Music: {allcanada} MAPLE LEAFS (22-20-3) at BLUES (27-13-4)

Friday, January 16, 2015

{allcanada} MAPLE LEAFS (22-20-3) at BLUES (27-13-4)

Saturday, January 17, 2015

7:00 PM ET

MAPLE LEAFS (22-20-3) at BLUES (27-13-4)

TV: NHLN-US, CBC, FS-MW

Season series: The St. Louis Blues swept two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs last season by a combined 11-6 score. David Backes had a hat trick, and Alexander Steen and T.J. Oshie each had a goal and two assists in St. Louis' 5-3 victory at Toronto on March 25.

Maple Leafs team scope: Toronto will wrap up its four-game trip after losing its third straight, 3-1 against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The Maple Leafs were outscored 9-1 in three games against California teams. Former Blues defenseman Roman Polak, who was traded for Carl Gunnarsson, scored Toronto's goal at San Jose; it ended a shutout streak at 133:10. Polak spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career with St. Louis, where he had 13 goals and 79 points in 424 games. Toronto has lost five in a row on the road and has been outscored 17-3. The Maple Leafs are 1-4-0 since Peter Horachek replaced Randy Carlyle as coach. "We have to figure it out," forward Phil Kessel said after the loss. "… We're playing decent hockey, we're just not winning games. We have to keep improving."

Blues team scope: Gunnarsson spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with Toronto, where he had 15 goals and 86 points in 306 regular-season games. "I really believe this is one of these trades that helped both teams," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "… When [Gunnarsson's] been healthy, he's been a good player for us." The Blues had their five-game winning streak end Thursday with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Pavel Datsyuk's goal with 2.2 seconds remaining. The Blues have not lost to the Maple Leafs on home ice since Feb. 6, 2007 (2-0-1). Forward Dmitrij Jaskin, a healthy scratch against the Red Wings, is expected to return. Goalie Brian Elliott, who made 21 saves against Detroit, will start.

Team Stats