'Hockey Night in Canada': 5 Storylines

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be at full strength when they visit the Boston Bruins in the first game of a "Hockey Night in Canada" doubleheader on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, SN1, NESN, NHL.TV). Forward William Nylander will play his second game after making his season debut with the Maple Leafs on Thursday, five days after the restricted free agent agreed to terms on a six-year contract.
The Calgary Flames will try for their fifth straight win when they host the Nashville Predators in the second game (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN1, SN360, CITY, FS-TN, NHL.TV).

Here are 5 storylines to keep an eye on:

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Game 2 for Nylander

William Nylander
's season debut didn't go as he or the Maple Leafs had hoped. He didn't have a point and had no shots on goal in 12:29 of ice time in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena. Just 2:07 of that time came in the third period, and he didn't see the ice in overtime. But Nylander played his first game without benefit of a full practice with the Maple Leafs after arriving from Sweden. There were hints of what the 22-year-old will bring to the table when he's in top form; he made a couple of terrific passes and beat out an icing call. Nylander took part in his first practice Friday, and the Maple Leafs hope he'll be able to make one of the NHL's best teams even better sooner rather than later.

Maple Leafs rolling

At 20-8-1, the Maple Leafs would be in first place in any division but their own; they trail the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (22-7-1) by four points in the Atlantic. The overtime loss to the Red Wings ended Toronto's five-game winning streak, but the Maple Leafs have points in six straight games (5-0-1). Entering Friday, Toronto was third in the NHL in scoring (106 goals) and second to the Lightning (plus-30) in goal differential (plus-28). The offense is prolific and deep, Morgan Rielly (31 points) leads a mobile defense and goaltender Frederik Andersen has been sharp from opening night. It's a team built to win now and to remain among the NHL's best for the next few seasons.

Bruins battling injuries

Boston also got a key player back on Thursday; defenseman Charlie McAvoy returned and played 21:02 in a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay after missing 20 games with a concussion. But the Bruins are still missing several key players, including defensemen Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller, as well as Patrice Bergeron, perhaps the best two-way center in the NHL. Boston has lost its past three games and dropped to the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are trying to tread water until some of their injured players return.

Smith back on track for Flames

Calgary is 5-0-1 in its past six games and 8-1-1 in its past 10. One big reason is that goaltender Mike Smith's game has picked up. He made 31 saves Thursday in a 2-0 victory against the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome and is 5-0-0 in his past five appearances (four starts), allowing seven goals on 114 shots for a .939 save percentage. It's a big turnaround after a slow start that saw coach Bill Peters give four straight starts to backup David Rittich from Nov. 17-23. "I think the guys have bailed me out a lot this year," Smith said after the win against Minnesota, "so it's nice to make some saves and contribute to the team's success."

Predators feeling the grind

Nashville looked like a worn-down team in a 5-3 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday that was the Predators' 13th game in 24 days. Like Boston, Nashville also is missing a number of key players because of injuries. Forwards Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson are out with upper-body injuries, center Kyle Turris (undisclosed) is on injured reserve and there's no timetable for the return of defenseman P.K. Subban (upper body). None will play Saturday. The Predators have gotten good efforts from players such as forwards Ryan Hartman and Craig Smith, but the absence of three top-six forwards and a top-four defenseman has taken away a lot of room for error, especially against a team like the Flames that's on a roll.