Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Columbus Blue Jackets (18-7-3, 39 points) and Toronto Maple Leafs (21-17-3, 45 points) face-off for the second of three meetings this season live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The game can be live streamed here. Columbus fans can hear all of the action on 97.1 The Fan while Toronto fans can do the same on TSN 1050.
Columbus has won two straight games and closes out a four-match road trip it is 2-1 on thus far while Toronto has lost three straight contests and closes out a two-game homestand.
The first time these two teams met, the Maple Leafs dropped the Blue Jackets 4-1 on Oct. 31.
Both of these teams enter tonight's game out of the playoff picture as Toronto is three points out of the wild-card while Columbus is nine points out of the final spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Blue Jackets are coming off of a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and will look for their third straight victory.
Nick Foligno has paced Columbus thus far this season with 38 points and 17 goals. Ryan Joansen has scored in each of the last five games and is second on the Blue Jackets with 36 points off of 13 markers and 23 helpers while Scott Hartnell has found the back of the net eight times and added 15 assists for 23 points.
The Maple Leafs are entering off of a 6-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday in Peter Horachek's first game at the helm and are still in search of their first win of 2015 in their fourth try.
We have to obviously get all the little details stronger as a group, everybody on the same page, and then I think the wins will start to follow," Horachek told NHL.com after Toronto practiced on Thursday, according to the team's website.
Phil Kessel leads Toronto with 41 points off of 18 goals and 23 assists. James van Riemsdyk is second on the Maple Leafs with 37 points off of 17 tallies and 20 helpers while Tyler Bozak has lit the lamp 13 times and added 17 assists for 30 points.
In net, Toronto turns to Jonathan Bernier and he is 15-10-3 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
Columbus is slated to counter with Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes and he is 15-10-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
The Blue Jackets look for their third straight win while the Maple Leafs hope to avoid a three-game skid when the puck drops tonight at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
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