Coming off their win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, a game they handily won 5-2, the Toronto Maple Leafs (29-11-8) will face off against the New York Rangers (26-14-7) tonight at the Scotiabank Arena, in Toronto.
The last time these two teams met was on December 15th, a game the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 3-1, and in which star player Mitch Marner’s franchise record 23 game point streak come to an end.
The Leafs are running hot right now, with a 6-3-1 record in their last ten games, and have 66 points in 48 games total, leaving them in a three way tie for second overall in the league with the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils.
Toronto trails only the league leading Boston Bruins in the Atlantic, who have 80 points on the season so far .
The New York Rangers are coming in even hotter, with a 7-3-1 record their last ten games, and 59 points in 47 games total, good for third in the Metropolitan, and tenth overall in the league.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers
Both Nick Robertson and Jake Muzzin will remain out of the lineup for the Leafs tonight as they recover from season ending injuries.
TJ Brodie has been day to day recovering from a rib injury sustained January 7th in a game against the Detroit Red Wings and will not be in the lineup again tonight.
The Leafs are 5-2-1 in the eight games Brodie has been out of action.
With Brodie out of the lineup your defensive pairings are expected to be: Rielly/Liljegren, Giordano/Holl, Sandin/Timmins. (DailyFaceoff).
Fans should look forward to a goaltending battle as last year’s Vezina winner Igor Shesterkin (21-8-7) is expected to be the starting goaltender for the New York Rangers.
Shesterkin is expected be facing off against Ilya Samsonov (15-4-2) who will be getting his fourth straight start for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Samsonov is sporting a spectacular 14-0-1 record at home this season, remaining undefeated in regulation in fifteen games, and will be looking to extend this already impressive streak by still one more.
Look for John Tavares to continue his climb up the all time goal scorers list, seeking to score career goal number 413, putting him in tie for 94th on the overall goal scoring list along with Garry Unger and John Maclean.
Look for William Nylander to get his 400th career point.
Auston Matthews will be looking to extend his home game point streak to seventeen games, only four behind the franchise record set by teammate Mitch Marner.
With an average of over three goals a game this year, fans can expect the New York Rangers to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a run for their money, with both goaltenders facing a barrage of shots.
I predict the Leafs win 3-2 in what should be an action packed thriller.
Game time is 7:00 and can be found on Sportsnet.