The Leafs are taking on the Kings for the third game in their California road trip tonight and looking for their first win on the trip.

Tonight is a homecoming of sorts for Nick Robertson, who will play his first professional game in his hometown of Pasadena, where he used to play for the other Leafs.  Look at the photo of baby NRob!

Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson returns home to Los Angeles and … the Maple Leafs?

In another first, Filip Král, Leafs’ 2018 5th round pick is slotting in for his first game! I enjoyed watching him in the preseason; it will be interesting to see how he settles in.

The Leafs will be reportedly bringing back the black Bieber jerseys from last season for tonight’s game, so maybe that will turn them back into a good 5-on-5 team.

This one’s at 7:00 p.m. ET, so I’ll actually stay up to watch the whole thing. Given how they’ve been playing of late, I’m not certain that’s a good thing.

Marlies

Last night, the Marlies started their road trip by taking on the Syracuse Crunch for the second game in a row, and won 4-3 in OT. They got out to a 3-1 lead through two, thanks to Joey Anderson’s 5th and 6th goals in 6 games so far, but Syracuse tied it in the third to bring it to OT. Nick Abruzzese finished it with this little sharp angle snipe:

The Marlies continue their road trip tonight at 7 eastern against the Utica Comets.

Leafs Prospects

Ty Voit’s on a phenomenal start to the year, and Elite Prospect has an article (behind a paywall) with a writeup on him.

Roni Hirvonen also scored his third goal of the year yesterday, on a nice little tip right over the goalie’s head.

Other News

The Canucks traded for Ethan Bear yesterday, so he’s no longer an option for a Muzzin replacement.

Canucks acquire defenceman Bear, forward Pederson from Hurricanes

What’s most likely to bring back the Leafs’ 5-on-5 play tonight?

Robertson playing in his hometown54
First game heroics from Filip Kral22
Those awful Bieber jerseys79
From The Branches