Carolina Hurricanes (43-19-6, 92 Pts) at Toronto Maple Leafs (29-28-12, 70 Pts)

Venue: Scotiabank Arena
Date: Friday, March 20
Time: 7:00 pm EST
TV: SNO/TVA Sports/ NHL Network
Radio:
Carolina – Hurricanes Radio Network
Toronto – SN 590

Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster

Carolina Hurricanes News & Notes:

The Carolina Hurricanes arrive in Toronto looking to continue their playoff push. The team has had some struggles as of late, winning three of their past six games, but they are coming off an entertaining overtime victory against the Penguins. The Hurricanes have a cushion in the Metropolitan division and look like they’ll eventually win the division, but the team will need to keep up the effort and not coast through the rest of the regular season, as the wild-card race is quite tight, so their opponent in the first round is likely to be riding momentum. The Hurricanes will look to secure two points tonight, while keeping all their stars healthy in hopes of a long playoff push.

Toronto Maple Leafs News & Notes:

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their struggles this season with a 3-1 loss against the Islanders on Tuesday, and come into a tough matchup tonight against the Hurricanes. We’re at the point in the season where the team is almost guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade, but they will need to lose out the rest of the way to get their top 5 protected draft pick back, unless they have some lottery luck. Look for the younger players to once again get looks in the lineup as the Leafs assess their options for next season.

Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lines

Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis
Hall-Stankoven-Blake
Ehlers-Staal-Martinook
Carrier-Jankowski-Robinson

Slavin-Chatfield
Miller-Walker
Reilly-Nikishin

Bussi
Andersen

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Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Maccelli-Tavares-Nylander
Knies-Domi-Cowan
Joshua-Groulx-Robertson
Lorentz-Quillan-Jarnkrok

Rielly-Myers
McCabe-Carlo
Ekman-Larsson-Stecher

Woll
Stolarz

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Injury Report:

Carolina Hurricanes

F Charles-Alexis Legault – Out
G Pyotr Kochetkov – Out
D Shayne Gostisbehere – DTD

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Auston Matthews – Out
D Chris Tanev – Out
D Dakota Mermis – Out

Players To Watch:

Carolina Hurricanes

Jackson Blake has emerged as one of the Carolina Hurricanes’ most exciting young talents this season, establishing himself as a legitimate offensive threat with 20 goals and 43 points through 68 games. Blake’s recent performance against Pittsburgh was quite impressive, as he recorded three points, including one goal and two assists, in the thrilling 6-5 overtime victory. Against a Toronto defense that has struggled, Blake will have opportunities to add to his impressive sophomore campaign and help the Hurricanes maintain their position atop the Metropolitan Division.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has experienced one of the most eventful months of his professional career, navigating trade deadline speculation while preparing to welcome a baby boy into the world. The 34-year-old Swedish defenseman was absent for Sunday’s game against Minnesota to be with his wife for the birth of their baby boy on Monday afternoon, returning to play against the Islanders just one day later. Despite being prominently featured on trade boards leading up to the March 6 deadline, Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs organization ultimately decided to keep Ekman-Larsson, as they valued his success this season, his reasonable contract, and on-ice contributions over potential trade returns. Ekman-Larsson, now with a growing family, will be able to complete the season without trade speculation over his head anymore.

Next Game

Carolina – March 22 at Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto – March 21 at Ottawa Senators

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