Red Wings Look to Continue Rolling Against Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs

Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli – John Tavares – William Nylander
Nicholas Robertson – Max Domi – Bobby McMann
Dakota Joshua – Nicolas Roy – Calle Jarnkrok

Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev
Morgan Rielly – Brandon Carlo
Simon Benoit- Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Cayden Primeau
Anthony Stolarz

** Both teams’ lineups are based on their respective team practices on Oct. 12 (Sunday). **

What to Watch For/X-Factors

What Red Wings Team Shows Up?

The Red Wings seemed to play two totally different games the first two times out this season, especially defensively. After their opening night loss to the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Todd McLellan, in a way, called his team out for their performance, and they responded well against the Maple Leafs over the weekend. The biggest question is whether they can continue to play that way or not. In the first matchup between the two Original Six teams, the Red Wings limited the defensive breakdowns, while also keeping the Maple Leafs’ stars from taking over the game.

If they can replicate the way they played in their first win of the season, there is yet again a strong chance they will be able to beat the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs will surely come out with a vengeance, though, especially with playing on home ice.

What Do the Red Wings Get From Talbot?

After seeing John Gibson struggle at times against the Canadiens in the season opener, Cam Talbot took the net against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. He looked stronger than Gibson did, but also benefited from the improvement of the defensive game in front of him. Of the three goals he allowed to the Maple Leafs, two of them were deflections that he could not react to quickly enough, so all things considered, he had a solid first start of the season. McLellan announced on Sunday (Oct. 12) that Talbot will be in the net again for the Red Wings.

The goaltending and defensive play seemingly go hand in hand with each other, so in the grand scheme of things, if the Red Wings can play a solid defensive game in front of Talbot again, the pressure will be taken off of him. If he can look strong once again for the Red Wings, he will likely be pushing to take more of the starts from Gibson and could create more of a 1A/1B situation at the goaltender position.

Red Wings Middle Six

Through the first two games of the season, the second and third lines of the Red Wings’ forward grouping have both looked very strong. The second line of Alex DeBrincat, Marco Kasper, and Patrick Kane came into the season with plenty of chemistry from last season and have only continued to build off that early on. While he has not buried a goal yet, DeBrincat has been one of the team’s busiest players in the shot department and is due to break through sooner or later.

The line that was a bit unknown in the forward grouping was that of Andrew Copp, JT Compher, and 2024 first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård. Copp and Compher have spent time together, but being able to integrate the young Brandsegg-Nygård as quickly as they have has been impressive. They have not gotten rolling offensively quite yet, but their play early on has brought some new energy and excitement to the bottom half of the lineup. They will be a tough test for the Maple Leafs again in this afternoon’s matchup.

Other Game Notes

• Easton Cowan will be making his NHL debut today for the Maple Leafs. The 2023 first-round pick earned a spot on the roster and has been working his way into the lineup, and will be put on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
• James van Riemsdyk will be making his Red Wings debut after not playing in the first two games of the season. The offseason free agent signing will be taking Elmer Söderblom’s spot on the fourth line.

Red Wings vs Maple Leafs

After dropping the first half of the home-and-home, the Maple Leafs will certainly be coming out firing today to get themselves going against the Red Wings. If the Red Wings can match that energy and build off the win on Saturday, there is a strong chance they could start a long week of action with another victory and begin to build momentum early on in the season.