Maple Leafs at Blues preview

MAPLE LEAFS (8-6-0) at BLUES (10-3-1)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Blues, 6-1-1 in their past eight games, have been led offensively by forward Jaden Schwartz, who has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past nine games.
The Maple Leafs are 1-4-0 in their past five games after a 7-2-0 start.

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is third in the NHL with 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 14 games, and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games after having 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in the first eight games of the season.
Blues goaltender Jake Allen, who will start on Saturday, has held opponents to two goals or fewer in six of his past seven starts (4-1-1 record, 13 goals allowed). Allen, 7-3-1 with a 2.34 goals-against average this season, is 5-1-0 at home.

They said it

"I've been hearing about [Jaden] Schwartz now for a number of years from the guys here and how good he is. Now that I do the pregame scout and I see how good he is, everyone talks about [Vladimir] Tarasenko, who is an unbelievable player, but Schwartz has taken it to another level." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"Speed and skill. Good combination. They've got some youth over there. They play with energy, they play a very up-tempo game, very aggressive style, pressure team, and they're going to challenge you with their speed." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk -- Patrick Marleau -- Connor Brown
Leo Komarov -- Nazem Kadri -- Kasperi Kapanen
Matt Martin -- Tyler Bozak -- Mitchell Marner
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick
Andreas Borgman -- Nikita Zaitsev
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Dominic Moore, Roman Polak
Injured: None

Blues projected lineup

Vladimir Sobotka -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Magnus Paajarvi
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Nate Prosser, Beau Bennett
Injured: Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Zach Sanford (shoulder)

Status report

Carrick will replace Polak after being scratched against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. ... Thorburn will play for the first time in five games and the second time in 10 after being in the lineup four of the first five games. Hutton will back up Allen after missing Thursday for the birth of his son, Palmer.

Stat pack

Toronto has scored three goals or fewer in seven straight games. … Tarasenko has a goal in five straight games against Toronto. Steen has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 11 carerer games against the Maple Leafs.