Blue-line battle on tap in Calgary
Two contenders for the 2019 Norris Trophy will get a chance to prove themselves against each other in Calgary.
Well, sort of. Toronto’s Morgan Rielly and Calgary’s Mark Giordano each will be judged tonight on how they fare against the other team’s top offensive line.
Rielly will try to contain the Sean Monahan trio, while Giordano probably logs heavy evenstrength minutes against John Tavares’ group.
The 35-year-old Giordano has set a career high with 61 points, while Rielly has done the same with 62. Rielly needs one assist for 47 on the season, which also would be a personal best.
Here are five things to watch for when the Leafs (40-21-4) battle the Flames (41-17-7) tonight at the Saddledome:
1
Strike first
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock has been stressing the importance of scoring the opening goal and the Maple Leafs got on the board first against Buffalo on Saturday, going on to win the game 5-2. It could be more crucial against Calgary as the Flames have won 31 games when taking a 1-0 lead, the second-most in the NHL (although the Leafs aren’t far behind at 27). Toronto has won just twice in their past 10 visits to Calgary.
2
Down to two
Auston Matthews has recorded a point against every NHL opponent, but has a couple of items he would like to cross off his bucket list, including scoring a goal against Calgary. Matthews has none in four career games, as the Flames and Philadelphia are the lone teams still to have kept him from putting the puck in the net. Of Matthews’ 30 goals this season, 17 have been scored on the road.
3
Contain Johnny Hockey Johnny Gaudreau hasn’t been filling the net lately — one goal in his past 15 games — and historically has not been overly productive versus the Leafs, scoring one goal and recording three assists in seven games. Still, with his quickness and hockey IQ, Gaudreau often changes the tone of a game on one shift and the Leafs will have to be leery. Gaudreau has four assists in his past three games, but after scoring against the New York Islanders Feb. 20, he has just seven shots on goal in his past five games.
4
Freddy solid
Frederik Andersen not only has a fine career record against the Flames, the Leafs’ No. 1 netminder has been riding a hot streak, going 9-2-1 in his past 12 decisions. Versus Calgary, Andersen is 7-1-1 with a .916 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average.
5
Matt on the mind
Matthew Tkachuk is bound to be a factor, whether it’s agitating or being around the net and making life a little more difficult for Andersen. It would have been beneficial for the Leafs to have Nazem Kadri to counter Tkachuk’s exuberance, but the centre is unlikely to return from a concussion until after he has had a full practice. Tkachuk has at least one point against every NHL opponent except Toronto, putting up zeros in five career games.