The Maple Leafs held a media availability at the United Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Leafs claimed defenceman Troy Stecher off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
“Right-hand shot, very competitive player,” said coach Craig Berube. “Been around, got experience but, more than anything, a right-hand shot.”
The Leafs will dress five lefties on defence on Saturday in Chicago.
Right-shot defenceman Chris Tanev is sidelined with an upper-body injury and “it’s going to be a bit,” Berube noted. Saturday marks two weeks since Tanev was stretchered off the ice in Philadelphia.
Stecher, who averaged 13:37 of ice time in six games with the Oilers this season, will join the Leafs in Chicago on Saturday night.
“He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s really hard to play against,” said centre Nicolas Roy. “Feisty, really physical, good stick, good first pass.”
The Leafs struggled to break the puck out during Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, which was their fourth straight defeat.
Entering Saturday’s slate of games, Toronto ranks last in goals against per game.
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Right-shot defenceman Brandon Carlo will miss Saturday’s game due to a lower-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day.
Philippe Myers draws back in after being a healthy scratch on Thursday. He was paired with Morgan Rielly at Friday’s practice, which Carlo missed.
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Easton Cowan draws in up front and will play on a line with Roy and Matthew Knies. The 20-year-old rookie will be playing his 11th NHL game and first in Chicago.
“I was telling him it’s always fun to play here,” said Roy. “Good atmosphere. The ice is good. He’s really excited.”
Knies played on the top line with John Tavares and William Nylander on Thursday.
“Kniesy had a strong game last game,” said Berube. “He can help that line and just kind of balance it out a little bit. I loaded up the last game and just wanted to balance the lines a little more tonight.”
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Joseph Woll gets the start in Chicago. It will be his season debut after missing the start of the year for personal reasons.
“Great to have him back,” said defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. “It’s going to be fun to see him out on the ice and battle with him. We believe in him and have his back no matter what.”
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Projected Leafs lineup for Saturday’s game:
Robertson – Tavares – Nylander
Knies – Roy – Cowan
Maccelli – Domi – McMann
Joshua – Lorentz – Jarnkrok
Rielly – Myers
Benoit – McCabe
Mermis – Ekman-Larsson
Woll starts
Hildeby
