Toronto Maple Leafs to win fourth straight against struggling Winnipeg Jets - NHL Preview
Toronto Maple Leafs have finally broken the playoff barrier and will look to continue their winning streak on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, against struggling Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre.
The Maple Leafs, who for most of the season have struggled to make most of opportunities to make it into the playoff spots, have finally ended their hoodoo, and a three game winning streak has seen them move up to seventh in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of hated rivals, Ottawa Senators.
Toronto enters this game on the back of a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, who were no match for the brilliance of the Leafs' offence on Monday.
The game started off close in the first period as both teams ended up tied at 2-2.
However, Toronto decimated the Oilers in a wonderful second period performance as they scored three goals and topped it off with a third period Phil Kessel goal to win by 6-3.
Centre Tyler Bozak is happy with the team’s performance but wants the players to keep their feet on the ground, while they keep winning and moving up the Eastern Conference.
"We're playing confident and we're playing well," Bozak said. "So we just want to keep worrying about our next game in hand and not look too far ahead and just keep winning."
With the form they are currently in, the struggling Jets will not be much of a problem for Toronto.
Winnipeg has lost five of its last seven games and are on a two game losing streak as they struggle to maintain pace and keep up with the their challenge of qualifying for a playoff spot.
Jets are currently 10th in the league, with a 24-24-6 record, and are seven points behind the eight placed Ottawa Senators, and eight points behind Tuesday’s opponents, Maple Leafs.
Jets' coach, Claude Noel is not happy with his team’s energy level and hopes that the players can provide a much better performance on Tuesday.
"When I look at the energy level, it looks like we've been on the road for two weeks, and guys have not been home," Noel said.
"So for us, the biggest thing is going to be finding some energy for the game on Tuesday."
The Maple Leafs will be favourites to win the game and consolidate their position in the playoff spots as the Jets are quite unlikely to be much of a problem.
Toronto’s better offence and their defensive acumen will be more than enough to win against a poor Winnipeg side.
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