BLUE JACKETS (24-16-3) at MAPLE LEAFS (25-16-2) 7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVA Sports, TSN4, FS-O, NHL.TV
The Maple Leafs are 2-2-1 in their past five games after going 3-1-0 in their previous four. The Blue Jackets, who defeated the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Dec. 20, are playing the second game of a back-to-back set and are 2-3-1 in their past six games. They have been shut out twice in their past four games, scoring a total of four goals.
Players to watch
Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, who had two assists in a 3-2 shootout win against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak has scored the shootout-deciding goal in consecutive wins, 3-2 against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday and 3-2 against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. He also scored the game-tying goal against the Canucks.
They said it
"I hope that goal helps him just to release his stick a little bit. I hope it helps him, I just hope he relaxes a little bit because I think he's been just a little up tight." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on Nick Foligno ending a 10-game goal drought when he scored against the Panthers "They play hard, physical, they're big guys and they play down low. They cycle the puck and they're so strong. That tends to wear on our defense down low so for us, we want to make sure we're breaking out clean and make sure we're getting in front of (their forwards) so our defense has time to breakout." -- Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews on the Blue Jackets
Borgman will play after being a healthy scratch Saturday.
Stat pack
Panarin has one assist in his past four games following a four-game point streak (three goals, three assists). … Matthews has seven points (six goals, one assist) in his past seven games. … Nylander has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past nine games. … Rielly has eight assists in his past seven games.
