The Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, with Auston Matthews and other forwards returning from injury. Both teams are looking to improve their records in this Eastern Conference matchup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs (9-10-3) take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (11-9-3) at 7 p.m. ET, broadcast on FDSNOH, SNP, SNO, SNE and SN360. This game features several notable returns and debuts for both sides.
For the Maple Leafs, forwards Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Nicolas Roy are back in action. Matthews missed five games due to a lower-body injury, Knies sat out three with a similar issue, and Roy was out three games with an upper-body injury. Forwards Dakota Joshua, Sammy Blais and Matias Maccelli will be scratched in their place.
The Maple Leafs' projected lineup includes:
- Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Nicholas Robertson
- Easton Cowan -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
- Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok
- Max Domi -- Nicolas Roy -- Bobby McMann
On defense: Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit -- Jake McCabe, Dakota Mermis -- Troy Stecher. Goalies are Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby.
Scratches: Philippe Myers, Sammy Blais, Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli. Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body).
The Blue Jackets welcome defenseman Zach Werenski back after he left early in their 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday. Forward Mathieu Olivier, injured in that game, will miss time, as will Kirill Marchenko for his second straight game. Boone Jenner (upper body) and Erik Gudbranson (hip) remain sidelined.
Luca Pinelli makes his NHL debut after being recalled from Cleveland of the AHL on Tuesday. Brendan Smith also debuts for Columbus after signing a two-way contract and being recalled from Cleveland, replacing scratched defenseman Jake Christiansen.
Blue Jackets projected lineup:
- Dmitri Voronkov -- Adam Fantilli -- Kent Johnson
- Cole Sillinger -- Sean Monahan -- Luca Pinelli
- Zach Aston-Reese -- Charlie Coyle -- Isac Lundestrom
- Miles Wood -- Brendan Gaunce -- Yegor Chinakhov
Defense: Zach Werenski -- Ivan Provorov, Denton Mateychuk -- Damon Severson, Brendan Smith -- Dante Fabbro. Goalies: Jet Greaves, Elvis Merzlikins.