The Canes host the Leafs in the home regular season finale.
The Carolina Hurricanes host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final home game of the regular season.
Both teams are locked into the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see how they approach today’s game, especially with Toronto’s injuries on defense.
Toronto passed the 100-point mark for the fourth consecutive season, and is looking for its first division title since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The Leafs are on a two-game winning streak, earning overtime victories against Tampa Bay and Montreal.
Since losing four of five in early March, Toronto is 10-2-1 in the last 13 games, the best in the NHL over that stretch. This surge has elevated them from a tie for second in the Atlantic Division to a four-point lead over the Lightning and Panthers.
The stars continue to shine for the Leafs. Mitch Marner continues to lead Toronto in assists and points, and has led the way over the last 13 games with 18 points, including the overtime winner last night. He is third in the NHL with 72 assists and fourth with 102 points.
John Tavares continues to produce. He is second on the team with 37 goals. This is Tavares’s highest goal-scoring total since the 2018-19 season. He and Auston Matthews have tallied 17 points each over the last 13 games.
Carolina will face another top power play unit. Toronto ranks sixth in the league with a 25.5 percent conversion rate on the man advantage. However, the Leafs have just one power play goal in the last six games.
Like the Hurricanes, the Maple Leafs have shared the workload in net. Since returning from a lower-body injury in February, Anthony Stolarz has made 15 starts, while Joseph Woll has made 11.
The Canes have faced both goalies this season, with a win over Woll in January and a loss to Stolarz in February. With Stolarz earning the shutout last night against Montreal, expect Woll to get the start this evening.
Former Hurricanes Max Pacioretty and Jani Hakanpaa are both on the injured reserve. Defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, and center David Kampf are confirmed to be out of the lineup tonight. Toronto played with just five defensemen last night, and will do so again tonight.
Maple Leafs projected lineup:
- Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — Mitch Marner
- Calle Jarnkrok — John Tavares — William Nylander
- Bobby McMann — Max Domi — Nicholas Robertson
- Pontus Holmberg — Scott Laughton — Steven Lorentz
- Morgan Rielly — Brandon Carlo
- Simon Benoit — Chris Tanev
- Philippe Myers
- Joseph Woll
- Anthony Stolarz
Yesterday’s dominating win over New York was great in many ways. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak, Pyotr Kochetkov earned his first win in three starts, and the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs.
The regular season finale at Lenovo Center could have many milestones. A win will be the fourth consecutive 50-win, 100-point season for the Canes. It will also set the franchise record of 32 home victories.
Seth Jarvis’s goal yesterday tied Eric Staal for the franchise record for home goals. Let’s see if he can break the record this evening.
With Kochetkov earning the victory yesterday, expect to see Frederik Andersen between the pipes.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Jesperi Kotkaniemi will remain out of the lineup. Taylor Hall may return to the lineup.
Staying healthy is the priority for the final three games of the season. The Canes must avoid a sleepwalk into the playoffs, and yesterday, it was nice to see a return to proper playing form.
Carolina still has the top penalty kill in the NHL, but the national telecasts put a jinx on the team during the last two games. Tonight will be a good test for the Canes’ penalty killers.
Hurricanes projected lineup:
- Seth Jarvis — Sebastian Aho — Jackson Blake
- Taylor Hall — Jack Roslovic — Andrei Svechnikov
- Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Logan Stankoven
- William Carrier— Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
- Jaccob Slavin — Brent Burns
- Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield
- Scott Morrow — Sean Walker
- Frederik Andersen
- Pyotr Kochetkov
Here’s how to check out the action:
- Time: 5:00 PM ET
- Location: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
- TV: FanDuel Sports Network South with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst; Hanna Yates, in-game reporter; Shane Willis, analyst.
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan
- Line: ML: CAR -225; PL: CAR -1.5 +120