Leafs season opener and home opener outlook; Leafs, Habs and Capitals all dealing with injuries to start the year
There are under two weeks left until the Leafs kick off the 2022-2023 season in Montreal on October 12th, with their home opener against the Capitals happening the next night on October 13th. However, preseason and training camp has brought forth a few injuries for the buds, making their opening night rosters look slightly different.
Some notable players won't be taking the ice in either the season or home opener, so how well will the Leafs kick off their season with such absences compared to their opponents? As of right now, injuries to expected Leafs regulars include John Tavares (oblique), Timothy Liljegren (groin), Pierre Engvall (ankle) and Jordie Benn (groin). So that's two defensemen out of the roster for, at the very least, most of October. Depth defender Carl Dahlstrom will also miss most of the season with a significant shoulder injury. Out of those five injuries, only Engvall may potentially be back in time for opening night.
The Habs have a fair share of injuries too. Carey Price is missing from the roster due to a knee issue and may not play all season. In addition, recently named alternate captain Joel Edmundson and forward Paul Byron are out with lower-body injuries. Both are expected to be back this month, but only Edmundson may be ready by opening night against the Leafs. New Habs captain Nick Suzuki is currently also sidelined, but is expected back before the season opener. Missing camp may have an effect on the 23-year-old, preventing him from getting up to full speed before October 12th.
As for the Washington Capitals, the Leafs' opponent on October 13th will be playing without Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom, who won't be available until at least December and January, respectively. So what does that mean for the Leafs in their first two games of the season?
Although the current defense situation and the Leafs starting the season without their captain isn't ideal, but the club has looked particularly strong during the preseason and are capable of pulling off two early season wins against Montreal and Washington. The Habs have a lot to prove after the season they had last year and why wouldn't they want to start their revenge tour against the Leafs in an attempt to make a statement? It's incredibly on-brand. And, of course, a match against the Capitals can always go either way. That being said, the Leafs have been impressive so far this preseason winning three out of the four games they've had, including a 3-0 win against Montreal.
Of course, preseason doesn't mean anything at the end of the day, especially with so many critical pieces of rosters missing. But given the circumstances, with how the Leafs have been performing without their top guys each game, it's hard not to be optimistic about opening night and the subsequent home opener.
While we're predicting back-to-back wins for the Buds to start the season, if the Leafs do split, it stands to reason that the Leafs will take the season opener and perhaps drop the home opener, due to the fact that the NHL schedule-makers slapped them with a back-to-back with travel to open their 2022-23 campaign. Still - we're taking the optimistic outlook here.
The Leafs have three more preseason games this coming week, with another matchup against Montreal on Monday.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 2 | 209 ANSWERS Leafs season opener and home opener outlook; Leafs, Habs and Capitals all dealing with injuries to start the year Will the Leafs win their first two games of the season against the Habs on the road and the Caps in the home opener? | ||
| Yes | 128 | 61.2 % |
| Habs yes, Caps no | 40 | 19.1 % |
| Habs no, Caps yes | 18 | 8.6 % |
| They'll lose both | 23 | 11 % |
| List of polls | ||
