Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-0) and Columbus Blue Jackets (4-5-0) collide live from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The game can be live streamed here. Toronto fans can hear all the action on SportsNet 590 The Fan, while Columbus fans can do the same on Sportsradio 97.1 The Fan.
In the first of three meetings between these two new Eastern Conference rivals, visiting Toronto enters the game in second place in the Atlantic Division tied with the division leading Boston Bruins with 14 points while Columbus enters in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with eight points, six shy of the first place Pittsburgh Penguins.
Toronto may get a boost when David Clarkson makes his Maple Leafs debut after serving a 10-game suspension for leaving the bench during a preseason game to join a fight. Clarkson had 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points last season in the 48-game lockout-shortened campaign and scored a career-high 30 goals in his last full season with New Jersey in 2011-12.
Clarkson, who signed a $36.75 million seven-year deal in the offseason, admitted that the 10-game ban was tough on him.
"It's been tough but at the end of the day, lucky enough here in Toronto, we have a great staff and I was able to do a lot off the ice to get ready," Clarkson told the Maple Leafs website on Wednesday after practice. "And the boys have been winning which makes it easier. I've watched enough and I'm ready to get back at it."
The Leafs have an explosive offense and have won seven out of their first 10 entering this game, including their latest victory--a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
The Blue Jackets continue a four-game homestand and are looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season after a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils where James Wisniewski scored a goal and added two assists.
"We showed a lot of character in the way we played. It took us a little while to get going but we found a way to win," Wisniewski, who almost didn't play due to the flu, told NHL.com following the win.
Phil Kessel leads the Leafs with 11 points off of five goals and a team-high six assists, and he netted a hat trick during the win over the Ducks Tuesday. Joffrey Lupul leads the team in goals with six, while he's also added four points for a total of 10 points.
Columbus has been paced by Marian Gaborik, who has notched four goals and five assists for nine points while Wisniewski has seven points off of one tally and a team-high six helpers.
In net, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky has gone 3-5-0 with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage for Columbus while offseason acquisition Jonathan Bernier has started the majority of games between the pipes for Toronto, posting a 5-3-0 record with a 2.12 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
The Maple Leafs look to get a boost from Clarkson when he makes his debut while the Blue Jackets hope to continue a successful homestand when the lights come on tonight at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
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