Maple Leafs at Golden Knights
The expansion Vegas Golden Knights look to extend their franchise-best winning streak to seven games when they return home to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Knights increased their point streak to 11 games (10-0-1) with wins on back-to-back nights at Anaheim (Wednesday) and Los Angeles after the Christmas break to continue their storybook season.
“I think everybody chips in,” Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury told reporters after the 3-2 overtime victory at Los Angeles on Thursday. “Every night, everybody comes in ready to work. And I feel like sometimes, some guys shine; some other nights, some other guys do. And I think the work ethic that this team shows night after night is awesome.” The Golden Knights lead the Western Conference with 52 points and are four behind league-best Tampa Bay while Toronto is near the top of the East as it completes a five-game road trip. The Maple Leafs fell to 2-1-1 on their trek with a 4-3 overtime loss at Colorado on Friday and should have No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen back in net after he was rested against the Avalanche. Toronto center Nazem Kadri (13 goals, 23 points) is day-to-day after sitting out Friday’s contest with an upper-body injury sustained in the 7-4 victory at Arizona on Thursday.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, TVA, Sportsnet (Toronto), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (23-14-2): Forward Mitch Marner has picked up his production of late with three goals and six assists in the last five games to tie Auston Matthews for the team lead in points (29). Left wing James van Riemsdyk notched his team-best 17th goal Friday and is tied with right wing William Nylander (three goals, three assists, last five contests) along with defenseman Morgan Rielly (six assists, five games) for third with 27 points apiece. Andersen has won eight of his last 11 decisions overall and boasts a .934 save percentage in December.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (25-9-2): Goaltending, despite all the injuries Vegas suffered through in the first two months, has been a key element for the team’s success all season. Fleury has won four straight and is 4-0-1 with a .948 save percentage since returning from a concussion while rookie Malcolm Subban, who was acquired on waivers early in the campaign, is 5-0-0 in December with a .928 SP. Forward Jonathan Marchessault is wielding a hot stick of late with three goals and five assists over his last five games to lead the team with 34 points.
OVERTIME
1. Kadri had a pair of goals as the Maple Leafs defeated Vegas 4-3 in a shootout Nov. 6 in Toronto.
2. Toronto F Patrick Marleau has two goals in the last two games to tie Pat Verbeek for 36th on the NHL’s all-time list with 522.
3. Vegas LW David Perron has scored in back-to-back games, including the game winner in overtime Thursday.