Maple Leafs at Blue Jackets preview

MAPLE LEAFS (21-13-1) at BLUE JACKETS (20-13-1)
7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Maple Leafs are coming off an 8-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the 100th anniversary of the first games played in NHL history.
The Blue Jackets have lost two straight games and three of their past four (1-3-0). In two of those four games, they allowed seven goals, including a 7-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday. They are four points behind the first-place Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Islanders.
Defenseman Zack Werenski will miss his first game with an undisclosed injury.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner scored his first goal in 15 games and had three assists against the Hurricanes. He has 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) this season.
Blue Jackets center Alex Wennberg has four points (goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"They're going to give you no room here today and that's how the game's going to start like most nights, so we're going to have to find a way to execute with no space and as the game goes on create more and more for ourselves." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"We've had a couple of clunkers this year but that by far was our most embarrassing game. My name is on that. I'm the coach of this team. I have not been able to get that taste out of my mouth." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on a 7-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday

Maple Leafs projected lineup

William Nylander -- Patrick Marleau -- Zach Hyman
Leo Komarov -- Nazem Kadri -- Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Mitchell Marner
Matt Martin -- Dominic Moore -- Kasperi Kapanen
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick
Andreas Borgman -- Roman Polak
Curtis McElhinney
Frederik Andersen
Scratched:Josh Leivo, Martin Marincin
Injured:Auston Matthews (upper body), Nikita Soshnikov (lower body), Nikita Zaitsev (lower body)

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Josh Anderson
Oliver Bjorkstrand -- Alexander Wennberg -- Cam Atkinson
Sonny Milano -- Boone Jenner -- Nick Foligno
Matt Calvert -- Lukas Sedlak -- Markus Hannikainen
Gabriel Carlsson -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- Markus Nutivaara
Scott Harrington -- David Savard
Joonas Korpisalo
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched:Cameron Gaunce
Injured:Ryan Murray (upper body), Brandon Dubinsky (fractured orbital bone), Zach Werenski (undisclosed)

Status report

Matthews took part in the morning skate but will miss his sixth straight game. … Carlsson was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

Stat pack

The Maple Leafs are 3-3-0 in the second game of a back to backs. … Columbus is last in the NHL on the power play (10.2 percent).