Reporter reveals projected Leafs lineup ahead of Saturday's tilt against Minnesota
The Leafs opened their season with a wild, 6-5 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. It was a very sloppy game overall, but the Leafs and Auston Matthews found a way to start the season off with a win, thanks in large to a "Matty Hatty", with the two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner potting a trio of goals to force the game into extra time.
Following a day off yesterday, the Leafs returned to the ice for practice today ahead of their game against the Wild tomorrow. Sheldon Keefe is giving Fraser Minten another game to adjust to regular season pace as he has left his lines intact for Saturday's game. Minten will once again center fellow rookie Matthew Knies and have veteran Calle Jarnkrok on his other wing. That also means that the Leafs' top two lines remain the same as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi looked more and more comfortable together as the game went on with Matthews registering a hat trick.
Following Klingberg's two assist debut, Keefe gave the blueliner some public praise, saying that he was very good considering he missed almost all of training camp with a mysterious upper-body injury. Klingberg will remain on the Leafs' second pair with Jake McCabe as they look to establish some familiarity with one another. The oldest player in the league, Mark Giordano will continue to play in sheltered minutes as he mentors Timothy Liljegren on the third pairing.
In goal, it appears that Ilya Samsonov will get his second straight start - though we shouldn't assume anything, as Keefe had often played mind games with the media last season with regard to his goaltending decisions.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 13 | 101 ANSWERS Reporter reveals projected Leafs lineup ahead of Saturday's tilt against Minnesota Should the Leafs consider moving Matthew Knies up into the top 6 to avoid having two rookies on the same line? | ||
| Yes | 42 | 41.6 % |
| No | 59 | 58.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
