Kraken To Battle With The Maple Leafs Without Top Two Defensemen
The Seattle Kraken will take on a star-studded Toronto Maple Leafs roster without their top two defensemen.
With Vince Dunn on the LTIR and Brandon Montour travelling back home for the birth of his second child, the depleted Kraken defence core will have their hands full as they try to slow down Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.
Related: Kraken Defenseman Out Against The Maple Leafs Due To The Birth Of His Second Child
Both the Maple Leafs and Kraken are coming off of momentum-building wins. The Kraken put on an offensive display against the Montreal Canadiens, resoundingly winning 8-2. The Maple Leafs handed the Winnipeg Jets their first loss of the season after three straight defeats.
The Maple Leafs and Kraken have identical records to start the season. At home, the Maple Leafs are 3-2-0 and the Kraken possess a 3-1-0 road record. The Maple Leafs power play is clicking at just 9.4%, and the Kraken will be inclined to continue to make things difficult for them. The Maple Leafs can score at 5-on-5 almost at will and once teams begin to give them free ones on the power play, it becomes increasingly difficult to beat them.
With Montour out of the lineup tonight, Cale Fleury will make his season debut. Both he and John Hayden were called up by the Kraken before they departed for the five-game road trip. Joey Daccord will make his fourth consecutive start as he begins to lock down the No.1 goaltender role.
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Kraken’s projected lines:
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Stephenson-Burakovsky
Tolvanen-Wright-Bjorkstrand
Kartye-Gourde-Tanev
Evans-Larsson
Oleksiak-Fleury
Mahura-Borgen
Daccord
Grubauer
Maple Leafs projected lineup:
Knies-Matthews-Marner
Pacioretty-Tavares-Nylander
McMann-Domi-Robertson
Lorentz-Kampf-Holmberg
Rielly-Ekman-Larsson
McCabe-Tanev
Benoit-Timmins
Woll
Stolarz
Puck drop is at 4:00 P.M. PST at Scotia Bank Arena.
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