Maple Leafs at Jets
After being ignited by Garret Sparks' emotional shutout in his NHL debut, the Toronto Maple Leafs look to build off that momentum on Wednesday when they open a three-game road trip against the sputtering Winnipeg Jets. With James Reimer nursing a lower-body injury, the Maple Leafs recalled Sparks from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and watched the 22-year-old make 24 saves in a 3-0 victory over Edmonton on Monday.
"Good for the kid," coach Mike Babcock said of a teary-eyed Sparks, who is expected to receive the nod on Wednesday. "Life's about opportunity and how you respond to that opportunity, obviously he must have some swagger about him, some confidence." While the Atlantic Division cellar-dwelling Maple Leafs don't have much in that regard, the same holds true for the Jets. Winnipeg suffered its ninth loss in 12 outings (3-8-1) with a 5-3 setback to Central Division-rival Colorado on Saturday, but has recorded 13 of a possible 14 points (6-0-1) in its last seven meetings with Toronto.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RSN
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (8-11-5): Toronto will be in search of some additional offense after seeing veteran Joffrey Lupul (lower body) placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. "He's been having the same problem here for a bit," Babcock told reporters. "He doesn't seem to be getting the power back that they thought, so we're just trying to monitor it the best we can." Fellow forward Rich Clune was recalled from the Marlies to replace Lupul, whose eight goals trail only Leo Komarov (10) for the team lead.
ABOUT THE JETS (11-12-2): Captain Andrew Ladd has answered a four-game point drought with two goals and as many assists in his last four contests. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has scored a goal and set up three others during his three-game point streak and also tallied in Winnipeg's 4-2 victory over Toronto on Nov. 4. Byfuglien, who reportedly was involved in a failed trade offer for New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic, has collected 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in as many career encounters with Toronto.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg C Alex Burmistrov scored in the teams' first meeting and has notched an assist in each of his club's last two outings.
2. Toronto has killed off 16-of-18 short-handed situations over the last seven contests.
3. The Jets have permitted 11 power-play goals in their last nine games.