The Toronto Maple Leafs held their final practice of their regular season opener. Fraser Minten and Noah Gregor earn spots in the opening-night lineup. The Maple Leafs will meet a depleted — but still winning — Boston Bruins team on Thursday evening. Several Bruins won't be in the lineup when Toronto comes into town. Charlie McAvoy won't play as he's serving the first game of his four-game suspension after hitting Oliver Ekman-Larsson up high on Monday. Boston will also be without Matt Grzelcyk and Milan Lucic, who will both be out for a couple of weeks with injuries. With these players out of the lineup, it should give the Maple Leafs a better chance of having a strong game, something they didn't have on Wednesday night against the LA Kings. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe called this game a "chance for us to go in and get a response" on Wednesday afternoon. "We’ve played well in Boston and a lot of that is because we know what you’re in for," he added. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_7ER_tVOI[/embed] One area in which the Maple Leafs have struggled lately is at five-on-five. Toronto has 14 goals at five-on-five through nine games and nine of those goals have come from William Nylander (4), John Tavares (2), Auston Matthews (2), and Mitch Marner (1), per NaturalStatTrick.com [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20232024&thruseason=20232024&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=std&rate=n&team=TOR&pos=S&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL]. The team needs to score more in those situations, but more importantly, everyone needs to help out. I would say just more speed, more execution with playmaking, overall pace," Keefe said of what he's looking for to jumpstart the five-on-five production. "Playmaking is part of the speed and the pace with each other and off of that. I think with that comes more sustained offence and more time in the offensive zone. You put your opposition on their heels more and as a result, when the team is on their heels it tends to be easier to get the puck back. Just that overall speed and execution that hasn’t been at the same rate." Jake McCabe won't travel with the team to Boston and is unlikely to play this weekend, Keefe says. He may, though, get back on skates Thursday after sustaining a groin injury last week. With there being no practice on Wednesday for Toronto, we likely won't know their lines and starting goaltender until after their morning skate in Boston. This was the Maple Leafs' lineup on Tuesday night against the Kings. But Keefe did put the lines in a blender in the later half of the game, most notably putting Nylander with Matthews and Marner, plus swapping Morgan Rielly for John Klingberg on the top power play unit. WHERE TO WATCH In Canada, the game will be available on Sportsnet Ontario for the Leafs region. For everyone else in the country, you can find it on Sportsnet+. In the United States, you can catch the matchup on ESPN+ and Hulu. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk1MTUxMDE2NDM2ODQ0/cf1808c0-6a82-4298-9049-3eb2eae105b0.jpg] Related Maple Leafs' Jake McCabe Will Remain Out Against the Bruins With a Groin Injury and it is 'Unlikely' he Returns Before the Weekend [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-jake-mccabe-will-remain-out-against-the-bruins-with-a-groin-injury-and-it-is-unlikely-he-returns-before-the-weekend] Maple Leafs Forward Auston Matthews Signs Sponsorship Deal with KSI and Logan Paul's Prime Hydration [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-forward-auston-matthews-signs-sponsorship-deal-with-ksi-and-logan-pauls-prime-hydration] William Nylander's Franchise-Record Points Streak to Start a Season Overshadowed in Maple Leafs' Flat Effort Against Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/william-nylanders-franchise-record-points-streak-to-start-a-season-overshadowed-in-maple-leafs-flat-effort-against-kings] News from THN.com Bruins and Golden Knights' Elite Defense Separates Them from the Rest of the NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/news/bruins-and-golden-knights-elite-defense-separates-them-from-the-rest-of-the-nhl] When Will the NHL's Top Rookies Break the Nine-Game Threshold? [https://thehockeynews.com/news/when-will-the-nhls-top-rookies-break-the-nine-game-threshold] The Hockey News Podcast: Re-Evaluating the Calgary Flames Trading Matthew Tkachuk [https://thehockeynews.com/podcast/the-hockey-news-podcast-re-evaluating-the-calgary-flames-trading-matthew-tkachuk]
