Toronto Maple Leafs look to end three game skid against struggling Minnesota Wild - NHL Preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs welcome the Minnesota Wild to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday as they look to end a three game skid and move back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs are 22-18-5 after losing three games two of which were at home ice, including last Tuesday’s 3-2 reverse at the hands of Canadian Rivals, Ottawa Senators.
The Leafs led the Senators 2-0 in the first half but the Senators came back into the game after some brilliant goaltending by Craig Anderson and Captain Daniel Alfredsson’s first goal sparked a solid comeback.
The Leafs are now 12-7-4 at home and have a great opportunity to return to winning ways against the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild are having a torrid time on the road as they have lost ten straight games away while also failing to keep the score lines respectable. Minnesota on Tuesday played embarrassingly poor against the Philadelphia Flyers going on to lose the game 5-1.
Wild Coach Mike Yeo’s offence is averaging just 2.2 goals per game and rank 29th overall in the league in average goals per game as they have lost three games in a row by long margins for a 22-17-7 record.
"It's ridiculous on our part," Coach Mike Yeo said. "Just because bad things happen, we can't play our game. We have to fix that."
The losing streak on the road shows no signs of ending and it will be too much to expect it against the Maple Leafs who score an average of 3.02 goals per game and boast a brilliantly talented offensive line.
Leafs Coach Ron Wilson will rotate some of his forward lines against the Wild.
"At least for a period (on Thursday) we'll see if something like that helps us," Wilson said.
Forward Nazem Kadri after practice also was hopeful that the new tactics will help the Leafs score more goals and may even become a permanent feature of the side.
"I think it could stir the pot a little," said Kadri. "... They're good enough players to provide offense on their own."
Minnesota will face a tough task at the Air Canada stadium and their chances look bleak without star forward, Mikko Koivu, who is unavailable due to a shoulder injury.
Expect the Maple Leafs to win comfortably, although games are not won on paper and we might even witness an upset.
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