Game Day: Leafs vs Canadiens – Preview of Season Opener, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy

Jordan Lambe

October 7, 2015


Pre-game Notes and Quotes
Michel Therrien: “I like the makeup, I like the depth of our lines offensively, it’s going to allow us to try and create chemistry as fast as possible, and we’ve already been able to do that during training camp.” Mike Babcock: “We’re going to get it so that we’re organized; we’re going to get it so that we’re very hardworking and that we’re in it together night in and night out and a hard group to play against.” Carey Price: “I think it’s just managing expectations more than anything, everybody has a really high bar set for us and we’ve just got to stay focused on the process and not worry about what we’re doing compared to last year or the previous year.” Although his status for the season opener was up in the air, Max Pacioretty will suit up versus the Leafs, also sporting the new “C” on his chest. Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk enter their first season without their long-time line mate, and high tempo scorer, Phil Kessel.

Matchup
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON. \| October 7, 7:00 PM ET \| TV: TVAS, SN
	2014-15 statistics
LEAFS	2014-15 statistics	CANADIENS
68 (15th)	Points (Eastern Conference Position)	110 (2nd)
30-44-8	Record	50-22-10
22-17-2	Home	26-9-6
8-27-6	Road	24-13-4
n/a	Last 10	n/a
2.57	G/G	2.61
3.20	GA/G	2.24
15.9	PP%	16.5
80.5	PK%	83.7
48.6	CF%*	45.3
52.3	CF60*	48.7
55.2	CA60*	58.7

*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
van Riemsdyk – Kadri – Boyes Matthias – Bozak – Lupul Winnik – Spaling – Parenteau Komarov – Holland – Grabner/Arcobello	Pacioretty – Plekanec – Gallagher Eller – Galchenyuk – Semin Fleischmann – Desharnais – Weise Flynn – Mitchell – Smith-Pelly Expected scratch: Byron
Defensemen
Hunwick – Phaneuf Gardiner – Corrado Rielly – Marincin	Markov – Subban Emelin – Petry Beaulieu – Gilbert Expected scratches: Tinordi, Pateryn
Goalies
Jonathan Bernier (Confirmed)	Carey Price (Confirmed)

2014-2015 regular season: Record: 21-28-7 GAA: 2.87 Sv%: .912 SO: 2 Alternate: James Reimer	2014-2015 regular season: Record: 44-16-6 GAA: 1.96 Sv%: .933 SO: 9 Alternate: Mike Condon

Fantasy Outlook

Alex Galchenyuk was drafted to become the big number one center the Habs have needed. He will be given his chance this season to prove he can become this player in this upcoming season. Can his steady incline in point production continue to rise? Will he flourish under his new responsibilities at center?
James van Riemsdyk has flourished in Toronto since being traded from the Flyers. He has developed into a reliable fantasy option down the LW over the past two seasons, while playing with Phil Kessel. With Kessel gone, how will his production be affected? Can he again reach the 30 goal plateau?
Alexander Semin enters this season with something to prove to everyone in the NHL. On a very cheap one year deal, the skilled forward will be given every opportunity to regain his 40 goal form in a top 6 position. Will he help improve the anemic powerplay?
Morgan Rielly enters the season as a shoe-in for a top pairing position in Toronto. Going from averaging 17:38 TOI per game in 2013-14 to 20:20 per game in 2014-15, it is quite obvious that the Leafs are starting to rely more upon the youngster. Will Rielly continue his rise to finally become fantasy relevant in shallower leagues? How will he respond to more responsibility in the top pairing?

Recap: Canadiens vs Senators (October 3) – Click for Game report, 3-stars, Post-game quotes

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