SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:
LAST GAME
Seattle 5 at Edmonton 2
Goals: Beniers, Schwartz, Gourde, McCann, Wennberg
Goalie: Jones (30/32)
PP: 1/3 PK: 2/3 Shots: Seattle 24 – Edmonton 32
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 95)
Chris Driedger (ACL; IR) – 36 games – month-to-month
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 36 games – day-to-day
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Jan. 7: Seattle at Ottawa, 4 p.m. PT
Monday, Jan. 9: Seattle at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10: Seattle at Buffalo, 4 p.m. PT
Thursday, Jan. 12: Seattle at Boston, 4 p.m. PT
Saturday, Jan. 14: Seattle at Chicago, 5 p.m. PT
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight is Seattle’s second of seven consecutive games that they will play on the road. Their seven-game road trip is their longest such stretch of the season and will conclude on Jan. 14 at Chicago. The team is looking for its first-ever win against the Maple Leafs.
• Daniel Sprong has six points (four goals, two assists) in his last six games dating back to Dec. 20 vs. St. Louis.
• Eeli Tolvanen has recorded a point (one goal, one assist) in each of the two games he has played as a Kraken. If he were to have a goal or an assist tonight, he would become the fourth player in franchise history to record a point in each of his first three games with the team. Daniel Sprong scored a goal in each of his first three games as a Kraken (March 22 to 28, 2022), Matty Beniers began his NHL career with a five-game point streak (April 12 to 22, 2022) and Andre Burakovsky recorded a point in each of his first four games with the Kraken (Oct. 12 to 17, 2022).
• Brandon Tanev has six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six games played.
• Entering play Wednesday, Jared McCann led the league with 2.26 goals-per-60 at five-on-five among players that have played in at least six games this season. Daniel Sprong ranked third with 1.91. McCann was the only player in the NHL to be averaging more than two goals per 60 among players that have played in at least six games entering play Wednesday.
• Will Borgen’s next game will be his 37th played of the season, setting a career high for the defenseman. Borgen has already set career highs in goals (two, tied), assists (eight), points (10), hits (95), blocked shots (41), shifts (833) and total time on ice (563:10).
• Martin Jones’ 16 wins were tied for the sixth-most in the NHL this season entering play Wednesday. his next win will match his total from the 2019-20 season (17). He has already surpassed his win total from 2021-22 (12) and 2020-21 (15) despite only playing in 26 games this year.
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken ranked seventh in the NHL with a 52.9 percent Corsi rating entering play Wednesday. the Kraken are outshooting their opponents 886-770 at five-on-five this season. Their 53.5 percent shot share was good for seventh in the NHL entering play Wednesday according to Natural Stat Trick.
RAKING THE LEAFS
• Oliver Bjorkstrand has scored three goals in his last three games against the Maple Leafs.
• Jordan Eberle has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 21 career games against Toronto. His 1.14 points per game played against the Maple Leafs is his best mark against a single opponent.
• Yanni Gourde made his NHL debut and recorded his first NHL point (an assist) on Dec. 15, 2015 against Toronto.
• Jaden Schwartz has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 12 career games against the Maple Leafs.
• Jared McCann recorded his 100th NHL point on Nov. 16, 2019 against Toronto.
• Eeli Tolvanen has two points (one goal, one assist) in two career games against Toronto.
• Alex Wennberg has six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six games played in Toronto.
ROAD WARRIORS
• The Kraken have posted an 10-4-2 record while playing on the road this season. The team’s 10 road wins are just one win shy of matching their total from last season (11) despite only playing in 16 road games so far this year.
• The Kraken were tied for sixth in the NHL in regulation wins on the road (nine) and ranked fifth in road points percentage (.688) entering play Wednesday.
• The team’s 4.06 goals-per-game played on the road led the NHL entering play Wednesday. Entering play Wednesday, the Kraken were the only team to be averaging more than four goals per game on the road this season.
• The Kraken have scored at least give goals in 10 of the 16 games they have played on the road this season, including their last road matchup on Jan. 3, a 5-2 win over the Oilers.
• Matty Beniers is the Kraken’s leading scorer when playing on the road this season, totaling 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 16 games played. Beniers’ eight goals and 16 points on the road this year were the most among rookies entering play Wednesday, and he is the only rookie that has played in at least two road games to be playing at a point-per-game pace.
• Daniel Sprong has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 12 road games this season and has recorded at least a point in each of his last three games played on the road. A goal or an assist tonight would give Sprong points in four consecutive road games for the first time in his career.
• Yanni Gourde has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his last 12 road games dating back to Nov. 1 at Chicago.
• Justin Schultz has seven assists in his last seven road games dating back to Nov. 25 at Vegas.
• Brandon Tanev has an assist in each of his last three road games. A goal or an assist tonight would extend his road point streak to four games, matching his career high that he set March 11 to April 1, 2021 while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 5 vs. St. Louis 6 – SOL
Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2023
TOR Goals: Engvall, Nylander, Bunting, Matthews, Bunting (PP)
STL Goals: Saad (SH), Schenn (PP), Kyrou (PP), Leivo, Saad, (Schenn – SOW)
TOR Goaltender: Samsonov, 27/32, .844 SV%
STL Goaltender: Binnington, 20/25, .800 SV%
TOR Power Play: 1-for-3
TOR Penalty Kill: 0-for-2
Player Notes: – Pierre Engvall scored Toronto’s first goal of the game at 17:28 of the first period. Engvall extended his point streak to six games where he has posted six points (3G, 3G). Engvall has scored in back-to-back games.
- William Nylander scored for Toronto at 4:38 of the second period and added two assists during the game. Nylander has recorded a multipoint game in back-to-back contests where he has posted five points (1G, 4A). Nylander marked his third game of the season with three or more points.
- Michael Bunting scored twice and added an assist during Tuesday’s game. Bunting has scored four goals through his last two games. Bunting posted his third multi-goal game of the season and sixth multigoal game of his NHL career. Bunting tied a single-game season-high with three points (also set on Nov. 15 in Pittsburgh with two goals and one assist).
- Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs at 14:37 of the second period and registered the secondary assist on Nylander’s goal. With the assist, Matthews posted his 500th career NHL point. He reached this feat in 445 career NHL games played. Per NHL Stats, “Matthews became the fastest in franchise history to accumulate 500 NHL points among players to make their League debut with the franchise – the current benchmark is held by Darryl Sittler who hit the milestone in his 517th career game.”
- Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner both scored in the shootout with Ilya Samsonov stopping one of four attempts.
- Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 of 32 shots he faced in the shootout loss. The netminder has collected at least one point through 10 home starts this season (9-0-1).
TONIGHT’S GAME
2022-23 Matchups vs. Seattle: First of Two
2021-22 Record vs. Seattle: 2-0-0
Toronto Season Record: 23-8-7
Toronto Home Record: 13-2-4
Toronto Maple Leafs: Media Notes
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The Maple Leafs face-off against the Seattle Kraken tonight in the first of two matchups between the clubs this season. Toronto will visit Seattle for their second contest of the 2022-23 campaign on February 26, 2023 at Climate Pledge Arena. The Maple Leafs have played the Seattle Kraken twice in franchise history and won both games. Toronto scored six goals in both wins, notably with Auston Matthews scoring a hattrick in Toronto’s win at Scotiabank Arena on March 8, 2022. The Maple Leafs are skating in their second game of a three-game homestand. The team will face Detroit at home on Saturday night.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Sportsnet Ontario RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
January 2, 2023 The Maple Leafs loaned forward Joey Anderson to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
INJURY REPORT
Carl Dahlström Shoulder (IR)
Victor Mete Lower Body (IR)
Jake Muzzin Neck (LTIR)
Nick Robertson Shoulder (IR)
ALL-TIME VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN:
First Matchup between Clubs: February 14, 2022 (Toronto 6 at Seattle 2)
All-Time Record: 2-0-0 (Two Games)
All-Time Record at Home: 1-0-0 (One Game)
All-Time Record on the Road: 1-0-0 (One Game)
Last Home Win vs. Opponent: March 8, 2022 (Toronto 6 vs. Seattle 4)
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. SEATTLE KRAKEN:
Games Played: Dryden Hunt (3), 15 Players Tied (2), Two Players Tied (1)
Goals: Auston Matthews (3), Mitch Marner (2), Five Players Tied (1)
Assists: Mitch Marner (3), William Nylander (3), Timothy Liljegren (3)
Points: Auston Matthews (5), Mitch Marner (5), William Nylander (4)
Penalty Minutes: Eight Players Tied (2)
