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GDT: LEAFS @ WILD – DECEMBER 4TH, 2021 (7:00pm EST – SPORTSNET/CBC)

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LeafChief

LeafChief

Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Mar 5, 2013
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Scarborough
Toronto Maple Leafs (17-6-1) at Minnesota Wild (16-6-1)​

The Maple Leafs are riding high heading into the North Star State this weekend as they take on the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Centre. Minnesota is riding a hot streak of their own as they are off to their best start in franchise history.

The Leafs absolutely dismantled the Avalanche on Wednesday with a hat-trick from the newly shaved Auston Matthews. Another strong game from linemate Michael Bunting has him sitting second overall in rookie scoring. Not bad for a guy that’s sign next year as well for under a million dollars AAV.

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Morgan Rielly was absent from practice on Friday and Mitch Marner left practice early after a collision with Jake Muzzin. Both Marner and Rielly are travelling with the team to Minnesota. Both are likely to play. Ilya Mikheyev and Ondrej Kase both practiced today. This was Mikheyev’s first full practice since his injury in the pre-season. Kase is travelling with the team to Minnesota and there is a chance he plays as well. Mikheyev is expected out for at least another week.

Leafs Lines (from most recent practice):

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Wild Lines (from most recent practice):

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Goaltending Matchup:

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Similarly to Wednesday night, there is going to be a ton of firepower in the building tonight. Kirill Kaprizov leads the way after a stunning rookie season. He is currently sitting at 28 points. John Tavares is close behind at 25 points.
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The team has been playing really well. They aren’t going to win every single game from here on out so when this streak eventually does come to an end, let’s try not to have a meltdown as we seem to do on these boards after a loss. I’ll remind you that quite a few posters were calling for Keefe’s head after the last loss because he put Marner and Matthews back together. They look pretty good to me!

In other news, a few of our prospects have been invited to World Junior training camps for their respective nations. Matthew Knies is slated to have a prominent role with the U.S. as are Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela with the Finnish team. After a really solid start to the season with UConn in the NCAA, Leafs 7th round pick Ryan Tverberg was invited to attend Canada’s camp. It should be a fun tournament for us to do some prospect watching.

Back to the game! Go Leafs Go!
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BertCorbeau said:
I don't know what's stranger - seeing the Wild on top of their division with that line up .. or that they're amongst the league leaders in scoring as a team with that line up. Kaprizov is amazing and all but... the rest?
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What's even crazier is that their top prospects aren't even with the team yet. Boldy and Rossi are in the AHL. The definitely look like a team on the rise.

The 14 million in dead cap space next year and the year after may be difficult to deal with, though.
 
Just find a way to beat them not just for that 6th straight win, which has been elusive all year but also because Boston plays Tampa so if you win you are either going 7 points up on Tampa or 13 points up on Boston either way a win puts you in a damn good spot
 
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This one is a tough game. Minnesota is genuinely good this season. They can score and aren’t the boring Minnesota teams of the past.
 
BertCorbeau said:
I don't know what's stranger - seeing the Wild on top of their division with that line up .. or that they're amongst the league leaders in scoring as a team with that line up. Kaprizov is amazing and all but... the rest?
Click to expand...

They are just firing on all cylinders at the moment. 12 players in double digits in points and another 6 very close. That’s basically the entire team chipping in on a nightly basis.
 
BertCorbeau said:
I don't know what's stranger - seeing the Wild on top of their division with that line up .. or that they're amongst the league leaders in scoring as a team with that line up. Kaprizov is amazing and all but... the rest?
Click to expand...
It's a team with Kaprizov, but also a lot of solid "B" players. They're collectively playing great hockey. They also have some good defensive players who can also chip in goals. Ericksson Ek being the leader of those type of players. I've always liked Ek. Crazy that he's another 2015 draft guy. What an astonishing draft.
 
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BertCorbeau said:
I don't know what's stranger - seeing the Wild on top of their division with that line up .. or that they're amongst the league leaders in scoring as a team with that line up. Kaprizov is amazing and all but... the rest?
Click to expand...

if you haven’t been watching them i think you are in for a surprise. Watched a lot of their games last year because i picked up talbot in my hockey pool. Very entertaining team to watch. Well kept secret that many fans are just starting to recognize. Easy team to like. But not tonight. Go buds
 
BertCorbeau said:
I don't know what's stranger - seeing the Wild on top of their division with that line up .. or that they're amongst the league leaders in scoring as a team with that line up. Kaprizov is amazing and all but... the rest?
Click to expand...
If you ever wondered what a lineup of Matthews and 11 Hymans would look like, this is the team. The Wild are built for the playoffs. Their top 3 offensive talents are not even on their “first” line
 
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TheKrebsCycle said:
Fiala on the 3rd line seems odd . Is he not one of their main line drivers?
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He's sort of in an odd man out situation. Kaprizov and Zucc have great chemistry together and on the second line, Dean Evason likes to go with the big boy line of Greenway-EK-Foligno. Fiala doesn't really fit with those guys.

Fiala has actually been playing really well lately, but you won't see it in his goal totals. He's been sort of snake bitten and his shot percentage is sitting at 3.8%. He's been in double digits in s% in both his seasons with the wild.
 
Hoping Rielly plays, would also be an interesting test for the rest of our D guys to perform without Rielly eating big minutes out there
 
Pi said:
They are just firing on all cylinders at the moment. 12 players in double digits in points and another 6 very close. That’s basically the entire team chipping in on a nightly basis.
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Let's see how good the Wild really are tonight. I looked over on the Wild.com website, I noticed nothing super special in their stats other than their leader. Both goalies are nothing special (stat wise), their special teams are horrible, they seem to be scoring more than they usually do in years past where they relied on a better defensive game.

But the main thing I noticed when I looked at their schedule is that all but 1 of their wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the league, the only impressive win was 4-2 against the Bolts (Bolts also won a game). Other than that, their other 15 wins are against:

Devils (twice)
Arizona (twice)
Winnipeg (twice)
Dallas
Isles
Seatle (one win, one loss)
Pittsburgh (in SO)
Ottawa (in SO)
Vancouver
Ducks (twice)
LA
 
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Minnesota games used to be boring but usually wins. they were mediocre

that’s not the case anymore, gonna be a fun and interesting game, hopefully the boys can keep Kaprizov under control and take the W
 
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Macallan18 said:
go leafs go!!
a 7 pm start, some whiskey tonight i think!!!
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In my case, the only thing to think about is which whiskey? Finished my Lagavulin 8 yr old last night so I guess it's probably gonna be Talisker, Caol Ila or perhaps Blantons. All I know is that there is no wrong choice here. :)

We're now tied for 3rd overall (by PTS% obviously). This meteoric rise up the standings has been so much fun, let's hope we keep it going tonight. On the road against a tough opponent is never easy so GLG!!
 
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