Toronto Maple Leafs (33-23-15, 16th in NHL) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (47-18-6, 3rd in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Nationwide Arena
Watch: Sportsnet
Game Day Notes
– After regulation losses by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, the Maple Leafs enter the game with 78.3% playoff odds, a season-high. Two points tonight would improve the Leafs‘ chances to 87.4%. A regulation loss would drop the Leafs to 72%.
Of note on the out-of-town scoreboard, the Islanders are visiting the Rangers. An Islander win would decrease the Leafs‘ playoff odds by 4.2%, while an Islander loss would increase the Leafs‘ playoff odds by 2.8%.
The highest the Leafs can finish the night is at 90.2%, the lowest is 67.7%.
– The first time these two teams met (a 5-2 Blue Jackets win), the goalie matchup was Curtis McElhinney versus Joonas Korpisalo. It looks like it will be Frederik Andersen vs. Korpisalo in game #2, with the Blue Jackets saving Sergei Bobrovsky for the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.
– The Blue Jackets are 8-5-2 in the 15 games Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t started this season, with Korpisalo posting a 6-3-0 and a .909 save percentage.
– Korpisalo stopped 31 of 33 saves in Columbus’ win over the Leafs in mid-February. Two point-blank saves on Leo Komarov in the first 12 minutes of the game set the stage for the Blue Jackets to score four unanswered; that put the game out of reach despite two goals from Nazem Kadri, both assisted on by Josh Leivo.
– Leivo will remain a healthy scratch tonight despite an injury to Nikita Soshnikov, with Eric Fehr expected to make his Leafs debut 22 days after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on deadline day. He’ll take Soshnikov’s place on the fourth line next to Brian Boyle and Matt Martin and is expected to play a role on the penalty kill.
– Blue Jackets lineup notes courtesy of Aaron Portzline:
The forward lines in practice drills on Tuesday suggested that veteran left wing Scott Hartnell could be a healthy scratch tonight against Toronto… Sedlak returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing a month with an oblique injury. He skated in Hartnell’s spot on the fourth line in practice… Sedlak has played only at center since the final exhibition game… As expected, Wennberg returned to practice after missing Sunday’s game with a stiff neck.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Tor | Cls |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 81 | 100 |
| Record % | 0.57 | 0.704 |
| Home Winning % | 0.614 | 0.729 |
| Away Winning % | 0.514 | 0.662 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0.111 | 0.667 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | 0.18 | 0.89 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | -0.59 | 0.93 |
| Hits Per Game | 24.3 | 19.2 |
| PIM Per Game | 9.6 | 8.8 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 9.9 | 8.8 |
| Goals Per Game | 3.03 | 3.18 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.25 | 2.49 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.7 | 0.58 |
| Shots Per Game | 32.2 | 31 |
| Shots Per Goal | 10.6 | 9.7 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.094 | 0.103 |
| Power Play % | 0.237 | 0.215 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.85 | 2.3 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.25 | 1.8 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.52 | 0.46 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 32.83 | 30.06 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 11.54 | 13.09 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.087 | 0.076 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.833 | 0.828 |
| Save % | 0.913 | 0.924 |
| Goals Against Average | 2.8 | 2.27 |
| Shutouts | 5 | 7 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.906 | 0.897 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 2.98 | 3.15 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 2 | 5 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – Connor Brown
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner
Matt Martin – Brian Boyle – Eric Fehr
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Connor Carrick
Jake Gardiner – Nikita Zaitsev
Matt Hunwick – Roman Polak
Goaltenders
Starter: Frederik Andersen (29-15-14, 2.65, 0.918)
Backup: Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Alexey Marchenko, Ben Smith, Martin Marincin, Josh Leivo
Injured: Nikita Soshnikov (day to day)
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lines
Forwards
Nick Foligno – Alexander Wennberg – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Saad – Sam Gagner – Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner – Brandon Dubinsky – Josh Anderson
Lukas Sedlak – William Karlsson – Matt Calvert
Defencemen
Zach Werenski – Seth Jones
Jack Johnson – David Savard
Kyle Quincey – Scott Harrington
Goaltenders
Starter: Joonas Korpisalo (6-3-0, 2.72, 0.909)
Backup: Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Lauri Korpikoski, Markus Nutivaara, Scott Hartnell
Injured: Ryan Murray (hand)
Who’s Hot
- Frederik Andersen: 5-1-1, .940 save percentage in last seven starts
- William Nylander: eight points (two goals, six assists) during eight-game points streak
- Tyler Bozak: nine points (three goals, six assists) in last nine games
- James van Riemsdyk: five points (two goals, three assists) in last five games
- Boone Jenner: two goals in 4-1 win over the Devils on Sunday
- Sam Gagner: eight points (four goals, four assists) in last nine games
- Zach Werenski: seven points (two goals, five assists) in last six games
Morning Skate: Mike Babcock
Morning Skate – Leafs vs. Blue Jackets – Mike Babcock, Eric Fehr https://t.co/429G85NUbo
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) March 22, 2017
