Blue Jackets at Maple Leafs
The first game of Peter Horachek's tenure as interim head coach of the Maple Leafs looked a little too familiar to Toronto fans. Horachek seeks his first win as the Maple Leafs' part-time bench boss Friday night against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. Toronto did a good job of restricting shots - holding Washington to just 26 - but that was about the only thing that went right for the Maple Leafs, who fell 6-2 to the Capitals for their eighth loss in the last 10 games.
While Horachek tries to figure out how to keep the Maple Leafs from slipping out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Blue Jackets continue to surge their way into postseason contention. Back-to-back wins in Colorado and Dallas have improved Columbus to 12-2-1 in its last 15 games after the club started the season with just six wins in its first 23 contests. The offense has been the catalyst of late, scoring three or more goals in five straight games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS-O (Columbus), TSN4 (Toronto)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (18-17-3): How good are things going for Columbus right now? Even forward Mark Letestu is getting in on the act, scoring in the third period of Tuesday's 4-2 victory over the Stars in his first game since suffering a groin strain against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 28. The veteran forward had plenty of praise for rookie Alexander Wennberg, who set up his goal. "He's got a unique skill for passing the puck," Letestu said. "He can slide it through some tight spaces, and he made it an easy one for me."
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (21-17-3): After a less-than-impressive debut, Horachek wasted no time making changes to his top two lines. Horachek dropped winger James van Riemsdyk to the second unit in favor of Daniel Winnik, who skated with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak; van Riemsdyk was grouped with Nazem Kadri and Richard Panik. David Clarkson - who has 24 points in 101 career games with the Maple Leafs - skated on the third line with Leo Komarov and Mike Santorelli.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus has won four straight meetings at the Air Canada Centre.
2. The Blue Jackets have won five games in a row against Atlantic Division foes.
3. Columbus G Sergei Bobrovsky is 6-1-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in seven meetings with Toronto.