Maple Leafs at Predators
Pekka Rinne boasts a .950 save percentage during his 11-game winning streak to bolster his bid for the Vezina Trophy while the Nashville Predators have recorded at least one point in a franchise-best 15 games (14-0-1) to put themselves in the lead for the Presidents' Trophy. Rinne and the Predators aim to continue their torrid play on Thursday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rinne reached the 40-win plateau for the third time and recorded his career-best eighth shutout in impressive fashion, turning aside all 35 shots he faced in Monday's 4-0 romp over Buffalo. "In our opinion, he's been the most valuable player for us, and definitely will be recognized for sure come award time in Vegas this summer," forward Ryan Johansen said of the 35-year-old Finn, who has permitted just five goals on 156 shots in his last five outings. Rinne wasn't as fortunate in his last encounter with Toronto, as James van Riemsdyk scored in regulation and again in the seventh round of the shootout of a 3-2 win on Feb. 7. The 28-year-old van Riemsdyk pushed his team-leading total in goals to 33 with seven in his last four games, including a pair in Tuesday's 4-3 setback to Tampa Bay.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto), TVAS, FS Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (43-23-7): Auston Matthews skated with William Nylander and Zach Hyman during Wednesday's practice and declared himself good to go against Nashville after being sidelined for 10 games with a shoulder injury. "I felt good. Nice to kind of get in all the reps and everything so, in my mind, I think I'm ready to go, take it as I'm getting ready to play tomorrow so felt really good today," the 20-year-old Matthews said. Fellow forward Mitch Marner notched an assist versus the Lightning to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, six assists).
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (48-14-10): Viktor Arvidsson (team-leading 26 goals, 55 points) has scored eight goals and set up 10 others in his last 15 games. The 24-year-old Swede joined Colton Sissons with a tally versus Toronto, and the latter has two goals and an assist in his last two contests. Filip Forsberg has also been on a tear with 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Toronto G Frederik Andersen improved to 7-1-0 in his career versus Nashville after turning aside 44 shots in the first meeting.
2. Nashville's 13th-ranked power play is 0-for-19 in the last seven contests.
3. Maple Leafs D Connor Carrick boosted his point streak to four games (one goal, three assists) after setting up van Riemsdyk's first goal on Tuesday.