Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Columbus Blue Jackets (8-12-3, 19 points) and Toronto Maple Leafs (14-8-1, 29 points) go head-to-head live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto in the second of three meetings this season. The game can be live streamed here. Columbus fans can hear all of the hard-hitting action by adjusting their radios to Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan while Toronto fans can do the same on 104.5 CHUM FM.
Columbus enters play in the fifth and final game of a five-game road trip that has seen them win two games and lose two so far while Toronto is looking to make it four wins in five tries to close out a five-game homestand. The last time these two teams tangled, the Blue Jackets bested the Maple Leafs 5-2 in Columbus on Oct. 25.
The Maple Leafs are coming off of a 2-1 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday that saw goaltender James Reimer stop three of the Caps' four attempts in the shootout.
"It's something that I've been working on and want to get better," said Reimer, according to NHL.com. "I don't know if I played them too, too well. I felt that I backed out a little too much on some but still managed to make the saves. It means a lot, but shootouts are shootouts."
Reimer is 6-2-0 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a league-best .947 save percentage, but may make way for Jonathan Bernier, who is 8-6-1 with a 2.19 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Columbus counters with Sergei Bobrovsky, who is far from his Vezina Trophy-winning self, with a 7-10-2 record along with a 2.95 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
The Blue Jackets are coming off of a 6-2 defeat against the Canucks in Vancouver on Friday.
"It's an issue for us," coach Todd Richards said via NHL.com. "We're missing guys but you have to find a way to win. Your power play has to step up or you have to win the game 2-1 or 1-0, which is what we did last year."
Columbus' top two scorers are dealing with ailments as James Wisniewski (flu) has a team-high 16 points off of two goals and 14 assists but practiced Sunday and is expected to play while Brandon Dubinsky (foot) has five tallies and 10 helpers for 15 points but is day-to-day.
The Leafs' leading scorer is Phil Kessel, who has found the back of the net 12 times and added nine assists for 21 points while Mason Raymond has 17 points by lighting the lamp eight times and adding nine helpers for 17 points and James van Riemsdyk (nine goals, seven assists) and Nazem Kadri (six goals, 10 assists) each have 16 points.
The Blue Jackets look to end their road trip in a positive way while the Maple Leafs hope to close out a strong homestand with another win when these two teams hit the ice tonight at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
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