Toronto's injury list is a lot worse. The Leafs had 10 players out heading into the Colorado game, Morgan Rielly among them. Colton Sissons sat out too. Auston Matthews called the team "banged up" and asked for a response after a 4-0 shutout loss to New Jersey. Toronto did respond on offense against the Avalanche and scored 3. Colorado scored 6.
The goaltending is the real problem. The Leafs allowed 5 goals on 27 shots against Colorado, and the Avalanche turned a 3-2 game into a blowout with 3 goals in the 3rd period. That was Toronto's 4th straight loss as of Wednesday. Matthews leads the team with 11 goals and 16 assists, and William Nylander has 6 goals in his last 10 games, so the scoring is there. The Leafs just haven't kept the puck out of their own net.
Toronto also takes a lot of penalties. The Leafs ranked 6th in the league with 83 penalties going into the Colorado game, 4.4 a game. Against a Wild team that has been winning close, low-scoring games, giving Minnesota extra power plays could decide it. The Leafs need fewer than 5 goals against and a lot fewer trips to the box.
Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET on Thursday, November 12. Both teams played on November 10 and both get a day off before this one, so neither has a rest advantage. Minnesota needs to keep doing what it's been doing. Toronto needs the top of its lineup to carry it, the goaltending to make saves and the depth guys to hold up. That's asking a lot of a team that has lost 4 in a row as of Wednesday.
