© Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
TOR
CBJ
1-6-0
ROAD / HOME
5-3-1
3.36
GOALS FOR
2.87
3.73
GOALS AGAINST
3.26
15.5%
POWER PLAY
17.0%
80.0%
PENALTY KILL
73.7%
27.8
SHOTS FOR
30.4
31.0
SHOTS AGAINST
31.4
56.3%
FACE-OFFS
50.8%
TORONTO: LAST THREE GAMES
TUE, 11/18
vs. Blues
OTW, 3-2
THU, 11/20
vs. Blue Jackets
OTL, 3-2
SAT, 11/22
@ Canadiens
L, 5-2
TORONTO: TEAM LEADERS
GOALS
John Tavares
12
ASSISTS
William Nylander
19
POINTS
William Nylander
29
ODDS & PROJECTIONS
CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK:
58%
CBJ ODDS PER BETMGM:
-115
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs face off for the final time this season Wednesday night.
The first two games of the season series have went Columbus’ way: a 6-3 win on home ice October 29th and a 3-2 overtime victory last Thursday in Toronto.
Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop:
The Maple Leafs have just one win in seven road games this season, including last month’s loss at Nationwide Arena. … Their 3.73 goals allowed per game is second worst in the league, trailing only the Vancouver Canucks’ 3.74. … This is the second game of a season-high six-game road trip for Toronto, but they do enter this game on three days’ rest.
Columbus will need to play with a renewed sense of energy and urgency following Monday’s 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. “We tried in spurts, certainly early in the game, but our overall game we cannot be happy with,” said head coach Dean Evason. Veteran forward Charlie Coyle agreed: “It just wasn’t the way we played, and that’s just not it.”
Jet Greaves has been named the starter in this one. He continues to ascend as the organization’s number one goalie, posting a 2.80 goals against average and .904 save percentage. In 14 starts, he’s 7-4-3. Columbus has at least one point in each of Jet’s last seven starts (4-0-3).
Three potential milestones could be reached in this game: Coyle is one point away from 500 in his NHL career. Dmitri Voronkov’s next point will be the 100th of his career, and Adam Fantilli needs just two to reach 100 in his career.
There are heavy lineup changes in this game. Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier are out with injuries, and Jake Christiansen will be a healthy scratch. Forward Luca Pinelli will make his NHL debut, and defenseman Brendan Smith will make his Blue Jackets debut as well. Here are the complete projections:
LW
C
RW
10
Dmitri Voronkov
19
Adam Fantilli
91
Kent Johnson
4
Cole Sillinger
23
Sean Monahan
53
Luca Pinelli
11
Miles Wood
3
Charlie Coyle
21
Isac Lundestrom
27
Zach Aston-Reese
16
Brendan Gaunce
59
Yegor Chinakhov
LD
RD
8
Zach Werenski
9
Ivan Provorov
5
Denton Mateychuk
78
Damon Severson
7
Brendan Smith
15
Dante Fabbro
Starting Goalie
Back-Up
73
Jet Greaves
90
Elvis Merzlikins