Toronto is staring down a truly messy situation, with John Tavares out of the lineup after returning home for the birth of his son, Tucker. This unexpected absence hits the Maple Leafs hard as they prepare to face the Colorado Avalanche tonight, especially with Toronto already struggling to find its footing early in the season. The Leafs are trying to untangle what the source calls “a very big knot,” and losing a key player like Tavares definitely won’t make it any easier.
Leafs Are Picking at a Tough Knot
This Toronto team just can’t seem to get out of its own way right now. They’re coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on October 8, pushing their record to a middling 2-2-1, a 0.500 Points %. You’d think their power play would be clicking, especially with the talent they have, and the numbers show the expected goals are climbing. The actual goals are lagging behind, but the first unit *is* coming together more each time they get a chance. The penalty kill is another story. It got “heaps of practice” in Vegas, which sounds good on paper, but it really “should be better than it is.” They had one absolutely terrible effort against Nashville and, while it’s improved since, they’re still ranked sixth worst in the league for the expected goals they allow shorthanded. Even-strength play is just okay on shotshare, but they’re giving up way too much in their own zone. The offensive pace is good, sure, but this roster is definitely capable of more, and we should expect that to improve. With no morning skate, we’re looking at practice lines with Kirill Marchenko, Auston Matthews, and Jack Roslovic on the top line, and Anthony Stolarz as the likely starter in net. Miles Wood wasn’t at practice either, so he might draw into that third line.
Avs Are Winning, But Don’t Let the Score Fool You
On the other side of the ice, the Colorado Avalanche are coming in hot, fresh off a dominant 7-3 regulation win against the Calgary Flames on October 8. That win puts them at a strong 3-1-0 record with a 0.750 Points % early in the season. But don’t let those numbers completely fool you: the Avs, like the Leafs, are allowing “high levels of quality shots,” which is totally undermining some otherwise solid play. They’ve been scoring “way above expected” on the power play, too, but let’s be real, it’s early season, and small numbers of games can have big variance in outcomes. Their goaltending has been “just average,” so Colorado has actually “carved a lot of points out of a mixed bag in performance.” The good news for them is that their base puck possession game looks solid right out of the gate, and Woody gets the start in net tonight. You’ll see their top line of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nazem Kadri looking to keep that offense rolling.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7:00 PM at Ball Arena. The Leafs desperately need to start picking apart that knot, and facing a winning Avalanche team will be a real test to see if they can begin straightening things out. You can catch all the action on SN, NHLN, and ALT.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pension Plan Puppets.
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