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Leafs set their sights on 27th place with a win over Wild (Nov 10)
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Has Toronto finally turned the corner? 2 wins in a row and points in their last 7 games sure sounds like a team that is back on track. Coming off a convincing 5-1 win over Detroit on Saturday, the Maple Leafs (3-7-5) will battle the Minnesota Wild (6-10-0) at home on Tuesday night.
The Headline
Toronto has its first 2-game win streak of the season and all the critics are waiting to see if they are the real deal. A come-from-behind win over Carolina was not overly impressive considering the Canes have lost 12 in a row. However, a 5-1 win over last year's Stanley Cup finalist Red Wings turned more than a few heads. A loss to the 27th place Minnesota Wild would set things back quite a bit.
The Side Note
The Minnesota Wild have struggled mightily on the road this year. They are a lowly 1-8-0 away from home this season. Either the Leafs will get their second home win, or the Wild will notch a second on the road.
The goaltending match-up will be a good one to watch. Jonas Gustavsson and Niklas Backstrom have very similar numbers at this point in the season. Gustavsson has a SV% of .918 and GAA of 2.60 while Backstrom has a SV% of .909 and GAA of 2.63.
Huh...
The Wild are a perfect 3-0 in games decided with extra-time this season while the Leafs are a pitiful 0-5. Let's hope this one is decided in the first 60 minutes...
Leafs Report
Toronto may be without defenseman Mike Komisarek who left the game Saturday with an undisclosed injury. He did not practice on Monday and is questionable for Tuesday's game. The Leafs power-play is back to 1st in the league (tied with Philadelphia at 26.6%). Toronto has finally improved its penalty kill percentage largely due to much more disciplined play. The team is a perfect 16 for 16 on the PK in their last 4 games. Toronto's PK% is up to 73.0% but it still places them worst in the league in that category.
Wild Report
The Wild are coming off a big 3-2 win over Dallas in the first game of a four-game home-stand. Minnesota has the 4th best PK in the league at an impressive 85.0%. The team will most likely be without Petr Sykora who is still recovering from an upper body injury.
Players to Watch
Phil Kessel has been playing great since his Leaf debut. He has 1 G and 2 A in his first 3 games back from injury. Jonas Gustavsson continues to solidify his place as the number 1 goalie on the team as Vesa Toskala watches from the sidelines. Martin Havlat has not performed nearly as well as the team was hoping he would when they picked him up in the off-season. He has only 1 G and 6 A in his first 14 games this season. Look for him to turn things around very soon and in a big way. The team's best player has been captain Mikko Koivu who has 4 G and 9 A for a team-leading 13 points.
The Prediction
Toronto 3 - Minnesota 0
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