Who Is the Player to Watch against Toronto Maple Leafs?
Auston Matthews is widely considered to be the Maple Leafs' player to watch for Toronto's franchise. Let's break down how he could impact the Rangers on ice and what to look out for in tonight's game.
The Rangers are on a role, boasting three wins on the season so far. However the Maple Leafs also have the same number of wins so far, alongside having star Auston Matthews on the ice.
The New York Rangers continue their season in a 7 p.m. EST road contest on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This continues the Rangers' run of Original Six battles. Matthews is easily the Maple Leafs' player to watch for Toronto's franchise. Let's break down his play style and see how he could impact the Blueshirts on ice.
Toronto Maple Leafs currently possess a 3-1-0 record while our Rangers boast 3-0-1 on the season so far. This is also the first meeting between the two teams this season, with the Maple Leafs winning the regular-season series 2-1 in 2023-24.
Records aside, Auston Matthews is obviously the opposing team's player to watch ahead of the Oct. 19 matchup.
Auston Matthews
Although one of the Maple Leafs’ most effective lines lately has been the trio of Max Domi, William Nylander and Bobby McMann. Since being put together, this line has generated impressive speed and offensive chances. Nylander has been a standout, with a goal and an assist in the game against the Kings. Domi added two assists, and McMann scored two goals.
However, that doesn't change the fact that Matthews is coming off a career-best season in 2023-24 where he posted 107 points across 81 games, tallying 69 goals and 38 assists.
He also succeeded John Tavares to become the 26th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Aug. 14, 2024. He was the first United States-born player to be captain in the franchise's 107-year history and the second non-Canadian player to hold the role.
Last season he also made history. On March 30, 2024, he became a two-time 60-goal scorer in the NHL in a 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres. Also by the end of the 2023-24 year, his 69 goals allowed him to become the first player with at least that many in one season since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 70 games of the 1995-96 season.
During his younger days, the Arizona native was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
However, he is having a somewhat slow start to the current season. He has played in all four games played but has only notched three points off of one goal and two assists.
Rangers Projected Starting Lineup
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Filip Chytil - Kaapo Kakko
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jonny Brodzinski
K'Andre Miller - Adam Fox
Braden Schneider - Jacob Trouba
Zac Jones - Victor Mancini
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Also noteworthy are Matt Rempe and Ryan Reaves who are expected to be in their team's respective lineups when puck drops in Toronto.
Matt Rempe and Ryan Reaves have been healthy scratched earlier this season.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) October 19, 2024
They’re both playing tonight in Toronto.
Maple Leafs Projected Starting Lineup
Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann - Max Domi - William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg - John Tavares - Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz - David Kampf - Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly - Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Jake McCabe
Simon Benoit - Conor Timmins
Anthony Stolarz
Dennis Hildeby
How to Tune In
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Puck drop for the Maple Leafs hosting the Rangers is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST, tonight — Saturday, Oct. 19. The game will be streamed via Fubo and Sling TV and be sure to tune into our Twitter for live updates.