On Monday, the Maple Leafs called up forwards William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Zach Hyman, Nikita Soshnikov and Ben Smith from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Toronto coach Mike Babcock said all likely be in the lineup to face the Lightning.
Nylander, 19, Toronto's first-round (No. 8) pick in 2014, has 77 points in 74 AHL games and is second on the Marlies in scoring with 18 goals and 45 points in 37 games this season. He was leading the AHL in scoring when he left to play for Sweden at the World Junior Championship, where he sustained a concussion. Nylander's father, Michael Nylander, played 920 games in the NHL and is thrilled his son is following in his footsteps.
"He just said he was pumped for me and it'll be a night I'll always remember," William Nylander said.
Kapanen's father, Sami Kapanen, played 831 games in the NHL. Kasperi said he phoned his dad in Finland at 5 a.m. and got him out of bed to tell him the news he was making his NHL debut.
"He was a little sleepy when I told him today is the day, and he congratulated me," Kapanen said. "I think I'll call him after practice and talk to him a little more."
The Lightning played on Sunday, winning 4-1 against the Washington Capitals, and did not skate Monday morning.
Here are the projected lineups:
LIGHTNING
Alex Killorn
-
Steven Stamkos
-
Ryan Callahan
Ondrej Palat
-
Tyler Johnson
-
Nikita Kucherov
JT Brown
-
Valtteri Filppula
-
Cedric Paquette
Jonathan Marchessault
-
Vladislav Namestnikov
-
Brian Boyle
Victor Hedman
-
Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn
-
Andrej Sustr
Matt Carle
-
Nikita Nesterov
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Ben Bishop
Injured:
Jason Garrison
(lower body), Joel Vermin (hand)
Scratched:
Matt Taormina
,
Erik Condra
MAPLE LEAFS
Leo Komarov - Nazem Kadri - PA Parenteau
Brad Boyes - Byron Froese - Nikita Soshnikov
Michael Grabner - William Nylander - Zach Hyman
Colin Greening - Peter Holland - Kasperi Kapanen
Matt Hunwick - Morgan Rielly
Jake Gardiner - Frank Corrado
Maryin Marincin - Stuart Percy
Garret Sparks
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched: Milan Michalek.
Injured:
Stephane Robidas
(lower body),
Joffrey Lupul
(middle body), James van Riemsdyk (foot fracture),
Jared Cowen
(hip tightness),
Tyler Bozak
(upper body), Matt Hunwick (lower body).
Status report: If Carrick plays against Tampa Bay, Marincin could come out of the lineup … Laich was in transit in the morning, but Babcock said he expected to him to play.
Who's hot:Stamkos has scored goals in six straight games … Stralman has three assists in two games … Killorn has scored in back-to-back games and has three goals and eight points in seven games … Callahan has four goals and eight points in four games … Boyes has points in his past two games … Kadri has five assists in his past four games.
