Predicted Maple Leafs Lineup Tonight: Toronto's projected lines for preseason game against Canadiens

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the road to play the Montreal Canadiens in a preseason game on Thursday, Sept. 25.

Road preseason games don't see many full-time NHL players; rather, they're filled with young players trying to make the roster. The Maple Leafs' lines on Thursday are no different.

Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Maple Leafs projected lines

Forwards

Steven Lorentz - Scott Laughton - Eason Cowan
Bobby McMann - David Kampf - Matias Maccelli
Dakota Joshua - Jacob Quillan - Vinni Lettieri
Michael Pezzetta - Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Ryan Tverberg

The Leafs are sending some players who will have impact roles for Toronto this season, as Steven Lorentz, Scott Laughton, Matias Maccelli, Bobby McMann, and Dakota Joshua all will be every-game players for the Maple Leafs.

Other players to watch will be Easton Cowan. Cowan is Toronto's top forward prospect and is trying to earn a roster spot, so he is getting a good chance playing on the top line.

Defenseman

Dakota Mermis - Philippe Myers
Marshall Rifai - Henry Thrun
Cade Webber - Matt Benning

Toronto's defense doesn't feature many NHL players. Myers, Thrun, and Benning are all competing for the seventh defenseman spot, so this game could be crucial for all three players.

Webber, Mermis, and Rifai are all expected to be key defensemen in the AHL and could all play in the NHL this season, should injuries happen.

Goalies

Dennis Hildeby
Vyacheslav Peksa

Toronto will be starting Dennis Hildeby, who is the Maple Leafs' third goalie and could be thrust into the backup job. With Joseph Woll still out due to a personal matter, Hildeby may have to be the backup to begin the season.

Hildeby's play has also impressed Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube.

“He was good, I thought he tracked the puck well, made the saves,” Berube said. “But down in tight around the net there were a lot of scramble plays, and he was pretty solid covering the net.”

Hildeby went 3-3 with a 3.33 GAA and a .878 SV% last season in 6 starts with the Maple Leafs.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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