Maple Leafs at Ducks
The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to salvage the final contest of their disappointing three-game road trip when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Toronto came into the stretch with 11 straight victories against teams from California but a 5-2 setback to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday was followed by a 1-0 shootout defeat Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Maple Leafs all-star netminder Frederik Andersen did everything he could to get his team a victory as he made 30 saves Thursday but the league’s top scoring team (234 goals) was shutout for the first time this season as they couldn’t get any of their 36 shots past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. Another loss in California could hurt the Maple Leafs, who hold a five-point lead over Florida for the final Atlantic Division playoff spot and play eight of their next nine games after Friday against teams in the playoffs or fighting for a spot. Anaheim forward Rickard Rakell ended his 16-game goal drought in the most dramatic way possible Wednesday as he scored with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. John Gibson will return to the crease for the first time since getting pulled after allowing five goals in two periods during a 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday and the netminder is sporting a .889 save percentage in his last seven starts (2-4-1).
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, TSN4
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (35-24-9): The Maple Leafs have lacked productive backup goaltending but are hoping Jack Campbell is the answer as the 28-year-old Michigan native is expected to start Friday and is 3-1-1 with a 2.73 goals against average and .913 save percentage since being acquired from the Kings on Feb. 5. The Maple Leafs have scored an NHL-best 168 even-strength goals and have the league's seventh-best success rate on the power play at 23 percent. Fourth-year center Auston Matthews has already set career highs with a team-leading 46 goals and 79 points while the 22-year-old leads the club with a plus-20 rating.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (27-32-8): Anaheim has been hit with a rash of injuries on its blue line as Hampus Lindholm is questionable Friday after missing four straight contests (upper-body) while Cam Fowler will miss his ninth straight (lower-body). Captain Ryan Getzlaf has recorded a goal with two helpers over his last five games and while he leads the squad with 28 assists and 41 points, the 15-year-veteran owns a team-worst minus-16 rating. The Ducks claimed Andrew Agozzino off waivers from the Penguins last month and the 29-year-old scored in his fourth game with the team Tuesday - his second goal in 42 career games.
OVERTIME
1. Maple Leafs D Morgan Rielly hasn’t played since Jan. 12 because of a fractured foot but could be activated as early as Tuesday against the Lightning.
2. Ducks D Jani Hakanpaa made his NHL debut Wednesday as the 27-year-old recorded a shot in 15:08 of ice time.
3. Toronto has won the last five meetings with Anaheim’s last victory 5-2 on March 3, 2017.