The Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Minnesota Wild in the fifth of what has to be considered a disastrous homestand, in which the club has scored just seven goals in losses to Utah, Montreal, New Jersey, and Colorado, and has allowed 17 goals (4.25 GAA). The Leafs once again are sitting veteran defenseman Chris Tanev for load management reasons, and will have a bottom pairing of Dakota Mermis and Cole McWard against the team with the third-best record in the NHL at 13-3-4.
“I think he spoke to it the other day. I think he knows we have his best interests at heart. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good player, and when he’s called upon, he plays hard. So he understands all that.” Leafs head coach Jim Hiller said of sitting Tanev. ” I think we have great resources and a crack staff up and down. Everybody’s involved, it’s debated, a good decision’s made, and then everybody moves forward.”
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Anthony Stolarz, who has been the more dependable of the Leafs two goalies, will get the start against Minnesota, after another wanting performance against the Avalanche. Unlike other games against Buffalo or Seattle, Bobrovsky was not directly responsible for the loss, but he has not been clutch and unable to make a key save at the right time in most of his 13 starts.
The scratching of Tanev and the usage of Stolarz are signs of a stringent case of load management being used by Toronto this season. It is hard to explain why Bobrovsky has not been pulled in any of the 12 games he has allowed three or more goals. There is some suspicion that Stolarz is not being utilized as a change of pace because of fears of him getting injured coming in cold into games. It may also be the explanation for why Artur Akhtymov has been called up to serve as the backup in the two instances that the Leafs have played in back-to-back games.
Zack MacEwen left the 6-3 loss to Colorado on Tuesday with an unspecified injury and Hiller indicated that he will be a game-time decision. The club made a roster move on Thursday, placing forward Colton Sissons on injured reserve and calling up forward Brendan Brisson. The former Vegas first-rounder is leading the AHL Marlies in scoring with 17 points (8 goals, 9 assists) in 14 games. If MacEwen does not play, Brisson may slot in on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, which would allow Ryan Tverberg to shift down to the third or fourth line.
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