Columbus Blue Jackets @ Toronto Maple Leafs
07:00 PM at Scotiabank Arena
Watch on: SN, CBC, FDSNOH

The Leafs last game was at home on April 2 against the Florida Panthers, which Toronto won by a score of 3-2 in regulation. The Leafs have a record of 46-25-4 for a 0.640 Points %.

The Columbus Blue Jackets last played at home on April 3 against the Colorado Avalanche. The Blue Jackets lost by a score of 7-3 in regulation, and their current league record is 34-31-9 for a 0.520Points %.

Them

Is Columbus still in the running for the final playoff spot? They are playing game 75 here tonight, while the Canadiens and the Rangers have already done that. That's one advantage they have. They are four points back of Montréal, who hold that second wild card right now, and if they were the only team contending, I'd say that's entirely possible that the teams swap places. But the Rangers are in there too, and the confluence of events to allow them to pass two teams with only eight games to do it in is very unlikely to occur. Add in the Red Wings and Islanders tight on their heels, and it looks like it's an impossible task.

Hockey teams, however, are inclined to try to win no matter what. So my expectation is that Columbus is going to be tough to beat coming off an embarrassing loss and still trying to make the postseason.

Columbus used both goalies in their last game, mostly Merzlikins. Things haven't been going well for him:

Lines

Last Game (2025-04-03) via Daily Faceoff

Dmitri Voronkov - Sean Monahan - Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner - Adam Fantilli - Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger - Justin Danforth - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese - Sean Kuraly - Luke Kunin

Zach Werenski - Dante Fabbro
Denton Mateychuk - Ivan Provorov
Jack Johnson - Erik Gudbranson

Elvis Merzlikins - likely starter, to be confirmed
Daniil Tarasov

Us

No David Kämpf or Jake McCabe tonight. Both left the last game with undisclosed injuries, and both are said to be day-to-day.

There will be no recalls. With less than 10 games and 24 days left in the season, LTIR is no longer an option. Besides they're day-to-day, so it's unlikely LTIR would be used even if it was allowed.

The Leafs have Nick Robertson and Phil Myers to add back into the lineup which leaves them with no extra players. While Max Pacioretty and Jani Hakanpää are both regularly practicing with the team, they are both on LTIR and cannot be activated because there is no space. The Leafs have no one they are eligible to send down to the AHL to make room.

If something happens while McCabe and Kämpf are both injured, there is a method to add a player using the roster emergency exemption. Here's an example:

A forward is injured and cannot play. The Leafs would then play their next game with 11 F, 6D and 2G since they have no one they can add. Once they play short, they are allowed to recall a player who has an AAV of no more than $875,000 (the NHL minimum salary plus $100,000). This player does not count against the cap. The Leafs have not used any recalls, so there is no worries regarding post-deadline recall rules.

All of the NHL-contracted skaters on the Marlies have an AAV of no more than $875,000 with the exception of Matt Benning and Ryan Reaves. Since the Leafs only have six games to play after tonight's game, this is not likely to come up, but the process exists to ensure the team doesn't have to play short more than once.

Anthony Stolarz looks to start his second game in a row.

Lines

David Alter via Daily Faceoff

Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann - John Tavares - William Nylander
Scott Laughton - Max Domi - Calle Jarnkrok
Steven Lorentz - Pontus Holmberg - Nicholas Robertson

Morgan Rielly - Brandon Carlo
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit - Philippe Myers

Joe Woll
Anthony Stolarz - confirmed starter

The Game

They are going to play up to the Leafs.

Game Coverage