'Wednesday Night Hockey': 5 Storylines

Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, the first two players selected in the 2016 NHL Draft, will oppose each other for the fifth time in the NHL when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, SN1, TVAS) to open a "Wednesday Night Hockey" doubleheader.

In the second game, the Colorado Avalanche return to Pepsi Center after three straight road wins to host the Tampa Bay Lightning (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Tampa Bay is 1-0-1 on its five-game road trip.
Here are five storylines to watch:

Matthews vs. Laine

Matthews, taken No. 1 in 2016, had 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in Toronto's first seven games before the 21-year-old center was held off the scoresheet in losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. Laine, a 20-year-old forward selected by Winnipeg after Toronto took Matthews, has five points (three goals, two assists) in nine games.
One big difference has been shooting percentage: Matthews has 10 goals on 31 shots (32.3 percent); Laine has three on 36 shots (8.3 percent).
The Maple Leafs and Jets each are 2-1-1 against each other since Matthews and Laine entered the NHL, and each player has done well in four games head to head: Matthews has eight points (one goal, seven assists) against Winnipeg; Laine has six points (five goals, one assist) against Toronto.

Maple Leafs try to end slump

Toronto (6-3-0) won six of its first seven games and led the NHL with 33 goals before being shut down by the Penguins (3-0) and Blues (4-1) at home.
After seven straight multipoint games to begin the season, Matthews and center John Tavares (11 points; six goals, five assists) were held without a point by Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Toronto's power play, which was 9-for-19 through its first seven games, went 0-for-5 in the losses, and the Maple Leafs failed to generate enough offense at 5-on-5 to compensate.

Jets starting to fly

Winnipeg (6-2-1) finished second in the NHL in 2017-18 with 114 points (52-20-10) and was expected to be among the elite teams in the League this season. But the Jets struggled during their first few games, most notably a 5-4 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 16 in which they failed to hold a 4-1 third-period lead.
Since then, Winnipeg has looked more like it did last season in three straight victories, including a 5-4 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Monday after the Jets trailed 3-1 entering the third period.

Avalanche's top line on fire

Colorado (6-1-2, plus-13 goal differential) is showing its rise from last in the NHL in 2016-17 to a Stanley Cup Playoff berth last season is no fluke.
One key reason is the play of its top line. Center Nathan MacKinnon, a Hart Trophy finalist last season, has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in nine games. MacKinnon, forward Mikko Rantanen (16 points; four goals, 12 assists) and forward Gabriel Landeskog (12 points; eight goals, four assists) have turned into one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL.
MacKinnon and Rantanen each has at least one point in each of Colorado's first nine games; Landeskog has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak.

Lightning rolling again

Tampa Bay (5-1-1) looks every bit as good as it did last season, when it won the Atlantic Division and finished first in the Eastern Conference.
Though center Steven Stamkos has three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games, there has been plenty of scoring; centers Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde and J.T. Miller share the Lightning lead with eight points (Point is tops with five goals). Six players have at least five points.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 3-1-0 with a 2.16 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, and backup Louis Domingue is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .934 save percentage. Tampa Bay has shown few weaknesses during the first three weeks of the season.