Fresh off a dominant 4-1-0 road trip, the Maple Leafs return to Scotiabank Arena desperate to fix their home struggles and get payback against the rival Canadiens.
Just before the Toronto Maple Leafs took off for their five-game road trip, they visited the Montreal Canadiens in a game that marked the low point of their early-season struggles.
The Leafs fell 5-2, but the score was quite flattering to the Habs, with Joseph Woll being chased from the game after allowing four goals on 25 shots. Since then, however, the Leafs have gone 4-1-0 over a ten-day span and seem to have found their game while on the road.
Now they’ll try to bring that momentum back to Scotiabank Arena, where the club has struggled.
"It was good. We needed this," Knies said following the team’s 5-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. "We needed that energy, and we're just going to try to bring that home. We've had a tendency to be flat at home, but I think we're going to come Saturday and get some payback to these guys in Montreal."
The Canadiens sit in third place in the Atlantic Division. Despite Toronto’s recent run, they still sit four points shy of a divisional playoff spot. A regulation win would certainly close the gap.
"Obviously seeing the standings and everything going on, we just play the same way and continue to roll," Scott Laughton said. "And we're at home now for a little bit. We've got to be really good and strong, and we've got to kind of do what they did to us."
The Leafs should provide an update on Joseph Woll, who left Toronto’s win against Carolina with an apparent leg injury. If he can’t go, Dennis Hildeby at least has some experience playing against Montreal. Although the Leafs didn’t have Woll in the third period against the Canes, they still managed to lock things down.
But Montreal has also been hot going into the contest, having won four of their last six games—just like Toronto. Jakub Dobes has been confirmed to start against the Leafs; he made 30 saves on 32 shots in a 3-2 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.
The key for carrying Toronto’s momentum forward, according to head coach Craig Berube, is a feeling of desperation.
"What we did on the road, bring it to the home. Be urgent," Berube said. "Urgency for me is everything in that game."
Where to watch The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet in Canada. For viewers in the United States, the game will stream on ESPN+.
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