Maple Leafs at Jets
THE STORY: The Toronto Maple Leafs and host Winnipeg Jets enter Saturday's showdown with identical records - and it's safe to say that both teams have to be happy with their respective positions as the calendar prepares to flip to 2012. The clubs came to reach their end-of-year records in different ways. Toronto opened with a bang but has scuffled since, going just 9-11-4 since reaching top spot in the NHL standings back on Nov. 4. That includes a 4-6-3 stretch over its last 13 games, capped by a 4-3 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday in which Toronto squandered a two-goal lead in the third-period. The Jets began the year slowly but have caught fire in December, their hot streak coinciding with a home-heavy slate of games. Winnipeg has turned the MTS Centre into a scary place for opposing teams, going 13-6-1 in its new digs - tied with the defending-champion Boston Bruins for the most home victories in the Eastern Conference. This is the second meeting between the clubs this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (18-14-5): The return of G James Reimer from concussion symptoms has not put Toronto back on the winning track. The 23-year-old is just 3-3-3 with a 3.24 goals-against average in 10 games since returning to the ice. Saturday represents a homecoming for Reimer, who is from Morweena, Manitoba and has apparently managed to track down 15 tickets for friends and family to attend the game - not an easy task in hockey-mad Winnipeg.
ABOUT THE JETS (18-14-5): The Winnipeg franchise managed just 17 home wins all of last season - and at least part of that may have had to do with the thousands of empty seats. The club averaged fewer than 13,500 fans in its last season in Atlanta, playing to less than 73 percent of capacity. While this year's figure of 15,004 represents a modest total increase, the smaller MTS Centre has hosted 20 straight sellouts - with a 21st a virtual guarantee with Toronto in town.
OVERTIME:
1. Toronto earned a 4-3 shootout victory the first time these teams met back on Oct. 19.
2. This is the Leafs' first visit to Winnipeg since Feb. 28, 1996, when Ed Olczyk and Alex Zhamnov had three points apiece in a 4-3 Jets' victory.
3. The Maple Leafs enter Saturday with the worst penalty-killing unit in the league, fending off only 72.5 percent of opposing teams' power plays.