Maple Leafs at Wild
The Minnesota Wild attempt to conclude their first homestand of the season with a perfect record when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. After dropping its season opener in St. Louis, Minnesota posted home victories over Winnipeg and Los Angeles - scoring at least four goals in each triumph.
The Wild have had a balanced scoring attack as 11 different players recorded a tally, with Charlie Coyle (two) the only member of the club with more than one. Toronto continues its three-game road trip after suffering a crushing 5-4 overtime loss at Winnipeg in the opener Wednesday. The Maple Leafs scored the game's first four goals before falling victim to the skills of 18-year-old Finn Patrik Laine, who completed the Jets' comeback - and his first career hat trick - at 2:40 of the extra session. Laine was the next player selected in this past June's draft after Toronto used the first overall pick on Auston Matthews, who has been limited to one assist in his last two games after becoming the first player in history to score four goals in his first NHL contest.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN4 (Toronto), FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (1-0-2): Coach Mike Babcock obviously was not happy with Wednesday's outcome, but has to be pleased with how his team has begun its last two games, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in Saturday's victory over Boston before doing one better versus Winnipeg. He also should be encouraged with the club's power play, which was 2-for-2 after going 0-for-8 over the first two games of the season. Nazem Kadri scored his first two goals of the season Wednesday - the same amount he had after 20 contests last campaign.
ABOUT THE WILD (2-1-0): Jason Pominville has started the season much better than he did last campaign, scoring his first goal in his third game after netting his initial tally of 2015-16 in his 22nd contest. Defenseman Mike Reilly was recalled from Iowa on Wednesday after being assigned to the American Hockey League club following the season opener. The 23-year-old blue-liner was minus-1 in 14 minutes, 9 seconds of ice time against the Blues after registering one goal, six assists and a minus-4 rating in 29 contests last season - his first in the NHL.
OVERTIME
1. The Wild are 11-for-11 on the penalty kill after ranking 27th in the league last season.
2. Toronto has earned four points over its first three games after registering the same amount over its first 10 contests last season.
3. Minnesota follows Thursday's contest with a four-game road trip that begins in New Jersey on Saturday.