Golden Knights at Maple Leafs preview
Toronto coach Babcock eyes 700th NHL win; Vegas aims for points in five straight
by Dave McCarthy / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
GOLDEN KNIGHTS (9-5-2) at MAPLE LEAFS (8-5-3)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNO, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV
The Game
Mike Babcock will become the eighth NHL coach to win 700 games if the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Vegas Golden Knights at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Babcock is 699-413-163 with 19 ties in 17 seasons for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Detroit Red Wings and Maple Leafs. He will also coach his 1,295th game and pass Jacques Martin for sole possession of 12th place in NHL history.
Goalie Frederik Andersen will start for the Maple Leafs, who hope to win three straight games for the first time this season.
Backup goalie Malcolm Subban starts for the Golden Knights, who will try to extend their point streak to five games. Vegas is 2-0-2 in its past four.
Players to watch
Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith scored both goals in a 2-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday and has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games.
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past five games.
They said it
"Marc-Andre's not going to play every game. He's been outstanding. He's a great goalie for us but Malcolm's from Toronto. He's played real good lately, so it's a good opportunity for him. We have a lot of confidence in him. If you're going to go anywhere in the NHL, you need two good goaltenders and we believe we do." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant on starting Malcolm Subban
"Their depth, their speed, defensively, every area of the ice they are strong. They've got good forwards, good goaltending and I think they just come at you in waves. It's always a challenge playing these guys because they have a lot of speed and skill and we have to make sure we can harness it." -- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews
Golden Knights projected lineup
Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty -- Paul Stastny -- Mark Stone
Brandon Pirri -- Cody Eakin -- Cody Glass
William Carrier -- Nicolas Roy -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nicolas Hague -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Deryk Engelland
Malcolm Subban
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched: Tomas Nosek, Nick Holden
Injured: Alex Tuch (upper body)
Suspended: Valentin Zykov
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Trevor Moore -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Ilya Mikheyev -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Kasperi Kapanen
Dmytro Timashov -- Nicholas Shore -- Frederik Gauthier
Morgan Rielly -- Cody Ceci
Jake Muzzin -- Tyson Barrie
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Jason Spezza, Nic Petan, Martin Marincin
Injured: Zach Hyman (ACL)
Status report
Timashov will return after being a healthy scratch against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. … Gallant said he would not confirm Vegas' lineup until game time.
Stat pack
Marchessault, who will play his 300th NHL game, has four points (one goal, three assists) during a four-game point streak… Marner's four-game point streak (five points; one goal, four assists) ended Tuesday.