With just one win in their last five games, the Toronto Maple Leafs hope a meeting with the Eastern Conference's last place team can reverse their fortunes as they host the struggling Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
This is the second of four games between the two clubs this season. The Hurricanes earned a 3-2 home victory on Nov. 20 in which Markham, Ontario native Jeff Skinner led the way with a goal and an assist en route to first star of the game honours.
During the Leafs' recent struggles, they haven't had much luck on home ice. Through their last seven games at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto has gone 1-4-2, having been outscored 29-17 during that stretch. Their only victory at home in their last seven was a 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Nov. 19.
Toronto has lost two straight, most recently suffering a 4-2 road loss at the hands of those very Caps on Friday who scored all four of their goals on the power play. In the loss, Kitchener, Ontario native Dennis Wideman was originally credited with his first career hat trick before having his third goal credited to teammate Brooks Laich, whom the puck went off before finding the back of the net.
Phil Kessel came through with one of Toronto's goals on Friday for his 18th goal of the season. The Leafs' sniper currently sits tied for first in the league in goals with Steven Stamkos and Milan Michalek. Kessel is riding a three-game point streak with two goals and two assists during that span. He sits three points back of Claude Giroux for the league lead in points.
Since returning from a head injury that forced him to miss 18 games, James Reimer is 0-2-1 with an .864 save percentage. The 23-year old netminder allowed four goals on 25 shots in Friday's loss to Washington to drop his record to 4-2-2 this season.
While Leafs head coach Ron Wilson would not name his starting goaltender following practice on Monday, Reimer has had some success in the past against the Hurricanes. In two career starts versus Carolina, Reimer is 2-0-0 with a miniscule 0.50 goals-against average and a .984 save percentage with one shutout to his credit.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines -Subject to change
Forwards
Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Clarke MacArthur - Tim Connolly - Colby Armstrong
Matt Frattin - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Joey Crabb - David Steckel - Philippe Dupuis
Defencemen
Carl Gunnarsson - Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner - Luke Schenn
John-Michael Liles - Cody Franson
Goaltenders
James Reimer
Jonas Gustavsson
The Hurricanes come into Toronto having lost eight of their last nine games, most recently suffering a 4-2 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Since firing former Leaf bench boss Paul Maurice and replacing him with former Leaf Kirk Muller on Nov. 28, the Canes have still been unable to find success on the ice. With Muller behind the bench, the team is 1-5-0.
In 31 games played this season, Carolina has given up a league-worst 108 goals against, while only scoring 79 goals. That averages out to an average of 3.42 goals-against per game, ranking thrm 29th in the league in that category, ahead of the Ottawa Senators who have given up 3.43 goals-against per game.
After registering a goal and an assist in the first meeting with Toronto this season, Jeff Skinner is not expected to play in Tuesday's games. The 19-year old missed Friday's loss in Winnipeg with an upper-body injury. Skinner took a big hit from Edmonton Oilers defenceman Andy Sutton late in a game last Wednesday, but Muller told reporters that the Markham native was not dealing with any concussion issues.
With Skinner out of the lineup, Canes captain Eric Staal has been forced to pick up the slack offensively. The Thunder Bay native is riding a three-game point streak, registering five points (2G, 3A) during that stretch. Staal also has nine points (3G, 6A) in his last seven games played.
Staal has traditionally played well in games against the Leafs. In 27 career games versus Toronto, Staal has registered 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points. In this season's first game against the Blue and White, the Canes' captain had two assists and was named second star of the game.
Carolina Hurricanes Projected Lines - Subject to change
Forwards
Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Tuomo Ruutu
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jussi Jokinen - Anthony Stewart
Drayson Bowman - Brandon Sutter - Chad LaRose
Andreas Nodl - Tim Brent - Patrick Dwyer
Defencemen
Tim Gleason - Jamie McBain
Bryan Allen - Derek Joslin
Justin Faulk - Jaroslav Spacek
Goaltenders
Cam Ward
Mike Murphy
Hurricanes vs. Leafs gets underway at 7PM ET. The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet Ontario and AM640.
For up-to-the-minute Leafs news and updates, be sure to follow Ken Beckett on Twitter @KenBeckett
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