Toronto Maple Leafs (21-13-8, 14th in NHL) vs. New York Rangers (28-16-1, 8th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. EST
Arena: Air Canada Centre
Watch: TSN4
After beating New York 4-2 six days ago at Madison Square Garden, the Maple Leafs host a slumping but high-scoring Rangers team backstopped by a struggling Henrik Lundqvist (.843 save percentage over his last eight games). Since the last time the two teams met, the Rangers have benefitted from the return of Mika Zibenajed (two goals in his first game back from injury, 17 points in 20 games overall) and the Leafs have lost top-pairing mainstay Morgan Rielly to a short-term injury. The Leafs enter winners of nine of their last 11, having scored a resounding 43 goals over that span.
Jake Gardiner will join Nikita Zaitsev on the Leafs‘ top pair in Rielly’s place, while Frank Corrado enters the lineup for his second NHL appearance of the season.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | NYR | Tor |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 57 | 50 |
| Record % | 0.633 | 0.595 |
| Home Winning % | 0.568 | 0.6 |
| Away Winning % | 0.667 | 0.571 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0.667 | 0.167 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | 0.76 | 0.31 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | 0.47 | 0.19 |
| Hits Per Game | 20.9 | 24.6 |
| PIM Per Game | 7 | 11.2 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 8.3 | 11.5 |
| Goals Per Game | 3.47 | 3.12 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.64 | 2.31 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.69 | 0.76 |
| Shots Per Game | 29.7 | 32.8 |
| Shots Per Goal | 8.6 | 10.5 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.117 | 0.095 |
| Power Play % | 0.228 | 0.244 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.71 | 2.81 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.18 | 2.21 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.51 | 0.52 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 29.2 | 32.64 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 10.77 | 11.62 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.093 | 0.086 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.816 | 0.845 |
| Save % | 0.907 | 0.914 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.7 | 2.76 |
| Shutouts | 4 | 1 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.883 | 0.905 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 3.45 | 3.07 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 1 | 2 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Frank Corrado – Connor Carrick
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Josh Leivo
Injured: Martin Marincin (lower body), Ben Smith (lower body), Morgan Rielly (lower body)
New York Rangers Projected Lines
Forwards
Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – Mats Zuccarello
Pavel Buchnevich – Mika Zibenajed – J.T. Miller
Michael Grabner – Kevin Hayes – Rick Nash
Jimmy Vesey – Oscar Lindberg – Brandon Pirri
Defencemen
Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Nick Holden – Kevin Klein
Brady Skjei – Adam Clendening
Goaltenders
Starter: Henrik Lundqvist (Confirmed)
Backup: Magnus Hellberg
