On January 3, 2019, the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club will host its Next Generation Game presented by Scotiabank, when the Maple Leafs face the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Arena. With a special afternoon puck drop time at 2 p.m., the game marks a celebration for Leafs fans of all ages with a strong focus on youth and the future of hockey, both on and off the ice.

LEAFS TAKE GAME'S FIRST LEAD ON ENNIS' GOAL

The Maple Leafs were focused on ending their two-game losing streak - and answering back for Carolina's 5-2 win over Toronto at Scotiabank Arena Nov. 21 - and got off to a stellar start to Tuesday's game: The Buds outshot the Hurricanes 15-8 in the first 20 minutes, and the Leafs scored the only goal of the first period, when winger Tyler Ennis netted his fifth of the season and the second in his past five games:

Video: TOR@CAR: Ennis hammers home rebound to open scoring

Partial credit for the scoring play goes to centre Frederik Gauthier, who pushed the puck up the ice into Carolina's zone before Ennis finally got a rebound off goalie Petr Mrazek and quickly beat him to gave Toronto the game's first lead. And the Buds controlled large stretches of play in the opening frame, which was unlike the previous time the two teams faced off. All-in-all, the first period was a strong one for the Leafs, who were playing the second of a five-game road trip.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has signed defenceman Calle Rosen to a two-year contract extension with an annual average value of $750,000.

BRUINS SCORE ALL THREE GOALS SCORED THROUGH TWO PERIODS; LEAFS GET ON SCORESHEET EARLY IN THIRD  

The rivalry between the Maple Leafs and Bruins has always been robust, and nothing changed about it Saturday night at TD Garden. Toronto outshot Boston 11-8, but the Bruins emerged from the opening 20 minutes with a 1-0 lead (via Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson's goal) midway through the first period, and Boston tripled their lead in the second period on goals from forward David Backes and blueliner Torey Krug.

When the Bruins got their fourth straight goal (from forward Danton Heiman) at 1:47 of the third, the situation appeared bleak for the Leafs. But defenceman Travis Dermott's second goal of the season got Toronto on the scoreboard at the 4:03 mark, and the Buds had something to build on in the final three-quarters of regulation time:

Video: TOR@BOS: Dermott beats Halak with quick wrister

Unfortunately for the Leafs - who were playing in the first of a five-game road trip - the comeback that they used to take the Red Wings to overtime on Thursday didn't materialize in Boston. This was a physical game that got more physical as the evening went on, and the Bruins were better on this night. 

LEAFS JUMP OUT TO EARLY LEAD ON KAPANEN'S 11TH GOAL OF SEASON 

Trying to continue a season-high five-game win streak, the Maple Leafs looked strong to start Thursday's home tilt against the Red Wings, and Toronto generated the game's first goal just 4:50 into the first period when winger Kasperi Kapanen finished off a fine passing sequence:

Video: DET@TOR: Kapanen taps one in from the doorstep

Andreas Johnsson and Jake Gardiner picked up the assists on the play, and Kapanen scored his 11th goal and 20th point in 29 games this season. Toronto looked to have created some momentum for itself on the play, but that was short-lived, as the Wings would soon show.

ANDERSEN STANDS STRONG THROUGHOUT SCORELESS FIRST; MATTHEWS GIVES BUDS GAME'S FIRST LEAD

The Maple Leafs were riding a four-game win streak (and had won eight of their past 10) entering Tuesday's tilt with the Sabres, but it was Buffalo, playing in front of their home crowd at KeyBank Center, that came out strongly to start this game. The Sabres had twice as many shots (14 in total) than Toronto did (seven shots) in the opening frame, but Andersen turned them all aside.

Then, nearing the midway point of the second period, centre Auston Matthews stepped up and scored his 14th goal in as many games he's played this season:

Video: TOR@BUF: Matthews grabs puck, scores on wraparound

Matthews missed a month with an upper-body injury, but since he returned to action Nov. 28, he's been a monster on offence: his goal Monday gave him four in three games since returning, and it gave the Buds the all-important first goal of the night.
 

William Nylander was back in Toronto Monday, undergoing his physical after signing a six-year contract extension with the Maple Leafs late Saturday afternoon. But there was no metric to measure how thrilled Nylander was to be back playing NHL hockey, nor to assess how excited his teammates were to have him at the arena again.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has acquired forward Michael Carcone from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Josh Leivo. In a corresponding move, defenceman Travis Dermott has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

MATTHEWS, MARNER COLLABORATE TO PUT LEAFS AHEAD EARLY IN FIRST FRAME

Aiming to win its fourth game in a row and its eighth game in its past 10, the Leafs pounced on the host Minnesota Wild on the power play when centre Auston Matthews scored his 13th of the season 6:06 into the first period to put Toronto ahead 1-0:

Video: TOR@MIN: Matthews snaps home Marner's feed for PPG

With the Leafs on the man advantage, it was a given Marner and Matthews would team up to try working their magic. And after Matthews deftly knocked down a cross-ice pass from Marner, he quickly fired it past Wild star goalie Devan Dubnyk for his third goal and fourth point in his past two games since returning from an injury that sidelined him for 14 games. Both Matthews and Marner are crucial components of the Leafs' attack, and this goal showed Leafs Nation and the NHL why they work so well together.
 

The Maple Leafs added another potent weapon to their arsenal Saturday when winger William Nylander and the club agreed on a six-year, $45-million contract extension. The signing came mere minutes before the NHL's deadline for players to sign a contract to be eligible to play this season, but according to Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, there was never any doubt Nylander wanted to remain with the organization, and the organization wanted him to stick around.