Maple Leafs @ Kings: former players abound, which will play?
And thankfully it’s still called STAPLES Center.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Los Angeles Kings: Game #21
10:00 p.m. ET at STAPLES Center
TV/Streaming: SNO, TNT
Opponent’s Site: Jewels From The Crown
Unlike Sunday night’s game, this is a real pyjama party as the Leafs get set to play the LA Kings at 10pm ET, which is really 11pm ET if you think about what life would be like on standard time and why it’s so dark when I come home from school at five. Anyway, enough about me.
The Leafs have packed up and have travelled to the west coast this week for three dates with the California teams. The Kings tonight, the San Jose Sharks on Friday, no one on Saturday, and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. Couldn’t be a more awkward schedule, but you do you, NHL.
Us
In terms of the roster, the Leafs swapped Joey Anderson for Kyle Clifford before flying out. While Anderson does have a brother on the Kings, Clifford did spend 10 seasons with the Kings. It’s not expected he will be in the lineup tonight, judging on the lines at practice yesterday, but he will be around.
Leafs practice underway at Kings facility
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 23, 2021
Muzzin & Clifford are featured on the wall pic.twitter.com/l9xs4QQkIJ
On the goalie situation, Jack Campbell will face his old team and will probably get two out of the next three starts, but the third might go to rookie goalie Joseph Woll at some point. Petr Mrázek is on the trip with the team and training, though his timeline for return is yet unknown.
As far as another break for Jack Campbell, Sheldon Keefe says they may look to get Joseph Woll in for a game on a non back-to-back, possibly as soon as this trip. Says they talked about that possibility and Woll’s performance on Sunday “helped that cause”.
— David Alter (@dalter) November 23, 2021
Peter Mrázek is also on the trip. He and Jack Campbell have stepped onto the ice for some work. pic.twitter.com/0ZsmYdp6VJ
— David Alter (@dalter) November 23, 2021
Forwards
Michael Bunting - Auston Matthews - Mitchell Marner
Alex Kerfoot - John Tavares - William Nylander
Nick Ritchie - David Kämpf - Ondřej Kaše
Pierre Engvall - Jason Spezza - Wayne Simmonds
Scratched: Kyle Clifford, Kirill Semyonov
Defense
Morgan Rielly - TJ Brodie
Jake Muzzin - Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin - Timothy Liljegren
Scratched: Travis Dermott
Goalies
Jack Campbell - confirmed starter
Joseph Woll
Them
For as many former Kings the Leafs have, the Kings have a fair few former Leafs. Along with Trevor Moore and Carl Grundström on the third line, defenseman Sean Durzi is expected to make his NHL debut on the second pairing and second power play unit. The 23-year-old former second round pick has played two full seasons in the AHL scoring at a modest rate, but has 16 points in 13 games, 10 of those points not on the power play.
Kings coach Todd McLellan says there’s “a real good chance,” that Sean Durzi will make his NHL debut tomorrow v Leafs
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) November 23, 2021
Mississauga, Ont. native was acquired as part of the Jake Muzzin deal
Durzi partnered with Olli Määttä at practice & was QB of PP2 @TSN_Edge
Forwards
Viktor Arvidsson - Anže Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Alex Iafallo - Phillip Danault - Dustin Brown
Trevor Moore - Lias Andersson - Carl Grundström
Brendan Lemieux - Blake Lizotte - Arthur Kaliyev
Defense
Alexander Edler - Matt Roy
Olli Määttä - Sean Durzi
Tobias Björnfot - Mikey Anderson
Goalies
Jonathan Quick
Cal Petersen