The Minnesota Wild take the NHL‘s best record on the road into Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, Nov. 12, facing a Toronto Maple Leafs team that has lost five straight. This Wild vs Maple Leafs preview comes with the visitors sitting at 13-3-4 atop the Central Division while Toronto has slipped to 8-10-2 and last in the Atlantic. Minnesota has won four of its last five games, including a 2-1 overtime victory at Montreal on Wednesday, while the Maple Leafs are coming off a 6-3 home loss to Colorado the same night.
Wild Vs Maple Leafs Game Information
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 12
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
- TV/Streaming: ESPN+, MINNHL
- Series: Season series opens Thursday
By The Numbers
- Record: Minnesota 13-3-4, Toronto 8-10-2
- Goals for (season total): Minnesota 65, Toronto 67
- Goals against (season total): Minnesota 44, Toronto 69
- Average goals against: Minnesota 2.20, Toronto 3.45
- Save percentage: Minnesota .915, Toronto .891
- Power-play goals: Minnesota 19, Toronto 16
- Faceoff percentage: Minnesota 48.0%, Toronto 51.7%
- Shots on goal (season total): Minnesota 588, Toronto 561
Minnesota Wild Outlook
Minnesota enters with 30 points, the most in the Central Division, built largely on a defense that has allowed just 44 goals, the lowest total among the teams listed in the Central and Atlantic standings. The Wild’s 2.20 goals-against average and .915 save percentage back up a defensive identity that has carried them through a stretch where they have won four of five.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 17 goals and 32 points, while Quinn Hughes paces the club with 21 assists. Jesper Wallstedt is projected to start in goal with Filip Gustavsson still on injured reserve recovering from hip surgery, with a return date listed as Nov. 19. Defenseman Brock Faber remains on injured reserve following skull surgery, with a return date listed as Nov. 14, meaning Minnesota is likely to again lean on its depth on the blue line. The Wild topped the Sharks 4-1 on Nov. 7 and beat the Capitals 5-1 on Nov. 1, both wins featuring the kind of balanced scoring that has defined their 13-3-4 start.
Toronto Maple Leafs Outlook
Toronto has lost five consecutive games and sits at 18 points, last in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have been outscored badly in that stretch, including consecutive losses of 4-0 to New Jersey and 6-3 to Colorado over their last two outings. Toronto’s 69 goals allowed and 3.45 goals-against average both rank as the weaker marks in this matchup, and a .891 team save percentage reflects the recent defensive struggles.
Auston Matthews leads Toronto in every offensive category listed, with 11 goals, 17 assists and 28 points. Sergei Bobrovsky is projected to start in net. The Maple Leafs are dealing with a thinned-out lineup: center Colton Sissons is out with a lower-body injury with a return date listed as Nov. 17, right wing Kirill Marchenko is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury targeted for Nov. 23, and left wing Miles Wood remains on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury and a Nov. 30 return date. Defenseman Morgan Rielly and center Zack MacEwen are both listed day-to-day, with Rielly dealing with a lower-body injury and MacEwen with a wrist injury, each with a return date of Nov. 12.
Key Matchup
The clearest contrast is Minnesota’s defense against Toronto’s need to find offense through traffic. The Wild have allowed 44 goals in their first 20 games while Toronto has given up 69, a 25-goal gap that lines up with Minnesota’s four-win, one-loss run over its last five games against Toronto’s five straight defeats. Matthews and Toronto’s power play, which has produced 16 goals, will need to beat a Minnesota penalty-kill unit that benefits from a goals-against average nearly a full goal and a quarter lower than Toronto’s. For the Wild, the question is special teams execution on the road, since Minnesota’s own power play has converted 19 times and ranks ahead of Toronto’s by that measure.
What To Watch
Minnesota’s 30 points lead the Central Division, and the Wild have put distance between themselves and second-place Colorado’s 24 points through 20 games. Toronto, by contrast, needs to find a way to stop a five-game slide that has dropped the club to the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings. With both projected starting goalies, Wallstedt for Minnesota and Bobrovsky for Toronto, carrying real workloads given each team’s injury situation in net and on defense, goaltending figures to be a central storyline. The Wild are also working with a short turnaround after their Wednesday overtime win in Montreal, making it a back-to-back test on the road.
Minnesota’s recent form is detailed in the Wild vs Canadiens preview from earlier this week, and their Nov. 7 win over San Jose is covered in Wild beats Sharks 4-1. Their Nov. 1 victory is recapped in Wild beat Capitals 5-1, and defenseman depth concerns connect to the earlier Ryan Pulock injury report.
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