Toronto Maple Leafs News

Mermis was called-up prior to Tuesday’s game because the status of Alex Goligoski was uncertain. Goligoski ended up playing so Mermis returns to the AHL.

Matthews was set to become a restricted free-agent this summer but signed through 2023-24 with an $11.634M cap-hit. Matthews has had a strong season, scoring 23 goals on 121 shots (19.0 SH%) with 23 assists (46 points) in 38 games. Matthews has broken through as one of the best goal-scorers in the league but continues to have a difficult time staying healthy—missing 20 games last season and 14 so far this year.

Ekman-Larsson missed the last three games before the break with a lower-body injury but will be a game-time decision in San Jose. Ekman-Larsson would replace Jakob Chychrun (lower-body) in the lineup if he plays.

Toronto needed to bolster their blueline and did so by adding Muzzin, who has spent the first seven seasons of his career in Los Angeles. The Maple Leafs really needed a right-handed defenseman but Muzzin was a much cheaper alternative and goes to Toronto with one more season on his contract that carries a $4.0M AAV cap-hit. Muzzin, who is 6-foot-3, 213 lbs., who can produce solid offensive numbers and play physically. He projects to play on the top-pair with Morgan Rielly, which will allow Ron Hainsey to play significantly less taxing minutes.

Stolarz is expected to make his first NHL appearances since December 15th after Carter Hart started on Monday. The 25-year-old has gone 2-3-2 with a 3.90 GAA and .880 SV% in nine NHL appearances this season. During his time in the minors, Stolarz is 2-0-0 while allowing 16 goals on 161 shots (.901 SV%) in five games.

Ekman-Larsson was forced to leave Tuesday’s game in Ottawa and will not be available for Wednesday’s game in Montreal. Ekman-Larsson will return to Arizona to undergo an MRI and the extent of the injury will be known then. Look for Ilya Lybushkin to draw into the Coyotes lineup on Wednesday.

Stolarz went 2-3-2 with a 3.90 GAA and .880 SV% in nine games with the Flyers this season. With Carter Hart playing well, Stolarz heads back to the Phantoms for now—he is 2-0-0 with a 3.34 GAA and .889 SV% in the AHL this year.

McCabe will draw back into the Sabres lineup for the first time since November 29th. McCabe was solid before getting hurt, picking up 10 points (2G / 8A) in 25 games.

Stecher is in concussion protocol after being hit by Danick Martel during Tuesday’s game vs. the Lightning. Alex Biega will replace Stecher in the lineup.

Stolarz had been playing O.K. with the Flyers but got hurt while starting for the third time in four days on Saturday. Stolarz has struggled with injuries throughout his young career and the most recent injury is expected to cost him 2-4 weeks. Carter Hart was recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL) to take Stolarz spot on the roster.

Stolarz surrendered six goals on 41 shots in the Flyers overtime loss in Calgary on Wednesday. Stolarz has been given an extended run as the Flyers’ No.1 but has gone 2-1-2 with a 3.80 GAA and .889 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances. Stolarz has made some big saves but he hasn’t been great, so look elsewhere on Friday night.

Stolarz surrendered six goals on 41 shots in the Flyers overtime loss in Calgary on Wednesday. Stolarz has been given an extended run as the Flyers’ No.1 but has gone 2-1-2 with a 3.80 GAA and .889 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances. Stolarz has made some big saves but he hasn’t been great, so look elsewhere on Friday night.

Stolarz allowed four goals on 25 shots in the Flyers loss in Winnipeg on Sunday. Stolarz has had a strange six games with the Flyers, allowing 2-4-2-4-2-4 goals. If this trend continues, Stolarz will allow just two goals tonight in Calgary but I wouldn’t hold your breath. The Flames have won nine of their last 12 games (9-2-1) while averaging 4.1 goals for per game.

Stolarz allowed four goals on 30 shots in the Flyers loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday. This afternoon he will make his fourth straight start, having gone 1-2-0 while allowing a combined 10 goals on 86 shots (.884 SV%) in his first three starts. He faces a Sabres team that has lost four in a row (0-2-2) since having their 10-game winning streak snapped on November 29th.

Stolarz made 30 saves on 32 shots in the Flyers win in Pittsburgh last Saturday. Despite very limited action since the start for the 2017 season, Stolarz has performed pretty well since being promoted from Lehigh Valley (AHL). The former second-round pick has stopped 83 of the 91 shots (.912 SV%) that he has faced in three appearances. Tonight he gets a Columbus team that is 8-5-1 on the road.

Stolarz made 30 saves on 32 shots in the Flyers win in Pittsburgh last Saturday. Despite very limited action since the start for the 2017 season, Stolarz has performed pretty well since being promoted from Lehigh Valley (AHL). The former second-round pick has stopped 83 of the 91 shots (.912 SV%) that he has faced in three appearances. Tonight he gets a Columbus team that is 8-5-1 on the road.

The Rangers don’t play until Saturday so they have sent some waiver exempt players to the AHL to get playing time and to get some cap savings. Lettieri has three goals and two assists in four AHL contests this season.

With only a couple of minutes to spare, Nylander inked the much anticipated extension and could be back in the Maple Leafs lineup as soon as next week. Nylander adds to an already deep Maple Leafs top-9, where he figures to slot in next to Auston Matthews. A season ago, Nylander had 20 goals and 41 assists in 82 games.