GAME DAY | Maple Leafs – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

Sam Gerber

November 18, 2017

Game Preview by Sam Gerber, Staff Writer

Last game: MTL 4 ARI 5

The Habs let a 2-0 lead disappear and and gave a disappointing performance giving the Coyotes their first regulation win of the season.

For a complete recap: A Humiliating Loss

Players to watch

William Nylander
Fresh off of scoring the game winner with three seconds left in the game, Nylander has been leading the Leafs in offence with Auston Matthews out of the lineup.
Morgan Rielly
Rielly is always a danger to jump into the rush and is capable of going end-to-end if given the space.
Paul Byron
In my opinion, Byron has been the best Canadiens forward recently, continuing to use his speed as a threat.

Keys to Victory

Counter attack
The Leafs aggressive offence leaves them vulnerable to odd-man rushes going the other way. The Habs will need to take advantage of these opportunities.
Be disciplined
The Canadiens lack of discipline has changed the momentum of the last few games. They can’t continue bad habits against Toronto.
Play the man
Montreal has missed defensive assignments often this season especially in the past week. Players need to be much more responsible in coverage.

Matchup
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC \| November 18, 7:00 PM ET \| TV: CBC, SN, CITY, TVA
	2017-18 statistics
MAPLE LEAFS	2017-18 statistics	CANADIENS
26 (3rd)	Points (rank)	18 (27th)
13-7-0	Record	8-10-2
5-4-0	Away/Home	4-4-2
6-4-0	Last 10	6-3-1
3.60	GF/G	2.50
3.15	GA/G	3.40
22.7	PP%	15.3
81.4	PK%	74.6
50.37	CF%	53.86


Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Hyman – Matthews (GTD) – Nylander Marleau – Kadri – Komarov van Riemsdyk – Bozak – Marner Martin – Moore – Brown	Galchenyuk – Drouin – Byron Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw Hudon – Plekanec – Gallagher Deslauriers – De La Rose – Froese
Defensemen
Rielly – Hainsey Gardiner – Zaitsev Borgman – Carrick	Benn – Weber Alzner – Petry Mete – Morrow
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Polak, Leivo, Soshnikov Injured:	Scratched: Davidson, Mitchell Injured: Hemsky, Schlemko, Scherbak, Price, Montoya, Lehkonen
Goalies
Frederik Andersen	Charlie Lindgren

Record: 11-6-0 GAA: 3.04 Sv%: .909 SO: 2 Alternate: Curtis McElhinney	Record: 3-2-1 GAA: 1.99 Sv%: .938 SO: 1 Alternate: Antti Niemi

What to Expect

The Canadiens are in for a rollercoaster game with the result being decided in the final period.

Prediction: Canadiens 7 Maple Leafs 4

The Habs defense will need to prove themselves against the potent Leafs offence.

Highlights from the NHL

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Tickets


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