Boston Bruins (6-6-1) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (6-5-2)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena
TV: TSN4 Radio: The Fan 590
Odds: Bruins +134, Maple Leafs -150
The buzz
After getting blown out 8-2 by the Carolina Hurricanes on Halloween, the Bruins responded rather well, treating themselves to shutout wins against Philadelphia and Carolina. The Bruins haven’t blanked the Leafs in Toronto since beating them 1-0 on Feb. 2, 2013, behind 21 saves by former Leafs prospect Tuukka Rask … Big Nikita Zadorov, coveted by many teams last season including Toronto before he signed with the Bruins in free agency, leads Boston defencemen with 38 hits … Mitch Marner carries a five-game point streak into the game. Against the Bruins in his NHL career, Marner has 37 points (10 goals and 25 assists) in 25 games. Only against Ottawa (39 points in 35 games) has Marner had more production … The Bruins beat the Leafs 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 26 in Boston in the only previous meeting this season. Bruins captain Brad Marchand, a favourite of Leafs Nation, scored the winner after Leafs captain Auston Matthews tied the game late in the third period.
The quote
“There are too many lapses in our game right now where we’re not a 60-minute team. We’re better, but we’re not where we need to be.”
— Bruins coach Jim Montgomery on his team through 13 games. The same thought could be applied to the Leafs.
The projected Leafs lineup
Forwards
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Max Pacioretty-John Tavares-William Nylander
Bobby McMann-Max Domi-Nick Robertson/Pontus Holmberg
Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves
Defence
Morgan Rielly-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins
Goalies
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
The injuries
BOS: D Alec Regula (knee); TOR: D Jani Hakanpaa (knee) and F Connor Dewar (shoulder) are on LTIR conditioning loans with the Toronto Marlies; F Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), D Dakota Mermis (jaw).
The prediction: The Leafs rebound from losses in St. Louis and Minnesota, starting their home stand with a one-goal win. We’ll say 3-2 Toronto, which would be the first time the Leafs win this season without scoring at least four goals.
X: @koshtorontosun