Preview: Maple Leafs at Jets
The Toronto Maple Leafs answered five consecutive wins to highlight a sizzling start to the season by cooling off with two straight losses. Auston Matthews and company bid to heat up again as the Maple Leafs put their undefeated road record on the line Wednesday against Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets, who are 5-0-1 at Bell MTS Place this season and 14-0-1 dating back to 2017-18.
Toronto had scored an NHL-best 33 goals in seven games to open the season before being shut out by Pittsburgh and mustering defenseman Morgan Rielly's lone goal in a 4-1 setback against St. Louis on Saturday. Rielly's 14 points are two shy of Matthews - the top overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft - for the team lead with the Maple Leafs, who will head home to host the Jets on Saturday. Mark Scheifele matched a career high with a four-point performance (two goals, two assists) and defenseman Jacob Trouba scored in overtime on Monday as Winnipeg improved to 4-0-1 on its season-high six-game homestand with a 5-4 overtime victory over St. Louis. "Every game is a stepping stone for us. We have to continue to grow and we have to continue to build this group of guys," said the 25-year-old Scheifele, who has a team-leading nine points in eight games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One, TVA
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (6-3-0): Matthews (NHL-leading 10 goals) has been held off the scoresheet in consecutive outings after recording multi-point performances in each of his previous seven. The 21-year-old has jolted the Jets with eight points (one goal, seven assists) during his career, highlighted by a three-point effort in Toronto's 7-2 win in the season opener last season. Fellow center Mitch Marner, who scored and set up a goal in that contest, has notched eight of his 12 points this season on the road.
ABOUT THE JETS (6-2-1): Connor Hellebuyck has paid significant dividends in 2018-19 after signing a six-year, $37 million deal in the wake of tying for the NHL lead in wins (44) last season. The 25-year-old highlighted those numbers with a stellar 15-3-5 mark against Eastern Conference representatives, a run that included a 28-save performance in Winnipeg's 3-1 triumph at Toronto on March 31. Burly defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored in that contest and has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last three games overall to reside one shy of 500 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg has scored a power-play goal in all five games of the homestand.
2. The Maple Leafs and Jets will pit the NHL's second- and fourth-best power plays, respectively, against the league's sixth- and eighth-leading penalty kills.
3. Trouba has recorded four of his six points this season in his last two games.
PREDICTION: Jets 5, Maple Leafs 4
The Toronto Maple Leafs answered five consecutive wins to highlight a sizzling start to the season by cooling off with two straight losses. Auston Matthews and company bid to heat up again as the Maple Leafs put their undefeated road record on the line Wednesday against Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets, who are 5-0-1 at Bell MTS Place this season and 14-0-1 dating back to 2017-18.
Toronto had scored an NHL-best 33 goals in seven games to open the season before being shut out by Pittsburgh and mustering defenseman Morgan Rielly's lone goal in a 4-1 setback against St. Louis on Saturday. Rielly's 14 points are two shy of Matthews - the top overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft - for the team lead with the Maple Leafs, who will head home to host the Jets on Saturday. Mark Scheifele matched a career high with a four-point performance (two goals, two assists) and defenseman Jacob Trouba scored in overtime on Monday as Winnipeg improved to 4-0-1 on its season-high six-game homestand with a 5-4 overtime victory over St. Louis. "Every game is a stepping stone for us. We have to continue to grow and we have to continue to build this group of guys," said the 25-year-old Scheifele, who has a team-leading nine points in eight games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet One, TVA
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (6-3-0): Matthews (NHL-leading 10 goals) has been held off the scoresheet in consecutive outings after recording multi-point performances in each of his previous seven. The 21-year-old has jolted the Jets with eight points (one goal, seven assists) during his career, highlighted by a three-point effort in Toronto's 7-2 win in the season opener last season. Fellow center Mitch Marner, who scored and set up a goal in that contest, has notched eight of his 12 points this season on the road.
ABOUT THE JETS (6-2-1): Connor Hellebuyck has paid significant dividends in 2018-19 after signing a six-year, $37 million deal in the wake of tying for the NHL lead in wins (44) last season. The 25-year-old highlighted those numbers with a stellar 15-3-5 mark against Eastern Conference representatives, a run that included a 28-save performance in Winnipeg's 3-1 triumph at Toronto on March 31. Burly defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored in that contest and has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last three games overall to reside one shy of 500 for his career.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg has scored a power-play goal in all five games of the homestand.
2. The Maple Leafs and Jets will pit the NHL's second- and fourth-best power plays, respectively, against the league's sixth- and eighth-leading penalty kills.
3. Trouba has recorded four of his six points this season in his last two games.
PREDICTION: Jets 5, Maple Leafs 4