Maple Leafs' Holland gets first crack at facing Ducks

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks couldn't wait any longer for Peter Holland to grab hold of a center position in their lineup. Now they will get an up-close look how he has progressed.

Holland will play Anaheim on Monday night at Honda Center for the first time since the Ducks traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 16. He was the 15th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, but Holland couldn't carve out a spot in Anaheim's lineup after numerous training camps to prove he belonged there.

The Ducks were also deep at center, which didn't help, but Holland understands and looks forward to the game.

"I'm excited to play," Holland said. "I have no hard feelings towards the Anaheim Ducks. I really respected the way they treated me while I was here. They did a great job developing me. Obviously you want to go out there and play well, but as long as the Leafs come out on top, I'm happy."

Anaheim goes from playing the Pittsburgh Penguins to facing the line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel. Toronto coach Randy Carlyle matched the Bozak line against the line featuring Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in an Oct. 22 game, a 4-2 Toronto win in which Kessel had a hat trick.

"How'd we make out on that one?" Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I'm pretty sure how he matches and what he's doing. Whether we do the same thing depends on whether he has seven defensemen or if he's rolling four lines. He's usually a three-line coach and we usually roll four lines. So it's a little difficult for us to get all the matchups that we want, because we want everybody to play."

Boudreau can use his shutdown line of Daniel Winnik, Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano. But Perry wasn't opposed to chasing the Bozak line again.

"They play a lot of hockey, and they get a lot of ice time during the game," Perry said. "It's good if you're playing against them. You're going to play a lot. You've just got to be sound defensively."

Teemu Selanne's ice time has been about 12-13 minutes since the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He's been reduced to fourth line left wing, which doesn't sit well with him.

"It's a totally different situation when you play [on the] first line and big minutes," Selanne said. "It's hard when you don't play those. You can't really expect much."

Boudreau said of Selanne's ice time, "It's been four games and it's decreased by 12 seconds," and pointed out Anaheim hasn't been on the power play much since the break.

Here are the expected lineups for the Maple Leafs and Ducks:

MAPLE LEAFS

James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel

Nikolai Kulemin – Nazem Kadri – Joffrey Lupul

Mason Raymond – Peter Holland – Troy Bodie

Frazer McLaren – Jay McClement – Colton Orr

Dion Phaneuf – Carl Gunnarsson

Cody Franson – Jake Gardiner

Tim Gleason – Morgan Rielly

Jonathan Bernier

James Reimer

Scratched: Carter Ashton

Injured: David Clarkson (leg), Dave Bolland (ankle)

Notes: Carlyle said "it is yet to be determined" if either Clarkson or Orr will be available. Orr has an undisclosed injury. Ashton skated with Bolland and Clarkson in the line rushes.

Bernier was first off the ice.

DUCKS

Kyle Palmieri – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry

Daniel Winnik – Saku Koivu – Andrew Cogliano

Matt Beleskey - Nick Bonino - Jakob Silfverberg

Patrick Maroon - Rickard Rakell – Teemu Selanne

Hampus Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin

Cam Fowler – Ben Lovejoy

Bryan Allen – Mark Fistric

Frederik Andersen

Jonas Hiller

Scratched: None

Injured: Stephane Robidas (leg), Mathieu Perreault (arm), Luca Sbisa (knee), Sheldon Souray (wrist)

Notes: Andersen was off the ice first. This will be his first appearance against Toronto.

Boudreau said Perreault and Sbisa likely won't return until later this week. Robidas had initially targeted March 14 as his return, but it looks like March 18 is the more ideal date.