Toronto Maple Leafs (13-12-7, 22nd in NHL) vs. Arizona Coyotes (11-17-5, 29th in NHL)
Puck drop: 9:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Gila River Arena
Watch: Sportsnet Ontario
Game Day Notes
– Courtesy of Chris Johnston, here is the best read you’ll find ahead of tonight’s Arizona homecoming for Auston Matthews. Among the many nuggets in there: Matthews was ripping pucks over the cross bar from center ice at the age of six.
– On the front page of today’s Arizona Republic:
Auston Matthews returns home. Check out the cover of today's newspaper: pic.twitter.com/WpyjXaTHNw
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) December 23, 2016
Matthews' Midget coach told him he cancelled practice tomorrow because no one wanted to go. Team too excited for his return vs. Coyotes.
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) December 22, 2016
Matthews is also going to stick around after the game and join Max Domi for some photos with a bunch of local minor hockey players.
– A fun coincidence, or maybe it’s fate: Matthews’ childhood idol Shane Doan will celebrate the 1,500 game milestone on the night Auston plays his first ever NHL game in Arizona.
ESPN.com: Was his talent evident right away?
Doan: The first time he skated with us, it was just shinny. I think his team won or lost 5-4. He had all his team’s goals and it was against NHL guys, and he was a year away from being drafted. I was pretty impressed.
– For the second time this season, Frederik Andersen will start both games in a back-to-back. The statistics are unequivocal when it comes to the benefit of playing a rested goaltender versus a tired one, but between the lack of a trusted backup, last night’s shutout, and the fact that Andersen will get a four-day break after tonight, it’s the furthest thing from surprising.
– Similar to the situation entering the game against the Avalanche last night, the Leafs are looking to redeem themselves after letting a point slip in the home leg of the two-game season series versus the Coyotes. The Leafs dominated large spells of the game, generating 88 shot attempts by the end of 65 minutes, but couldn’t score and fell to their fifth shootout loss of the season.
– Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith enters the game with a lifetime 7-2-1 record against the Leafs, having won four consecutive against Toronto including a 44-save effort in the Coyotes’ win at the ACC on December 15th. He’s had considerably less work to do in each of his three starts since but has lost all of them, conceding nine goals on 77 shots (.883).
– The Leafs enter the game still looking for their first win in a back-to-back situation (0-5-1). This is a trend the Leafs are going to have to buck soon (and if not against the Coyotes, when?) – they return from Christmas break with a back-to-back down in Florida and will play two more back-to-back sets (NJD & MTL, followed by NYR & OTT) in the first two weeks of January.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Ari |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 31 | 27 |
| Record % | 0.5 | 0.409 |
| Home Winning % | 0.588 | 0.385 |
| Away Winning % | 0.393 | 0.324 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 0.75 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -0.06 | -0.97 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | 1.74 | -6.52 |
| Hits Per Game | 26.1 | 27.5 |
| PIM Per Game | 10.7 | 12.1 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 11.6 | 10.7 |
| Goals Per Game | 2.81 | 2.15 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.23 | 1.61 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.55 | 0.45 |
| Shots Per Game | 33.9 | 28.5 |
| Shots Per Goal | 12.1 | 13.2 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.083 | 0.076 |
| Power Play % | 0.177 | 0.152 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.87 | 3.12 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.19 | 2.3 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.58 | 0.76 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 32.19 | 34.97 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 11.21 | 11.2 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.089 | 0.089 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.82 | 0.785 |
| Save % | 0.911 | 0.911 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.83 | 3.08 |
| Shutouts | 0 | 0 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.917 | 0.924 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.76 | 2.12 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 2 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
van Riemsdyk – Nazem Kadri – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Leo Komarov – Frederik Gauthier – Nikita Soshnikov
Matt Martin – Byron Froese – William Nylander
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo
Injured: Martin Marincin, Ben Smith, Tyler Bozak
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (Confirmed)
Backup: Antoine Bibeau
Arizona Coyotes Projected Lines
Forwards
Lawson Crouse – Martin Hanzal – Radim Vrbata
Jamie McGinn – Peter Holland – Anthony Duclair
Tobias Rieder – Jordan Martinook – Shane Doan
Brendan Perlini – Christian Dvorak – Josh Jooris
Defencemen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Connor Murphy
Alex Goligoski – Michael Stone
Kevin Connauton – Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Starter: Mike Smith (Expected)
Backup: Louis Domingue
