m preparing myself for the seemingly inevitable possibility that Michael Hutchinson somehow stands on his head tonight. In two separate tours of duty with Toronto, the 33-year-old Barrie native acted as insurance in the event of injuries above him in the depth chart. Unbelievably, regardless of the situation, he always seemed to find his way back into the NHL despite putting up some pedestrian numbers. Furthermore, he was the fourth string goalie in 2020-21, and still managed to appear in eight games. Memories, I tell you. We all know what’s going to happen here, right? Hutchinson’s going to stand on his head, isn’t he?
DON’T PLAY DOWN TO YOUR OPPONENT
With that in mind, I’d classify this one as another trap game for the Maple Leafs. Coming into tonight’s action, Columbus ranks 30th in the NHL and are in fantastic position to potentially land Connor Bedard with June’s No. 1 pick. In addition to that, they’re missing some marquee names such as Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski and Erik Gudbranson, among others, due to injury. On paper, it shapes up to be a cake walk, but we all know how the Leafs tend to fair against some of the league’s worst teams. Buckle up; this should be interesting.
LINEUP CHANGES
Lots of news from the morning skate. Firstly, as expected, no signs of Matt Murray.
Sheldon Keefe says Matt Murray is dealing with a head injury
They’re taking it a day at a time and allowing things to settle before any timeline can come into focus
Joseph Woll starts tonight @TSN_Edge
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 4, 2023
Meantime, Mitch Marner, Noel Acciari, Mark Giordano and Jake McCabe will return to the lineup. On the back end, it looks like Conor Timmins and Luke Schenn are coming out.
BETANO BETTING PLAY:
Over 6.5
MITCH’S DISHES:
Order Mitch’s Dishes now, exclusively on Skip the Dishes! Use promo code TLN15 to get $15 off when you spend $30 or more on Skip the Dishes. If Mitch likes it, it’s gotta be great! A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Marner Assist Fund to combat food insecurity. Skip is serving up game time eats to the GTA and Ontario with Mitch’s Dishes, ready for you to enjoy during tonight’s Leafs game!
