The Canes are headed north for a quick trip to Scotiabank Arena to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at 7 p.m., hoping to extend the winning streak to four.
Last night against the Sabres, Carolina’s offense was on fire, netting six goals en route to a 6-3 win on home ice. While Buffalo wasn’t the hardest test, the Canes were still able to impress. Four players recorded multi-point games, including Sebastian Aho, who is now the leading scorer on Carolina with 15 points in 14 games this season. Eric Robinson, who returned from injury last night, added a goal in his first game back since Oct. 23.
Despite the strong offensive performance, goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov didn’t have the best showing, letting in three goals on 22 shots for an .864 save percentage.
As for the Maple Leafs, they will be playing a back-to-back tonight also after losing 5-3 to the Bruins last night. After a slow start to the season, Toronto has been stellar as of late, winning five of their last seven games. The Leafs are 8-6-1 and rank fifth in the Atlantic division. Even after starting out the season slow, they will be a tough matchup especially playing on home ice. This season at Scotiabank, the Leafs are 7-3-1 while the Canes are 5-3 on the road.
Toronto boasts some of the best top-end talent in the league in its forward group, led this season by William Nylander, who has tallied 21 points in 12 games — tied for 7th most in the league. John Tavares has put up 19 points in 15 games and Matthew Knies has tallied 18 points in 15 games. You can’t forget about Auston Matthews, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the NHL. This year, Matthews hasn’t been on fire, but he has still notched 8 goals in 15 games.
Even after losing Mitch Marner to the Las Vegas Knights in the offseason, the Leafs have one of the most talented forwards groups in the league, which could pose problems for a banged up Carolina defensive core.
The Maple Leafs have struggled to find consistent goaltending this season though, with starter Anthony Stolarz posting a 6-5 record with a 3.35 GAA and .889 save percentage. Last night against Boston, Stolarz was replaced after allowing four goals on 19 shots by Dennis Hildeby. After replacing Stolarz, Hildeby let in only one goal on 20 shots.
Don’t be surprised if the Leafs slot in Hildeby to make his seventh career start and first this season following his performance against the Bruins last night.
Tonight will be a good test for the Canes who are still looking to climb in the Metropolitan division standings. A win could tie the Canes with the New Jersey Devils for first place in the Metro.
It’s a toss-up game tonight, especially with all the injuries on the back end for Carolina and the amount of forward talent the Leafs have. But if the Canes can get some strong goaltending, they will have a solid chance to extend the winning streak on the road tonight.
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada
Radio: 99.9 The Fan and affiliates
Odds: ML: CAR -130; PL: -1.5 +176
