The Toronto Maple Leafs (24-14-8) vs. Winnipeg Jets (30-11-5) are finishing off a home-and-home set.
Toronto and Winnipeg faced off on Wednesday night, which saw the Leafs pick up a 1-0 over the Jets in overtime by a goal from Auston Matthews.
John Tavares’s pointless streak is at nine games. It is the longest he hasn’t had a point in his tenure as a Maple Leaf. In 46 games played this season, Tavares has 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points.
Tyler Bertuzzi will return to the Maple Leafs lineup after his wife gave berth to their baby. Bertuzzi has had a poor season thus far with Toronto. In 45 games, he has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points.
Sheldon Keefe announced that Bobby McMann would land on the IR with an injury that has been lingering on him for a while. Callie Jarnkrok left Toronto’s practice after blocking a shot. Keefe says they will know the extent of the injury once he is assessed.
If Jarnkrok won’t play, expect Ryan Reaves to be inserted back in the lineup. He has been removed from Toronto IR after suffering a lower-body injury on December 14th against Columbus.
Mark Scheifele won’t be back in the Jets lineup, but Gabriel Vilardi and Josh Morrissey will be game-time decisions. Scheifele has missed the last six games.
Ilya Samsonov will make his third straight start in the net. He was the reason Toronto won on Wednesday.
Connor Hellebuyck is the expected starter for the Jets.
Saturday’s game will be Toronto’s final game before the All-Star break. The team will be back on February 5th against the New York Islanders.
The puck drop for the game is at 7:00 p.m. on Sportsnet.
Photo Credits: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
