WILD (5-6-2) at MAPLE LEAFS (9-7-0) 7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, FS-N+, NHL.TV
The Wild play the first of a back-to-back set. They've lost two straight games and are 1-3-0 in their past four.
Players to watch
Defenseman Jared Spurgeon has five points (goal, four assists) in his past six games. He leads the Wild with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 13 games. Forward Nazem Kadri scored two goals in a 4-3 shootout win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday to end a streak of four games without a point. He is second on the Maple Leafs with eight goals, two behind Matthews.
They said it
"We're more of a group that has to do everything together. We don't have the big guy to come in and score three goals one night and take the weight of the world on his shoulders. We do everything by committee and we don't worry about it. We think it was a great success last year and we're not sitting here wishing we had that one guy who's going to score 50 goals for us." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau "Obviously Auston's a very important piece of our puzzle and we'd like him to play as many games as possible but no matter who is in or out, I think we have guys to fill the void and certain guys are just going to have to step up." -- Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri
Stalock, who was scheduled to start, left the Wild to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. … Svedberg was recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League. … Leivo will play after being a healthy scratch the past three games and 14 of the past 16.
Stat pack
Toronto's 10 second-period goals are tied with the Edmonton Oilers for 27th. … Minnesota has scored nine goals in the second, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for 29th.
