Maple Leafs at Blue Jackets preview

MAPLE LEAFS (1-0-0) at BLUE JACKETS (0-0-0)
7 p.m. ET; FS-O, TSN-4, NHL.TV

The forward has scored a goal in five consecutive season openers, the longest active streak in the NHL and one game short of the League record shared by Mud Bruneteau of the Detroit Red Wings (1940-45) and Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens (1973-78).
Gustav Nyquist will play his first game for the Blue Jackets after the forward signed a four-year contract on July 1.
Jason Spezza will make his Maple Leafs debut; the forward, who signed a one-year contract on July 1, was a healthy scratch in Toronto's season-opening 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs captain John Tavares has 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 26 NHL career games against Columbus, including four points (three goals, one assist) in three games last season.
Blue Jackets rookies Emil Bemstrom and Jakob Lilja will make their NHL debuts. Bemstrom, a 20-year-old forward, was a fourth-round pick (No. 117) in the 2017 NHL Draft; Lilja, a 25-year-old forward, signed a free agent contract on June 15. The two were teammates last season with Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League.

They said it

"They always play hard. I don't like to hear the cannon go off, to be honest with you. They start fast in here. We've got to do a good job. The bottom line is we're Game 2 of the season and we're still trying to find out who we are and create what we're going to be." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"I think I will be nervous, of course. First game, like a dream come true. It will be special." -- Blue Jackets forward Jakob Lilja

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Kasperi Kapanen -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Andreas Johnsson -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Ilya Mikheyev -- Alex Kerfoot -- Trevor Moore
Nic Petan -- Frederik Gauthier -- Jason Spezza
Morgan Rielly -- Cody Ceci
Jake Muzzin -- Tyson Barrie
Rasmus Sandin
-- Justin Holl
Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Martin Marincin, Nicholas Shore, Dmytro Timashov
Injured: Zach Hyman (ACL), Travis Dermott (shoulder)

Blue Jackets projected lines

Alexandre Texier -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson
Gustav Nyquist -- Alex Wennberg -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jakob Lilja -- Riley Nash -- Emil Bemstrom
Ryan Murray -- Seth Jones
Zach Werenski -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Markus Nutivaara
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched: Dean Kukan, Vladislav Gavrikov, Sonny Milano
Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (wrist)

Status report

Petan replaces Timashov and Holl plays for Marincin. … Texier will play in his first NHL season opener after appearing in the final two games of last season and eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Stat pack

Matthews scored twice in the win against the Senators. … Jenner is one point shy of 200 in his NHL career. … With five rookies, the Blue Jackets have the youngest opening game roster (25.7) in the League for the third time in four seasons.