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GAME DAY: Wild at Maple Leafs
Terry KoshanMore from Terry Koshan
GAME DAY: Wild at Maple Leafs
MINNESOTA WILD (18-17-3) at TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (26-11-2)
2 p.m., Scotiabank Arena, SNO, The Fan 590
BIG MATCHUP
Eric Staal vs. Auston Matthews
Now in his third season with the Wild, Eric Staal has 25 points in 37 games and continues to enjoy a resurgence to an extent after his career hit the skids in a brief tenure with the New York Rangers in 2015-16. Staal used to light up the Leafs during his Carolina Hurricanes days, and has 51 points in 46 career games versus Toronto. Whether it’s on the shoulders of Auston Matthews or John Tavares, the Leafs centres will have to remind themselves that the crafty Staal remains capable.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Defusing Sparks
Garret Sparks will make his fourth consecutive start in goal, the most action he has seen in a short span since helping to lead the Toronto Marlies to an AHL title last spring. Leafs coach Mike Babcock wants to ensure that Sparks is settled throughout the game, not in spurts.
“He made a lot of good saves against the Islanders (last Saturday),” Babcock said. “I thought when the fourth goal went in, he got rattled for a bit. There is no sense getting rattled. It’s (concentrating on) the next shot.”
2. Rest time is over
The Leafs want to start off the New Year properly in a month of January that has a favourable schedule, and playing with proper structure and effort from the opening faceoff would put them in the right direction. It’s the first of seven home games in the month, with just three on the road. “With the number of days off (the team has had), I would like to think we’re excited to get back at it with a pretty good schedule ahead of us,” centre John Tavares said.
3. Evening out
While special teams have the potential to influence the outcome in any NHL game, they might not be a large factor. The Leafs have had 105 power plays, second-fewest in the league entering games on Wednesday, while the Wild was not much better with 112. At five on five, the Leafs have 100 goals for and 72 against; the Wild has 70 for and 72 against. The Leafs’ talent has a chance to outshine the group that Minnesota will ice.
4. A Wild run
Minnesota arrives in Toronto trying to put a difficult month of December firmly in the past. Staring with a loss on Dec. 1 at home against the Leafs, the Wild went 4-8-1 and has scored just 10 goals in its past seven games. “I don’t really care if you’re positive or frustrated, whatever gets you going,” Wild captain Mikko Koivu said on Wednesday. “At the end, it’s the work ethic that gets you through it individually and as a team. It’s all about that.”
5. Long memories?
Despite losing to the Leafs just over a month ago, the Wild was the better team in St. Paul, limiting the Leafs to 23 shots on goal, tied for the second-fewest Toronto has had in a game this season. The Leafs were opportunistic with five goals, and know they will have to fight for each inch. “They’re a really good team defensively, they don’t give you much space,” Leafs centre Auston Matthews said. “They just stay above you the whole night.”
MAPLE LEAFS LINES
LW-C-RW
Connor Brown-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
Patrick Marleau-Nazem Kadri-Kasperi Kapanen
Par Lindholm-Frederik Gauthier-Trevor Moore
Defence pairs
Morgan Rielly-Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner-Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott-Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
Garret Sparks
Michael Hutchinson/Kasimir Kaskisuo
WILD LINES
LW-C-RW
Jason Zucker-Eric Staal-Mikael Granlund
Zach Parise-Charlie Coyle-Luke Kunin
Jordan Greenway-Mikko Koivu-Nino Niederreiter
Marcus Foligno-Eric Fehr-Matt Hendricks
Defence pairs
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Greg Pateryn
Nate Prosser-Ryan Murphy
Goaltenders
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
INJURIES
Wild — D Mathew Dumba (pectoral), D Nick Seeler (upper body).
Maple Leafs — G Frederik Andersen (groin), LW Zach Hyman (ankle), F Tyler Ennis (ankle).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play
Wild: 23.2% (10th)
Maple Leafs: 23.8% (7th)
Penalty kill
Wild: 83.9% (3rd)
Maple Leafs: 79.6% (16th)
