No William Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Alex Tuch, Nolan Patrick, or Mattias Janmark leaves the Golden Knights without four of their top six and six of their top nine. They’re so thin at the forward position that it appears Michael Amadio, claimed off of waivers from the Leafs over the weekend, will step in as their 3C tonight against his former squad.
The challenge for the Leafs tonight: They’re going to play against a Vegas team that has its defense (outside of Zach Whitecloud) and starting goalie healthy, and, if the team’s history under Pete DeBoer is any indication, is going to have a shorthanded forward group bought into playing the right way structurally against a superior opponent — organized on the forecheck, checking back with numbers above the puck in transition, making it hard on the Leafs to generate much through the neutral zone.