Toronto Maple Leafs vs Detroit Red Wings: 7 p.m.
Watch on: HNIC, CBC and CBC Gem, SN360, SNO, FS-D

It’s the second half of a back-to-back, and Sheldon Keefe announced several days ago that he would play Michael Hutchinson in this game. He last played vs the Buffalo Sabres on November 29, making this his first (and likely only) game appearance in December.

It could be your last chance this year, Hutch, make it count.

Martin Marincin and Adam Brooks were yo-yo’d back to the Marlies today, and so it seems likely Trevor Moore will make his belated debut on the roster. If he does, they will have 21 players and an LTIR pool of $2.667 million. To make room to activate Andreas Johnsson (the earliest that can happen is December 31), the Leafs would have to cut one player earning at least $740,000 and would then have a permanent (pending other injuries) roster of 21 players. There are no waiver exempt players on the roster except Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev.

Maple Leafs Lines

Projected lines

Kasperi Kapanen - Auston Matthews - William Nylander
Zach Hyman - John Tavares - Mitch Marner
Pierre Engvall - Alexander Kerfoot - Ilya Mikheyev
Trevor Moore - Frederik Gauthier - Jason Spezza

Morgan Rielly - Tyson Barrie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Travis Dermott - Cody Ceci

Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson - starter

Detroit Red Wings Lines

From DailyFaceoff

Anthony Mantha - Dylan Larkin - Filip Zadina
Robby Fabbri - Valtteri Filppula - Tyler Bertuzzi
Darren Helm - Luke Glendening - Andreas Athanasiou
Adam Erne - Frans Nielsen - Brendan Perlini

Patrik Nemeth - Mike Green
Trevor Daley - Filip Hronek
Brian Lashoff - Madison Bowey

Jonathan Bernier - starter
Calvin Pickard

It’s not every day you face two former Leafs goalies, but the last time Bernier played the Leafs, he would have stood on his head if he hadn’t been too sick to be even playing. His performance in that game, as he came in as the last goalie sort of still standing, was one of the most impressive goalie performances I’ve seen in a long time.

The team in front of Bernier cannot impress. Their defence is indescribably bad, and the forwards could be something if they thought it was worth trying. The Red Wings have lost two in a row, and are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games. They have a goal differential of -62, which could end up record-setting particularly if they find someone to trade off this team as they continue the tank. Things could get worse in Detroit!

See you tonight, Leafs fans.

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