Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs Toronto Maple Leafs (5:00 p.m.)
Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images
It’s a Colorado Avalanche gameday! Following a strong performance in an emotional overtime victory over Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars Sunday afternoon, the Colorado Avalanche will embark on their final Eastern Conference road trip of the season, which will take them through Eastern Canada. The Avs will face the Maple Leafs in Toronto to start the trip.
Eleven days removed from a high-octane matchup between these two clubs, which featured a slew of new players on both sides making their new-team debuts following the trade deadline, the clubs have seen different results on the ice whilst acclimating their new pieces. While the Avs have continued to roll along in the win column, having gone 4-0-1 since the deadline, the Leafs have struggled to find their footing at 1-3-1.
Can the #Avs extend their point streak in Toronto?! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/DZnI8XxEDj— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) March 19, 2025
This will be the first game of a back-to-back swing in Ontario, as the Avs will be right back at it against a highly motivated Ottawa Senators squad on Thursday. Tonight presents an excellent opportunity for Colorado to snag two points in the first half of the back-to-back against a cup contender who is going through a skid as the Avs pursue the Stars and Jets in the standings.
Colorado Avalanche:
Since dismantling the Maple Leafs 7-4 on home ice just 11 days ago, the Avs have continued to roll along with their new lineup. The squad looks focused and sharp, and the results have reflected that as they continue to close the gap with the Dallas Stars. Coming off of that huge overtime win over the Stars into a road trip, concerns of an emotional letdown performance are there, but with a couple of day’s rest and home ice in the first round-up for grabs, the Avs figure to be a highly motivated group, who’ll treat each night as a playoff game in this pursuit of Dallas.
In the handful of games these two teams have played since squaring off, the Avs have secured points in all of them, going 4-0-1 in that span. Their defensive commitment has been a large reason for that success, keeping their opponent to no more than 24 shots on goal in each game. This commitment to defensive detail has made things very easy for their goaltender each night, with Scott Wedgewood reaping much of the benefit last week.
Josh Manson will not play tonight and is considered to miss the next 3-4 weeks as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury sustained in the win over the Calgary Flames last Friday. He’s essentially out for the regular season. Sam Malinski should continue to play in his place, while Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson figure to eat up a large chunk of Manson’s penalty kill minutes.
Timeline for Josh Manson is roughly 3-4 weeks, per Jared Bednar.— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) March 19, 2025
Additionally, despite the hype and speculation (aided by some jokes from the man himself), Gabriel Landeskog will not be in the lineup tonight. There’s still plenty of work for Landeskog and the Avs to do to prepare him for his long-awaited postseason return. He will skate with the squad on the road, and if all goes well, he’ll return from the road trip with the team with another goal crossed off the return list.
Jared Bednar says Landeskog's presence is huge for the Avalanche's morale. Plan is for him to skate some days, take others off. Get to a point where he can take contact. "The guys are optimistic and really hoping that he's going to be able to do it."— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) March 19, 2025
Mackenzie Blackwood will return to the crease tonight after getting some time off to let a red-hot Scott Wedgewood take the reigns. Blackwood has not played since the Avs last loss, a shootout defeat to the Minnesota Wild on March 11th. He was solid in regulation, turning aside 22 of 23 shots, but could not come up with a stop in the shootout. Additionally, he had a rough outing when the Avs defeated these very Maple Leafs a couple of days before his last start, so hopefully, the Avs can see a bit of a return to consistent form from Blackwood, who only has a .904 save percentage in six starts since the return from the Four Nations break.
Projected Lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen (62) — Nathan MacKinnon (29) — Martin Necas (88)Jonathan Drouin (27) — Brock Nelson (11) — Valeri Nichushkin (13)Joel Kiviranta (94) — Charlie Coyle (10) — Ross Colton (20)Parker Kelly (17) — Jack Drury (18) — Logan O’Connor (25)
Devon Toews (7) — Cale Makar (8)Ryan Lindgren (55) — Sam Malinski (70)Samuel Girard (49) — Erik Johnson (6)
Mackenzie Blackwood (39)Scott Wedgewood (41)
Toronto Maple Leafs:
The Leafs have been on a skid in March. Toronto went 2-4-2 within the month and went on a six-game losing streak that was snapped on Monday in a 6-2 blowout of the Flames in Toronto’s annual ‘St. Pats’ game. They’ll be looking to ride the momentum of that game into tonight as they wrap up a four-game homestand with the Avalanche. So far, the Leafs are 1-2-0 on the homestand.
Since the deadline, Toronto has struggled to keep the puck out of their own net. In their five games since acquiring forward Scott Laughton and defenseman Brandon Carlo (for high prices to Philadelphia and Boston, respectively), the Maple Leafs have allowed 19 goals against, good for nearly four goals per game. Monday was a return to form for defensive structure for the Leafs, and they will need to stay structured to avoid another Avalanche throttling.
Reporter asks Craig Berube the key to slowing down Nathan MacKinnon."Well, I don't know. But if you find out before the game, you can let me know."— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) March 19, 2025
Joseph Woll will get the start in net for the Leafs. Woll has had a good season, emerging as Totonto’s primary starter in goal. He has played more games in the Leafs’ crease than any other netminder in Toronto this season. In 34 starts, he boasts a 23-12-0 record, with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
Projected Lineup:
Matthew Knies (23) — Auston Matthews (34) — Mitch Marner (16)Pontus Holmberg (29) — John Tavares (91) — William Nylander (88)Bobby McMann (74) — Max Domi (11) — Nicholas Robertson (89)Steven Lorentz (18) — Scott Laughton (24) — Calle Jarnkrok (19)
Morgan Rielly (44) — Brandon Carlo (25)Jake McCabe (22) — Chris Tanev (8)Simon Benoit (2) — Oliver Ekman-Larsson (95)
Joseph Woll (60)Anthony Stolarz (41)
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