Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings

The Maple Leafs' final regular-season home game of the 2023-24 season should be disappointing. Auston Matthews chases 70 goals, Timothy Liljegren returns to the lineup and former Leaf James Reimer reaches the 500-game milestone as Toronto hosts Detroit in a tough situation for the Red Wings (7 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/ HNIC).

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Game Day Quotes

Patrick Kane closes in on 70 goals for Auston Matthews:

Great career, but the way he's producing this year is incredible. Every night you see a guy who wants to be a producer and is not happy with where he is in his game. He also knows how good he is.

When Stamkos and Ovechkin hit 60, it seemed like a big number. 70 seemed out of reach. Even this year, it didn't seem like a real number, but here we are. It's right there. He also has five or six hat-tricks. It's off the charts. It's great.

… Much is said about his shooting and release, but many of his goals have been scored around the net and also right in the crease. He can score either way. He scores beautiful goals, dirty goals, one-timers, wrist shots and quick shots by changing the release angle.

Kane on former Blackhawks teammate Max Domi:

There were times when he was constantly beaten and he fought back. I was like, 'Dude, that's a simple hit. You don't need to fight.' He loves his colleagues. I've only played with him for a short time, but I feel like I have a friend for life.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde on Matthews' 2023-24 season:

Having seen him over the years, including in the playoffs the last two years in Tampa, he has elevated his game in all areas. It's obvious what he does in scoring, but I was really impressed with his competitiveness, his fight and his will in the first round I watched on TV last year.

You see these superstars develop, yes, it's on the ice, but it's usually something that's important to him off the ice. He looks really eager to win. It's impressive and fun to watch.

Moritz Seider on the meaning of tonight's game for the Red Wings;

We have everything now. It's like a do-or-die game. We are really ready for this opportunity. We've shown in the past that we can play with the Leafs, even beat them, so why not tonight?

LaLonde on the team's desire to repeat the 4-2 win at Toronto in January:

Watching this in the few meetings we've had, you're not going to completely shut down Toronto and their offense, but you're going to do everything you can to take away time and space. Over 200 feet in that game, we did really well.

We're going to need that same kind of energy tonight. It doesn't take much for them to commit a crime. If we give them something easy, it's going to be a long night for us.

Morgan Rielly on Timothy Liljegren's return to the lineup:

Before the injury, I thought he was playing great. You could tell he played games with him, he skated and he had confidence in him. It is very dangerous. He has grown a lot. When he's at the top of his game, he's a great player for us.

Rielly on the team's goals in the last three games:

You want to tighten everything up. As a D, you want to strengthen your special teams, breaks, and gaps. You want to feel good.

You have to do what you have to do as an individual to get your game where you feel good. As a team, you want to make sure everyone is connected to the specific teams and the structure and team mentality.

Nick Robertson tonight against the Red Wings:

Playoff style game. Detroit is fighting for the playoffs. It's good to get that mentality right away in the playoffs. We hope to win the last regular season home game.

Lalonde on James Reimer's 500-game streak:

These milestones are impressive. The 80th goaltender to reach 500 games, and the fact that he did it competitively, with hard work… It's fitting that he's doing it in Toronto in a game that's important to our organization.

Every night he's there, you know he's going to give it his all. Fighting type. It motivates us. He will lift up our group while we fight there.

Both goalkeepers gave us a lot. We have been without a number one goalkeeper for most of the season. Both of these goalkeepers have had a high role. They were perfect. They are the reason we are still in this fight.

70 Years of Exile by Sheldon Keefe Matthews:

I'm more excited to see Auston play and see where his game is. No matter where the number goes, I don't worry about it and never have.

I'm not even sure he cares about that. Where he is right now is a huge success. We'll see what the rest of the season brings tonight, but the main thing for me is that his game is in good order.

He developed great chemistry with Max and Burt. As a result, it gave us many opportunities. That's really what it was like for me.

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Head-to-head stats: Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings

In preseason stats, the Leafs have the edge over the Devils in five of five offensive categories and four of five defensive categories.

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The designed lines of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi vs. #34 Auston Matthews vs. #11 Max Domi
#74 Bobby McMann vs. #91 John Tavares vs. #16 Mitchell Marner
#89 Nick Robertson vs. #29 Pontus Holmberg vs. #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Kneese vs. #64 David Kampf vs. #74 Ryan Reeves

Defenders*
#44 Morgan Rielly vs. #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
#2 Simon Benoit vs. #22 Jake McCabe
#78 TJ Brodie vs. #37 Timothy Liljegren

*with an additional morning skate, the final D pairing will not be known until warm-ups

Goalkeepers
Starter: No. 35 Ilya Samsonov
#60 Joseph Wall

Drawn/rested: Martin Jones, Noah Gregor, Conor Timmins, Connor Dewar, Mark Giordano
Injured: Calle Jarnkrok, Joel Edmundson

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Lines designed by the Detroit Red Wings

Forwards
#93 Alex Debrincat vs. #71 Dylan Larkin vs. #23 Lucas Raymond
#57 David Perron vs. #37 J.T. Comfer – #88 Patrick Kane
#14 Robbie Fabbri vs. #90 Joe Veleno vs. #17 Daniel Sprong
#11 Zach Aston-Rees vs. #21 Austin Charnik vs. #36 Christian Fisher

Defenders
#8 Ben Chiaro vs. #53 Moritz Seider
#77 Simon Edwinson vs. #46 Jeff Petry
#2 Ollie Maata vs. #41 Shane Gostisbehe

Goalkeepers
Starter: #47 James Reimer
#34 Alex Lyon

Injured: Ville Husso, Andrew Kopp