Toronto Maple Leafs at Minnesota Wild: game four
Time: 8:00pm Eastern Time
Location: Xcel Energy Centre, St. Paul, Minnesota
Broadcast/Streaming: TSN4, GameCentre Live (blacked out in TSN4 region)
Radio: TSN1050, Sportsnet590
Opponent SBNation Site: Hockey Wilderness
The Leafs move on from a disappointing loss in overtime to take on the Minnesota Wild in the first of 18 back-to-back games.
Frederik Andersen gets an extra two days to learn what he can from the loss in Winnipeg and get ready for the next game; tonight marks the Leafs regular season debut of Jhonas Enroth.
A three-year comparison of Enroth to Andersen shows his historical performance is a little poorer, but overall, Enroth has been very solid. In that time Enroth has played for the tanking Buffalo Sabres and the machine-like Los Angeles Kings.
It is reasonable to expect a bit better than an average backup level of performance from Enroth overall, but not every game looks like your ultimate average. Enroth will get starts naturally out of all those back-to-back games, but he is capable of playing more than just those few games.
The team in front of Enroth will need to adjust to a very different style of goalie. Enroth is small, quick, and uses his agility to get into position. He does not play the puck much, so the Leafs, who struggled mightily against the Jets to clear the zone, will be doing that all by themselves most of the time.
However, Dustin Byfuglien doesn’t play for the Wild.
Mike Reilly does. And the young defender, still more famous for holding out and not signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets than for his play, is getting another shot at earning a roster spot this year.
After a rough season debut last week in St. Louis, Reilly was scratched against Winnipeg and played for the AHL’s Iowa Wild on Tuesday night because he wasn’t going to play against Los Angeles.
"You sit a guy out after one game, you’ve got to throw him back in," Boudreau said after Wednesday’s practice. "You’ve got to give him a chance to get back in there and say, ‘You’re not sending me down or not sitting me out anymore.’ I’m a big believer in giving guys second chances."
The Wild may sit Matt Dumba to make room for Reilly or they may dress seven defenders. Lineup information will be available closer to game time.
Also new on the Wild this year is former Carolina Hurricanes centre Eric Staal and Teemu Pulkkinen, the other winger the Redwings lost on waivers. Staal has been good at times, but hasn’t quite got the hang of limiting the shots against in the Wild system, while Pulkkinen has been very good by the numbers.
The Wild have played three games, lost their opener to St. Louis and then won against the Jets and the Kings. Which gives them four points, exactly what the Leafs have.
Last year the Wild stumbled into the playoffs by virtue of Colorado’s season-ending losing streak being slightly worse than their own. They flamed out fast and hard, and this year, they look on paper like a bubble team about on par with their division mates, the Jets.
But they have Bruce Boudreau behind the bench this year, so guessing how they’ll play is a tough one.
The Leafs are not expected to make major lineup changes tonight. Josh Leivo is not on the trip, but Seth Griffith is, so there is an option there. Frank Corrado and Roman Polak, two right-shooting defenders are also available.
How will the Leafs play with Enroth in goal on the second half of a back-to-back? We have to hope for better.
