The Toronto Maple Leafs will seek their fifth straight victory when they visit the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs are coming off potentially their biggest win of the season on Monday.
William Nylander capped a 4-3 victory against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche with an overtime winner following a slick feed from his soon-to-be Sweden Olympic teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“I was just jumping up the ice,” Nylander said of his goal after the game. “I didn’t know if he was going to pass it or shoot it, and then he slid it through and I was able to shoot it five-hole.”
The result ended Colorado’s 17-game home winning streak.
The Tuesday clash will mark Maple Leafs winger Matias Maccelli’s first return trip to Utah after the Mammoth dealt him to Toronto in June for a third-round draft pick. Maccelli recorded a goal and an assist in their first meeting of the season, a 5-3 Toronto victory on Nov. 5.
“It’ll be fun,” Maccelli said on Saturday. “You know, I played with most of the guys for four years, so it’s going to be fun to see the guys there and go back there, but obviously, no friends out there. We’re there to do our job and win the game.”
It is unclear whether winger Nick Robertson will be available, having left the Colorado game in the first period after blocking a heavy shot with his left leg.
The Mammoth, meanwhile, had their three-game winning streak snapped 3-2 at home in overtime by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. Dmitri Voronkov drove to the net to tip defenseman Zach Werenski’s low streaking pass past goaltender Vitek Vanecek for the game winner.
“I’m disappointed about the way we process that game, the way our thought process, mindset, our play with the puck, our play without the puck,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “I think V (Vanecek) gave us an opportunity to get a point, which is a big point, which is important.”
Well out of a divisional playoff spot in a Central Division that contains the three best records in the league, the Mammoth hope to secure a crucial two points in what is shaping up to be a fierce fight for a wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Utah failed to capitalize on either of its man advantages vs. the Blue Jackets, leaving its power-play percentage at a dismal 15.7 for the season. Even as the Mammoth tend toward league average with 3.02 goals per game, their power play remains one of the weakest in the NHL.
“Finding wings probably,” defenseman Mikhail Sergachev replied when asked how Utah could improve its power play. “Passing around guys, getting to the net, boxing their (defenseman) out, creating some traffic in front. I think that would be great.”
Utah has lost all three games against the Leafs since its relocation from Arizona.
–Field Level Media
