2024-25 Regular Season, Game 57 Preview: Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

It has been two weeks since the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice as a complete unit. It was February 8th when the team tried to snap their three-game slide against the Utah Hockey Club after a disappointing road trip through Winnipeg and Minnesota. With only one goal in the two games, the Canes needed a hot start. They jumped ahead midway through the opening frame after Jalen Chatfield finished a 2-on-1 with Jordan Staal. Utah got it back late in the period after Josh Doan dragged and snapped one on the power play. Early in the second, Seth Jarvis began his takeover by burying a one-timer on the power play. Jarvis' pressure on Karel Vejmelka forced him to turn the puck over to Sebastian Aho, who finished a backhand to make it 3-1. Clayton Keller didn't let Utah go down without a fight, stripping Dmitry Orlov of the puck before finishing a breakaway. Jarvis and Aho connected again short-handed with the former working hard to set up the latter for a goal. To finish the period, Jarvis buried a breakaway in the final minute to give the Canes a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes. Keller scored his second of the game on a 5-on-3, but Jordan Martinook and Jack Roslovic scored to close the job, winning 7-3. Jarvis finished the night with four points, while Aho had three to enter the break on a high.

The Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs (33-20-2, 68 Points- 2nd in the Atlantic Division)

Last Meeting: The Maple Leafs visited Raleigh in early January for their first battle of the season. Toronto took an early 2-0 lead after Nick Robertson and William Nylander scored less than 7:30 into the game. The Canes responded late in the period by scoring twice 17 seconds apart. Eric Robinson was quick to jump on a rebound before Jordan Staal squeaked a shot through Joseph Woll's arm to tie it. Early in the second period, Staal struck again. This time, he finished a short-handed 2-on-1 with Jordan Martinook to give the Canes their first lead of the night. During the same power play, Auston Matthews scored to tie things up at three. Before the period was five minutes old, the Canes regained the lead. Jackson Blake slipped a shot through Woll's pads to make it 4-3. Staal needed just 20 seconds in the third period to finish the hat trick, redirecting Brent Burns' shot from the point to extend the lead to two. Seth Jarvis finished the job, scoring into the empty net to seal the 6-3 victory for Carolina. 

Since We Last Met: Their loss to the Canes began a three-game losing streak for the Leafs before winning three straight. That got boring for them before they cycled through another three-game losing and winning streak. The three-game win streak happened when the Leafs went west to begin a trip, sweeping Alberta and beating Seattle. They weren't able to finish the road trip perfectly, falling 2-1 in Vancouver before the two-week break. Toronto sits just three points behind Florida for the lead in the division, but they have two games in hand over the reigning champs. Mitch Marner continues to lead the charge offensively, leading the team in assists (55, 3rd in the NHL) and points (71, T-4th). William Nylander isn't doing too bad either, sitting second in the league in goals with 33. Tonight is the first half of a back-to-back for the Leafs, who'll be in Chicago tomorrow night to begin a four-game road trip. 

Stories of the Night

1. 4 Nations Hangover for the US and Canada?

While Toronto and Carolina sent several players to the 4 Nations Face-Off, they each had two players on the ice for Thursday's championship game between the USA and Canada. Mitch Marner and Seth Jarvis were on the right side of the decision, while Auston Matthews and Jaccob Slavin suffered the agony of defeat. Having played four times during the break, the big issue will be whether the lack of downtime will affect them in any way. I'm especially concerned for Slavin, who played over 28 minutes in the game. 

2. Post-Break Rantanen

Mikko Rantanen participated in the tournament as well for Finland, but he's had the better part of a week to recover after Finland finished their schedule on Monday. The tournament wasn't great for Rantanen, who managed just a power-play goal against Sweden, which was assisted by Sebastian Aho. With just two points in six games before the break, the hope is that the break was enough to allow Rantanen a reset before returning to the Canes to be a big part of the stretch run. While he hasn't been bad by any means, the production hasn't been there. It's time for him and Aho to find the magic.