And we're baaaaaaaaaaaack!!! Let's gooooooo!
The Maple Leafs return from the 4 Nations break looking to halt a run of five straight losses to the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Scotiabank Arena (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
The Leafs‘ losing streak to the Hurricanes has a clear throughline: special teams. Toronto has outscored the Carolina 12-9 at five-on-five during this 0-4-1 stretch dating back to March 2023, but they’re 1-for-16 on the power play with a shorthanded goal against (i.e., net-zero on the man advantage) against the vaunted Canes PK, and just 11-for-17 on the penalty kill. Save for the last matchup in Carolina — when the Leafs built an early 2-0 lead and then fell apart — it’s resulted in the Leafs playing a lot of catch-up hockey, as they have been out-scored 7-2 in the first periods of those five games. source
Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Max Domi -- Pontus Holmberg -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- David Kampf -- Alex Steeves
Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe-- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit -- Conor Timmins
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
Scratched: Phillippe Myers, Ryan Reaves
Injured: Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Max Pacioretty (tightness), Connor Dewar (upper body)
Status report: Jost is expected to return for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 31. ... Pacioretty, a forward, is not expected to play after missing practice Friday. ... Dewar practiced in full on Friday but the forward will miss his eighth straight game; Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Dewar could be available at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Tavares! 🚨🚨🚨
4-0!
Man, Nylander has just looked unstoppable this year. He used to always have games where he looked bored and lazy out there. I don't think he's even had a single game like that this season.