Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Minnesota Wild (3-1-2) and Toronto Maple Leafs (5-1-0) faceoff live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The game can be live streamed here. Minnesota fans can hear all the action on KFAN 100.3 FM while Toronto fans can do the same on SportsNet 590.
In the first of two meetings this season between these two clubs, the Maple Leafs enter play on top of the NHL standings along with the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche, while Minnesota is chasing the Avalanche in their division and have only lost one game in regulation through their first six contests.
Minnesota goalie Josh Harding has been solid in the absence of Niklas Backstrom, who is sidelined with a left knee strain. Harding allowed just one goal off of 23 shots against him in Monday's victory over the Buffalo Sabres that saw Jason Pominville net the game-winner and his second goal of the season against his former team in Buffalo, where he spent parts of nine years of his career before being traded to Minnesota.
"We're very happy for him," coach Mike Yeo said of Pominville per NHL.com. "He's a guy that brings so much to our team, so much to our locker room. He's a guy that you just want to go out and help him."
Harding was solid again Monday night and has only allowed one goal in all three of his wins this season. Harding has allowed four goals in four games while stopping 73 of 77 shots to give himself a 1.06 GAA and a .948 save percentage.
Toronto, meanwhile, will look to bring some of its road dominance home tonight. While the Maple Leafs are 3-0 away from Air Canada Centre and have outscored their opponents 11-4 in those games, the team has struggled a bit at home and almost squandered its second home game of the year against the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night, until some late heroics lifted the team.
"We definitely had some breakdowns that led to goals and there's not much he could do about it," said James van Riemsdyk, who also scored twice, according to NHL.com. "It's a team game and you're just looking for a way to win. They're not all going to be pretty, but we'll take it."
Van Riemsdyk is tied for first on the team with five goals and has added one assists for six points through six games this season. Van Riemsdyk points total trails Joffrey Lupul (5-3-8) and Phil Kessel (2-5-7) as the Leafs offense has been potent this season. Matt Cooke leads the Wild with six points off of three goals and three assists, while Zach Parise has paved the way with a team-leading four goals for four points.
Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier has gone 4-1-0 through five games this season and has allowed eight goals while putting together a 1.75 GAA and a .946 save percentage.
Toronto will look to continue its winning ways as Minnesota hopes to continue its pursuit of catching Colorado when these teams square off tonight.
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