MAPLE LEAFS (14-12-7) at PANTHERS (15-14-6)
7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-F, NHL.TV
Maple Leafs team scope
Center Tyler Bozak will return to the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs after missing the past three games because of a lower-body injury. Bozak, who has six goals and 13 assists in 30 games, will skate on a line with James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner. He was activated off injured reserve Wednesday. "He's a real good player for us," coach Mike Babcock said. "Obviously a good faceoff guy. Real good hockey sense. We look to him for a lot. He's really upped his compete level this year, better defensively. We need him to take another step for us the second half. He's an important part of our team." The Maple Leafs loaned goalie Jhonas Enroth to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Enroth is 0-3-1 with a 3.94 goals-against average and .872 save percentage in six games with the Maple Leafs. Toronto has won three of its past four games and has a point in five of six (3-1-2).
Panthers team scope
Goalie Roberto Luongo again will look to move past Terry Sawchuk into fifth place on the all-time wins list. Luongo, who is tied with Sawchuk at 447 wins, came up short in his first attempt when the Panthers lost 4-3 in a shootout against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. In his previous start, he tied Sawchuk in a 4-3 shootout win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20. Jaromir Jagr got his 1,888th point to pass Mark Messier for second place on the all-time list, an assist against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 22. He has 1,134 assists and needs one to tie Paul Coffey for fifth place on the all-time list. Reilly Smith will miss the game because of a concussion he sustained against Detroit. Veteran Jussi Jokinen will rejoin the second line with Nick Bjugstad and center Vincent Trocheck. Bjugstad, who led the Panthers in 2014-15 with 24 goals, has a goal in 16 games after missing the start of the season because of a wrist injury. "He's got to start using his body," coach Tom Rowe said. "We talked about it yesterday. He's a big kid. He's got a great shot. I think he has a tendency to think a little bit too much. He's just got to go out there and play. He's with Jokinen, who's probably one of the smartest guys we have on the team, probably one of the smartest guys in the league, period. [Trocheck] is going to create offense. Nick's got to get into the open and get his shot on net."
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Leo Komarov - Nazem Kadri - William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Mitchell Marner
Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - Connor Brown
Matt Martin - Frederik Gauthier - Nikita Soshnikov
Morgan Rielly - Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner - Connor Carrick
Antoine Bibeau
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo, Byron Froese
Injured: Martin Marincin (lower body), Ben Smith (upper body)
Panthers projected lineup
Jaromir Jagr - Aleksander Barkov - Seth Griffith
Jussi Jokinen - Vincent Trocheck - Nick Bjugstad
Jonathan Marchessault - Denis Malgin - Colton Sceviour
Kyle Rau - Derek MacKenzie - Paul Thompson
Jakub Kindl - Aaron Ekblad
Roberto Luongo
Scratched: Shawn Thornton, Dylan McIlrath
Injured: Reilly Smith (concussion), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower leg), Alex Petrovic (ankle)
Status report
Gauthier, Froese and Bibeau each was recalled from the Toronto Marlies on Tuesday after being loaned their 2-1 loss against St. John's on Monday. … Rowe said Smith was day to day and he was hoping to have him back in the lineup Saturday against the Dallas Stars. … Rowe said Huberdeau continues to make progress but still isn't expected back until the middle of February. … Petrovic is likely to be out another four weeks. ... Malgin will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch against Detroit on Friday.
Who's hot
Matthews has 10 goals in his past 14 games. … Marner has a goal and five assists in his past five games. … Barkov is on a season-high five-game point streak (three goals, four assists) and has 13 points in his past 10 games. … Demers has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games.
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