Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 things to watch for against Canadiens

Showing some defensive will?

The Leafs continue to be questioned about their will because they are viewed as a team that doesn’t like to play defence.

It’s hard to argue against that considering the team has struggled to keep the puck out of the net but their talented offence has helped them overcome it. You can bet that Keefe appreciated the extra training camp that he never got when he took over for Mike Babcock.

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Fortunately for Toronto, the team is healthy with Ilya Mikheyev and Jake Muzzin back from their injuries. At the same time, seeing the defensive pairings might make people raise an eyebrow.

With the team allowed to dress seven defenceman, the Leafs elected to dress Martin Marincin as the extra over Rasmus Sandin. This might be Keefe making sure he has an extra defensive option ready to go as Sandin isn’t viewed as a pure defender.

At the same time, you would think that it would be beneficial to get Sandin sometime on the ice in case he’s needed during the series. Fortunately for Toronto, we’re talking about the seventh defenceman in an exhibition game.

Hopefully, the break allowed for some of the inexperienced defencemen like Travis Dermott and Justin Holl the necessary break because at times, they were heavily used because of injuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ORCQAuAW8kWhat do you think about tonight’s lineup? What are you watching for in the game? Let us know in the comments below.